#volo samos

[carthyanstar]

thinking about how evangeline put up a cold front throughout her life so that she would be impenetrable and knew only the conditional love her parents showed for her accomplishments (aside from tolly, who didn't openly display affection but was one of the few people who truly cared about her as a person), meeting elane, who saw her heart and not only accepted her, but loved her for who she was after seeing the imperfections and fears she tried so hard to hide.

elane, who similarly was valued only for the potential of a marriage alliance that would get her family further into the web of silver connections and power, who saw all the false fronts put up by the silver elites and ached for something real, meeting evangeline, who saw her as much more than a bargaining chip and would tear the world apart for a future where they could be free to be who they are, cherished as people rather than the power they held. a girl who was still learning how to love and live after everything she'd been taught, but was willing to put aside her crown for a future with her

[brideofsamos]

any headcanons for volo samos. . . i love seeing underrated characters get appreciation !!

i feel the same and can't believe how little recognition there is for him and some of the other characters in the series. also yess here are a few of my personal headcanons for him!

Volo Samos Headcanons

✧ Volo is seen more often with gloves than without. Sleek, black leather gloves that end just at his wrist and are left unadorned except for a plain wedding band and an equally simple but twice as commanding signet ring – both of them silver, of course.

✧ It's not that he can't go without them. Depending on the occasion, he might switch to wearing silk or forgo the things entirely, but the fact of the matter is, the gloves are almost as much a part of his cultivated persona as the scarcity of his words or the simplicity of his clothes. They show the rest of the Silver court that he is uninterested in their frivolity, and more importantly, that he won't reveal any more of himself than is strictly necessary.

✧ This means that whoever he does take his gloves off around? He cares for them more than he can bring himself to admit both out loud and privately to himself.

✧ Evangeline and Ptolemus can probably just about put their heads together and count how many times they've seen their father ungloved. If they thought about those moments any longer, they might also have realised how much softer he was to them then. Well, as soft as a man like Volo Samos would ever allow himself to be.

✧ But that's actually my next point. Despite how cold and detached he seems – even by the standards of other Silvers – Volo is actually a lot more hands on (pun unintended) with his family than most High House lords and ladies.

✧ This lowkey isn't even a headcanon because we already get a glimpse of the way he trained Evangeline to notice which things in a room she could use as a weapon, but I think it goes beyond that too.

✧ In their early years, even though it would have been seen as beneath him, Volo would have not only been teaching his children how to grasp their abilities, but was also the one to teach them most, if not all, of the basics of their education. After all, if Ptolemus was to be his heir and Evangeline was going to become the winning Queenstrial bride, then what better way to ensure perfection from both except by teaching them himself?

✧ Technically speaking, he is not a bad teacher but let's just say that more than once, his lessons would have resulted in the classic situation of a parent screaming at their tired and traumatised child what 2 + 2 adds up to 🥲

✧ Not sure about whether this can apply to wider Silver society or if it's more specific to the society of the Royals and the High Houses, but in my mind, they are quite Victorian about the sleeping arrangements of husband and wife. Meaning that other than for procreational purposes, most couples usually sleep in seperate bedrooms.

✧ Knowing what we do about Volo, this might seem like the least likely thing, but I think he's an example of a noble who goes against the grain and actually does share a bedroom with his wife.

✧ (And no, I'm not just saying that because I'm biased and my username is literally Bride of Samos 💀)

✧ He clearly leaves no stone unturned when it comes to having control and power. In the context of a political marriage, especially his one to Larentia, I think he would have been keen to whiff out any signs of betrayal or weakening allegiances – something he can't afford to risk if he was planning to declare the Rift a kingdom for as long as I suspect he was.

✧ There's also the story of the Poison Bride. Now, it's unlikely that Larentia would ever have gone ahead and sent snakes after him, and he certainly would have been able to hold his own, but the story has definitely made its rounds in elite circles through hushed whispers. Volo is certainly not intimidated by Larentia but again, he leaves no stone unturned and wants to make sure she knows that. So, for him, sharing a room with her would also be, a perhaps extreme, act of reverse psychology.

✧ When he repeats this formula with his second wife, it has the added bonus of cultivating a better marital relationship than most lords and ladies can dream of ...

✧ (Okay, so now that is me hinting at my own delusion but can't a girl dream?)

[imjulia-andilikecats]

HotTake (My Unresolved/One-Sided Beef with War Storm)

Iris should never had a POV, as cool and mysterious as her introduction was in King's Cage. Her POV negatively affected the overall impact of the plot in War Storm.

Let me explain:

Since she was a new character with unknown goals and motives, she was shrouded in mystery, with some readers even hoping that maybe she would be an unlikely ally. It would have been interesting to figure out who she is.

Instead, her POV was an exposition/info dump about the Lakelands, added too many eyes on the OPPOSING SIDE of the war, and diminished the possible impact and tension of the plot twists that happened in War Strom such as;

Anabel and Julian offer Salin Irial to Iris without ANYONE of the Main Characters knowing directly (Not even Cal, who is heir to the throne and their close family).

Iris BETRAYING the Great Betrayer Maven. The moment I read her thoughts about Maven, where he is constantly undermining and dismissing her. I knew Iris was gonna betray her husband.

Volo's Death at the hands of Anabel and Julian. The fact that only Evangeline picked up on her father being offered to the Cygnets when Julian and Anabel gave Salin in exchange for Maven was heartbreaking and conflicting, but it would have been so much more dramatic if we didn't see it from a mile away.

