Tumgik
#and also idk the second rue said they were a changeling that reframed their whole character for me
ironinkpen · 1 year
Text
god i’m so obsessed w Delloso de la Rue and yeah, I’ll say it: they’re right about everything
I think discussions I’ve seen about Rue’s position of “privilege” often fail to contend with the fact that Rue experiences this world as a kidnapping victim. Rue is not an archfey. They were taken from the mortal world as a young child. From what we’ve seen about how Wanessa is treated like an oddity/fascination, we can guess that Rue was treated much the same. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Rue became a party planner—when you are brought to a world as entertainment, I suspect you grow up terrified of what might happen if you stop being entertaining. 
Rue has existed on the outskirts of the Court of Wonder for years. Forced (whether literally or just by social pressure) to wear a glamor—scared of anyone even touching their HAND for fear of being found out. Do you think Rue has ever danced at the Blooms they’ve spent millennia planning, or was this year the first time?
Claiming Rue is oblivious to the plight of other, lesser fey ignores the fact that Rue is ultimately a worker—not a true aristocrat like the Lords of the Wing. They have a job—they plan the Bloom. Yes, they have political power, but not due to being high-born or playing the political game or all that; they have political power because they’re popular, because they dedicated themself to the happiness of others for millennia, connecting people of different courts together, bringing people love and joy. And I doubt they even realize just how powerful they are, because they spend most of their time away from their court, planning a fucking party.
Everyone calls them the “pride” of a court they barely see. They are assumed to speak for them, even when they are speaking their own mind. Of course they have no loyalty to the Court system. Of course they don’t see the point in anything except love—love they themself have been robbed of, were stolen away from. Rue’s bardic inspiration is a song they remember from the mortal plane. Isn’t it telling that even thousands of years later, their magic—magic, which Andhera and Binx both describe as stemming from love—comes from that faded memory of home?
Yes, it’s a bummer that Rue’s actions caused Hob’s victories to be undermined a bit, but honestly? Why should we really care about the political advancement of the Goblin Court’s aristocracy, who have shown they are exactly the same as the Court of Wonder in their treatment of their subordinates (Hob standing away from the campfire, just as Rue is kept in a tower for months out of the year)? Rue might have hurt Hob by hiding the truth, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong when they urge him to take care of himself, to abandon his loyalty to a system that won’t reward him for it. That’s not Rue being naive or privileged—that’s Rue being exactly like Hob, a servant of their court who toiled tirelessly for years, sacrificing their own happiness, only to just now realize how pointless it all was.
And honestly, on the more political side, Rue probably saved everyone’s asses by breaking up the marriage between Grabalba and Apollo. Apollo would for sure have used the Goblins’ military might to accelerate his plans of stealing the magic. And then, once that was achieved, do you really think he would have honored his agreements with the Goblin Court? He’s the kind of dishonorable man who tried to murder Hob in secret. You’re telling me he wouldn’t have double crossed them once he got what he wanted? Why would he give a shit about a political marriage? 
Like, for real: why would Apollo want to marry Grabalba? We know the Goblin Court’s status would be MASSIVELY elevated by this union, but what advantage does the Court of Wonder gain from marrying into the Goblin Court? It was all military—another power grab by Wonder. Rue broke it up and probably saved the fey realm in the process. 
And now they could lose someone they really love over it. 
467 notes · View notes