#tcp analysis

[madockisser]

I just read How the king of Elfame learned to hate stories, the "So long as you are begging, he doesn't mind a bit." line at the end of the blurb stuck in my mind

He mentions begging in the books. Although he also begs Jude at some point iirc

Do you have any thoughts about how this almost power dynamic is important to him? Or why he'd be fond of it

I'm not sure how to word it properly, he's in a precarious position with the rest of his siblings for a good part of his life, Balekin manipulates him amongst other things.

why is cardan such a sadist?/ cardans struggle w power

hi! great question, i hope i answer it to your liking!

from what we can tell of cardan and his character, he doesn’t have much. he has his status as prince, and that is all that he can cling to. it’s his only advantage.

we know that he is not fond of courtiers, faking their admiration for him, allowing him to slap and use them; all while they can go home to someone they truly love.

all his life he assumes that cruelty gets him what he wants, it ensures that he keeps the little amount of power that he has, while his brothers scheme and kill for the throne, he hurts and humiliates those that question his power.

but any sort of dig against ppl, making them feel lesser so he can feel greater, making jude beg and submit to him so he no longer has to feel anything for her, so she won’t consume his thoughts with her disobedience, gives him that small amount of power, since a human girl opposing him, all while he sorta loses that battle against her, makes him look weak. in the eyes of his friends, family and the court/gentry

anyway, while he ofc can “fall out of favor” w his siblings, those sort of relationships w them do not matter to him, he insults caelia to her face in htkoelths, he does not care for dain, he cares a bit for rhyia, perhaps bc he sees most of himself in her, the way she is casual when it comes to her royal duties, and bc she is kind to him when the rest are not, when the rest have deemed him as balekins princely little monster, with an awful prophecy over his head.

what matters to him is his father, not that he likes him much but he still strives for what seems like attention from him. so he is cruel and sadistic for the sake of his father taking notice of him, bc thats all he knows

in twk, jude finds a crystal ball where asha neglects cardan until he hits another boy, and at that she laughs greatly and pays attention to him. being cruel is all he knows, the only way for him to be seen by his father, even if it is bad attention, atleast it is attention at all.

as for that power dynamic, again, he relishes in any chance to show ppl he is powerful, that he is important, even when he really isn’t.

so as jude opposes him, he is reminded time and time again that not only does jude have everything he wants, a loving family, but she has a strange sort of power over him, the power to make him feel not only desire but eventual care for her well being. which isn’t a feeling that he feels often

pair those feelings with the fact that she is human, and the fact that balekin encourages him to kill humans but cardan instead frees them, and takes beatings for them, he is very conflicted and angry and upset at his feelings for her.

he doesn’t want to care, it would be easier to act as though he has a heart of stone.

i assume his feelings make him feel awfully powerless, which is obviously a feeling he does not like, since he consistently goes out of his way to show his power to the court by acting without consequence and casting those that get in his way out of court.

anyway, later on he is begging to jude because at this point, i think he’s realized just how far gone he is in his love for her. he is vulnerable w her in a way that he never was w nicasia or anyone.

w nicasia he flaunted his power, pretended that he was more important and influential than he was, w nicasia he formed his group of friends that took advantage of his power and hurt him w it.

but w jude, he felt powerless bc of the powers she had over him, first off, his desire for her, second, his love for her, and third, ofc the bargain that quite literally made him her slave.

until jude, his sadistic power dynamics were used to hurt those around him, but then he learned that he’d much rather feel powerless so long as jude is there w him. he’d also learned that he can be useful, which he’d never thought before jude. he learned that he doesn’t have to hurt and lash out for a power thrill, that he can be powerful in being a good high king.

jude was the only person that taught him that he could be loved and worth something at all, without having to reach out and claw that love from someone’s hands.

jude and cardan understand each other in a way no one else in their lives ever bothered to.

and abt the begging part, im sure he also likes to simply see jude begging as well. after all they put each other thru, im sure they both like seeing each other beg.

hope this answered your question! if not, feel free to leave another ask!! 🫶🫶 and feel free to add on as always!

also i just want to add, i see everyone’s asks, and am working on quite a few, though i am still doing my reread, which is why it’s taking so long to get to my older asks! so sorry!! i answer the newer ones if they are easy to answer, w things that i already know w out having to grab my books to look for it.!