Adding Iris' POV also took away space for more Cal and Maven POVs which are the characters that the fandom was excited to read when Aveyard informed which characters will be having their POVs in War Storm.

Overall, Iris had one of the coolest character introductions in the RQ series, but it went tank when her POVs gave away too much too soon, and for me, the story suffered because of it.

[lucy-the-cat]

a version that i think is less mean: colonal farley, volo, and tiberias vi?

THIS IS MEANER

Killing Volo, I guess I'll kiss the colonel bc marrying Tibe would save from Elara . . . getting bleh just thinking about this . . . Can I kiss Maven and marry Iris and idk, kill Samson again?

[king-maven-calore]

I agree with the Volo Samos anon abt his close mindedness. If Volo was a real life person, do u think he would be racist?

he is a racist in canon, or a "Bloodist" (?) to be more precise. He thrives on oppression and social division.

[hannaharies]

[of-the-way-and-wildflowers]

Completed Book Aesthetics

The Battle of Corvium ~ Kings Cage

[themadauthorshatter]

I talked about Cal being the prince of Norta.

And I have a hard time feeling fond of or sympathy for Ptolemus.

I guess I'm just doing another analysis thing😂😂

SO

How does Ptolemus's life start?

As the son of Volo Samos, who we've been told withholds affection as a punishment, holds the bar insanely high, and is literally a human stonewall. Think Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones, but with a much lower tolerance for nonsense and/or stupidity and metal bending; so if you piss this guy off too much, he will make you regret it in one way or another.

WE'VE SEEN IN SLAP SOMEONE FOR DISOBEYING HIS ORDERS.

I honestly can't imagine what Volo did to his son when he did something like sneak a sweet or tell a small lie or even do something most normal kids would do growing up, like try to impress what little friends he had or slip up a little in training or lessons or talk to a silver girl he thought was pretty.

In the instance of Cal, all the crown prince would get is a slap on the wrist and a reminder he's already intended for Evangeline.

For Ptolemus, that would probably not be the case. I don't know if Volo would wait for him to return or retrieve his son himself, but either way I can see him berating his son like he'd slept with the girl rather than just talked with her, maybe even tell him that those who are Samos born are not common whores who seduce everyone they see.

If Ptolemus slipped up in training, Volo would ask if his hard work was a sort of 'thanks' to his parents, who raise him with love, give him clothes and a bed, and even an education. And how does he repay them? By slacking off. By taking what he has for granted.

Essentially, he'd tear Ptolemus apart with words, making sure he makes his son guilty for not meeting those expectations Volo has.

I should note that in the eyes of Volo Samos, he is not doing anything wrong. He's ensuring his son is strong and keeping the legacy of House Samos alive. It's a heavy expectation and Ptolemus needs to be ready to take up that mantle, even if it means he needs to be reprimanded for acting like a fool in his father's eyes.

A Samos does not act like a fool, and Volo is eventually going to die one way or another, so he needs a strong base to continue building the Samos legacy on.

Now being the future King of Norta has its own pressures and weight on the shoulders, but I would dare to argue that Cal probably had it a little easier than Ptolemus.

Let me explain.

Sure, Cal was most likely only raised by nurse maids and Julian, but he usually didn't have to worry about getting verbally torn apart because he barely stepped put of line; being King means you CANNOT step out of line. Cal must be nothing but perfect and it's something he's carried with him since a young age. Couple that with the fact that his father was barely around to raise him properly and Elara avoided him like a plague, and we have a good picture on why Cal is the way he is.

Compare all that to Ptolemus. Son of Volo Samos, who is a no nonsense, takes shit from no one, "Be late or slip up in any way, and I'll impale your head on a fence" man and father, who expects nothing but greatness and success, and punishes those for not meeting those expectations.

I'd dare to even say he'd be a much harsher king than Tibe was, whether that would be through literally ending the Scarlet Guard himself while they were still small or easy to hit.

It doesn't get easier because Evangeline is born and made into Cal's betrothed, and is compared to Ptolemus for everything she does. If not that, then he has to see her by exactly what he was, but can't help because it's a lesson SHE has to learn.

Something I just realized was this line Ptolemus says in War Storm: "You trained us too well."

Ptolemus and Evangeline didn't grow up with Rane Arven training them, like Cal and Maven.

They were trained by their father, who is possibly a VERY unforgiving opponent and mentor.

This might be where Ptolemus's rage comes from.

Think of it like this: You're fighting as hard as you can against your own father. You're MAYBE 17 or 16 years old and you cannot get this guy down no matter how hard you try. Your father calls you weak and says that training will continue tomorrow.

You've been training your ASS off and are improving, but your father only sees that you can't beat him in a duel.

In a blind rage, you flip out. All the metal you can use bends to your will and shoots toward your father as you charge toward him, ready to fight again.

AND YOU WIN.

For that reason, I think that's what led to Ptolemus having such a bad temper in book 1, where we see his rage the most.

'You're Samos born. A Silver with status and power. You will really allow a Red to kill you and your sister?'

'You'll call that traitor your friend? After what he did? And what of the Red rat beside him? Is she as innocent as he is? Are both their hands clean of blood?'

One more point I want to bring up was the fact that he felt bad for Shade's death.

He was aiming for Mare in Corros, but Shade quite literally appeared out of nowhere.

I think seeing how Shade's death effected Mare and Farley and the other Barrows, and remembering how scared he possibly was to lose his sister on numerous occasions led to him feeling remorseful for what he did.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk