#mithandintbt

[eclipsecrowned]

aims directly at mithandin: What feelings does your character most often instill in their fans? Affection? A desire to protect? Open lust? A love/hate dynamic? Why do you think their fans feel this way? By contrast, what would their haters dislike about your character? Is it a petty complaint? A mischaracterization of the character or their intentions? // @teardownheaven

I honestly feel like Mithandin is almost a 'love to hate' character. I don't know if he has unironic fans so much as he has sympathizers or people waiting to see how he fails next. His logic is sound for the knowledge he does possess, he's just completely wrong about everything because of that limited scope. He's such a stereotypical rich asshole bully that there's something almost gleeful about his appearances because everyone is waiting for the bridgemen to finally show him up.

His charted character development might start to crack that reception. As he starts to work through his own trauma and more rises to the surface, the more one sees that he's a victim of the same system he perpetuates. Some people will use that to excuse his worst actions as he's a poor guy who has been through so much if we just ignore his classism and cruel actions towards a protagonist he outranks, while those with cooler heads will see it as a chance for him to snap out of a system he's learning to recognize and take accountability. As he does proceed to take accountability for not just his actions but the larger impact of his house/the sins of the father, I think he'll start to be better received. I can see a contingent of fandom who likes him for being similar to D*linar but without crossing a hard enough boundary to be complicit in.... so much. Just so much.

The fact he's so pretty might also help him do numbers. He's a tall dark and handsome lad with arms bigger than some people's heads and a face described as gorgeous. The fact he's a pretty boy trying to scrap with other pretty boys probably opens him up to fans of certain dynamics as well.

But all of this is also what makes him so loathsome. He's a privileged pretty boy raised to be the perfect Al*thi soldier, and rather than get a handle on his own traumas, he's taking them out on men that had nothing to do with it. Especially in the case of his father's death, he's actually lashing out at the man who saved his life and that of many others and complaining that salvation didn't come fast enough -- forgetting K*ladin could have just as easily fled and left all of them to die. No amount of his bad history will excuse his behavior -- a key point of his character, but his hatedom would be intent that nothing he does will ever redeem him, either.

There would also be the standard mischaracterization projection in that him being a stressed young man suddenly in charge of even younger siblings and struggling with that new role as head of house instead of simply a brother is somehow him being an abusive dickhead. The usual projection about parent figures as humans.

[eclipsecrowned]

Mithandin + HOUSE JAVAYA (PT 2: current events / the siblings.) long post because there's five of them -- pt 1.

Recent events in Al*thkar have been as eventful for House Javaya as the rest of the nation. Upon the thwarted treaty signing of 1167, Abrar swore loyalty to the new king, then put himself and his three sons back into the service of auld companion D*linar Kh0lin. Along for the ride were his two daughters, though the eldest left the Plains upon reaching majority, and the younger has been kept safe in the Kh0lin camp for the entire campaign.

The six year war for vengeance saw each child come of age amid relative turmoil, and perhaps clinging tighter to one another for it. They might have come out stronger for it, had their father not caught an enemy's blade across the throat. Now fractured and without shared goals, the five children of Abrar and Catath struggle with where to go and how to cope.

Mithandin, the latest leader and second Highlord of the House, seems to struggle particularly with holding both power and dignity in the face of his father's loss. But he is not the only one trying to ride out the hard hand fate has dealt their House and people.

The eldest child, Alasan, always felt a stranger in a strange land, save for in the presence of her father. Born during the campaign to unite Al*thkar, her heritage has always been somewhat shrouded -- was she the daughter of her mother's late husband, or her latest? Regardless of the truth, Abrar named Alasan his own and embraced her as such by every measure. She would need that support from one parent. The premiere victim of her mother's 'unsuitability' to the role, her early life was a difficult one, until her father took notice of the situation.

Securing the young girl a wardship away from her mother's household, Alasan took to academia early, showing a particular love for the written word and histories. Pursuing poetry and publication, she became accomplished despite her youth. Still, she struggled to accept any praise from all but her father, who often corresponded with her via sp*nreed to see how things were in her life, and to assure her he was well even when way on frequent campaigns.

Several matches were floated for Alasan as a teenager, some even whisper about a potential match between she and the then Crown Prince, but nothing ever came of such scheming. Without an older female relative to guide her entrance to society, she was rudderless in social waters. It is, in fact, her preferred state. Ever dutiful Alasan professed to a desire to stay with her family and put them above her own needs.