[sleepy-timaeus]

It is so embarrassingly blasphemous that there’s characters who think Jude loved Locke

Like when Cardan’s mom said Jude loved Locke at the trial, I went feral for her cause AS IFFFFFFFFF

[maingh0st]

is this too niche

[wh0reforfantasy]

Why is Jude Duarte the perfect morally grey character…

- Her parents were brutally slaughtered at a young age, and while hating Madoc, she also had a soft spot for her “father.” Since she was small, this man raised her and taught her everything she knew. Of course she had memories from her own parents, and could never forgive Madoc for what he did, but she also saw the fatherly side of him and appreciated it. Jude Duarte was created in a morally grey environment.

- Jude Duarte will do anything for her power/pride, even if it means risking everything and everyone she has. She could have easily brushed off petty insults and kept temper during her brutal bullying/harassment she was going through, like Taryn and the rest of her family insisted, but Jude never let it slide. Even if it was simple revenge that might earn her a dip into a creek, Jude always stood her ground. Later into the series, we see her completely and utterly invested with the little power she gains and how she uses it. There are considerable more risks with every power move she makes, especially everything concerned with the crown. Her family is usually an afterthought, and rarely an emotional case. Even with Oak, Jude is more concerned about the use of power and where she stands, then she is for his safe-being. Not to mention the time Jude almost killed Taryn in a squabble over Locke, which in its entirely mocked Jude and what control she had over someone close to Cardan. Jude loves her family, and will protect them, but not unless it suits her in some way.

- Everyone/anyone is her enemy… no matter how much she “trusts’ them. We see it with her relationship with Taryn, where Jude cares for her sister, but never really trusts her. Even with Cardan, while Jude was infatuated with him, she never once trusted him. All of her friends and family becomes pawns in her power game, and she will always back up herself first. This was taught to her by Madoc, who put battle/power first above his own important people and morals. Cardan was a known enemy to Jude, but he showed her a vulnerability/empathy that she showed no one else. Instead of being emotional and falling for him harder, Jude convinced herself it was an act and to use it to her advantage. Most people wouldn’t shackle a boy that was being beat by his own brother, trick him into having a crown he did NOT want to have, AND witnessed his whole family being slaughter in front of him… Jude didn’t care, she wanted the crown and her revenge.

Nonetheless, Jude has a side of her that is very protective and loves harder than the average person. Her strength and determination could be used for something more than her own gain, and she shows she is capable of that later into the series. We understand why Jude acts the way she does because we witness the pain of her character first hand. Who wouldn’t want revenge against the very people that hate her for her existence? Being human means your weak, can be controlled… a creature owned by the fae. Love was wired to be thought of as a weakness, something to make you lose the battle. In this series, we see her struggle with the choices of to love, or gain more power.

I think Holly Black made an AMAZING female lead that wasn’t written for love, but for feminine rage and power. Love didn’t stop her from gaining what she needed, what her goals were, and instead make her stronger. Jude fought most of her battles alone and failed, but got up regardless. Cardan wasn’t her knight in shining armor, it was quite the opposite. And let’s just say, the best series I’ve read so far.

[clockworkbee]

It’s hit me just now that Prince Dain had his eyes on the general's bastard daughters for quite some time, especially on Jude, seeing as the owl-faced hob who'd delivered Jude her first task from the Court of Shadows was the same one whom Jude had confessed to about feeling tired of being powerless.

[thebestbrunettee]

locke’s death (he deserved it lol)

so i feel like many people in the tfota fandom were angry when locke’s death was off-page, however i think this was beautifully planned and executed. locke is a performer, he loves drama, he loves over exaggerated theatrics, it’s his whole schtick. but here’s the best part, after all his scheming to essentially dramatize jude, taryn, cardan, and even nicasia’s lives- his death isn’t even worthy enough to make it onto the page. locke wants desperately to be the start of the show- kind of the ultimate pick-me when you think about it. and now he is killed but is so unimportant to the story and reader that he doesn’t get a single scene. i really love this because if locke were to know he died without a dramatic exit he would be so pissed.

[beware-of-the-light]

Taryn is Madoc's daughter

I think she's meant to be his narrative mirror.

They both killed their spouses after they turned out to be something that they didn't anticipated. Both do so by blade. They are left to deal with a child that their spouse left behind.

Madoc doesn't go to trial for his crime. But we don't forgive him, not really.

Taryn is meant to be trialed. We forgive her, sort of, Locke was horrible anyways.

She is clever, Madoc trusted her for his coup of the throne. Just like him, she hides her intentions until she strikes. Jude didn't believe that any of them would do such a thing, yet they both do so anyways.

Thinking about how when Madoc killed the girls' mother, he dripped his cap in his blood until it was coated red and hardened. About how when Taryn killed her husband, she ran to her sister for help and in the way found forgiveness.

Thinking about how they are the same, but Taryn chose life and Madoc chose death.

[viivdle]

The Joker And The Queen (Jurdan's Version)

"How was I to know? / It's a crazy thing" fits incredibly well for them. on one side, we have jude - all she knows is cardan hating her. he insulted her, kicked dirt in her food, almost killed (!!) her, how was she to know he loved her?? or tolerated her at all?? on the other side, there's cardan - for me, these lyrics represent how low he thinks of himself. his own family didn't love him, so why would anyone else do it voluntarily? with the two of them, it's anything but - though it still counts to him.  

"I showed you my hand / And you still let me win" they both showed their weaknesses during the series - behind the dais in TWK, jude's constant mortality, cardan's confession in TCP,.. there's more of these moments than one might guess. 

"And who was I to say / That this was meant to be?" it would've been fatal for jude to say it. she herself would've thought she'd gone mad. a mortal and a fae prince? yes, right. and cardan for, again, thinking nobody would want what was left of his heart. 

"The road that was broken / Brought us together" is there anything more jurdan?? there road was not just a bit broken, it was DESTROYED. betrayal, lies, deceiving, murder. come on.  

"When I fold, you see the best in me" for jude, folding represents her mortality, her weakness even when she is stronger than most. she can't escape it, no matter what. cardan on the other hand told her he always thinks about her, which was one of the first big steps to their end. he also involuntarily showed his cards when jude saw balekin and him in his room.  

"I've been played before" ironic considering most times they played each other.  

"So I kept my cards close to my foolproof vest" cardan hid his attraction to her with utter hatred, it was truly foolproof - at least it worked on jude.  

"And then you went all in / And we left together" to me, this screams the serpent scene in TQoN. she had to risk everything, but in the end they came out of it together. 

"And I know you think that what makes a king is gold / A palace and diamond rings" cardan knew next to nothing about ruling when he was put on the throne, but it's not the first thing that comes to mind. i can imagine jude telling cardan that when he has doubts, telling him that despite what he thinks, there's more to being a king than gold (i could get into the silver to gold pipeline but i promise i won't)  

"When I folded, you saw the best in me" cardan admires her mortal beauty like no other, he saw the best of her, the parts she despised most in her situation, when she decided to take that leap of faith. even when cardan was a serpent, she saw her husband, not just a monster. even when cardan was a serpent, he saw his wife, not just a target. 

"The Joker And The Queen" 

[virtualizationhowto]

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[clockworkbee]

Oh, I love this

If I have to compare the Duarte sisters to the Greenbrier brothers I would have to say Vivi is Cardan, Taryn is Dain and Jude is Balekin...

Vivi and Cardan are the chaotic wild child, they (mostly) do what they want when they want to. Jude and Balekin are people that you do not want to mess around when you know their reputation. Taryn and Dain on the other hand have crafted their mask to deceive others and themselves of how awful they can be

[madockisser]

I just finished Elfhame series and came across your tumblr and your post about "Cardan just wanting love" and your analysis was enjoyable to read.

