#Thisbe Stowe

[helloitsdusk]

i keep forgetting to post this but i spent 7 hours on it so...the evil awful family tree that consumes my every waking thought!

*note: marcus being nadia's father is only a theory, not explicitly canon; "owen" is the name i give to mr. stowe, also not canon; marcus, claire, and emma's eye colors are not canon; the white hair streaks and pure white hair are similarly headcanons

not entirely happy with how the stowe siblings came out but i draw them so often that it doesnt really matter. i was more focused on getting down the faces of the other family members to track similar facial features!

[wiretism]

I have drawn so much today

[theoakleafpancake]

“Fifer is like Alex because she’s also the leader of Artimé” I raise you to “Fifer wants to be like Alex but she’s actually more like Aaron”

[artimeanatheart]

Aaron Character Analysis-Book Six Part Two

If I had any doubts, this book proved that Lisa McMann does not shy away from major character deaths. And, like with previous deaths, as painful as it is, it's a good decision that does a lot for the story.

Brother and Son

"Aaron glanced at Ishibashi. The man had stuck by him as well when he needed a parental figure in his life. It seemed Aaron needed to step into that role now, with Thisbe. It didn't matter anymore what people thought of him. He needed to be the person who believed in Thisbe when everyone else wrote her off. To be there for her when no one else trusted her."

Throughout all of this, the people on the rescue mission don't really realize that Aaron is struggling. Even Sky and Carina, who are Aaron's friends, don't see just how much he's hurting. Although there is one person on the team who sees Aaron's pain, the person who knows Aaron better than anyone else does: Ishibashi. I like to think that, when they were debating who should go on the rescue mission, Kaylee and Ishibashi realized that this wouldn't be an easy situation for Aaron and that at least one of them would need to go. Kaylee probably wanted to spend some time with her son-she's been away from him for most of the series, after all-so Ishibashi got to go along and spend some quality time bonding with his son.

"'I'm starting to think we're the ones making it complicated,' said Ishibashi in a quiet voice. Aaron looked at the man. He knew the old scientist didn't speak often in situations where someone else was leading. But when he did, it was usually something impactful. So Aaron took Ishibashi seriously."

Throughout the book, we see how close these two have become and how well they know each other, like when Aaron draws attention to Ishibashi's point so that he isn't overlooked. He knows that Ishibashi only speaks up when he has something important to say.  Or when Ishibashi supports Aaron in his resolve to be there for Thisbe. Ishibashi really understands how Aaron's mind works.  He's seen him at his worst and at his best.  He's the one who was there for Aaron through a major portion of Aaron's redemption arc and saw first hand just how hard Aaron worked to get to where he is today.

"'What are you thinking?' Ishibashi asked Aaron. 'I can see the determination in your eyes.' 'I think we can turn this around,' said Aaron. 'I know this isn't Thisbe's path to the future. It can't be! She still has a chance to redeem herself, if we can only get her to stop this nonsense before something terrible happens.' 'I believe in you to be there for Thisbe,' Ishibashi said quietly, giving Aaron a meaningful look."

They just have this really beautiful, open, loving parent-child relationship. They love each other so much and are also able to respectfully disagree on things. For example, Ishibashi thinks Aaron should tell Kaylee about the seaweed. Aaron doesn't want to and makes sure Ishibashi knows that it is not his place to do it. And Ishibashi respects that. Ishibashi and Aaron don't pressure each other into doing things; at this point in life, they give each other the space to make their own decisions and trust that they will come to the right one. Take notes Marcus.

"Believing he might be immortal because of the seaweed that Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato had given him to save his life years ago, Aaron was forced to think about that, as well. What was worse than living a life full of apologies? Watching everyone you loved die and never getting to do so yourself."

And on the topic of Aaron and Ishibashi, it's time to finally talk about Aaron's immortality. Or rather, his belief that he might be immortal. He views being immortal as a well-deserved punishment. He doesn't deserve the peace of death. Aaron, who loves his family more than anything in the world, thinks he deserves to watch all of his loved ones die because of things he did when he was a teenager. Let that sink in for a moment. Anyways, Aaron doesn't tell Kaylee about his immortality because he thinks it would cause her unnecessary pain. It sure has caused him a lot of pain. Why wouldn't it hurt her? And he also doesn't feel any sort of urgency to address it. He'll outlive Kaylee (or so he thinks) so she'll never have any reason to find out. And it turns out not to be an issue because people who've eaten the seaweed can die, actually. Despite what the books say, I do think that Aaron would have told her about the seaweed and his quasi-immortality eventually. Or, sticking closer to canon-he never told her but she found out on her own. I can just see the two of them never addressing it directly but kind of alluding to it in a joking manner all the time.