These attestations become somewhat comical, knowing the girl fled the Plains as soon as she was capable of fending for herself. Though physically distant from her siblings, she keeps touch, and especially tries to be of aid to the eldest of her brothers. She returned to the Plains once Abrar was lost and stayed long enough to help her siblings somewhat settle, but soon took to wandering again. Her messages often allude to a Thayl*n traveling companion that her siblings all understand to be her current partner, a lovely young woman with a ship her own to ferry Alasan to and fro at will.

Then there is the eldest son, the latest leader of the House, Mithandin himself. His father's pride and joy, the securing of his mother's place in the family, he was welcomed with open arms and given every privilege his parents could afford. Much like Alasan, it was not enough to save him his mother's treatment, but it did allow for his mistreatment to take a different form compared to his sister's. He was likewise taken from his mother's household at a tender age, but still has memories of his time in court.

Unlike Alasan, Mithandin was taken on campaigns with his father from then on. First left with a P*rsh nursemaid, then with a series of tutors, he eventually came of age to be useful to the army. A messenger in one conflict, then a recruit in another, Abrar ensured his son would work to get where he was going, to earn his place in history, just as he himself had in the war for unification. His son would witness far more Al*thi history in the making than any child should endure. By the age of twelve, Mithandin had a healthy respect for flame, and how it could burn far more than buildings, more than flesh.

The next war his nation led was the now infamous Vengeance Pact that saw the entire House upended to the Shatt*red Plains, and saw Mithandin moved from messenger to recruit. To his credit, Mithandin learned on his feet, and showed a knack for both boldness and tenacity in battle that would benefit him for years to come. Hardened by the time he came of age, he has served admirably and without hesitation for his Kh0lin masters, and cleaved to them with far more zealotry than his father ever had.

Since his ascension and the fall of his nation, the new Highlord has proven... largely the same on the surface, the ideal Al*thi man. Stoic, brave, and competitive, but this has become more of a mask of late. In private, the young man has been said to become sullen and confrontational, even hostile to others within his Highpr*nce's service. A certain br*dgeman seems to have especially caught Mithandin's ire, and it's this rivalry that might undermine his early rule the most.

The third child, Lustran, is struggling in his own ways. The even-keeled second son, the so called 'spare,' he has only vague memories of his early life in the capital. His dispassion distanced him from a mother that preferred to get a reaction, while his father always tried to meet him on his own level. Lustran's level, however, might be on an entirely different frequency from what others anticipate.

Too young to openly aid in any conflict his father found himself in, Lustran instead took to the camps in whatever capacity others would have him. Quiet and observant, he was a favorite of various members of the household, an extra set of hands and an unimposing personality. He was spared the early horrors his elder brother knew, and seemed to be headed towards a fine life of service.

Then he, too, became a recruit on the Plains. If his brother was keen in combat, Lustran shined like a freshly infused sphere. Cunning, tactical, and highly efficient, he's one of the best assets the Kh0lins have on the battlefield despite his youth. He seemed to thrive in battle, and to have a grand career in front of hm. Beautiful, bold, and with his best years before him, everyone has had high hopes for the second Javaya boy.

He is, however, a recurring thorn in his brother's side post-ascension. Now the heir presumptive until Mithandin cons some unfortunate partner into a political match, Lustran has been forced to reveal some things once the dust settled for the family. No great lover of warfare, the boy was in negotiations with his father to join the monastic life. Abrar was open to the idea so long as Lustran waited for the war to end. Mithandin is absolutely not allowing his brother to throw away his god-given talent in battle. Lustran is quietly resisting Mithandin, as is his way, without opening himself up to open insubordination. It's a cold war that seems to simmer when the two meet in domestic settings.

Which brings us to the fourth child, Feben, everything his brothers are not. Luckless, awkward, and a hazard to himself and others, Feben is the great loser of the family. Only 17, he's doing his best, but it's just not enough. Unable to recall his mother, and only ever encouraged by his adoring father, these might be the only breaks he'll ever be given in life.

He tried to be helpful like Lustran as a child. Folk in the camps cursed him as some sort of omen for his meddling. He tried to follow his brothers into battle. He pales before their talents for bloodshed. He tried to make his own way. He always stumbled short of victory in whatever he pursued. Even the young ladies of the camp keep a wide berth from him. It genuinely could not be happening to a nicer lad. The loss of his father has been a further hit against his sense of self, as he now feels truly isolated in his family and overlooked by all but his sisters.

