#king falls theories

[anistarrose]

[ID from alt:

photo of a man in an old-timey newspaper, captioned: "My Hole Could Be Yours"

a photo of black goat with big horns and a clown nose, asking: "Wouldst thou like to live ridiculously?"

a textbook style scientific diagram of the layers of skin. different parts are labeled: "ew," "yuck," "awful," "hate it," "no," "the worst," "gross," "horrible"

a paragraph titled "Secret Menu," reading: "Go to any burger restaurant. Order a "King's Despair." When they say they've never heard of a "King's Despair," tell them "The Lord is Displeased!" and stroke your chin 3 times. They will click their heels and say "Good sir!" and bring you one incredibly massive fry the length and width of a champion lumberjack's arm. This fry is yours to eat, but if you ever tell anyone about this, the store will disappear and never come back." Below is a photo of a fast-food worker, presenting you a fry the size of an arm with a tiny drizzle of ketchup on it.

edited menu from an image editing software. the options read: free transform, scale, rotate, skew, torture mentally, torture physically, remove intestines, stab vertically, stab horizontally, chop into pieces, put in garbage bag, wash hands, put garbage bag in river, the river is quiet, the river keeps its secrets, no one will know, rotate 180, rotate 18000, rotate until time reverses, do a backflip!, wheee!

End ID.]

so basically, the majority of The Book of Bill is indistinguishable from tumblr shitposts

[azural83]

The "king is bill's reincarnation" theory becomes really wholesome when you consider that he ends up with a loving mother after losing scalene

[mattiebluebird]

Now truth is just another part of the supply/demand market. Whatever truth you want, you can find someone who will sell it to you.

(Code: lies)

Couldn't outrun life's regrets, / Just kept placing bigger bets. / Changed his haircut, switched hotels-- / Truth is just whatever sells.

(Code: Stanley)

Me when the parallels are paralleling

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

So I don't really have a concrete theory or anything, but...

Dany dreams she is fighting the "usurper's rebel host" (aka Robert Baratheon's army) but these icy enemies are obviously Others; see how they melt away the way Ser Puddles did when Sam killed him.

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened. She woke suddenly in the darkness of her cabin, still flush with triumph. Balerion seemed to wake with her, and she heard the faint creak of wood, water lapping against the hull, a footfall on the deck above her head. And something else.

Dany III, ASOS

In a later Jon chapter, in the very same book, an "enemy" bursts into the fray to scatter the wildlings. This enemy is a Baratheon king - Stannis. This Baratheon king claims to be the legendary Azor Ahai, but he's not (Dany is, "the dragons prove it").

Trumpets were blowing all around, loud and brazen. The wildlings have no trumpets, only warhorns. They knew that as well as he did; the sound sent free folk running in confusion, some toward the fighting, others away. A mammoth was stomping through a flock of sheep that three men were trying to herd off west. The drums were beating as the wildlings ran to form squares and lines, but they were too late, too disorganized, too slow. The enemy was emerging from the forest, from the east, the northeast, the north; three great columns of heavy horse, all dark glinting steel and bright wool surcoats. Not the men of Eastwatch, those had been no more than a line of scouts. An army. The king? Jon was as confused as the wildlings. Could Robb have returned? Had the boy on the Iron Throne finally bestirred himself?

Jon X, ASOS

I find it interesting that Jon initially thinks it's his brother, a military commander with a near spotless record, coming to rescue him. Then thinks that it should be the king on the iron throne; he's expecting a boy, but it's wasn't a boy who came.

I think that we're going to see a repeat of this in ADOS, with Dany as the real Azor Ahai and king coming to rescue Jon. Upon hearing that the Others have come and receiving Watch's call for aid, Dany will immediately choose to go North. Think of Stannis saying:

"Yes, I should have come sooner. If not for my Hand, I might not have come at all. Lord Seaworth is a man of humble birth, but he reminded me of my duty, when all I could think of was my rights. I had the cart before the horse, Davos said. I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne.” Stannis pointed north. “There is where I’ll find the foe that I was born to fight.”

Jon XI, ASOS

Also notice how Dany's Trident dream alludes to a fated battle involving icy monsters.