"It was as if Ishibashi could read Aaron's mind. The old man put his cool, wrinkled hand on top of Aaron's. After a moment he said, 'Every day is a new day, Aaron-san. A chance to try again. We can't control other people's choices. But with our gift, we can continue to gain wisdom and be there for our loved ones forever to try to steer the way.'"

Before dying, Ishibashi helps reframe Aaron's view one last time. This time, about how he views immortality. Ishibashi helps Aaron see it as a gift. He'll always be around to help people, to guide them like Ishibashi has guided him. There will always be someone who remembers the history of the seven islands to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself. And, in a testament to his growth and his respect for Ishibashi, Aaron immediately accepts this reframing. Also, by showing Aaron that something he saw as a punishment for himself can actually be a gift to others, Ishibashi has also given Aaron a tool to help him forgive himself. Aaron may have done bad things, yes, but now he can use that experience to help others who might be going down a similar path. Like Aaron thinks Thisbe is.

"'I have never been better,' Ishibashi said. 'This has been a long journey, but I believe it will be a satisfying one. I'm glad I came along to see this beautiful world. I was thrilled to experience the volcano system-what a ride! And so happy to spend time with you, my son. I must tell you, Aaron, that I wasn't sure about you for a long time. But I am so pleased with the man you've become.' Tears sprang to Aaron's eyes. He hadn't been expecting praise. . ."

Ishibashi sees how much Aaron is struggling with what Thisbe did and knows what Aaron needs to hear. He calls Aaron his son, tells him that he's proud of the person Aaron has become, and calls him Aaron-san to remind him about the respect he's earned. He promises to be right there beside Aaron for the rest of their presumably immortal lives, showing Aaron that he'll never be alone again. He'll always have someone in his corner who loves him. Which is very sweet but so sad, knowing what comes next.

"Is this how people had felt when he'd done the same thing? Because it was excruciating. He had a sudden wave of regret when he thought about Alex, who'd never given up on him, even in the darkest times. How he missed his brother! The thought of never seeing him again was too much to take. If only he could have a moment with him now."

But before that, Thisbe and Aaron have a talk. And that talk has some painful parallels to the original series. The brilliance of Thisbe's perceived betrayal from a writing standpoint is that it puts Aaron in a similar position with Thisbe that Alex was in with him when they were teenagers.  Prior to this, while he was sorry for hurting Alex, he didn't really know what that sense of betrayal felt like. Now he knows exactly how much it stings.  Because of that, he feels even worse for hurting Alex and wishes he could apologize to him yet again.  But he can't.  Because Alex is gone.

"Gathering strength, Thisbe stared Aaron right in the eye. 'This meeting is a waste of time,' she said, trying to sound disgusted."

The confrontation scene with Aaron and Thisbe is very reminiscent of the meetings between Alex and Aaron in book one. Thisbe is acting a lot like young Aaron did. It is just that: an act.  But still.  The coldness.  The feigned emotionlessness. The similarities are not subtle and Aaron certainly doesn't miss them. He sees his younger self in Thisbe.  And not in a good way. I wonder if, when Thisbe was creating her 'evil' persona, she based aspects of it on what she knows about teenage Aaron from reading the books. Then, the parallels between how Thisbe is acting and how the younger Aaron acted wouldn't just be on a narrative level. They would be completely intentional on the part of the characters. Ouch.

"'This is all my fault,' Aaron whispered. 'You're taking after me. Please, please don't make the same mistakes I made. I'm here today to tell you that you will regret this for the rest of your life. . .like I regret my mistakes.' He took a breath. 'Every day I relive my past like a recurring nightmare. Every day I face people who still hold scorn for what I've done. And I deserve it. But, Thisbe, my dear sister. . .I want you to know it's not too late to come home. You have a chance that I didn't have. And I'm begging you to take it. Come with us.'"