Mithandin is first quick to write off Feben at the start, considering the House has bigger problems than his loser kid brother. However, time and perspective allow him to finally start bonding with Feben, and helping him not just to achieve goals, but have more confidence in himself. This being Mithandin, it blows up in his face when Feben goes AWOL and elopes with one of Rai's younger sisters. He's just aligned the Javaya with a man Mithandin cannot stand. Said brother has dealt with nothing but migraines since. At least Feben and his lady love are happy together.

And then there is Kheri. The baby of the bunch, the only other daughter, she has been raised in warcamps and cut her teeth on leather. She has no memory of her mother or the capital whatsoever, and was a particular favorite of her father. Only just old enough to cover her safeh*nd, this might be the last concession to propriety the little heathen will ever make.

Mischievous, quick-witted, and a particular devil to her favorite brother Mithandin, it's clear that Kheri has been without a proper lady's upbringing. She's dropped out of at least two attempts at tentative wardship in the past, and is much more interested in people than academia. A joy and a headache in equal measure, she means no harm in her pranks and schemes, but has all a child's demanding given her age. Abrar and Mithandin both found it best to channel some of her boundless energy and focus ino art, one ladylike skill she excels at.

She does, at least, bear little of the prejudices native to her society. A friend and one of the Almighty's little tests to all that she meets, Kheri has some ideas about others that some might find naive at best. Still, she's as sincere about what she wants as her siblings, and that means she's doing her part to call out the parts of life and tradition that she finds senseless. It's Kheri's world. The rest of us are just living in it.

Other than slow roasting Mithandin when he deserves it and harboring a black hole of a Reshi teenager in their household to eat all their stores of food, Kheri is the other sibling Mithandin is on good terms with. In a lot of ways he's taken on the role of foster father to her and the two often rely on one another if they are to make any attempt to confront their grief about the situation. Now if she could stop alluding to how much dowry he'll have to fork over when she marries their h*ghprince's son in front of royals he'll be a happy man --

next: the allies

[eclipsecrowned]

Mithandin + HOUSE JAVAYA. (PT 1: history and forebears)

Javaya is not a new name in its native Al*thkar. Founded when the Sunmaker was still busy trying to wipe Az*r off the map, they have always held a speck of land within the Crownlands, minor nobility with good land. The name was known, but knew neither power or fame for much of its long half-life.

This all changed after several centuries of mediocrity, as the War of Unification saw the youngblood head of the House pursue his masters to whatever end. The change in fortunes for the family is built upon the blood of fallen Houses and conquered men, in lands and titles awarded for loyal service pulled from the grasp of dead resistance. Yet that youngblood grew old, long in the teeth, and eventually met his end during the failed plateau run that wiped out significant Kh0lin forces.

His eldest son has now risen to take the title of Highlord, but the family is not able to return to their lands. Living as refugees at the Tower of Ur*thiru, House Javaya is in dire straits as much as the rest of the country. It is perhaps further threatened by the unchecked vitriol its latest leader, as well as the personal machinations of his younger siblings.

The parents:

The late Highlord Abrar Javaya, Mithandin's father a good and amicable man by all accounts, until you realize this is a man who was close to D*linar pre-character development and still campaigns to 'bring back fun Blackth0rn.' This is almost certainly a war criminal who his son only knew as a loving and protective patriarch, ignorant of how horrific the campaigns he took place in really were. Duality of man. Someone give the listener that cut him down a bonus.

He began as a simple Citylord who met the hoard of his Highpr*nce's brother head on, his own volunteer army and household guard in tow, and swore fealty. It wasn't an act of self-preservation as one might expect, but a genuine fervor. In a society that solemnizes warfare as holy, he considered it a sacred duty to serve his master in all valorous pursuits.

Valor, in this case, meant subjugating the rest of the country for personal gain, moving from Citylord to Highlord once all his neighbors were cut down, and then trampling across borders in the intervening decades to destroy adjacent countries in bids for Al*thi supremacy.

Despite this, and most pivotally to Mithandin's journey, it never showed in his personal life. Upright, zealous, and affectionate in a way some considered outrageous for a proper Al*thi man, Abrar set a good example for the children he doted on. He did the best he could for them while still leading them from warcamp to warcamp. He was very clear that all he accomplished in various wars was for nothing if it didn't secure a better future for his sons and daughters.