However, after finishing books 1, 2, and 3, I get the feeling that Cardan isn’t... faithful to Jude. Fae are very poly, and Cardan was/is definitely a thot, and Jude's insecurities over that never go away.

Do you believe Cardan is monogamous after The Wicked King?

Will cardan stay loyal to jude? / cardans views of faith / his love for jude

😭😭no hate to anon but i can’t ever picture cardan NOT being faithful to jude. Also anon did you read “how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories”

btw I’ve made posts like this before(regarding his faith) and they dive into other aspects of why i think he was faithful: this one!!!

he singled jude out from the very beginning during palace school, he fell for jude WHILE he was with nicasia, for so many reasons.

he at first found her infuriating and frustrating for her advantages that she had and he didn’t, despite being raised on the idea that humans were garbage.

then he fell for her determination and audacity, her cunning and strength. even as jude made him look weak, he wanted her and only her.

Meanwhile, cardan hates ass-kissers, which is nicasia, and the rest of the court. He hates that courtiers will allow him to slap and use them, all while going home to people that actually loved them. This is stated in his novella.

Cardan is brought up on the idea that he is a prince that has nothing, that he is worthless despite his title, and he hates it. And that’s how the people treat him, adored and petted on for short times (mostly for favor), but ultimately abandoned and unloved.

Yes, cardan has had lovers, as seen in tcp, in twk, but never after the beggining of the wicked king when he’s shot at. of course courtiers drape themselves on him, but he is aware that they do not love him and that he does not love them, he has only grown not to lash out at them, at which i imagine was based on the fact that he was no longer under balekins suffrance (his beatings) and because he now had jude (even if they weren’t really allies at this point, he still craves Jude’s favor and acts accordingly, as seen as when he gives Taryn his army bc he thinks she’s jude, as seen as him trying time and time again to gain her favor in twk)

Because he wants jude to trust him. Even in the first book, even BEFORE the first book, in his novella, cardan WANTS jude to admire him. he wants jude to see him as he wishes to be seen, princely and powerful, i will attach a pic below from his novella:

(Honestly this pic ALONE pretty much seals the deal for me that he wouldn’t so much as look at another, let alone cheat on jude)

now, onto monogamy and fae standards:

Cardan has shown a clear dislike for many fae standards and cultures.

He sees humans differently from others, he sees life as precious and as something to hold onto, (I’m talking about his morals and his unwillingness to kill even someone that another faerie would consider beneath him), he is unlike his brothers in the power-hungry sense, he likes taking the easy way out, and he craves true love above all.

Jude’s monologue once said that faeries view lovemaking as a sport, as a game. But cardan also said that he never saw love as a game. And he cannot lie.

Add on: bro LITERALLY called jude his GOD. and he cannot lie… so why would he ever have anyone else? exactly!

Another thing, his view of human culture. We know he read Alice in wonderland. We also know that to humans, exchanging rings is commonly our wedding/marital tradition. It it not a fae tradition, for a bride and groom to give each other rings.

Cardan went out of his way to learn about Jude’s culture when proposing to her, and he also stole her ring very early on in the wicked king, so i can imagine that he was planning to propose for a while. To make her his queen.

It is also human culture to remain loyal and monogamous.

Then, when she left during the exile. he was devastated, and begged her to come home in letters that his mother did not send.

In twk, cardan learns, slowly but surely, how to be good. How to be a good king, a good person. For Jude. He learns that he doesn’t have to resort to drinking himself sick to avoid all the misery he endures, but to overcome those miseries and become a good man. and he does it partly for jude and also of course-for himself.

Cardan never knew he could be good, he could be loved. But jude taught him that. (If that isn’t enough to think that he wouldn’t remain monogamous then damn)

Then of COURSE there’s the fact that jude is human. there aren’t many unglamoured humans in elfhame, and obviously Jude’s body is different from a faerie. i like to think that cardan has a specific attraction to Jude’s human body, rather than the same old faerie bodies he’s seen. (I get it king)

LASTLY, i just want to remind us all of how cardan reacted when he found nicasia (of whom he was in a royal relationship with, like him and Jude) with Locke. the photos from his novella are below:

