was thinking today abt how luxa and ripred somehow BOND at the end of code of claw and somehow no one,,,, ever,,,, questions it? cause it just creates more questions that literally never ever get answered within the book?
isnt luxa already bonded to aurora? can you bond with more than one person then? what even is the significance of a bond then?
aurora is apparently okay with this but,,, it does not make that much sense really. also, "if you think so, then i can survive it" (luxa to aurora, a little after the bond is made),,, that's. not very,,,,, bondlike or any good prospects for luxa and ripred's bond unless luxa is being sarcastic but i doubt that?
all throughout the series, bonds have always been between humans and fliers. this does make sense because a human and flier duo is pretty great for fighting and survival + travel within the underland, they complement each other. i don't think a human could have that with any other species. (idk how to articulate but like, fliers provide the Flight and humans provide the Attack yk, there's not much a gnawer can provide to a human in that regard if you get what i mean)
also, bonds are sought with someone who have a connection or understanding with. someone whose loss you would actively grieve. luxa and aurora, howard and pandora, hazard and thalia (😭), and so on. i mean,,, a bond is clearly a significant concept within the underland, the breaking of which is literally disastrous (ares being punished with exile before gregor saves the day). if i'm not forgetting anything, the only time a bond breaks is either a betrayal (henry and ares!!! they are a great example of how bond ≠ peace), or your bond dying (howard and pandora).
observing luxa and ripred's dynamic, they do not quite have the understanding that creates a successful bond (Luxa Was Literally Ready To Send Ripred And The Gnawers To The Uncharted Lands, HOW DID THEY BOND™️ LIKE 2 SECONDS LATER??? I reread that part just now and I lost several braincells, just to confirm if I was right. Anyway). i just. don't see how luxa could say that treaties have failed,,,, a bond can fail too?
especially considering how badly henry's betrayal affected luxa throughout the series, it just feels,,,, Not Right to see luxa doing this when henry's bond with ares failed? like, would she not have considered this before placing so much faith in a bond between her and ripred?
unless there is actual magic involved, nothing really guarantees that luxa and ripred's bond will preserve peace or anything. bonds in tuc seem to be more of a cultural/interpersonal tradition of high significance as opposed to an actual magical construct with any weight that ISN'T assigned by cultural/personal association.
i read more of that part just to check and this quote? "I need one human to genuinely approve of what I just did." (said by luxa)
THE WAY THIS LOOKS,,, THIS SOUNDS LIKE A VERY BAD MOVE FOR UM. YOUR "image"???? How could you make such a huge move without even consulting anyone properly, right ? Luxa, bonding with A GNAWER who you Threatened with Exile/Banishment does NOT bode well for your reputation, which you need if you are going to actually want to preserve any peace? Bro you could've just signed a treaty,,,,,,,
and i mean, if you CAN bond (bonds are one of the most,, iconic? idk what other word to use, features of tuc, just to put that here) with other species instead of just humans and fliers, i feel like that's not something you would ever just put at the end of the book and never really explore in depth,,,
anyway i feel like i missed something but like,,,, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE QUESTIONING ON THE LUXA AND RIPRED BOND BECAUSE IT'S SO OUT OF NOWHERE,, and detracts from a proper understanding of what a bond even is
im pretty sure this is my first proper uh essay??? post on here so um lmk what u think, id love to hear all ur thoughts in general and stuff. i will prolly reblog this post if i have more thoughts on this, let's see haha. anyway, have an awesome day/night!