But even with how much he's hurting, if Thisbe had actually betrayed them and then realized her mistake, Aaron would have forgiven her in an instant. Oh, the irony. Because Thisbe was only pretending to betray them, it hurts Aaron even more (that's another book seven topic). Thisbe doesn't realize that this would be the case. She thinks Rohan is going to be the one who has the hardest time forgiving her. She doesn't know about all the negative feelings Aaron has towards himself. She didn't realize he would take some of the blame for what she did. She's another person who hadn't realized everything that Aaron was struggling with. But now it's out in the open. And that will have consequences for their relationship.

"But Ishibashi had no pulse. No heartbeat. Aaron bent his face near the scientist's but could detect no breath left inside him. The young man tried his best to revive Ishibashi, ignoring his own agonizing pain. But in time, Ishibashi's neck and chest grew cold beneath Aaron's hands. After too long, Aaron finally gave up. Heaving and exhausted, he looked at the man's face. Ishibashi. . .was dead. Aaron's eyes widened as unshed tears burned them. But then a desperate, wretched sob escaped. He took in a sharp breath, and more sobs came. Sick, angry, broken sobs. Sobs that had never come when his own parents had died. But Ishibashi had been more than a parent. 'No!' Aaron screamed. 'No!'"

As Thisbe is realizing all of this, the plan falls apart, the Revinir attacks, and Ishibashi dies saving Aaron's life. As if Aaron didn't already have enough survivor's guilt. Aaron has to deal with both the fact that his father is dead and that people who've eaten the magic seaweed can die. He can die.  That knowledge is a comfort for Aaron, despite his recent (as in, minutes ago) revelation. The seaweed doesn't confer unlimited immortality. It extends life. It revives. It heals. But it's not a permanent 'fix' for death. It can wear out, especially if the person who has taken it only takes it once. Or frequently throws himself in front of fire to protect his loved ones (yes, I'm talking about both Aaron and Ishibashi).  Amidst all that sadness, that's a bright spot. Aaron's ability to die was never taken from him. Showing that to Aaron was Ishibashi's last gift to his son, lifting some of the burden Aaron's been feeling.  

"Ishibashi Junpei, grandfather, scientist immortal, had died. But in the midst of deepest, darkest sorrow, grief, and loss, Aaron could squint and barely see a tiny ray of light. Leading Ishibashi home."

At the end of the book, Thisbe and Rohan are running for their lives through the forest, Fifer is barely clinging to life, and the book chooses to focus on Aaron's grief over Ishibashi. It lets the sadness sit in a quiet moment and focuses in on Aaron, rather than either of the series' protagonists. It lets us sit in the sadness and leaves us with questions. What will Aaron do without Ishibashi? How will he cope with this loss on top of everything else? Will he be able to forgive Thisbe?

The next book is going to be hard for him, without Ishibashi there to support him.  But I know he gets a happy ending.  He's strong.  He'll make it through.

[xbuggyxboyx]

That feeling when you discover that not one but TWO separate people know and enjoy a super niche book series that you love >>>

[mineashthetrash]

BOO, Unwanteds jumpscare!!! I draw these stupid anthro designs a LOT but I usually don't post them (because it's usually just one of the twins sitting there).

If you're unfamiliar, I have anthroified the characters to make them easier and more fun for me to draw, and I try to base the characters on animal species that make sense. The Stowes are all Stoats, for obvious reasons, mixed with Maine Coon. (it mentions Alex's hair grows out a lot, so what better than the furriest cat breed?)

Threw this together the moment I saw that Star Trek clip. beautiful.

I decided to make the Pirates (or at least some of them) pigmented coyotes, since my Lani design is a black wolf.

I wish people in the book acknowledged how big of an influence Justine was on him :( Like not only is he in a cult, the cult leader also personally trained him and considered him for a successor (she and her brother are pallas cats, btw!)

A Sadness Runs Through Him (them) storyboard. Its rough an only like. 11 panels. but.

I love the chapters where he just does not want to be a dad. His friends are like 'heyy Alex um. we have these babies of yours, uh, what do we do with them??" and he goes "I gotta go to the bathroom for 2 hours brb"

The Adults Are Talking is certainly a song

stupid memes

Character sketches (Sky, Crow, Mr Today & Justine, Rattrap.) I don't have a species for them yet, except that they're based on corvids (and sky's mixed with a bluebird)

[threemoonwatchers]

Thisbe, explaining exactly how she set accidentally that tree on fire: …I just got mad, and-

Rohan, going to get as much water as he can carry: Don’t move!

