Gilan: *Pulls a glass of water from out of nowhere*

Will: Where did you get that?

Gilan: My pocket.

Will: How do you keep a glass of water in your pocket?

Gilan: Skills.

✨✨✨

“Will’s full first name was actually William but his mom died before she could finish saying it” mhm yes but consider that perhaps it was actually “Willow” or something because he is transgender

Saying “Pre-T” about Will Treaty can mean both “pre-treaty” or “pre-transition” btw

Will (pre-Treaty) hiding in the weeds

Will and Alyss are trans here’s my essay

We talk a lot about how funny it is that Flanagan unintentionally wrote the gayest love story between Halt and Crowley in TEY, but holy shit we don’t talk enough about how he also managed to accidentally write the two most trans characters ever.

Alyss and Will being trans is a semi-popular headcanon that’s been in the fandom for ages now, but I haven’t seen many people really dive into why this headcanon is so prevalent. I think that partially has to do with the fact that, like any lgbtq+ identity, it’s pretty difficult to clock someone as trans without relying on trans stereotypes. Really, any character in the RA series could be trans if you chose to believe it since being trans doesn’t look any certain way. That being said, I do think there are some pretty clear qualities and experiences that Will and Alyss have that feel very close to my own experience with being transgender.

Physical appearance is usually the first thing people point out/notice when talking about this headcanon. Will is short, more so than one might expect from a cis man. Alyss is taller than most men and also has a deep voice. I have mixed feelings about people pointing to this as the only reason they think they’re trans. I mean, it makes enough sense for it to be the only reason since one part of being trans is the fact that one’s body doesn’t match their gender identity. What I don’t like about that being the only reason is that there’s so much more to the trans identity and experience than “body don’t match :(“

But that’s the cool thing about Will and Alyss, their physical appearance effects their perception of themselves the same way it does for a trans person (or a cis person really, but it feels much more prevalent in trans people). In the first book, Will is clearly uncomfortable with his height; almost any time it’s brought up, he replies with “I haven’t had my growth spurt yet”, almost defensively. Then, as Will becomes more comfortable with who he is, you can see it bother him less and less. I love this bc it’s exactly what happened with my dysphoria as I transitioned. The more I got to know myself and discover myself, the less my dysphoria bothered me.

As for Alyss, she is so clearly so confident with her appearance. She never tries to hide her height or voice. Although we don’t get to see her journey with those qualities, the way she’s so confident feels like something the earned. It’s something she maybe used to feel insecure about, then decided she gets to decide what femininity means to her. Her height and voice contribute to her elegance and femininity rather than contradict them.

Another thing about Will is his name and how it relates to his identity. I know Flanagan didn’t intend for any of this to be some trans allegory, but goddamn can I relate my trans experience to it. Will grew up without a last name, and you can see how deeply that effects him. It wasn’t just that he was “Will no-name”, he was missing a part of his identity. Hell, he said verbatim “at least you know who you are” to a fucking owl because he felt so confused and unheard (which btw is the most edgy teen thing he ever did).

Though you can see this missing part of his identity bother him less as he gained a support system, it’s still clear that he felt like something was missing. If he didn’t feel like something was missing, he wouldn’t have been so incredibly happy when he became “Will Treaty”. And when he got his last name, you can tell he’s proud, not because he finally has an identity, but because he finally has a name to match the identity he’s spent so long discovering and cultivating. He no longer expresses any sadness or grief that he doesn’t have his father’s last name, because he doesn’t need it to know who he is. He’s Will Treaty, and he’s perfectly happy with being exactly that. This is the most trans-coded naming experience holy shit.

Anyway that’s all I have to say about this (for now at least). Go give your local trans friend a kiss.

I utterly adore the relationship between Horace and Halt when they start bickering about the less than ‘noble’ things that Halt does. Like the forgeries of course, the lying about skirts, and ‘knighting’ Horace. But my favourite is when Halt suggests they go fishing, and Horace is like, utterly disgusted that Halt would dare use his bow to secure a meal. (Or maybe he was actually disgusted by the idea of using perfectly good war arrows for fishing, I know I would be.) Like, he’s just so silly?! He has no qualms about Will whacking rabbits or deer, but the moment Halt wants to get them fish, he suddenly has morals about hunting?! He goes on a whole spiel about how it should be done and everything. You’d think Horace, hungry hungry, Kurokama Horace, would be so keen on the idea, after all, it’s food! Of all the things that the OakLeaf knight has accepted when working with rangers, he’s dumbfounded by fucking bow fishing?!

“I can excuse forging the King’s Seal, but I draw the line at bowfishing.” Sounding ass mofo. He’s still my favourite homosexual himbo though.

Hi holy shit I didn’t know the Ranger’s Apprentice fandom were alive and well on Tumblr hello lovelies!!! Here’s some art I’ve done, I’ve loved this series for years and years. While I drew Horace and will, dw I still love Will and alyss and Horace and Cassandra. But I also like alyss and Cassandra as a pairing lol ^^’

ok may i remind you, in the Royal Ranger Will Treaty, grown-ass man that he is, had a midnight therapy/cuddle sesh with his dog where he vents about his life problems.

now i present to you the scenario of Will Treaty, in fresh grief after losing Alyss, clinging to the only form of comfort he now has, having a midnight therapy/cuddle sesh with his dog where he vents about his life problems.

Sable really was a real one.

Imagine Halt getting fed up with Horace's moral quandaries about pretending to be a knight in Galica and just knighting him on the spot himself.

Of course, Horace would think it was illegitimate until years later when Halt reveals his royal status to give Horace an existential crisis.

Do you mean Horace or Morgarath is insane bc holy shit that battle was something

I just reread Horace’s and Morgarath’s battle and I forgot how fucking scary that was

Cause I knew how it was going to turn out and I was still petrified. That man is genuinely insane. Like actually

Rodney: Will and Horace got into a fight.  Halt: That’s bad.  Halt:  Halt: Did Will win?

No this is so real

Hear me out, this is how I picture Will in my head

Bro saw the way Will handled the boar fight and immediately had some questions about himself

Horace Altman’s character development is a wonder. How did this boy go from textbook bully jock to living proof that there is in fact hope for cis men. He used to outlet his insecurities through anger and violence. Now he’s a feminist and openly acknowledges his own shortcomings and strives to be better. Who is he. He needs to be studied.

Horace Altman’s character development is a wonder. How did this boy go from textbook bully jock to living proof that there is in fact hope for cis men. He used to outlet his insecurities through anger and violence. Now he’s a feminist and openly acknowledges his own shortcomings and strives to be better. Who is he. He needs to be studied.