#romulus au Raa

[dangerandbeauty]

This parallel 🤌🏻

“I am Sera au Raa,” she says proudly. “Were you really a red? I heard my father speaking,” she explains.

“I still am a red,” I say. “It’s not something I stopped being.”

“Oh. You don’t look like one.”

She must not watch holos if she doesn’t know who I am. “Maybe it’s not about what I look like,” I suggest. “Maybe it’s about what I do.”

Minutes later…

“You whelp. I pity a world where you decide if a man like Lorn au Arcos lives or dies. Did your parents never teach you?”…”What is pride without honor? What is honor without truth? Honor is not what you say. It is not what you read.” Romulus thumps his chest. “Honor is what you do.”

[happilymad]

I just really love this line

[peach-au-barca]

*** Dark Age Spoilers!!***

The one bit of smut we get from the Red Rising Saga is between Lysander and Atalantia.

Darrow and Mustang

Sevro and Victra

Cassius and Literally Anyone

Fuck it i’d even prefer Dido and Romulus or a cheeky Pebble and Clown

That was absolutely criminal and frankly it was also down right diabolical.

This is the bad place

[thegorydamnreaper]

Romulus au Raa

I actually drew about a year ago, crazy to see how much I’ve improved since then (compared to the Dido piece I posted yesterday). Apparently it’s House Raa week here - Pulvis et umbra sumis.

[circeauandromedus]

An updated moodboard for my Red Rising OC, Circe au Andromedus.

[sarcasmiclife]

This is by far the best humourous scene in all four books that does not have Sevro in it

[dm-stands-for]

"I am a son of Io. A child of the Dust. I am a dragon of Raa. An Iron Gold. Akari, bear witness!" - Romulus au Raa

(Iron Gold pg 582-583)

More like "I should have shut up, STOPPED TALKING, AND TOOK ANOTHER

10.

FUCKING.

STEPS.

He was FUCKING ROBBED.

[killsworthss]

‘’I will love you until the sun dies. And when it does,

I will love you in the darkness’’

-Romulus au Raa, Red Rising

[miroana]

My Lightbringer predictions

SPOILER WARNING — many, many spoilers for Dark Age and the rest of the series too, of course. Read forward at your own discretion.

@pierce-brown feel free to let me know if I’m right.

Kalindora (the Love Knight) was poisoned by Atalantia

- I’m completely certain of this. When has Darrow EVER used poison on his blade? To put it simply, he doesn’t need it. Atalantia, on the other hand, wears an actual venomous snake around her neck at all times (and I do mean all). Plus, Darrow’s slingBlade was shattered during Lysander’s little jousting session immediately after Kalindora was allegedly mortally wounded. I don’t see Lysander slowly dying in agony from poisoned metal shards embedded in his arm.

- Atalantia has a lot to gain from Kalindora’s death — namely, Lysander au Lune’s name and allegiance, his renewed vigor for war, and the (frankly, disturbing) relationship she establishes with him. Plus, Kalindora was a competitor in terms of political sway in the society reminant.

Volga narration

- Her journey with the Ascomanni needs to be told by someone. Who better than by her?

- Also, following the… umm… “worthy” scene, we’re short a narrator. Eph watching his own heart be eaten was really dark, Pierce. It only makes sense for Volga to pick up his legacy.

Diomedes au Raa plays a significant role

- Diomedes represents Iron Golds of the Rim and is currently with the Society reminant, but we know he healed and freed Cassius (who appears to be working with the Republic). He walks a stiletto line between allegiances, and after the deaths of Romulus and Seraphina, he’s basically the heir to the Rim.

- He has a very strong brand of honor that fits well with the honor shown by Cassius. Diomedes saved Cassius before and led him back to the Republic, and I doubt their relationship has concluded with that.

- Diomedes is also very aware of how traitorous, and, well, messed up, the Core Golds of the Society are, and we already know that he’s hesitant to ally with them.

The Blues will rally around Darrow

- It was mentioned in Golden Son that there are blue training academies on Phobos, which is a moon of Mars. Darrow needs a fleet, desperately, and we all know he’s a master at shifting the paradigm. Also, the Republic still has Colloway, a hero to the blues, and the ace pilot has not yet performed his pièce de résistance.