This is all just conjecture right now but, Jon's chapter has Stannis breaking the wildling siege on Castle Black. In Jon's (obviously prophetic) ADWD dream, he's besieged by a wildling host who turn out to be Others/wights - this dream is literally a play by play of the battle at Castle Black; like to a tee, it's crazy. Jon is fighting alone in that dream, just as he was alone among the wildlings before Stannis came.

So my thinking is Jon gets besieged and he is fighting alone, in need of a helper.....

They are all gone. They have abandoned me. Burning shafts hissed upward, trailing tongues of fire. Scarecrow brothers tumbled down, black cloaks ablaze. “Snow,” an eagle cried, as foemen scuttled up the ice like spiders. Jon was armored in black ice, but his blade burned red in his fist. As the dead men reached the top of the Wall he sent them down to die again.

Jon XII, ADWD

...then enter Daenerys, who is above all a savior.

“But,” Prince Aegon said, “without Daenerys and her dragons, how could we hope to win?” “You do not need to win,” Tyrion told him. “All you need to do is raise your banners, rally your supporters, and hold, until Daenerys arrives to join her strength to yours.” “You said she might not have me.” “Perhaps I overstated. She may take pity on you when you come begging for her hand.” The dwarf shrugged. “Do you want to wager your throne upon a woman’s whim? Go to Westeros, though … ah, then you are a rebel, not a beggar. Bold, reckless, a true scion of House Targaryen, walking in the footsteps of Aegon the Conqueror. A dragon. “I told you, I know our little queen. Let her hear that her brother Rhaegar’s murdered son is still alive, that this brave boy has raised the dragon standard of her forebears in Westeros once more, that he is fighting a desperate war to avenge his father and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen, hard-pressed on every side … and she will fly to your side as fast as wind and water can carry her. You are the last of her line, and this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer.

Tyrion VI, ADWD

Dany dreams her fight is for the iron throne, but she is obviously fighting the Others. Tyrion thinks Dany is coming to rescue Rhaegar's son in his bid for the Iron Throne, but she will rescue him as he fights to save the world (and not doom it with more war). Notice how Jon atop the Wall dons house Targaryen's colors. Notice how he too is symbolized with Azor Ahai imagery, waving a beacon to light Dany's way. It's Aegon the Conqueror reversed. Dany's not here not for the throne. She's here to fulfill a prophecy, which Aegon never did.

TL;DR

Dany will save Jon while he's besieged by the Others :)

(small rant below)

This initially started as a post talking about Dany the war commander and kinda morphed into something else....

But it's funny to me that when people talk about the war for the dawn, it's always Jon and/or Bran who are made to be the natural war commanders or battle planners. And that's not a bad thing...but neither one of them has experience planning for and staging pitched battles. Bran has zero military experience to begin with and didn't receive the same education that Robb did. People assume that he'll be the commander because his skinchanging can be used for reconnaissance and thus battle command, but the one who canonically uses their skinchanging to spy on enemy troops and use the intel is Jon.

Jon, on the other hand, has battle experience but he was defending against a siege and not leading a fight in an open field. And that's not to say that he would be a bad tactician. He did an incredible job in ASOS defending the wall and ADWD also shows us that he can come up with intelligent plans on the fly. Anyway, aren't we told that people get stuck in their castles starving and with nowhere to go? Jon has experience leading sieges so he's the most suited for that. But he's not the most suited for breaking sieges and leading open battles because he doesn't have experience doing so.

DANY is the one who actually has experience as a more well rounded military commander. It's literally in her name: Daenerys, the sacker of cities. She has a spotless record as a military/war leader in Essos. That's Robb Stark level of prodigious ability, yet she does not get nearly enough respect in fandom. Robb will often get touted as one of the top commanders, even making top three/five for a lot of people, but doesn't Dany have similar stats and way more disadvantages? Shouldn't she be up there too? So out of anyone, shouldn't she be the war commander?

