When one arm Roman vis and his giant wolf, one arm Celtic vis who just wants to farm and two arm Egyptian vis who spent a year in a hellish land all walk into a room.
all of the people from the academy when vis shows up: oh my god vis is here! look everybody it’s vis we love him. hi vis!!!
random farming family and a band of child warriors in luceum: this is daeglan we love him he’s orange. he wandered in here one day and we don’t totally know where’s he’s from but he’s ours now.
“I can’t believe Mustang would betray Darrow with Cassius”
“I’ll never forgive Virginia for her scheming in Golden Son”
“How could Mustang be so cruel to Darrow?”
WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH. W O A H .
DARROW was the one who broke up with MUSTANG. OKAY?
And even though WE know that it was because he couldn’t reconcile his falling in love with her while lying to her about HIS ENTIRE IDENTITY… and also because he was STILL GRIEVING HIS WIFE THAT DIED LIKE… NOT THAT LONG AGO…. VIRGINIA DIDN’T KNOW THAT.
From HER PERSPECTIVE Darrow was choosing to go wage war for her father who is E V I L. And telling her that he wants to end things with her JUST CUZ. like I bet she was SO CONFUSED. And heartbroken. That this guy who she fell in love with and also seemed to be in love with her was like “no I’m gonna choose ambition and glory and perpetuating the system I told you I wanted to change and also I can’t be with you anymore sorry no I will not be taking any questions at this time. Yeah no I can’t tell you why. So sorry. bye”
WHICH LIKE… ?????? DUDE. You’re just gonna tell me we can never be together and leave me standing here with a shattered heart and not even TELL ME WHY? I’d LOSE. MY. MIND.
But then okay so get this right. HE BROKE UP WITH HER AND THEN A FULL ASS YEAR LATER HER ENTIRE FAMILY IS BOUTA GET MURDERED (and also Darrow…) . And she’s barely treading water on Luna. She’s lying and scheming with everything she has to protect her people even her lame ex who’s hell bent on killing himself. She’s not over Darrow and she literally hates Cassius but AGAIN SOME PERSPECTIVE HERE-at this point it’s been a YEAR. It’s time. He left her he broke things off. At this point if I was her friend I’d be like MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD. I KNOW YOURE STILL HUNG UP ON HIM BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY. THE BEST WAY TO GET OVER A MAN IS TO GET UNDER A NEW ONE. ENTER CASSIUS. The man is, objectively, a glorified Ken doll with a god complex. He is also conveniently positioned to save her entire family’s life .. AND THE LIFE OF HER EX WHO SHES STILL IN LOVE WITH EVEN THOUGH HE BROKE UP WITH HER. So she’s like alright fine Cassius I’ll go on a date with you. I’ll be your girlfriend. Which is, in the grand scheme of things, a small sacrifice if it means saving the lives of the entirety of House Augustus. Nevermind the small detail of her feeling like she’s drowning, that she’s wicked and cruel and that she was basically settling for a loveless political arrangement in exchange for SAVING HER FAMILY… AND HER STUPID ASS EX BOYFRIEND.
And then who flounces in right when Mustang begins to come to terms with the fact that she’s simply doing what has to be done… BUT HER EX BOYFRIEND WHO LOOKS AT HER WITH HER ARM LOOPED THROUGH ANOTHER MAN’S ARM AND HAS THE AUDACITY TO LOOK CRUSHED. which is pretty ironic bc *gets out megaphone, pulls down a powerpoint*
HE. BROKE. UP. WITH. HER.
Like be so serious. What exactly was Virginia supposed to do? Sit quietly in a corner with perfect loyalty to a man who LEFT HER with no answers, no closure, and no plan? While her world literally BURNS? While this man spirals into a reckless warpath and then looks surprised Pikachu face when she already had another scheme in the works… and one that doesn’t involve tons of innocents dying but does include her seducing his opp from high school?
She did what every intelligent, resourceful, emotionally gutted yet still fundamentally loyal woman in her position would do: She pivoted. She survived. She adapted. And she dared to make strategic choices in a world that demands them.
I reread Light Bringer then Golden Son back to back... and I noticed a parallel that lead to (yet another) long winded essay... (spoilers for red rising saga up to Lightbringer). PRESENTING: ~‘Ask Me to Stay’~An Origin Story in Avoidant Attachment and Razor-Based Couples Counseling (its way too long im so sorry)(no im not)
“When you’re on your heels, you’re a liar. On your toes, you spit truth.”
