I’ve finally made it to The Captive Kingdom in my TAS reread and just. The sheer amount of times that Jaron reiterates that he has to protect Fink at all costs is like HNNGNGGGGG
VERY GOOD addition. our boy is just a little bundle of complicated emotions and he just needs a hug honestly 😭😭
the false prince spoilers below ⬇️
thinking about… how jaron had to find out that his whole family was dead and pretend to not care. of course, he could blame his reaction on pure shock, but the careless Avenian orphan he was pretending to be could not possibly have displayed the amount of grief he was feeling.
and that’s why the dungeon scene is one of my favorites in the whole book, because it’s the first time he allows himself to truly grieve for his family. it’s such a rare moment of vulnerability for him and he deserved that time to mourn!! (and also Mott was there so instant favorite)
after writing that last post I thought I put my TST book back on the shelf and had my phone in my hand.
as I was leaving my room I was like “why isn’t my phone fitting in my pocket”
I looked down and I was trying to cram my copy of TST into my pocket. I had put my phone on the shelf and left with the book in my hand. I am very sleep deprived
and you’re so right, although I might be biased because I am a sucker for male characters letting themselves be vulnerable :)
short essay below 😂
as far as I can remember, and I may be wrong, Jaron only cries three times in the original trilogy; the dungeon scene in TFP, outside the church in TRK, and on the battlefield with Mott in TST. Which means the only times he’s been recorded crying he’s either been alone or with Mott, which is so interesting to me. Mott seems to be one of the only people he feels comfortable breaking down around, even from the very beginning.
my theory on this is that Jaron feels he has to be strong for almost everyone in his life except Mott. since Mott does seem to be that “rock” figure you referred to, Jaron feels he can really release his emotions around Mott because he’s always been so strong. Jaron loves all of his friends, but he also feels that he has to protect them from his own feelings, that he will only be a burden to them (is this me projecting myself onto a character? maybe!).
so yeah. that’s just my opinion on him, and obviously he lets his guard down lots of times for people other than Mott (eg. Harlowe), but Mott’s the only one who ever sees him cry. which is just interesting to me ;)
the false prince spoilers below ⬇️
thinking about… how jaron had to find out that his whole family was dead and pretend to not care. of course, he could blame his reaction on pure shock, but the careless Avenian orphan he was pretending to be could not possibly have displayed the amount of grief he was feeling.
and that’s why the dungeon scene is one of my favorites in the whole book, because it’s the first time he allows himself to truly grieve for his family. it’s such a rare moment of vulnerability for him and he deserved that time to mourn!! (and also Mott was there so instant favorite)
thinking about… how jaron had to find out that his whole family was dead and pretend to not care. of course, he could blame his reaction on pure shock, but the careless Avenian orphan he was pretending to be could not possibly have displayed the amount of grief he was feeling.
and that’s why the dungeon scene is one of my favorites in the whole book, because it’s the first time he allows himself to truly grieve for his family. it’s such a rare moment of vulnerability for him and he deserved that time to mourn!! (and also Mott was there so instant favorite)
Fink still gets terrified of thunderstorms. It wasn’t uncommon for the places he hid in to flood with rain water. And even though he sleeps in the castle now, he still thinks about how the water would almost always creep over him.