Dies in the climax of the first book, cut down by the enemy as his son watched. He was the greatest loss House Javaya suffered that day, but not the only one. Part of Mithandin's narrative moving forward is both coping with/overcoming the trauma of that event, as well as acknowledging his family history and accounting for the crimes his father committed in service of recognizing a pattern and becoming a better man by far.

The dowager Highlady Catath, who was deemed 'unsuitable for motherhood' based on her treatment of her children. Has not seen or been seen by any of them since they were old enough that their father could safely wrench them out of her household and onto campaigns with him.

A pretty trophy for the conquering young hero, she was a widow who married up after her first husband was cut down for resisting the unification. She pursues her own aims in the capital, enjoying infrequent visits from a husband she's fond of in spite of it all. I never give specifics on how she behaved as a parent, just that the children old enough to remember her treatment resent her deeply, and the younger have no active memories of her.

Tries to worm her way back to the family once Mithandin ascends, only for her elder two children to pay her to return to the capital. It's an arrangement she takes to happily, so long as her son allows her to continue acting on his authority back at the palace. This will surely not come back to bite Mith in the ass in the future.

The fact Mithandin so favors her, that all his pretty boy features reflect his mother, fucks with him in some kind of way he can't articulate.

Both his parents suck, is what I'm getting at -- as people undoubtedly, but one made an alright parent. The kids give Abrar way more credit than he deserves in terms of being a good person. Their first red flag should have been just how devoted he stayed to a woman that mistreated the children he professes to love, but that's just how it is sometimes. Catath set such a low bar the kids would take whatever their father was selling.

next: the siblings/allies

[eclipsecrowned]

mithandin at the tail end of book 5 acknowledging ok. storm it. maybe my abusive mother, my being introduced to warfare at a delicate age, and watching my father and many people i care about slaughtered in front of me, maybe it did do something to me. maybe i do need help.

and help exists! there's these meetings! where men talk about things with that one storming darkeyes! and mith walks in while kal is setting up. looks around. paces. walks out. kal blinks. mith re-enters. opens his mouth. shuts it. walks out.

comes back in. stops. 'this is storming stupid.' and walks out. hel, seated at a desk in clinic proper, having decided to play scribe for the day for a friend, just looks up from burying her face in her hands and 'mithandin?' he heeds. yes, brightness?

'can you twirl for me?' he's confused but obeys. she stands up. studies his back.

'huh. no tail. so why are you coming in and out like a storming mink --'

she has to be called off by her boss for the day. let him choose if he wants to come in or not.

[eclipsecrowned]

listen nothing on cultivation's green earth will justify or have me defend mith's godawful acts of cruelty against kal and co. but i do find it a cosmic punchline that every time he at least considers giving that protag a break his own worst thoughts get confirmed.

maybe i have been too hard on the br*dgemen, they were unarmed and untrained, that they helped at all was -- what do you mean they have a r*diant among their number and still waited to intervene --

it's actually incredibly brave of him to leap to the defense of my lord's sons like this. maybe he is a good man. perhaps i misjudged him as an upstart seeking to defy convention and the word of the almighty to spite good upstanding lighteyes -- he wants what for his boon --

maybe i am a cremhead for using the slave marks against him, any man would seek a path out of that life. i would not have borne it with half the grace. the man is still insufferable but maybe i can lay off considering him disloyal and -- he was working with a man who tried to do what to our king --

[eclipsecrowned]

actual footage of spanreeds between mithandin and his father abrar.

[eclipsecrowned]

kheri with a girlish crush on ad0lin. Saying he’s at the door and not leaving til he has her hand to announce his presence to mithandin. Saying she’s the only one at camp he hasn’t courted yet. lustran teases her when the man gets betrothed and she just shrugs that ‘some r*rans practice polygamy.’

mith thinks she finally outgrew it after the wedding. she’s realizing this was a pipe dream, like any little girl wanting to marry the handsome prince is. but then he realizes she’s not looking at the happy couple. she’s locked onto... ad0lin’s brother.

almighty give mith strength.