- I very much doubt Colloway will survive the next book, unfortunately. I hope I’m wrong.

Pax vs Adrius 2.0

- Forshadowed by the Abomination hoping to have a “passage” by killing Pax. I feel confident, however, that Pax will own Adrius, although not kill him. I mean, half of the kid’s DNA is Reaper’s and half is Mustang’s. Come on now.

- Bonus points if Pax kills Lilath too. please

Lykos is destroyed

- By this point, everyone and their mother knows about Darrow’s big, wonderful, bleeding heart, and Society Golds are great at cutting straight for vital organs. Especially if Mars is the final planet protected by the Republic — I just can’t see Lykos township surviving Lightbringer if multiple armies siege the planet.

Lyria infiltrates the Jackal’s dominions on Luna or Tokyo

- As the new Figment, her abilities and their source are incredibly unclear. I think she would do well in a mission like this, and along the way, maybe she can somehow free Sevro and we can find out what exactly the Parasite is. Hopefully, Victra is part of this too.

Quicksilver’s allegiances have changed

- I don’t trust this man one bit. Why was he so comfortable when Virginia blew off the Silver voting bloc just before the Day of Red Doves? Where did the Rim get those new ships that travel so much faster than those of the Core? Honestly, the trillionaire may be funding the Society too. War profiteering is the name of the game for Quicksilver, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his original backing of the Sons of Ares and the Rising was more of a successful investment than a moral cause.

Virginia and Lysander speak

- Somehow, somewhere.

- Lysander most definitely blames Virginia for the deaths of his grandmother, Octavia, as well as Aja, and this must be addressed. Lysander once trusted her, when he was a child, and understands just how brilliant she is, so hearing her perspective could change everything for him.

- I think Virginia’s influence, combined with the revelation about Kalindora’s death at the hands of Atalantia, will be a step in turning Lysander to the side of the Rising. Lysander is incredibly intelligent and empathetic, so I don’t think he is entirely lost yet, despite his horrifying plunge into space racism and rather unfortunate spearing of Darrow. It will be a slow and perilous change, spread over the next two books, but I believe the last Lune will figure out where the light is eventually.

I look forward to finding out what I got right when Lightbringer drops this July!

Hic sunt leones.

[violethowler]

Hi, I read your IG timeline and I must say your work is fantastic! You were very thorough, your timeline is amazing!

The only thing that left me a bit shocked is November 1. All of Lysander’s chapters unfold in one evening?? I thought at least a day passed between Romolus’ arrest and the dinner, and another between the dinner with Dido and the Duel. I might I have read it wrong, but didn’t Dido mention sometime before the dinner that many lords were still to arrive to Sungrave for the trial?

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed my timeline! I'm really proud of all the work i've put into it, especially since I've spent the last few days updating each one to get all my notes as organized as possible before LB comes out.

As for Lysander's chapters, he indicates in chapter 32 that Dido took them straight to Sungrave after Romulus' arrest, and that they were given food on the flight. Then upon arrival they're given access to the baths to get cleaned up, and the opening of the next chapter has Lysander say that he's deposited in his room to change for the dinner. So that tells me that Romulus' arrest most likely took place in the morning, and the meal Lysander was given on the flight to Sungrave was lunch.

The only indication I can find of how much time passed between dinner and the duel are Lysander mentioning in chapter 40 that Cassius has shaved his beard by the time the duel begins, while the wounds from the gruesli that ate his flash mask are still fresh. And when Dido sends Seraphina into the ring, Lysander mentions that "I saw Dido notice the glances shared between us at dinner." If the duel were the morning after the dinner, I think that Lysander would've said "at dinner last night" or "last night" instead. Plus, given the intensity of their desire for his death, I think the Raa would've wanted to delay Cassius' duel as little as possible. So I feel like an hour or hour and a half is probably a reasonable enough time for Cassius get cleaned up while the Bleeding Place was prepared.

And then in chapter 55, Gaia au Raa tells Lysander "your friend died today," putting all of his post-duel, pre-trial chapters on the same day as the duel.

[vesperpharsalius]

As for the pregnancy twist, the willful ignorance of some people in this fandom, especially on the subreddit, continues to astound me. I’ve seen multiple posts advocating for this theory; naturally, they are immediately slain, blasted into smithereens, but... somehow, that doesn’t discourage them? They keep posting! Although, thankfully, less so—they’ve relented.

