To the very few people who have read this book I know irl, I have occasionally said comparators like "I want a romance series with a male protagonist as obsessed and fucked up as Tristan." Because "nigh abject in desperation" is exactly how he is the entirety of The Bandit King.
I do agree that the coup would still have happened, or a more open rebellion later. Ooohhh a three-sided war would be fun because I do think that a loyal Tristan who was awarded Vianne for his loyalty would have fought for the Crown, but Vianne herself? Especially if she learns about the poverty, and the tax collectors, and so on? And then there's the d'Orlaans, who wants power and has it because Henri totally deferred all tax collecting power to him! There's so much potential for *juicy, juicy politics*. Except I'd never be able to do it justice in a form other than longfic, I think...
I'd honestly love Tristan at Court straight up *pining* because that would be pining for centuries. So much pining! But that setup would actually be really good for a 5x fic (Five Time Vianne Didn't Notice Tristan, and One Time She Did) or something... it does seem that Tristan did maybe try to woo her from a distance a bit, and also there's an interesting power dynamic here because Vianne is of a much higher class of noble than Tristan. Vianne is the Duchess of Rochancheil (and something else), so she has substantial lands of her own; Tristan is the heir to a barony. She's descended from the nobles of the sword (hence needing the King's permission to marry), and he isn't. It's an interesting divide!
The question of whether they go back to Arcenne intrigues me because there's such a strong question of duty here. With his father's death, Tristan is the Baron d'Arcenne--he has responsibilities! While Tristan seems more than happy to just throw them away to do what Vianne wants to do, Vianne has also spent the last 2 books doing her duty--I think it's an interesting push-pull because Vianne wouldn't necessarily want to go back, but she would think Tristan has to, while Tristan would not give a flying fuck about his duty as long as he was with Vianne.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2021-10-22 03:19 am (UTC)I do agree that the coup would still have happened, or a more open rebellion later. Ooohhh a three-sided war would be fun because I do think that a loyal Tristan who was awarded Vianne for his loyalty would have fought for the Crown, but Vianne herself? Especially if she learns about the poverty, and the tax collectors, and so on? And then there's the d'Orlaans, who wants power and has it because Henri totally deferred all tax collecting power to him! There's so much potential for *juicy, juicy politics*. Except I'd never be able to do it justice in a form other than longfic, I think...
I'd honestly love Tristan at Court straight up *pining* because that would be pining for centuries. So much pining! But that setup would actually be really good for a 5x fic (Five Time Vianne Didn't Notice Tristan, and One Time She Did) or something... it does seem that Tristan did maybe try to woo her from a distance a bit, and also there's an interesting power dynamic here because Vianne is of a much higher class of noble than Tristan. Vianne is the Duchess of Rochancheil (and something else), so she has substantial lands of her own; Tristan is the heir to a barony. She's descended from the nobles of the sword (hence needing the King's permission to marry), and he isn't. It's an interesting divide!
The question of whether they go back to Arcenne intrigues me because there's such a strong question of duty here. With his father's death, Tristan is the Baron d'Arcenne--he has responsibilities! While Tristan seems more than happy to just throw them away to do what Vianne wants to do, Vianne has also spent the last 2 books doing her duty--I think it's an interesting push-pull because Vianne wouldn't necessarily want to go back, but she would think Tristan has to, while Tristan would not give a flying fuck about his duty as long as he was with Vianne.