She swings again. “Now spit.”
She hits my kneecap.
(Golden Son, Ch. 33)
First and foremost, can we appreciate that Virginia literally chases Darrow around his bedroom with a practice razor to make him talk about his feelings. Pro tip for ladiez dealing with emotionally unavailable men... have you tried interrogating him about philosophy while trying to take out his kneecaps with a blunt weapon?
It’s hilarious
but only mildly effective bc
Darrow starts to descend deeply into angsty angst AHH "she'll never accept me for who I am" panic territory. So Mustang pivots:
“Then her. The girl you lost.”
I say nothing. She’s never pried.
…
How stupid of me. How could she forget? How could it not linger there inside her, forcing her to wonder, as she lay with her head on my chest listening to my heart beat, if it didn’t belong to another girl, a dead girl.
“Silence isn’t the answer right now, Darrow.”
(Golden Son, Ch. 33)
Virginia corners him and what spills out is everything she’s never said. She’s always known about Eo. She’s always wondered if there’s a part of Darrow she’ll never reach.
And Darrow?
He says nothing.
Again.
It’s not malicious. It’s not cold. It’s fear. It's habit. It’s the same silence that will haunt their marriage for the next decade.
Now jump to Iron Gold. Years later. Married. MILF and DILF respectively. Survivors of ten thousand heartbreaks. And yet the same wounds are there. Ready to surface when they find themselves stretched to their breaking points.
“What is the point of this- marriage-if there’s no faith between us?” she asks.
“No trust? I know you love me. I know you love our son. But love isn’t enough. You can’t hide things from me just because I’ll disagree with you.”
…
“But maybe you think you’re meant to die. Maybe you think you’re supposed to follow her.”
I feel sudden pain for my wife. “This isn’t about Eo.”
“No, it’s about you praying for storms, believing that when they come they’ll bring you peace.”
(Iron Gold, Ch. 33)
When I read this fight I almost felt awkward for intruding which is why it’s brilliant. Because it’s not about who’s right…. it’s about how long these two have held onto insecurities and grief they never truly voiced aloud. Darrow still carries guilt like it’s armor. And Virginia? She still wonders if she’s second. Still fears that part of him is trying to disappear.
“It’s like you want me to shut myself off to you. Is that what you want?”
She’s begging. And beneath the anger, it’s the same plea as back in Golden Son:
“Why do you pull me back if you’re just going to push me away?”
They are still asking each other the same questions.
They are still hoping the other will finally answer.
And then Light Bringer. After so much death. After distance, horror, regret and loss...
Darrow comes home. He’s broken, battered, and finally ready to stop hiding. He says to Virginia in their almost-reunion post Battle of Phobos
“I thought one last push would see us through. Numb myself. Put it all on me. Get it done. Then we’d get to live the life we’d promised ourselves. Experience the future we wanted Pax to have. […….]
But I know I tend to shut down. Sometimes for years. That’s not right. It’s not…the path I want to walk anymore. It’s lonely, and we’ve always been stronger together.”
It parallels the scene in Golden Son down to the wording! The boy who let Virginia walk away rather than tell her the truth finally confesses and confronts a fear he's been battling for YEARS: the way he shuts down to protect others. The way he shuts her out. The way he believes he has to carry it alone.
And now? He doesn’t want to anymore.
But here’s the irony, the tragedy, the exquisite twist of the knife. Virginia says, voice strained with grief and tears:
“Darrow, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The hardest thing—” My voice breaks. I fight back the tears. “Every morning you are my first thought. Maybe news has come as I slept. Maybe you’ve just landed in Agea…” I can’t keep the strain from my voice.
And then she sends him away. :
“But we need you out there, beyond their siege line until you can return at the head of an armada.”
This is why I love them.
Because this isn’t a love story built on grand gestures and perfect timing.
It’s built on pain. On misunderstandings. On missed chances and trying again anyway.
Darrow’s deepest insecurities? They echo across six books.
Virginia’s? She carries them silently, always rational, always in control.. until she isn’t.
They both falter. They both withhold.
But they also learn. Slowly. Brutally. Truthfully.
From:
“You shut me off.”
To:
“I shut down.”
This isn’t resolution.
It’s recognition.
It’s love as process- not as a performance.
They’re not perfect. But they’re real.
And that makes me love them more.
Just Over Here reading, Dont Worry About it. @constant-book-hangover - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