Rohan: and don’t get mad at me!

[thebookworm006]

Ok but like, the song Space Inbetween from Decendants- THISBE AND FIFER?! THAT U?!

[ashafavs]

thisbe… oh thisbe…

a sense of furtive unrest :)

[wrenviel]

How to fix Quests in a few simple steps-

1. Keep Fifer single. Literally just keep her single. A single, aroace BIPOC main character would be amazing.

2. Keep Alex alive. Killing him was v unnecessary and an obvious use of “Bury your Disabled.” You don’t need to kill off your old protagonists to boost the character development of your new ones.

3. Explicit Clemasha. They need to do more than hold hands. Quests with one or more canon kisses between them would be great.

4. More mentions of Lani’s disability. There’s literally a place in Fire where she would have been unable to move and it’s just...not addressed. Also! Have Lani act more independent like she was in the OG, OG!Lani would have taken the lead! Not Fifer!

5. Don’t cure Thisbe. Yeah, Thisbe becoming a permanently disabled character w seizures would have been super interesting. I don’t know why she was cured. Also, get rid of Fifer’s ableist traits towards her in Curse! That was bad!

6. Thenry wedding. Isn’t this obvious?

7. Either have Rohbe remain platonic or take out the scene where Maiven adopts him. Bleh.

8. More focus on the OG characters and lore. Quests started throwing us all of these new characters without rlly diving into them. Keeping the OG characters central to the plot would have helped.

9. Burn Seth/Prindi at the stake

[another-place-to-fall]

Dragon Fury Review (Spoilers, obviously)

What I Liked:

- “THIS IS FOR THE ALEX.” Everything about this was just amazing. Going into the book I had been hoping one of the Stowes would kill the Revinir, but honestly, this was better. Spike is amazing, and I think it’s really fitting that Alex’s creation is the one who killed the Revinir.

- That moment between Aaron and Samheed was great. They very clearly don’t like each other, but I’m glad they were able to get over their differences.

- Drock becoming the Dragon Ruler! He’s clearly earned it, and I’m happy something finally went right for him.

- Dev and Asha being siblings and descended from Ashguard. I definitely saw it coming, but I still liked that Dev has family.

- Maiven Taveer being a badass queen while also being an old lady. Everything about her is awesome.

- Simber. Just being Simber. 

- The afterlife. Especially the Alex and Aaron moments. They have one of the most complicated relationships in the books, and I’m so happy about what it came to. I’m also glad it ended with Alex and Aaron vs Fifer and Thisbe. Seeing the dead characters was great (Meghan!!!!), and Aaron’s being forgiven by Eva and Marcus was beautifully written.

What I Didn’t Like:

- Fifer x Dev. Why, why, why. Fifer was very clearly touch repulsed and aroace-coded, and then all of a sudden she just... kisses Dev. Dev x Seth would have made way more sense.

- Rohbe. Maiven, who is Thisbe’s biological grandmother, adopted Rohan, so... incest. They’re also just... ugh. Rohan has no personality besides loving Thisbe, so while she is a great character, he’s pretty one-dimensional.

- The treatment of gay characters. There are two gay couples in the series: Henry x Thatcher and Clementi x Asha (both of which I absolutely love). Only Henry gets a POV that is ridiculously short, especially since he was a main character in the original series. Neither couple gets any moments together, and Clementi and Thatcher each have like two lines of dialogue. They were completely sidelines, and Lisa clearly only included them so she could say that she has LGBT+ representation.

- Seth x Prindi? WHY? There was no point to this unnecessary het couple. Prindi barely has a role in the story, and we haven't seen her and Seth interact once. Like I said in my point about Fifer and Dev, Seth and Dev would have made way more sense as a couple than either of these.

- Why does everyone need a love interest? In both The Unwanteds and The Unwanteds Quests, every major character gets a love interest, who is usually someone of the opposite gender. In the original series, we had Skylex, Lanheed, Aaron x Kaylee, Sean x Carina, Crow x Scarlet, etc. Even Florence had a male love interest, which is ridiculous. Then in Quests, we got Fifer x Dev, Thisbe x Rohan, Seth x Prindi, plus all of the couples I mentioned above. 