Definitely don’t ever worry that your RR knowledge’s sub–par; there are people out here reading with their brains off, I swear. One of my friends was very confused reading IG, years back, because he’d forgotten about Darrow’s destruction of the Ganymede Docks and that Mustang became Sovereign. He’d just re–read MS.

As for Cassius x Lyria, I agree that there was potential for romance. Back when I was blissfully ignorant of LB’s ending, it seemed likely that their relationship would eventually become romantic, if they both lived. I doubted that Pierce would leave Cassius and Lyria unpaired—although, as far as I’m concerned, they were both perfectly fine that way. I’m all for combating amatonormativity; brotherly/sisterly love is love; again for the people in the back. But I agree that both time and healing was needed before a romantic twist could possibly be healthy.

Tbh, I was worried Pierce might jump the gun in LB, given how flirtatious their banter seemed, that he might get overexcited and pair them too early, which, I agree (for the reasons you listed above), would’ve been inappropriate and uncomfortable for me. But… obviously, my fears were unjustified.

Personally, I would’ve preferred their relationship stay platonic. I’m biased, of course, because I’m a Dassius Whore™️; it’s the crack–ship I live for, the hill I’ll die on, even now.

But, from my admittedly flawed perspective, Cassius and Lyria’s relationship felt very much mentee/mentor, with Lyria filling the void Lysander left in a wholesome way, because Cassius chose her, whereas Lysander was more of an obligation, and Lyria genuinely loved/respected him, in a wholehearted way Lysander couldn’t, because of his unforgiving nature and their terrible history. Cassius and Lyria’s friendship was sweet and redemptive; they were both ‘outsiders’ who persevered, overcame, and found acceptance in each other.

I also love your analysis, how you’ve drawn attention to their defensiveness/protectiveness of each other. I’ve never been the greatest fan of Lyria, but the way she defended Cassius against Sevro, especially, during their fight on the Archi and after the Obsidian encounter near Sungrave, was really heartwarming and endearing; I genuinely started liking her, rather than just appreciating her character or importance to the story. And that’s saying something, because I despised her in IG.

Growth—for us both, I’d say.

One of the things I love most about Cassius and Lyria's relationship in Light Bringer is how, yes, Cassius is protective of Lyria because she is younger and smaller and Cassius just can't help being a big brother, but Lyria is just as protective of him. Because she's a protector too. They are the same in that way.

[queen0funova]

I made a new lock screen for my phone!

[Image ID] A picture of a sunset over the ocean. There are clouds at the top stained crimson, a sky that fades from light blue to orange to red, and the sun sets in the horizon. The sun reflects off of water which appears black near the middle, but fades through various shades of red towards the bottom of the image. There is pink text in the middle that says "I will love you until the sun dies" and it has a white outline. [End ID]

[hyena-frog]

Currently working on a post that got a little unwieldy. I’ll clean it up tomorrow. In the meantime, have some Iron Gold quotes I cut out of the post because they were beside the point but I think they’re interesting when you put them together:

Dancer: "So many have trusted you. For so many years. But you're in love with your own myth. You think that the Reaper knows better than the People." (93)

Seraphina quoting Romulus: "A man who believes his own myth is like a drunk thinking he can dance barefoot on a razor's edge." (316)

Sevro: "Well, slag me sideways. You really are drunk on your own myth, aren't you? I didn't buy it when Clown said it. But you believe them all. You think you're a god. You can't die." (491)

Darrow: "People think that I believe my own myth, that I'm a singular whirlwind of nature. I know I am not. I was the concentrated force of the people around me, balanced, hardened, inspired by Ragnar, Fitchner, Lorn, Eo. Sevro." (596 literally the last page)

Anyway. 💅☕

[darrowsrising]

Your view of Virginia's love for Darrow? And Darrow for Virginia? “I will love you until the sun dies. And when it does, I will love you in the dark.” -- Romulus Au Raa, this shit cuts deep!

