So you've mentioned several times how the death pacts between yrene/chaol and f/eysand are really unhealthy, and honestly they sound awful. I was wondering if you've read A Darker Shade of Magic because a very similar thing happens, but it's actually well written? It's done in a panic when someone's dying and the two characters really disagree at first, and it comes back to bite them when they both nearly die, and they use it to their advantage at other points. The only case where this works imo
Actually, I don’t have a huge amount of issue with the concept of a death pact as a bare bones idea/plot point/source of conflict/what have you.
The problem in s/jm books is the way that it’s romanticised by the books, and later, inevitably, the fandom as well. @valamerys has talked about this before, I’m sure, and better than this, but it could be an interesting dark twist, or source of conflict, just as long as it’s pointed out as being that way.
But it isn’t. In both instances (as far as I’m aware in T0D with the healing thing anyway) it’s presented as a positive thing. it definitely is in ac0war, the idea of the two lovers never again being parted because if one dies then the other dies with them, is presented as romantic and desirable and ‘oh look how much they love each other, they’d rather die than live without them’. When that’s...deeply unhealthy. Like, people, there’s a goddamn reason romeo and juliet is a tragedy.
So, yeah, I think this could be a really interest plot point/source of tension for a relationship, and Claire could probably talk about this better than I can but this is sadly all I’ve got.