I was just annoyed that she has this insane record overturning enemy lines and breaking sieges and no ever talks about how that invaluable skill can be used against the Others. It's always "someone else will command her to go here and do this and do that". When talking about what looks like a war of attrition, why is no one mentioning the human battering ram being the key to success?? Feelsbadman :(

[wkngsnds]

I really like the idea that while in the human realm, Bill is this horrifying and eldritch like terror

But in the witch realm, he’s just a little guy. At worst, he’s a prankster and kind of annoying. Occasionally incites riots among the kid witches, gives migraines to a few adult witches a week. Gets along great with King.

[billygoat26]

Edit: this is me being late to the party. Enjoy.

WAIT

WAIT WAIT WAIT

Bill is gonna be reborn in a different form in a different time

Bill and King have the same voice

Powerful

Weird

I might be grasping at straws here but…

What if Bill got “reborn” as King from The Owl House?

it’s a different form and probably a different time, right?

[crafty705]

Happy year of the dragon y’all :D

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Bonus comic and textless version below cut:

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Comic:

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Textless version:

[inahandful-of-dust]

I have a question. Today's was the second episode we got that was named after one of the lines referencing the rings - the ones specifically important for that episode, of course.

Does this mean in this season we are going to get something like Doomed to Die? Or To Rule them All? In the Darkness?

Because if Doomed to Die, or any title with the word Doom, is the title of the episode of the Fall of Eregion and Celebrimbor's death, I'm going to unironically lose my mind, and not in the fun way. In the Eternal Despair way.

In case you are confused: the Doom (of Mandos) was a huge thing back before the Sun and Moon were created, post-Darkening and, among other things, said a bunch of elves would end up dying in terrible ways - Yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief.

Additionally, in case someone needed to review it, I'm putting the Rings' poem under the cut.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

[somefandomquote]

“So make no plans and none can be broken”

Parasite (2019) // Fake Out - Fall Out Boy

[nicohate]

thinking abt if nico retained his og personality he would’ve been semi (at least) comic relief for sure

[transiconlink]

discussing fandom on Reddit and discussing fandom on tumblr are two completely different playing fields. it’s not even funny. you’ll see the most incredible theory or take on specific niche lore in fandom on tumblr, complemented by some brilliant commentary in the replies, and Reddit fandom is just “hey remember when THIS happened?” And it’s the same screenshot that’s been reposted multiple times with nothing new added to it.

[ficretus]

Theory: Interpreting RWBY's Indecisive King as Joan of Arc story and implications of it

Looking at Indecisive King story I've noticed major similarities it has with Joan of Arc story. When I say Joan of Arc story here, I am referring to initial portion of it, from her childhood to meeting the King Charles VII (who will from now on be referred to as Dauphin) at Chinon castle. In this theory I'll break down those similarities, what characters they potentially reference in the show, and what future event do they potentially facilitate.

First of all, what is Indecisive King story? It's one of the in universe RWBY fairy tales dealing with Relic, Crown of Choice. There is a wise King that is always able to solve problems of his subjects. One day he was approached by grieving Widow who lost her husband, village and will to live due to a Grimm attack. King told her to continue living and offered her stay in his castle. Some time later, King was given Crown by mysterious admirer. When he put it on he deteriorated into mess, unable to perform his duties or give advice to his subjects due to being burdened by visions of future seen due to the Crown. Nobody was able to help him and he got rid off all of his advisors. He was eventually approached by Widow, who he no longer recognized. She offered to put the Crown on her head, but instead of terrible future, she saw King proposing her. She gave him the same advice he gave her, instead of worrying about the future, he should live. King's issues are resolved and they lived happily ever after.

What are the similarities between this story and initial portion of Joan of Arc story? First of all, similar protagonist. Both Joan and Widow were peasant women giving advice to the king. When she was 13, Joan's village was sacked, similar to the Widow. In aftermath of that incident she saw Archangel Michael for the first time, breaking down in tears and begging him to take her with him. This is once again similar to the Widow, both losing their will to live. Joan is encouraged by Michael, who informs her that she'll be contacted by two more voices, giving her purpose in life. When time came, she is instructed by voices to go to Chinon and meet the King. Dauphin by that point was losing all confidence in his abilities and future. While he wasn't literally burdened by crown unlike Indecisive king, he bears symbolic burden. Crown has granted him power, but it also put him in endless war against England and Burgundy, which he has been losing for years. So both kings were granted power (knowledge is power after all) in exchange for massive burden that kept pressing them. Dauphin is also commonly referred to as indecisive. Joan encouraged and inspired him, staying in his castle before departing for Orleans, winning the battle. Eventually, Charles would win Hundred Years' War, making their meeting the turning point of the war. Once again, similarity with Indecisive King story: peasant woman gave an advice and "saved" the King, helped where his many advisors couldn't.

What are the flaws with this comparison.

A) Widow was given advice by King and helped him using the very same advice. Joan is helped by Archangel Michael, so it's not 1:1 since it's not the same advice between two individuals. Way I see it, you can argue that Joan was given purpose through the King, so it still somewhat works. Archangel Michael was also Dauphin's patron saint, so that's another plausible read

B) Different resolution to the story. Widow and King married and lived happily ever after. This doesn't work for Joan for obvious reasons, being both virgin and martyr. Her relationship with Dauphin was also purely platonic, even described as sibling-like. I suspect that these are not bugs, but features of the story. These changes are subversions of Joan of Arc story that will play major role later in the story.

C) Crown has different role at the end. King shared the Crown with Widow before sealing it away for good. Obsessing over the future is not good, hence Crown is also not good. On the other hand, Charles must embrace the crown and his role as the king. Joan's mission was to bring him to Rheims so he can be properly crowned as French king. Although once again this can be seen as parallel because Crown of Choice inhibited Indecisive King's capacity to rule, hence he wasn't the true king until Widow helped him take it off.

Ok, time to move on to RWBY's Joan, Jaune Arc. So Jaune=Joan, Joan=Widow, logic would imply Widow=Jaune. Does that make sense? I'd say it does. Both Jaune and Widow dealt with loss of their partner and home due to Grimm attack which made them lose their will to live. However, Jaune's story is incomplete, so there aren't many further connections. So, not a lot, but connection is strong enough in my book.

So Widow=Joan=Jaune, which would make Indecisive King=Dauphin=person X. Who is person X? Time to get unhinged, I'd say person X is Cinder. Let me explain:

For Cinder to be person X, she needs to fit as both Indecisive King and Dauphin. Let's start with the King.

Most obvious part is that Relic of Choice is Cinder's relic since she is Fall Maiden. So both Cinder and King are Crown's rightful owners. This could change, since Cinder could die, making someone else the Crown's guardian, but I'd be pretty surprised if show decides to kill off Cinder before this point of the story.

Now for bit controversial interpretation of events, did Cinder help Jaune by telling him to live? Yes, in very indirect and pretty evil way. Jaune confronted her with intent of sacrificing himself to hold her off. At that point of the story he saw no value in his well being. Instead of killing him, Cinder decides to "play" with him. She can kill him at any point of the encounter and it would be pretty beneficial to her since she can turn on other remaining fighters as well, yet chooses not to. Be it sadism, arrogance or some kind of pity. Even when Jaune came pretty close to hitting her and nicked her mask, she lashed out on Weiss instead. By doing so, she forced Jaune to awaken his Semblance and find his purpose again. So it kind of works as Indecisive King parallel.

Next, is Cinder surrounded by advisors who cannot help her and that end up pushed away? Once again, yes. She never opened up to anyone and puts on a mask (both literal and symbolic) to hide her insecurities. As a result, she creates unsolvable problem and pushes away those around her who cannot resolve it as a result. At the current point of the story, Cinder is completely isolated (Emerald left, Mercury distanced herself from her, and she literally threw Neo off the edge of the cliff) facing the looming disaster.

Speaking of said problems, does Cinder deal with impossible future problem with no solution? Yes, although that's not explicitly stated or shown. Think about it logically, let's say Cinder enters the Vault and finds the Crown and puts it on her head, what will she see? Here is little flowchart of possible events.

Gee, look at that bright future with variety of the outcomes. What is your favorite? On more serious note, there is no future in which Cinder wins. She is slowly turning into Grimm and Salem has shown before she can easily force her on the floor with minimal effort. As time goes she will turn more and more into a Grimm, making control even easier, eventually becoming Hound 2.0. So she cannot rebel and futures in which she has all powers are meaningless. And just as likely is she to take all of them, she is likely to die trying. In every major story portion she almost died. So just like King, she'll arrive at crossroad of impossible choices. There is of course choice that can save her, but she is unable to see it, just like King was until Widow helped him.

Direct quote from animated version of the story:

"We have clearly seen vastly different visions. What this cursed crown has shown me is a distant crossroads, one with no solution, no way out that doesn't end in a disaster!"

I feel like that's enough examples for Cinder=Indecisive King, I need to justify other part of the equation. Is Cinder king Dauphin? Once again I'd say yes.

Let's start with his childhood: Dauphin grew up in hotel Saint Pol, royal residence at the time. He had 2 older siblings that were meant to be heirs, he himself was suppose to be just a duke. He had troubled relationship with his mother, depending on the version, she was either neglectful or actively hated him (and ruined him). Eventually, his elder brothers died and he became an heir. He ended up in factional clash with duke of Burgundy. When he was 15, he ran away from his royal residence, to which he would never return. His men ended up murdering duke of Burgundy after tricking him into meeting them. This soured relationship between Dauphin and his father, who first ended up disinheriting him, before eventually declared him an outlaw.

Let's break down the similarities. First of all, both were raised in hotel they'd end up permanently leaving when they were 15. Both have bad relationship with their mother (adoptive one in Cinder's case). Both were trained to fulfil the role played by their paternal figure (Dauphin named as an heir/Rhodes training Cinder to become a Huntress). In both cases paternal role turned on them after they committed somewhat justified but morally wrong act (duke of Burgundy was responsible for Charles's uncle death, potentially even his siblings' and wanted to control him). Said paternal figure then cut their association with them and declared them an outlaw.

Childhood part mostly checks out, moving on to Dauphin post escape. He runs away to territories held by queen dowager Yolande of Aragon (who held the title Queen of four kingdoms). She became massive influence on him. After his father died, Dauphin proclaimed himself the King. However, this proclamation didn't hold much weight since there was another pretender, child King Henry VI and since Dauphin didn't hold Rheims, traditional coronation location of French kings. Dauphin married Yolande's daughter Marie during the ceremony. He had initial successes against English and Burgundians, but was eventually pushed back and faced imminent danger once his enemies moved to siege Orleans (after which he met Joan, but that's besides the point).

Once again, pretty much all of these points hold true for Cinder. Just like Dauphin took refuge in Yolande's land, Cinder entered Salem's service after she was proclaimed fugitive (both women are widows with immense power, Salem might as well be queen of 4 kingdoms in RWBY). Both got heavily influenced by their new maternal figure, although Yolande was mostly positive influence on Dauphin unlike Salem on Cinder. Dauphin's semi legitimate proclamation of royal power matches Cinder two fold: first she took half of maiden power becoming Fall Maiden pretender. But after she took all of it, she still lacks the Relic (which is out of her reach) just like Dauphin was King without the crown. This one might be bit of a reach, but I equate Dauphin's marriage with Marie to Cinder's grimmification. Grimm are effectively Salem's children, and both events take place during their proclamation of power. Cinder also triumphs early but finds less and less success as the story continues.

I won't go further into Dauphin's story since we'd soon enter into completely speculative territory. But safe to say, Cinder more than enough matches Charles for me to pull Cinder=Dauphin=Indecisive King.

Ok, so we identified the main characters, what now? How do things go from here? Well let me throw some theories based on this.

THEORY 1: Knightfall route

I am neither first nor last to connect Indecisive King with knightfall so I'll be brief.

Cinder and Jaune will meet in the final vault. Cinder will be completely lost by that point, realizing futility of her quest for power. Jaune will help her see the future in which she is happy. Instead of endless power, she finds love. This is subversion of Joan of Arc story Indecisive King story does. Instead of Joan ending up as virgin martyr, she'll live happily ever after with the king (although words "Jaune" and "happiness" seem like impossible combination).

THEORY 2: Redemption but not forgiveness

This theory focuses on intention of advice, rather than resolution of the story. Cinder's "you need to live" likely wasn't with good intentions. She wanted to see him suffer since she knew that killing someone with no will to live is pointless. Jaune's advice to Cinder at the end will be the same. Cinder will realize futility of her quest for power and beg Jaune to kill her, so she can right the wrongs. Jaune will refuse since he won't allow her easy way out, making it clear he won't let her die until she cleaned up all the mess she made during the story.

