#madoc

[lunchlich]

Campaign update:

Our party is level 10 now! We defeated a baddie, a cambion from Madoc's bestie's (another palidin, the PaliPals...) backstory. She gifted Madoc his armor, partially because he's the only person in the party big enough for it, so.

Now my shy, nature-god-worshipping, yearning, harp lute playing firbolg, is wearing THE SON OF ASMODEUS' FUCKING ARMOR

[limoni-owo]

I need to re read the stolen heir books again but oh my god what do ysll think Madoc is cooking?

He said he went there to convince his army to rejoin him and take over that court. Do you think he wanted to become King in the court of teeth? Do you think he would plan to take over the high court after or would he neutralize the court of teeth as a show of good faith towards Jude.

And more importantly WHAT IS HE PLANING NOW. What cards could he possibly have in store and what does he want. Is he still wanting to be king of the high court or will he try to weasel his way into court dealing and positions so he regains power to create conflict and war. I dont think he is going for grand general as Jude would allow him to get away with murdering Grima Mog, if he could that is. But also Grima Mog wouldn’t allow him to gain much power in court either.

I think the reasonable healthy father thing to do was slowly gain Judes trust and becomes confidant while he can have some passion project ( political warfare) in other courts. I dont think he’ll accept a position where he can be ordered around by Jude but maybe as a collaborator

[runespoor7]

This could be snappier but you get the idea:

Travant: so you... killed these girls' parents and brought them home and raised them and call them daughters?

Madoc: yep.

Travant: and they... let you? They don't resent you for making them orphans?

Madoc: sure they do, but they are still my daughters.

Travant: ...

Madoc: they always knew what I was. Maybe your problem was the lack of communication.

Travant: are YOU seriously--

Madoc: you took the coward's way out.

Travant: takes one to know one, doesn't it.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

FotA from Madoc's perspective is tragic, yes, but also increasingly hilarious because he still very much thinks of Jude as his sulky teenage daughter for most of the series, even when he claims to understand her, and yet every time he turns his back she's somehow climbed another rung on the social ladder.

Like, in TCP, he has no fucking idea about the whole spy thing. Last time he saw Jude, she was dreaming of being a knight and getting bullied by the fairy kids at school. That is where he left her.

Then suddenly she has the crown?? And is able to choose who gets it? Oh, and she's immune to poison somehow???

Like I cannot emphasise how fucking left field this must have been. Madoc didn't even know Jude wanted to be a knight until like two weeks ago. He was able to confidently say that she wasn't a killer.

If he thought that either Jude or Taryn were gonna screw with his plans, he assumed that it would be through high school politics or getting into fights over which boy they like. They're like seventeen and, surprisingly for a blood-soaked monster who is several centuries old, Madoc actually does have fairly reasonable expectations of what teenagers are interested in.

He just was not expecting 'mithridatism', 'assassination' and 'political machinations' to be so prominent among Jude's interests.

So TWK happens and now she's the High King's Seneschal. Okay. And not only that, but he seems to be giving her more responsibility than you'd expect even from someone in such a prominent role. Alright.

And you can kind of see him trying to rationalise it. Like is this a crush? Did she strike a bargain at him during stargazing lessons when they were at school together? Are they fucking? Does he need to get Oriana to give Jude another 'safe sex with members of Elvish royalty' talk?

Nope. Turns out she's the actual power behind the throne. Again, somehow.

And then, within like a year, she's the fucking Queen. Madoc cannot rest. None of the books on raising the teenaged daughters of your murdered ex wife covered this eventuality. He is simultaneously proud and enraged.

Wasn't she playing board games and begging him to read to her like yesterday? Didn't he have to replace her pen because the bullies at school stole it? Her bedroom was full of stuffed animals.

(Why can't she be like her normal sisters and rebel against him fruitlessly and/or murder her husband?)

[limoni-owo]

Okay but i NEED to meet Madoc’s mother. I would love to see her written into the story and to see the dynamic shed have with Madoc and Madoc’s kids also seeing and being like oh okay hes not actually as batshit insane as he coulve been.

Did Madoc risk his childrens lives ( ig except Vivi huh) multiple times to further his agenda? Yep. Did his mother go to battle while she was pregnant with him. Gave BIRTH on the battlefield strapped him to her back and went BACK to fighting? I feel like a baby on the battlefield is next level child endangerment.

I think Madoc is relatively soft as a father. He lets Viviane follow her whims even though as his firstborn she shoulve been his successor. He lets Taryn have more noble interest. He didnt force Jude into becoming a knight. Oak is thr only one who he cut his destiny in stone but even then he woulve taken the responsibilities of king.

He is fairly relaxed with his children and his parenting. In a world where children are few four children are an incredible power. To make them all generals and send them to conquer more land for him to rule over wouldve absolutely been the most beneficial route to acquiring power. And yet he forces none of them which I highly doubt is traditional to redcaps or how he was raised.

Since tfota series is at its core an exploration of family dynamics i think it would be so cool to see Madocs side of the family/ howd theyd react to his children and the way he chose to raise them and how the kids would react to a new side of their father

[ammanalright]

As EXCITIED as I am for A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters, as much as I want to read Madoc's POV after his exile, him navigating the mortal realm or Taryn's POV and her life with Locke, why she was eating faerie fruit/showing more insight into her married life and what moment's drove her to drive a letter opener into his fox arse neck or the delicious POV of Cardan, him FINALLY realising that he loves Jude after she's taken to the Undersea. What I REALLY WANT is a whole arse novel from Cardan's POV. What I really want is a (minimum) 500 page book from the High King's POV, saying delicious things about his Queen. I honestly would not mind it being in third person perspective, like The Prisoner's Throne, but me personally would love to read it in first person perspective.

[dramawiie]

Jude and Madoc's complicated relationship is one of my favorite ones in TFotA. There's no doubt that there was a lot of love, despite all that happened between them, but total forgiveness is hard to give when one wears the weight of the Crown ❤️‍🩹

Jude cannot trust him to not try something else, and there might come a time where her leniency would backfire with the court.

Here's a fic exploring a future conversation/confrontation between them.

Fathers (p 1) on ao3: The prospect of motherhood pushes Jude to seek out her only remaining parent, Madoc. Part of my Sleepsong verse.

[limoni-owo]

Horny for Madoc