He views nicasias little fling with Locke as excruciating, as a horrible painful betrayal, and he trusted her not to hurt him. (Similar to him and jude, how they trust each other by the end of it, not to hurt one another)

and also, i highlighted “pretend” because although it is faerie standard to be poly in many relationships, cardan STILL is pained by her actions and his dignity and heart are both in shreds. he will pretend to love her after, if the opportunity arises and nicasia doesn’t love him, if it turns out to be just a fling, but he would still be pained by being with her.

if that is how cardan feels about being with lovers, about jude being poly or him being poly, why would he go and inflict that on jude?? he wouldn’t. what him and jude have is much more real than what he and nicasia had because it wasn’t built on obligation (and also the idea that nicasia was going to eventually murder him and steal his throne)

Moral of the story, cardan would not be with other lovers for these reasons: he loves her and he loves to be loved by her, he has learned human cultures to make himself a better husband for her and he follows those traditions, he is heavily distrustful and he dislikes courtiers. also him and jude are MARRIED ROYALTY, at which they are bound by the throne and the land to be together or whatever

anyway thanks for coming to my Ted talk! it shocks me that anyone would think that he would be with others, even if it is faerie culture, cardan is absolutely DEVOTED to that woman (i understand you king)

add on: also ofc jude is scared to get her heart hurt, she guards her heart the ENTIRE series until the end w cardan- and she’s sad when she sees him w nicasia when she asks cardan to get w her in twk. also he’s smoking hot and the king so yeah i would be thinking abt his sex life too lol. also- bro doesn’t even consider the thought that she thinks he may have been w another lover (in qon when they are about to bang) like he is so madly in love w her and she doesn’t even see it, they’re so cute! ALSO cardan has finally found love w jude so it doesn’t make sense for him to go and seek out another, especially since he’s distrusting and hates boot lickers lol

sorry for being so dead on here, I’m from the US so i was saving this last week for rotting my brain on TikTok for the last few days !! I’m working on more asks and ily 🫶 also feel free to add anything i probably missed!! This was messy and lmk if there are any typos!! ok bye

[maingh0st]

idk if holly has ever addressed the folk's origins but i have spent an unnecessary amount of time thinking about it and have decided they're immigrants

[clockworkbee]

welcome to ✨️ the ✨️ moment ✨️

I hadn’t been listening. I hadn’t wanted to hear her; I’d just wanted to save her. And now, because of me, she is dead.

oh man this is the kind of shit i love. she wasn’t thinking, all jude knew was that she had to do something–for this one human, even though it wouldn’t make a difference. some part of her still holding onto the kind of naive optimism, a belief that something she could do might matter, if only to this one person, if only for a moment… and it ended tragically, in a way she probably could have foreseen if she’d stopped to pay attention.

because this wasn’t really about sophie, the human girl she was trying to save. it was about jude’s own power. it was about proving, to herself, that she could fight back. that she could be better than them.

except she can’t. not really. and then she shoves a knife through her hand, because she’s trying to prove something–to herself, even more than dain, and maybe more than a little is about punishingI herself too–and then valerian shows up in her bedroom and she kills him.

if i cannot be better than them, i will become so much worse.

she tried being better. she tried being human. it didn’t work. the girl she tried to save chose death instead. but maybe, just maybe, she can beat them.

and if she has to become a monster to do so, so fucking be it.

[imitationgame77]

Pinging and Tapping

In the world of the Murderbot Diaries, communication is often conducted via comm and feed. Generally, comm is used when internal network is not available, or when one is trying to communicate across space, and feed is used when people are on the same network and allow each other access.

We also often see “pings” and “taps” as a way of quick communication.

Generally, pings are used for comm communications, and taps are used for feed communications, but there seem to be different purposes. Here are what we can gather from the story, and also from real life examples.

[Pings]

Purpose in the MB world:

Pings are typically used for signalling, checking connectivity, and getting responses from other systems or units. They act like a way to see if the other side is present and ready to communicate or respond.

Purpose in Real Life:

Network Connectivity: In computer networks, a "ping" is a diagnostic tool used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. It measures the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer.