So, looking back on everything I said: I liked the plot a lot, but I don’t like the way some of the characters and romances were handled. I also think a huge problem is that Lisa just had too many characters. Fifer, Thisbe, Aaron, Dev, Rohan, and Seth were all in the center of focus, but there were awesome characters from the original series like Lani, Samheed, Carina, Sean, Kaylee, Sky, Crow, Claire, Henry, and Thatcher that were all sidelined, as well as new characters like Clementi, Asha, and Ibrahim that were sidelined as well. I enjoyed reading it, but there was a lot that could have been improved.

[lightningstorm003]

There's still people in this fandom??? Beautiful art OP

Happy Purge Week!

(This is my first time drawing them with the white streaks in their hair yippee!!!)

[styrofauxm]

Dragon Fury(actual, “not” rant-y) review with spoilers(duh)

Okay. Okay, I think I’ve got this. This review will be what I set out for it to be, not 2 paragraphs of poorly-spelled rambling about a single event. I swear.

So, good things. It starts right off with action. Always a good sign. I’d say the action throughout the book is pretty good. How the addressing the ramifications of Thisbe and the Revinir’s relationship was approached was good. I kind of wish we had seen more of it in Slayers because I had assumed it was one sided based on that. But still, I loved how Thisbe’s character was explored through it. 

Also, the Revinir’s death was so good. And the buildup to it was better. Especially even more character development for Aaron. 

And the afterlife scene. Mr. Today and Aaron’s reconciliation was all I could have asked for. I was crying two pages into that chapter, but sobbing by the end. I can normally read through tears, but I couldn’t see the page at that point. Just...the world and journey being over was so sad. (Side note, if the statues are technically immortal, and even if the mage dies they don’t go to the land of dead (as seen with Simber’s description), which means that Simber, Spike, and more will never reunite with Marcus and Alex and that’s so sad)

Top on my list of things I didn’t like was Fifer and Dev. I just hate it so so so much. The paragraph (and all books) before said that Fifer didn’t care about romance, so it was so annoying in that way. I’m well used to the female protagonist suddenly falling in love for no reason, but the “but now she does” normally doesn’t come right after the heavy aro/ace coding (by an author who knows what aro/ace is especially)

I also wish that Simber’s role was more explored. His arc was going so beautifully, then it was all but forgotten except as a plot device. His turmoil is never really resolved.

The last thing that I wished for in this series (but it wouldn’t have really worked in the book) was that the last volcano path led to “our” world. Then we could have had them all going there and Kaylee being judgmental while everyone is confused.

Overall, I thought it was really good. Some things could have been better, but I really liked it. 

[artimeanatheart]

Aaron Character Analysis-Quests Book Seven Part One

By the time the beginning of this book rolls around, Aaron has been through it. The original series wasn't easy on him, but what he went through in it was mostly his own fault. In this series, though, he gets additional trauma from outside sources.

Deserving of Redemption

"'Are you alright?' Florence looked Aaron over, then checked his wounds. She started pulling medicine out of her waist pouch. 'I'll manage,' Aaron said. 'How is Fifer?'"

Aaron is so devastated in this book.  Everything he's been through in this series is finally catching up to him and it's just too much.  He hasn't fully processed Alex's death, let alone the disaster that was his time as head mage and Ishibashi's death. All of the characters in this series went through a lot, but it felt like every major devastating event impacted Aaron personally in some way.  Fifer getting injured and Thisbe getting captured at the end of Dragon Captives put him in the position of having to worry about his sisters while also trying to support his brother.  Alex dying, beyond the sheer pain that we know comes from a twin dying, put Aaron in the position of head mage, which he didn't want and wasn't happy in.  People in Artime still hated him so much that it led to a civil war, during which he almost died of dehydration and he had his character questioned repeatedly.  Then Thisbe 'betrayed' them and he feels like it's somehow his fault (and others wonder as well).  And finally Ishibashi-his mentor, his support system, the person who believed in him when no one else did-dies.  It's enough to make anyone break, let alone someone with as much previous trauma as Aaron.

"Aaron frowned. He'd cautiously begun to believe her. . .up until this moment. What was she hiding? He knew that shifty-eyed look. He'd done it himself countless times. There was still something big Thisbe was keeping from them. Something sinister. How much of her story was true? And how much was a trick?"