What do you think? Any interpretations or details I missed?

[anthurak]

Either Cinde is going to be a Grimm-human hybrid. Or she is going to have enough of Salem and snap in one last blaze, giving the two Relics to Mercury. But, she would be not doing it for the sake of the world. To summarize my theory of how Cinder's character arc might end.

The thing to remember here is that Cinder ends Volume 8 wrapped TIGHT around Salem's finger. Salem proved in Volume 8 (specifically in the episode Midnight) that she has Cinder dancing obediently to her tune like a perfect puppet. And Cinder does not recognize this in the SLIGHTEST.

I think at this point the only thing that could break Salem's meticulously emotional and psychological control over Cinder is the point where Salem completes Cinder's unwitting transformation into a Grimm-hybrid and gives her the 'Your usefulness to me is at an end' speech.

Followed in turn by a purification via Silver Eyes.

In order to be truly free of Salem, I think Cinder is going to need to be utterly broken all the way down to her very foundations.

[lemonduckisnowawake]

To be honest, horror stuff always gets cheapened and cringe when they add Christianity into it. Like, my man, you do not need to give me some idiotic afterlife theology loosely based in Christian mythos and ruin the decent scares you had going there.

[assblastergaster]

the finale was absolutely fantastic :') was an excellent and intelligent way to end the series in a way that honored what they could do and gave respect to what they couldn't.

personally, i think they did the absolute best work they could do.

i will mourn for the loss of some obvious content—clawthorne/belos connection, collector development, backstory on titans/archivists, more information on magic—but the team did such an amazing job that it feels satisfying enough without all of that.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

Fall Countdown Day 2: Midas

Not what I'd expected in that I had expected he'd present as Good or more Everish. Again, a potential Rhian love-interest candidate.

Ok, I really appreciate the likely intentional Hamlet reference! Love it. The skull that he looks at, so morbid. All related to the brevity of human life, the fleeting nature of life, that old memento mori theme. I bet he will be a strong carrier of that mortality theme in the book.

"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times."

This reminds me of how Rafal figuratively supports Rhian. Alas, poor Yorick! But really, in this context: Alas, poor Rhian and Rafal!

Even the greatest, most powerful people one day die and are buried beneath the earth, to be feasted upon by the worms. Hamlet has the best wit. I loved his “mad” dialogue when I read the play. Anyway, for the purposes of Fall, we all end up in the same place. Physically interred, underground.

And, of course, we're getting imperial Roman vibes from this picture. Midas also has the potential to single-handedly shoulder the themes of greed or avarice in Fall, according to the original myth of King Midas.

Then, there’s the use of purple, a color only worn by the rich in ancient times because it was such a painstaking process to collect the dye and dye the fabric. Also, there’s some version of a laurel wreath at his brow, which is more fitting than a regular crown. The cravat is a good masquerading-as-an-Everboy detail though. Like, it’s definitely believable that Rhian will fall for it. Also, the swash-buckling, pirate-esque boots are the perfect disguise.

Then, there’s the idea of another boy-king. Oh great. He’ll probably be a bit like Tedros but worse. I expect some immaturity in his characterization if the plot goes in this direction. But, he’ll probably be unstable. Definitely emotionally unstable. Yeah, emotionally unstable boys in positions of power are exactly what this duology is all about. So, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did turn out like this.

Also, I expected Midas to have more of a ridiculous, pompous, Everish personality, but he looks so brooding, so maybe, he'll be more Never-like than I expected. I mean, he's holding a skull, and looks kind of morose.

The mist looks similar to the mist that surrounds the Schools on the cover of Fall. I wonder if it’s significant?

The cage is definitely present and more obvious in this picture as well. Must be some kind of symbolism, or hinting at the actual plot and possible themes of confusion and tainted judgment in war. Actually, I've had ideas about this before.

⸻

The way I could see it playing out is this:

Before they enter Midas' court, Rhian tells Rafal to be polite, if he's capable of it. However, Rafal refuses to bow before a man with less power than he has.

Rhian tells him they are not in the best position to argue, and he'd better keep quiet, submit, and not mouth off to the royalty in the room because they need support to win against Hook. Also, they are in a weakened state because they’ve lost their immortality.

Rafal: And who caused that problem by letting Hook in?

Rhian stops talking. They are not playing the blame game again. Hell knows they've been doing it since the end of Rise, since their students disappeared.

So, Rafal and Rhian enter Midas' court.

Then, Rafal eventually reaches a point where he doesn't respect Midas as a Never. He treats Midas with condescension.

That strikes a nerve in Midas, and Midas doesn't take Rafal's comments in kind.

Rafal says true Nevers like himself take no prisoners, and that Midas is too merciful to have lived this long, and to not have been overthrown. If he didn't have a battalion of advisors and lord-regents to rule for him, since he was a boy, it surely would have happened by now.

And, Midas also reacts with contempt, saying that he'll be merciful, all right!

Rhian is startled, and Midas has him dragged away. And, Midas either encases him in gold to put him in a sculpture garden, or imprisons him in a giant bird cage, likely a golden, gilded one.

Now, Rafal is absolutely gobsmacked, flabbergasted, at how his own plan backfired. He’d only intended to threaten Midas to get what he wanted, an army or support or something else along those lines. But, not for the first time lately, he's underestimated his new foe.

And then, Rafal is dragged away to the dungeons probably, and has to solve this new problem.

⸻

Or, alternatively, this hypothetical could involve Rafal turning into a bird, maybe to infiltrate Midas’ palace, being caged, and Rhian humiliating himself by pleading with Midas to release his brother.

Midas probably agrees to it on one condition: Rhian stays with him. And, in response, Rhian says something like "Never! I must remain loyal to my brother!"

Midas doesn't budge. And, neither does Rhian. After some time passes, and is wasted, Rhian decides to agree, pretends to come around to it, and pretends to fall in love.

Rhian does it so convincingly that Rafal thinks Rhian has abandoned him, and is going mad and lovesick again.

And, this is doing serious damage to their trust.

Until, Rhian gears up to have his heroic moment. The moment Rafal is released, he plans to escape, get both of them away from Midas.

So, Rhian pretends to be seduced, promptly stabs Midas in the back, deserts Midas, and takes Rafal with him.

Rafal is in shock, and is simultaneously so relieved, but still can't fully relax.

He thinks he might be able to trust Rhian now, but is still unsure, because, well, the acting came so easily to Rhian. And, Rafal thinks like a Never, of course, and probably projects intentional Evil intentions onto Rhian (not the accidental: Oops, I went too far and extremist for the sake of Good, and was led astray and manipulated. Not Rhian's somewhat justified victim complex either, no, but real Evil. Or, that’s what Rafal thinks.)

Because, just look at how good Rhian is at acting! What if this was Rhian's plan all along? What if Rhian was pretending this whole time? Because, Rafal’s Rafal and he's paranoid.

So now, Rafal is forever on the lookout, and is observing Rhian more closely than ever before because who knows if he can trust Rhian? Just because Rhian saved him once before doesn't mean he won't try to kill him (again). Then, this could lead Rafal to thinking he has to make the first move, to betray first, so he isn't the one betrayed, who ends up in the losing position.

Meanwhile, Rhian is wondering what is going on in Rafal's head because his brother keeps looking at him strangely. And, not as covertly as Rafal thought. And besides, you can read a person exceptionally well after living with them and knowing them for over a century.

Rhian worries that Rafal doesn't trust him, and only tries harder to make it up to him. But, the continual efforts of "This is why you should trust me" only serve to make Rafal more suspicious as time passes because Rhian is trying too hard to repair their relationship and smooth things over artificially. It certainly doesn't look right, but he's mostly sincere. Rafal just isn't perceiving things correctly because his judgment is clouded by Rhian's earlier display of acting.

Like, how in the world can Rhian switch so quickly? Appear so real. But not be? It's all an act. But still. How? Just how? It's like he's flicked a switch. That's how easily the acting comes. And, it’s unnerving to Rafal.

Rhian is probably innocent though. And, he starts to feel hurt that Rafal won't believe in him or trust him, like ever again, and he starts to become depressed. And, that depression causes him to act unlike himself. Or rather, unlike his usual self, the self that Rafal knows and trusts and is familiar with.

And because Rhian is different and quieter than usual, this only reinforces Rafal's misperception that Rhian is untrustworthy and has something up his sleeve to doom Rafal or be the death of him. Rafal fully believes the betrayal will come from Rhian. That it’ll be dealt by the one person he used to trust. So, he's hurt too, but his pain is in response to his own anticipations, his dread, and his negative, held expectations. Rafal’s not hurt by reality. And, the fact that he's hurt by this, the unreal, and what lives in the realm of possibility, means that Rafal is hurting himself. Sure, there are external factors involved, reinforcing his misperceptions. But, his own mind is working against him. To cause these errors in perception. And, it's just sad.

And, Rhian doesn't know about the prophecy from the Sader who planted the seed in Rafal's mind, to start all this havoc and chaos and unrest. And, that Sader is partly, heavily responsible for the brothers' unraveling.

But, Rhian still worries more than ever because he sees something off or broken in his brother and wants to try to fix it. Yet, the more Rhian does, the more he tries to talk to Rafal or broach the subject of Rafal's mental state, the more Rafal utterly shuts down. And, all this continues to reinforce the problem. But, Rhian is doing it unknowingly, because he's really only trying to put his best foot forward. However, Rafal feels like he has zero people he can be vulnerable with, even if that isn't true.

Basically, each brother acting out-of-character, or revealing other sides of themselves that the other hasn't seen, is what causes them to act out-of-character. It's a vicious cycle, tearing them further and further apart.

Also, keep in mind that I'm thinking about this through a bit of a psychological lens and so, maybe, the plot will be more action-based yet still complex in terms of the brothers' relationship and their characterization. I don't know. But probably, there’ll be more action than this.

It (their downfall) could also be a more simple misunderstanding. It (the eventual ending/fratricide and/or betrayal) could be the result of such a thing, like a real argument, or anything really, no matter how small.

The tipping-point is often the smallest act, the thing that throws everything off balance, to trigger all the rest of the catastrophe, because just jostling something fragile can throw it off balance, in terms of physical objects. And, naturally, this can apply to a relationship too—if it even turns out to be a single, little moment that is possible to pinpoint and identify and define.

This is just one idea. That I somehow feel is likely? Because, at least, I believe in it. The fact that Rafal’s (or Rhian’s) descent into insanity could potentially be paranoia-driven.

I could be completely wrong or off the mark here, but I feel like this makes sense at the very least, and I could be partially right in the end. Partly, because this is based on my "It's not who we are. It's what we do" theory from my post, “Why Rafal Might Still Be a Never and Rhian Might Still Be an Ever.” And, I'm biased toward that theory. In fact, Rafal’s thought patterns in this hypothetical are based off of that other post, discussing his self-inflicted isolation and paranoia.

And, if Rafal’s characterization here seems exaggerated, it could be. But consider: instead of focusing on the positive, on how Rhian rescued him, and appreciating his brother’s heroics and skills as a diplomatic and maybe, more-shrewd-than-he-looks-Ever, Rafal fixates on the negative. Which is understandable. Humans dwell on the negative. We are wired to do so. And, Rafal is probably a pessimist by default.

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An extension to this line of thought:

This is just speculation, but maybe, in TLEA, Rafal projects Rhian onto Sophie, in how Rafal perceives her. See the: “No one will ever love you but me” line. This is given the fact that every time Rhian has fallen in love, it has gone tremendously wrong, and that the only reliable person Rhian has ever loved is Rafal.

In Fall, Rafal could treat Rhian the way everyone treated Sophie in AWWP. Like a ticking time bomb, an inevitability that will only end in disaster because he can’t be trusted. Like he could go off any minute.Because, honestly, Rafal is shocked and astounded at Rhian’s capacity to act and betray others. What dictates that he won’t be Rhian’s next victim? Their love, I suppose, if it's still there. But, I’m sure Rafal will forget about his love for Rhian at some point.