Yeah, Romulus was a very...loquacious man. But his romance with Dido was basically the reverse of Romeo and Juliet - instead of dying, they rejected the people that were against them and their stupid city too. That doesn't make it a...good relationship, though. Their love wasn't necessarily good for one another or for their children. There are a lot of hurt feelings, because of the decisions the other made and it reflected a lot in Iron Gold. Dido resents the fact that she is regarded as a little bit more than a gahja, while Romulus' duty made him more remote and quite unfair at times. From there it escaladated - each of them regards the Rim's interests as above personal gain...but not quite. Their different visions benefits them in a way. Dido wants war even if that means Romulus has to fall from grace and Romulus wants to remain Sovereign and keep the Docks of Ganymede a secret, even if that means playing dirty.

I think they realized that it has gone too far when Romulus washed away his dishonor with his death. Dido never meant for him to die, she never wanted to be a widow. I bet she regrets that, but not the coup.

Things aren't as dramatic for Darrow and Virginia - Darrow doesn't want war for the sake of war and Virginia isn't distancing herself from her family. They don't benefit from their decisions much, they are more self-sacrificing and they look out for each other, even when upset at each other. They do try to understand the other, even though there seems to be a canyon between them.

Darrow and Virginia's love for each other is the mature and long-lasting sort. It is not selfish and burning like a young love is - like his and Eo's was. They have problems, they do not communicate enough and they do not see eye to eye sometimes, but they never scream, they never curse each other, they never hurt each other with words. They understand each other, even though they have different opinions. They do not play the blame game and they do not try to manipulate each other.

Their love for each other is not in how many times they are between the sheets on page, you can feel their love even when they are literally worlds apart and haven't kissed for quite a lot of chapters. Their love is intense and deep and they need to compertamentalize and focus on whatever is at hand, because if they slip and think of each other, it hurts, because they are apart and lonely and they miss each other.

They cannot be selfish, and they are not selfish with each other, they understand that they cannot forsake their responsabilities or their principles. But, at the same time, they suffer, because they wish to protect each other and when they can't, it breaks something in them.

At the core of it all, they never, ever want to hurt the other. They try to protect each other.

They are smitten with each other even after so long. They tease and play and wish to grow old together. They wish to live for each other. They also stimulate each other mentally and have common interests. They know each other's habits, they have adopted some from each other too. They know each other well, yet it's never boring to them to discover the other each day. In Golden Son, when they made love, there was a practiced smoothness to it, but also an urgency, an intensity. So they read each other well. They are also in sync when they work, they have a similar thought process and they seem to understand each other without much need for very detailed explanations.

It's all mutual, too. I would say that Darrow tends to idolize Virginia (it's nothing new, though) and despite disagreeing with her, he loves her and adores her and can't stand people mocking or judging her for her opinions or her stances.

Virginia sees Darrow's flaws more clearly than he does hers, but she loves every one of them, even when he is one stubborn arse. She owns that arse and it is the very best, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

But other than that, I think that Virginia's love for Darrow and Darrow's love for Virginia are quite similar.

Thanks for the ask!

Howl on!

[thegorydamnreaper]

Some thoughts on Romulus au Raa:

This is slightly spoilery, but mostly just some thoughts I had reading back on some Romulus chapters.

Romulus is named after the semi-mythological figure of the founder of Rome. That Romulus was raised by a she-wolf and was (by some accounts) a demigod son of Mars and a vestal virgin. His twin brother, Remus, is killed when they dispute who should rule the new city they founded.

Romulus au Raa allies himself with wolves (the Howlers) and it allows him to establish his independent Rim Dominion. There’s a further connection to the myth with the god Mars being a starting point (as a “father”) paralleling how it is soldiers of Mars (the planet) that are the foundation for Raa’s new world. Both Mars are the source of a rough beginning, with the twins almost dying in the myth and with the destruction of the Docks. May be a stretch, but there’s still a connection there!

It’s also interesting to note that while Atlas and Romulus are not twins, Atlas is responsible for Romulus’s death as retribution for betraying the Society. It’s almost as if after thousands of years Remus is getting his piece of revenge, ironically using the veil of politics to justify it.

[circeauandromedus]

Diomedes au Raa Red Rising Aesthetic Board 2/?

I had to make an aesthetic board for my favourite Storm Knight.

None of the above pictures belong to me. They were sourced on Pinterest.