All things considered, he handled it pretty well. His main problem in this book was that he was struggling to forgive Thisbe. He would have forgiven her easily if she had actually betrayed them. But she didn't. That's hard for him to wrap his head around, on top of the trauma over losing Ishibashi (psst. . .it's the autism). He also blames himself for Ishibashi's death and doesn't know how to handle that so he's trying to put some of the blame on Thisbe, even though he knows it's not her fault. Part of it is also that he can tell that she's still hiding something, holding something back. He saw too much of his younger self in her to not think that, even though she didn't betray them, she might be tempted to in the future. But really, none of it's about Thisbe: it's about himself. Because he's projecting onto Thisbe, his feelings towards himself bleed over onto her. He can't forgive Thisbe because he can't forgive himself. Even though Thisbe has done nothing she needs forgiveness for and Aaron has already earned forgiveness a thousand times over.

"He glanced at Thisbe, and his expression darkened. The two still hadn't really had it out. He knew he was overreacting-being unreasonably harsh on her, now that she'd explained everything. But Ishibashi's death stood between them like a roadblock on their relationship. He was trying to forgive her for making such a grave mistake that led to Ishibashi's death, but it wasn't easy."

Aaron also knows that he's being unfair to Thisbe. He's an idiot, but he's a self-aware idiot. He's aware that he needs some time and peace and quiet to sort through his emotions and that if he tried to talk to Thisbe now there's a good chance he'd make things worse between them. That's the last thing they need before going into a huge battle. This self-awareness is something Aaron's always had that I talked about in the original series, but it becomes especially pronounced post-redemption arc. Aaron is always checking in on himself and trying to identify his emotions and watching his thoughts. It originated as a way to keep an eye on himself, to make sure that he wasn't regressing, but I think he's also realized that being aware of his emotions is just a healthy thing in general.

"Thisbe looked coolly at Aaron. She'd apologized. And while she was sick with sorrow over it, she refused to harbor the blame that Aaron seemed to want to assign to her."

But while Aaron may be aware of his emotions, very few others are. And when he does verbally explain his emotions to the people around him, I think they have trouble realizing the depth of those emotions. Aaron doesn't like being vulnerable; it's a really uncomfortable thing for him. However, he often ends up in situations where he has to be vulnerable. What this means is that, when he does share things about how he's feeling, it often comes out in a very rehearsed way. Maybe because he has rehearsed it many times in his head to make it easier to say. Like he's reading a script rather than baring his soul. It's helpful for Aaron but makes it harder for others to see the deep emotions behind his words. I think this might be why characters like Fifer and Thisbe don't fully realize the extent of Aaron's turmoil until he's put in a situation where he's vulnerable with them unexpectedly, where he didn't have time to rehearse what he was going to say.

And that happens in the scene where he reconciles with Thisbe.

"She [Thisbe] struggled to stand, then moved gingerly a few steps away from her brother-she just didn't want to talk to him right now. Would he blame her for the cat's disfigurement next? Hold that against her too? How hypocritical that would be. But Aaron didn't say anything like that. In fact, he seemed to be wrestling with his own thoughts."

The build-up to that scene is great. On the one hand, we have Thisbe, who thinks he's being hypocritical for how he's judging both her and the Revinir, and calls him on it. On the other hand we have Aaron, who is much more upset with himself than he is with either of them (well, maybe only a touch more upset with himself than he is with the Revinir). It's not that he doesn't see the similarities between his situation and the Revinir's; it's that he can't see the difference. Aaron doesn't understand why he deserved a second chance at life when the Revinir doesn't. He thinks he wasn't worth saving.

"But Thisbe wasn't about to challenge him on that when there was so much more to say. 'People saw glimpses of something good inside of you once too, Aaron-after you'd done some pretty unspeakable things. So my question for you is: How can you not at least consider pardoning the Revinir after almost everyone pardoned you?' Aaron recoiled. The silence among the three Stowes and Simber was deafening."

Throughout all of Quests, Aaron is constantly thinking about how he 'deserves' to suffer and how Ishibashi gave him a chance when he didn't 'deserve' it. And really, are the things he did all that different than the things the Revinir has done? He killed a beloved head mage of Artime and an old person sacrificed themself to save someone from the attack of a dangerous creature. So did the Revinir. He orchestrated the takeover of a country and expected complete obedience from the country's people, killing or enslaving any who didn't follow him. So did she. So when Thisbe asks what's different from people having sympathy for him and her having sympathy for the Revinir, what's different between Aaron's situation and the Revinir's, Aaron is silent. He doesn't know. We also see his feelings on this in how little concern he places for his own physical well-being. He's constantly downplaying the severity of his wounds or pushing through the pain to ensure his family is safe. He doesn't need the medicine. Other people deserve it more. Aaron's glad he was saved but he doesn't think he was worth saving in the first place.

