Ok so Imma talk about the Vega/Shah situation because what do you MEAN.
So first off I am aware that the Vega/Shah ship in the books is tertiary at best. It doesn't get any direct mentions till Storm of Sharks and basically doesnt get revisited till War of the Werelords so I understand my analysis here is gonna be short some data points. But hear me the fuck out.
A quick timeline
Rise of the Wolf
-Casper gets introduced. His backstory summarized is 'I am an orphan. Vega raised me. Im pretty sure pirates killed my parents but idrc I got a lot going on Im twelve'
Rage of Lions
-Casper is hanging out while the daddy lords and Vega are fucking up the Highcliff situation. Bad job done by all. Its not really relevant to the analysis I just like complaining .
Shadow of the Hawk
-Shah and Griphyn don't get NEARLY enough screen time. Like its actually criminal. Theyre incredibly cool characters. We kinda just zoom straight through their backstory.
- the tidbits we get are 1. Shah had a kid with an unnamed asshole 2. She gave up said kid and sent him to live with his dad. 3. Her and Griphyn both regret that decision massively and have no idea of the kid is ok then Griphyn DIES without ever finding out if his grandson is ok.
Which is OH MY GOD so tragic. But anyway more data to see.
Storm of Sharks
- we get a series of revelations. 1. Casper is a werehawk. 2. Vega KNOWS WHO HIS MOM IS AND DIDNT TELL HIM WTF VEGA. 3. Drew tells Vega where Shah is and what was up with the whole situation 4. Vega tells Drew he left Shah behind back when they met in Omir. He still loves her but what can you do?
War of the Werelords
- Oh it turns out what you can do is NOT BE AN ASSHOLE LOSER VEGA! There is a conversation between Shah and Vega where it turns out she ASKED him to get her out of the whole slavery situation. He instead fucks off out to sea. Then when he receives Casper he proceeds to NOT GO FIND SHAH even knowing odds are shes probably still enslaved and would like him to come get her out of the situation.
- Vega then proceeds to not tell Shah her kid is alive and well. To I dont know, make the reveal better later or something? What the actual hell dude thats not a good reason. If you dont have the kid then the only thing she can assume is that the merchant that was supposed to give him to you fucked up so her kids probably dead. THANKS FOR THAT VEGA.
- does the reveal. Introduces Casper and Shah. Cool I guess if you ignore the fact that he literally lied to both of them and told them both separately the other one was dead or lost.
- Vega fakes his death (for some reason?) And fucks off into the sunset with his hawk girlfriend and hawk son. Good for them I guess.
Overall notes: Vega handled every aspect of this situation horribly and I have receipts.
1. Didn't even consider going after Shah at any point even though he claims he never stopped loving her......bruh
2. Lied to Casper at every turn. Told him both his parents were dead. Then admits hes his dad only after its painfully obvious kids a Werelord. Then doesnt tell the kid who his mom is until he's staring her in the face. Dramatic reveals may be fun but thats a child Vega. What the hell.
3. Sees Shah again. Instead of apologizing and immediately telling her how her child is ok, elects to lie to her about the whole thing. Says he doesnt know where the kid is. Even if you didnt want to get her hopes up or something thats shitty dude.
4. Djogo stabs Vega at the end because he perceives him as a threat to Shah. I would like to note that while Opal is mostly to blame for that perception, nothing Vega did in any way helped the situation. Hey maybe if you were good to her then the gladiator dude might have been more doubtful about killing you. But nope, you had to be an asshole and now youre stabbed. Whoopsie.
Isn't over. I dont hate Vega as a character but GODDAMN is it hard to root for this relationship. Leave 👏 him 👏 babe. Find someone who has his shit together.
Alright I've been encouraged. Here are my Thoughts. To preface, I'm mainly here to offer counterpoints for your arguments, not here to prove any rights or wrongs 👍
Absolutely correct Shah and Griffyn do not get nearly enough storytime, I bemoan this every day. And I agree that your receipts on how Vega handled the whole Shah situation in the past demonstrate that it was definitely Not the Way to do it. Just a bad idea for everyone involved.
But it does give us a perspective on the ways Drew's cause has changed his allies, something constantly revisisted in the books. Vega admits to Shah he was "more selfish, more cowardly" when he left her to Kesslar after saying he would take her with him (6.267). But he does regret it, and he does make good in reuniting mother and son.
It's written the reason he doesn't immediately tell Casper everything about Shah being his mother is to work up to that conversation, since Casper is also dealing with the whole therianthrope news and the fact that his family is not actually dead. It's also written Vega waited to tell Shah that Casper was alive until he was certain he could reunite them immediately upon saying so (6.268). He had already promised Casper he would take him to her earlier in the book before the battle of Bana, and he does everything he can to make it happen.
Vega recognizes that he failed utterly with Shah. But as soon as he hears Shah is alive and fighting this war with the rest of them, he refuses to fail his son the same way he failed her. Does make me wonder what would have happened had the war not happened. Like one day Casper grows wings and Vega's like "hm guess I should try looking for his mom"????? But that's why Drew is so necessary to his character development 👍
So. Short version, point for point:
Yes, he fails to be any kind of noble or heroic by abandoning Shah after their affair. He had no allies, no domain, only the Maelstrom at his command, and he was still desperate to earn back what Leopold had stolen from him. He calculated the risk-benefit on stealing her from Kesslar, and he cut his losses. Asshole move, yeah, but I can kind of see the selfish motive there.
He did keep Casper's parentage secret. And I can't blame him! See above: he's alone against other more established therians, and even when no one knew Casper was his son, Opal and Ghul still used him against Vega in the Sea Tower (5.266). He's not winning Father of the Year (Duke Bergan, defending champion?) but he does care for Casper, and it's said Casper absolutely thinks the world of him (3.150, 151). Not a fantastic father, but far from a shitty one. By book 5, my god it's so clear he loves that boy. He was ready to get himself killed if it meant tearing apart the man who'd thrown his son off the tower.
Meeting Shah again after 11+ years, yeah not the best meeting, and his apology skills need work. But he does act better, if not for himself and Shah, then for Casper and Shah. In my book, that goes a long way in showing how he has changed from that self-serving coward in the past.
Djogo's motivation has always bothered me, cuz his arc just seems so half-done. Anyway, yes, Opal was pulling some serious strings to set him against Vega using the information she had. But his only interactions with Vega were already colored by his love for Shah. Vega is right when he says he's barely spoken to the man and he already dislikes him (6.425). There's nothing Vega could have done if he didn't know why Djogo didn't like him. And Shah seems oblivious to Djogo's affections as well, so she couldn't have stepped in to ease the tension anyway.
👐ta daaaa👐 I hope this is at least vaguely interesting to read. I enjoy the way Vega's past colors his present in the story. He goes from being The Pirate Prince, infamous lackland turncoat, to Sea Marshall under the Wolf, and then after the Battle of Robben, he muses he might turn his back on piracy--huge change! Very interesting change!
