Okay… so I may have changed my whole perspective of jornoth and Xornoth/Joey in general.
Cuz while writing trying to fix all the plot holes, i realized that i should do a little more research. And rewatched joeys pov and some others. Then I saw a bunch of fic that picture xornoth as someone of the ace community.
And then that went into doing my own research because I heard something about it a little while ago.
demiromanticism or just Demi-romantic which is basically having that romantic attraction after having a strong emotional bond with someone.
And after looking more into this, this is how I mostly see xornoth. And yes I know that the fic I wrote a while ago, does NOT portray xornoth as demiromanticism. And that bc that was a quick WIP of a different idea.
Then how does that affect how I see Joey?
As we’ve seen, Joey is basically a hopeless romantic when it comes to his character in empires smp. Sure there is some moments he’s not like that when interacting with xornoth. (Like in the beginning of when xornoth was harassing all the emperors).
Now I still see it this way, and also a big headcannon of mine is that there is a LOT of arranged marriages to keep alliances in check. There’s only a couple I feel like happen on there own (jizzie and flower husbands) but other then that. Most were arranged, not that it was the worst for most people saying that it usually turned out well.
And I believe that happened with Joey and Xornoth, to hold an alliance with the lost empire. And Rivendell offered the arrangement, bc of other headcannons I’ve stated in previous posts.
Basically to sum it up, Rivendell is not the biggest fan of xornoth, I mean sure they stand him but they don’t go out of their way to be nice to him.
Even if Xornoth was older than Scott, Xornoth predicted that he was likely to not take the throne. And like most royal children that were not favored by the kingdom. It was wise to not cause distrust within the empire.
So basically, it wasn’t a surprise to Xornoth that he was getting married off. Sure it was a little insulting, not to mention he was likely going to live in the lost empire for most of his life. (In which I think of it as one of the worst climates for high elves like Xornoth, like the amount of humidity and all the differences from snowy peaks to humid jungles. Even with cultural differences)
Now Joey was for sure surprised, as the firstborn son and next in line for the crown (not that he had many siblings). It definitely did not expect to get an arranged marriage. Especially to the so called “snobby” elven prince of a freezing empire that the lost empire did not have the best relationship in the first place.
But as I just said I see xornoth as more Demi-romantic rather than Joeys hopeless romance. And not to start a new whole ass war, both try to be polite to each other.
Blah blah blah the whole thing of Joey falling in love then a while later xornoth falls in love as well, it goes surprisingly well all things considered and Rivendell is glad to have xornoth off there hands and the lost empire is glad that Joey not only found a partner he loves but also very good politically.
Then something happens (exor). And oh NO! Xornoth is corrupted/banished, and now everyone thinks that they’re dead or just never coming back. I mean never even leaving a letter not even for his husband? Well a declaration of haunting the empires till its last breath is something?
OKAY NOW ONTO THE MORE SAD(ish) STUFF
The main reason for making this post, I see joeys character as one more stuck in the past. Trying to see his relationship with xornoth like it was before, and just trying to get back to it.
And Xornoth, someone to far into the future to look back. Hating their past self so much, that they try to destroy it. (Like any remaining paintings, or any document/literature that had to do with them)
Also being another reason for emperors like shrub who was never able to see their relationship before finds it so hard to see what Joey is trying to latch onto. Saying that he has no evidence that Xornoth even loved him in the first place. Because Xornoth destroyed it, and the people of Rivendell tried to erase him from history. To cover up this disgrace, and keep their reputation perfectly preserved.
(Also after the corruption bc of exors magic or something, Xornoth now has some god awful memory and now can mostly only really imagine all the bad stuff in there life even if it’s minor. All the other stuff is fuzzy and it’s a mix between knowing everything and nothing at the same time)
Making their relationship even more complicated, with xornoth not ever understanding Joey. Like anything he try’s to talk or say to Joey feels like it’s on the tip of his tongue with all the answers, but he will not ever be able to speak in that foreign tone.
And Joey just trying to get the man he loved so much back, no matter what. Just hopping that one day will go back.
This was ment to be a quick little post but ig not lol.
Another thing to add that i mentioned a little while ago, that exor has like a huge ick over romance (my ace king). While it’s a fun little headcannon, i also think about how they despises Joey so much it’s unnecessary. Because he’s also worried that Joey can read and understand xornoth in a way that if the other emperors knew it could become their downfall.
And exor wanted to kill him, but Xornoth refuses to. He won’t even give an answer to why he wanted to keep Joey around even if he would be more useful dead to them.