"After a long moment, Simber spoke up. 'Aarrron was worrrth forrrgivinng because he was sorrry forrr what he'd done. And the Rrrevinirrr isn't sorrry and she isn't stopping. That's the differrrence.'"

So, why was Aaron worth saving when the Revinir/Eagala/Emma needs to die? Simber gives part of the answer: Aaron felt bad for what he'd done. Even as he was doing it, he could recognize when he went too far. He was shaking after he killed Mr. Today. He sent his father to the Ancients Sector but immediately sent Eva to get him back. He had a literal panic attack after Eva died. One of the first things Ishibashi identified in Aaron was that he felt shame for what he had done. The Revinir feels none of that. She's proud of killing Alex and Ishibashi. She digs into her domination of everyone under her when Thisbe leaves her. She can't imagine that she did anything that would have made Thisbe leave her. She's completely set in her ways while Aaron always had a sliver of doubt that made him redeemable.

"'But she was a little girl once, with feelings, and people hurt her. And that's what turned her into this monster, I think. So I care about the person she was. And I felt like I saw glimpses of that person when I was stuck i the castle with her, trying to trick her.'"

The other thing that makes Aaron redeemable and the Revinir not is the fact that Aaron was a child when he did those things. The Revinir is a full grown dragon-woman. I know I've talked about it before, but I'll say it again: this whole series does not treat children the same as adults. Children will make mistakes. It's part of growing up. A child or teenager should still be held accountable for their actions, but they are also in a situation where they are so malleable by the situations around them that the mistakes they do make can be forgiven. Aaron was fourteen when he killed Mr. Today. That's a ninth grader. We don't condemn children for the actions they take. Adults, though? That's different. That holds true in the world of the Unwanteds too.

"'That has nothing to do with what you just confessed!' said Aaron. 'This dragon-woman killed our brother! She has to be eliminated!'"

Then there's the catalyst for the scene with Thisbe, which is the above quote. First off, poor choice of words. It does make sense that under this extremely stressful situation, Aaron would default back to using phrasing he grew up with. Because trauma. Aaron also has every right to want the Revinir dead. She killed his 'soulmate' brother and the person who was 'more than just a parent' to him. Except. I don't think that's quite what he's saying here. If his anger towards Thisbe and the Revinir is really more about himself, than wouldn't it make sense that this is too? He's not really saying that the Revinir deserves to be eliminated; he's saying that he does. This choice of words can mean two different things. One: he thinks he deserves to die for what he did. He didn't think he deserved to be saved, so the next logical step in thinking is that he deserved die, whether on the rocky shores of the Island of Shipwrecks or in some attack in the desert land of Quill. And thing number two: he thinks he deserves to be eliminated in the sense that the Unwanteds were eliminated. He wishes so deeply that he had been Purged alongside his brother. He wishes that he had been made an Unwanted with the rest of his friends. And that interpretation makes the upcoming scene in the last chapter of the series even more impactful.

"'But the thing is, I was the 'bad' twin my whole life, and to some people I still am, as you know so well. And I thought that maybe you, too, Thisbe-that you had some level of deviousness inside you. And I felt like that was my fault. So it was more than me judging you, or being mad at you. It was me. . .being mad at me.' His tears rand down too. 'I felt like I'd failed again.' Thisbe sucked in a breath and blew it out, long and low. 'Wow,' she said. 'You said something like that in the moment before I turned to cast the first obliterate spell at the Revinir. But I didn't get it then. And I never understood how hard you were on yourself until now. But let me tell you, I get it now. In a big way.' She shook her head. 'Sheesh, Aaron. Do you think you'll ever be able to just be carefree and happy?'. . . Aaron pressed his lips together and glanced from one sister to the other. 'I don't know,' he admitted. 'But a few things have changed recently. And. . .I'm going to try.'"