Usage in the MB World:

Status Checks: Used to check if systems, such as satellites, drones, or transports, are active and responsive. For example, pinging a satellite to see if it responds​​.

Communication Initiation: Used to start communication with other systems, often to establish a connection or share data. For instance, pinging a transport to offer media files in exchange for a ride​​.

Detection: Used by systems to detect the presence of specific units, like SecUnits, without direct contact​​.

Usage in Real Life:

ICMP Echo Request/Reply: The ping command sends an ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) Echo Request message to the target host and waits for an ICMP Echo Reply.

Network Troubleshooting: Used to determine if a particular host is reachable and to measure the latency between the source and destination.

[Taps]

Purpose in the MB World:

Taps are used more for internal communication within the network or feed. They serve as a means to acknowledge, signal actions, or provide private communication without verbal interaction.

Purpose in Real Life:

Internal Communication: In many systems, "taps" or similar mechanisms are used to signal and communicate internally within a network or system.

Usage in the MB World:

Acknowledgments: Used to acknowledge received messages or instructions. For instance, tapping back an acknowledgment to confirm receipt of instructions​​.

Private Communication: Used to send private or secure messages within the feed, often to communicate specific commands or information discreetly. For example, tapping the feed to communicate privately with another character without others listening in​​.

Control Signals: Used to signal or control actions within the feed, like tapping to instruct a character to fall back or take specific actions​​.

Usage in Real Life:

Signalling Mechanisms: Within computer systems, taps can be analogous to various signalling mechanisms like inter-process communication (IPC), which includes methods such as semaphores, shared memory, and message queues.

Acknowledgments and Control Signals: In networking, control signals and acknowledgments are crucial for managing data flow and ensuring reliable communication. For example, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) uses acknowledgments to confirm the receipt of data packets.

Network Taps: In the context of network security, a "network tap" is a device that allows access to data flowing across a network for monitoring and analysis.​​.

[Comparison]

In both the fictional world of Murderbot Diaries and real life, pings are primarily used for external signalling and connectivity checks, while taps are used for internal communication and control within the feed network

-------------------------------------------------

[Something Worth Noting]

There are some instances where taps seem more reasonable, but pings are used instead.

In Artificial Condition when Murderbot was watching Sanctuary Moon, and ART was trying to get its attention, asking to watch World Hoppers together. (see Artificial Condition, Pings, 5, 6 my AO3)

In Network Effect, when Murderbot finds that a hostile vessel (i.e. ART) was approaching and notifies the team quickly (see Network Effect, Pings, 1 my AO3)

In Network Effect, when Murderbot was locking itself up in the bathroom (see Network Effect, Pings, 11, 12 my AO3)

In Network Effect, when ART requested a private connection (see Network Effect, Pings, 13 my AO3)

In Network Effect, when Amena comes along with Murderbot to investigate Barish-Estranza shuttle, but is told to wait outside. She offers to help to which Murderbot pings acknowledgement (see Network Effect, Pings, 14 my AO3)

At the end of System Collapse when Murderbot pinged Three to ask if it wanted to listen to Holism explain planetary infrastructure (see System Collapse, Pings 15 my AO3)

Of these, 1, 3, 4 are where ART was sending pings to Murderbot. This is actually quite sweet, because we can tell that ART is being very polite to Murderbot. ART is fully capable of slamming into Murderbot’s private feed, but in all of these occasions, Murderbot has been rejecting feed communication which it reserves for friends and clients. ART is respecting this.

Instance 2 is unusual, and I am not 100% sure why Murderbot chose to use ping here. But since it was emergency, and ping is a protocol where it receives automatic response if it had been received at the other end, it was sufficient for its purposes.

When we read the context in which 5 happens we notice that Murderbot is now inside the B-E shuttle, and for security reasons, ART had cut it off from the feed network. So, Murderbot has the options of either verbally answering to Amena, or sending a ping for acknowledgement, and it chose the latter.

In instance 6, Murderbot seems to be being polite to Three who is busy (?) watching educational media. They are cordial to each other, but because Three is still not used to being a free SecUnit, Murderbot is being more careful around it.