[eclipsecrowned]

anyway the point for mith is both accountability and doing better, not just in how he handles others (being the biggest douchebag to the br*dgemen) but also in how he handles himself (again his rage is grief unprocessed which at least leaves the door open he can process it and come out the other side with more emotional and social maturity)

also potentially reckoning that shit happens. shit just happens. it's not anyone else's fault. there's nothing that can be done that is restorative or reparation. you just live with it. and sometimes the people you mourn aren't the people they actually were. for the record the father he mourns so much and is so traumatized by having seen die was one of pre-character development d*linar's best men and post-rift would frequently opine that someone should bring back 'the fun blackth0rn' his father was absolutely a war criminal of the worst kind, and mith has to accept that and the truth of his heritage and what his house did --

[eclipsecrowned]

friends picked gaia for my tabletop character, which means mithandin gets to stain my muse page with his existence. five fast facts for him under the cut.

eldest son and heir of house javaya, a crownland noble house loyal to the royal family long before there was a king of al*thkar. mithandin takes this to a logical extreme, dedicated to his highprince before even his own house. stoical, proud, and diligent, he's a picture of the proper al*thi man, and considered as fine a future leader as a house could have -- the only problem is, his ascension came long before he was ready.

javaya is not a new name to the nobility, but it has been raised in esteem of late. a kh0lin loyal house who was one of the first to join up peaceably with their plans for unification, mithandin's father considered it a sacred duty to serve his lord in waging war in pursuit of his calling. per plotting with ax, the elder javaya was a part of d*linar's personal entourage and inner circle. this loyalty and service allowed the once minor house to rise steadily in esteem as resistant houses were obliterated or subjugated by the unification. highprince types see mithandin and his kin as upstarts, others see them as having justly earned their new titles by submission to duty. things were going pretty good for them, until one plateau assault.

mithandin watched his dad get cut down in a combat situation where he was sure he was next. he's been thrust into the role of house leader in a time of war and turmoil, suddenly the sole authority over three younger siblings, and being a big manly man who refuses to face or acknowledge his trauma. the most he can manage is disdain for the bridgemen who saved the day -- why did they not arrive sooner? why did they hesitate? he's making this their problem personally, and is a minor antagonist to the new guardsmen. he also takes this 'grief as rage' flawed coping mechanism out on anyone associated with the assault itself -- which includes my other oc gaialia for coming from the 'opposing side.'

his character will hopefully develop. his rage is going to hit a breaking point and the grief will be processed and pushed through. he will one day develop a sense of self outside of his duties. and he might even make friends once he gets some sense knocked into him and re-evaluate his priorities surrounding his family. and god willing someone will humble this man and beat his ass publicly til the classism and xenophobia bleeds out of him --

he's a handsome asshole. not only is he tall and toned from a lifetime in battle, but he's got the sort of chiseled, defined features that might turn hollow with age but make him quite the looker in his twenties. plus he was cursed/blessed with a permanent pout which does something for some people around camp. has downturned, heavy-lidded bedroom eyes in a cool blue-violet. you should be offended that such a loathsome man looks this good, frankly.

[eclipsecrowned]

it's always stormy in ur*thiru but i shamelessly rip from an extant sitcom.

gaialia: so for the artistic exhibition, i wanted to do something a little more classy, something you could hang in a temple. gaia, removing the cover: boom! mithandin: rai: mithandin: rai: gaia: 'oh, gaia, it looks great.' 'oh, gaia, the king and queen will love it.' rai: mithandin: gaia: something. anythi-- mithandin: why did you draw brightness hel and that br*dgeleader? gaia: gaia: what? rai: i mean. it's good. but he's right. gaia: that's h0nor and cult*vation. i didn't-- [gaia looks back at her canvas. steps back to join mithandin and rai.] gaia, softly: storming hells. i. i didn't even notice. rai: it's totally the captain and little sister. mith: how did this happen gaialia. gaia, straining: i don't know! i don't know! i wanted h0nor to look sort of… honorable! and strong! and cult*vation with a calming presence! oh heralds how did this HAPPEN-- rai, motioning: i can see her cleava gaia: I KNOW YOU CAN SEE HER CLEAVAGE.

[eclipsecrowned]

thinking about mithandin with the underlying trauma of 'i watched my father die, i took up the duties of family head, i wasn't prepared, i'm afraid and hurt' except he's too much of a big bad manly man to admit he has feelings or isn't in control 100% of the time so it comes out as 'i'm cranky that i have more responsibilities now i should be at the club.'

and rai, who only sees that surface interpretation, just 'i understand, jav. my dad died and i had to take over too. i was 7. i should have been in lessons --'