So anyways, Thisbe calls Aaron out and they finally talk through things. They both needed this. He needed Thisbe to call him out.  And she needed to hear why he was actually upset.  That scene where he was explaining how he felt like he'd failed again was so important, and I'm mostly going to let it speak for itself. Talking to people about what he's feeling has been something that he's been struggling with a lot throughout the series.  And Fifer and Thisbe finally see what Aaron's been going through. Aaron needed to talk to someone in order to take steps in forgiving himself. He doesn't know if he will ever be able to, but he's willing to try. We also don't need to see much of that process of him trying and eventually forgiving himself. We've spent fourteen books with Aaron. We know him well enough by now to know that, when he sets his mind to something, he'll do it.

"Aaron couldn't speak either. A trickle of blood from the cut on his head dripped onto his shirt, staining it. Thisbe took a deep breath and tried again. 'I just want you to know that I love you. I really love you so much, like more than anything. And I want us to be close again like we were before.' Aaron's chin trembled. He wiped the blood away and pressed his lips together. 'I love you, too.'"

A small detail that I like about that scene was the blood trickling down Aaron's head.  It's reminiscent on his forehead when he washed up on the Island of Shipwrecks.  The wounds from his time in Quill and what he did are bleeding again.  But then he wipes the blood away, right before telling Thisbe that he loves her.  That, to me, symbolizes him being ready to forgive himself.  He's wiping away his self-hate to begin anew.

"'I want to go to the funeral,' Aaron said after a while. 'Will you. . .help me?' Samheed pressed his lips together, determined not to break down again. The he nodded. 'Yeah, of course.' The two held each other's gaze for a moment. Then Samheed whispered, 'I'm sorry about everything.' Aaron nodded, the lump in his throat growing thicker. 'Me too,' he said."

One of the first ways this happens is with his reconciliation with Samheed. I wish we'd gotten a better build-up to this throughout this book or the previous one, or that it had been given more time on page, but I'll take what we got. It was so nice to see these two characters, who have been at odds since the very first book of the series, finally getting along. I love the part where Samheed helps Aaron get to the funeral at Alex's grave. It's a nice circular moment for all three characters. Aaron was the source of the original conflict between Alex and Samheed, but that eventually led the two of them to having a stronger connection. And now it's Alex's turn, in memory, to bring Samheed and Aaron together.

"'Yes. All of us. We are forever bonded together by this moment. And if anything ever happens to any of us, we can all look back at this instant, in the midst of battle, along the shore of the crater lake, and know with full certainty and peace that we are good.' Thisbe smiled, then blew out a breath. 'Thank you.' 'And do you know what else?' said Aaron. 'What?' asked Thisbe. 'Alex and you are good, too.' Thisbe felt her heart thud. She'd longed for those words, knowing she'd never find out the answer. 'How could you possibly know that?' Aaron's crooked grin made a rare appearance, and he tapped his chest. 'That's just how it is with twins.'"

Look at the bond between these brothers, still playing an important role in the series five books after one of them died. Oh, the Stowe siblings. They're all so different but they all share a couple of common traits. They're all stubborn to a fault. They're all super dramatic (yes, even Aaron, though he's quieter about it these days than the other three). They all hold onto guilt over their mistakes for far too long after they make them. And they cherish their sibling bonds. They will fight tooth and nail to maintain and reestablish the love between them that brings all four of them such joy and comfort. There's a reason that the emotional climax of this book was where the four of them (yes, including Alex, through Aaron) reaffirmed the bond between them. They will always be siblings. They will always love each other. They will stand by each other past the end. They are the epitome of the phrase I am with you.

Tap a fist to your chest for Alex, Aaron, Fifer, and Thisbe Stowe everyone.

[lanihaluki]

Hi I’ve come to the conclusion that after reading (1) paragraph of Dragon Fire, Fifer Stowe is aro/ace thanks for coming to my ted talk

[quippip]

My Complete Unwanteds Quest Family Tree Theory

??? + ???

⬇️

Maiven and sibling

Maiven + ???

⬇️

Mrs. Stowe

Mrs. Stowe + Mr. Stowe

⬇️

The four Stowe children

And

Maiven’s sibling + ???

⬇️

One of Dev’s parents

Dev’s mother + Dev’s father

⬇️

Dev

Theory in words rather than diagram:

I beleive Maiven has at least one sibling. Maiven and her sibling(s) each had at least one child. I believe Thisbe, Fifer, Alex, and Aaron are Maiven’s grandchildren. I beleive Dev is a grandchild of Maiven’s sibling, making him Fifer and Thisbe’s cousin.