--------------

If you are willing to be bored to death, you can see my AO3 post for the list of all the instances where pinging and tapping happen!

[clockworkbee]

Jude's dress for Dain’s Coronation

I think it’s important that we note how Cardan had seen Jude in Liriope’s dress at Locke’s gathering, and according to Jude, he had spotted her while saving Sophie as well, even though she’d thought he hadn’t actually seen her, but come on? Faerie sight and Cardan always recognizing Jude?

So, I think it’s safe to say that he was mesmerized by the sight of her, both, in that dress, and in the dark, the woods behind her and the moonlight and whatnot, and that he’d decided he’d like to see her in the same style as the dress she wore at Locke’s, but in the colors he’d seen her (or envisioned her) in that night. I like to think that the seamstress incorporated both Dain’s and Cardan’s wishes, btw. It’s very likely, too, since Jude got to see her dress’s final look after the aforementioned two events. I know she thinks/says,

Over that is stitched the stark outlines of trees, the way I see them from my window as dusk is falling.

But can’t it be that her view of the trees from her window was similar to Cardan’s view of her, while she was helping the mortal girl?

[thebestbrunettee]

cardan x jude pt. 2

(see pt. 1 before reading :))

in the novella, it says that cardan’s obsession with jude truly started after the night in the river, yk the one when he tried to drown her, she stood up to him, i believe we’re all familiar. anyways it’s then that cardan REALLY starts to notice her. obviously he’s known she’s existed before- he’s been her bully for probably much longer and earlier in the story than when tcp begins- but it’s after this scene that he realizes that jude is going to become a problem. one that will wrack his brain for countless of sleepless nights, a problem he doesn’t think he can solve.

then, on tcp, page 78, locke tells jude about just how much she gets under cardan’s skin. “like a splinter?” i say. “of iron. no one else bothers him quite the way you do.” so ALREADY, cardan is obsessing over jude when she’s barely done anything. (i mean she has stood up to him but that’s nothing compared to later in the series or even just the first book).

now, we’re by now well aware of cardan’s growing obsession and little (not little at all) crush on our girl jude. but unbeknownst to cardan, and jude as well tbh, jude is beginning to become equally obsessed. on page 81 of tcp, dain comes to recruit jude to his court of shadows- however jude doesn’t know it’s him. she only knows there’s a prince waiting for her in madoc’s study. surprise surprise- she thinks it cardan! ‘“the prince is asking for you downstairs.” cardan, here? my heartbeat speeds. i can’t think.’ well would you look at that?? our babygirl jude thinks her favorite prince is coming to visit her. now in all seriousness, this reaction could come across as fear- and it most likely is. however what do we know about fear in this series? for mortals, fear is a mere centimeter away from the feeling of love, and can often get confused with one another. so really, jude is flustered beyond belief because she thinks her crush is at her home and wants to speak with her. though, she probably is a bit scared as well.

THEN in that very same scene, even when she realizes it’s dain here and not cardan, she STILL believes cardan has something to do with him being here. page 81, ‘could cardan have sent him?’. then that same page, dain asks: “who did you think i was?” “no one,” i say quickly. my thumb rubs over my ring finger, over the smooth skin of the missing tip.’ not only does she immediately get defensive and dismiss cardan as a topic of conversation entirely, she gets nervous at the though of him. nervous. what emotion is nervousness associated with? fear. and what else is the feeling of fear? love. this scene once again alludes jude’s feelings for cardan MUCH earlier in the series than when their actual romance begins.

i’d also like to point out how jude is acutely aware of cardan’s beauty, even more so than his friends’. example, page 30, jude describes cardan as such; “and cardan is even more beautiful than the rest, with black hair as iridescent as a raven’s wing and cheekbones sharp enough to cut out a girl’s heart.” like GIRL. is she describing him or is she gushing about how drop-dead gorgeous he is?? i personally believe the latter. in that same monologue, “i hate him more than all the others. i hate him so much that sometimes when i look at him i can hardly breathe.” again… GIRL! she’s describing him as BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL. and tell me again that you hate him, jude? because it’s looking real sus.