#brennan has said before that as a person hed love to be a father

[queenangst]

a theory on wrackingspelt, and what they mean to and for hob—

three episodes into a court of fey and flowers, the question of who wrackingspelt is and their relationship to captain hob only grows stronger. it’s very plausible and easy to read what we know of their dynamic as romantic, but i’m gonna quickly toss the idea of a platonic, familial dynamic on the table as a theory for fun.

here are the things we can infer about wrackingspelt so far:

wrackingspelt, and hob’s relationship with them, is a secret. perhaps even from the goblin court. so far, the only mentions of wrackingspelt have been from hob writing letters, and these letters remain unsent, kept by hob for safekeeping. both letters that have been written so far have also been written—or, intended to, though with wuvvy’s eavesdropping—alone and away from others. so we can guess that wrackingspelt may not be well known, or known at all. also, hob and wrackingspelt are separated, perhaps even beyond the bloom, though that wrackingspelt is not in attendance at the bloom suggests they may not be an archfey, or a person deemed of importance or necessary at such an event. additionally, of course, wrackingspelt is someone dear to hob, and someone to whom hob would confide his doubts and feelings to.

(also, though it may be silly, i think wrackingspelt is alive and they are separated from each other; e1′s letter could be interpreted as being written to someone who is dead, but e3′s letter seems to imply they are alive.)

onto theory, though this is really out of my own interest, i think it’d be cool if wrackingspelt isn’t a secret lover, but someone who is like a child to hob. perhaps a ward, or someone he could mentor. or maybe even a literal child.

this is all, of course, conjecture - both of hob’s letters, in what is definitely a deliberate move on brennan’s part, are longer than we get to know. there are contents and words we aren’t privy to. at most, the sentiment boils down to hob missing them and wanting to be together again.

Dearest Wrackingspelt, long are the hours of our absence, and with each passing moment I find the pain of that absence grow stronger and stronger. I think of you always.

My dearest Wrackingspelt, in the execution of one's duties in service to king and court, it becomes necessary at times to place in the confidence of one's most trusted and privileged compatriots, the secret misgivings of tender sentiment to which even steadiest hearts may be compelled in the face of rank uncertainty and tribulation, defiant of all preparation in the narrow precognition of their host, to wit, the burden of execrable misery, far from waning with the passing hours, counters all adages and aphorisms, whose musings on the passing of time are rendered mendacious...on the passage of time and its remediation of want or injury. It instead waxes with all the venom and ferocity of an asp, such that your humble servant must fail in knowing rest or peace or hope. It is a dull and dreary ache. The most dispassionate tempest whose ruinous wake strands what it cannot destroy. It has taken me 45 minutes to write the past four sentences.

So I shall speak more plainly. I wish that you were here. I wish that I could tell you that everything would be all right. And most urgently, I wish that you might one day read…

this theory also plays into interesting table dynamics. i think hob having a child, and being a father or mentor figure, helps contrast his relationship with andhera; as we see, andhera is clearly much younger than hob, and likely that is the reason why hob spared them out of his honor when they met at briar falls - but wrackingspelt being a child would also strengthen hob’s reason for sparing andhera.

despite the wording of the letters - even perceived romantically - i get the feeling that hob actually hasn’t been in a romantic relationship before. he’s clearly very used to being different from the members of the goblin court, and though he’s celebrated and valued for his military prowess, he doesn’t seem to see himself as someone who might be loved. who could be the object of someone’s returned affections, or someone who is valued.

Captain Hob: [to Rue] You must forgive my confusion. It is simply that it would have been the first time.

it’s hard to know exactly what hob meant, but during this conversation he does eventually seem to realize that rue had romantic intentions; i’d guess that hob meant “the first time” that he’d have been with someone or that anyone at all had showed interest.

his assumptions in the forest with rue are first that about the hunt, before he even considers the possibility that rue might be romantically interested in him. o think he feels he is not of the right station, nor does he feel worthy.

Captain Hob: ...You are a great Fey, Rue. Frankly, nothing could have prepared me to believe that the words of a Goblin would hold any weight with you.

...You deserve what you were seeking when we stepped into the forest together.

all this to say, i don’t think it’s unbelievable that wrackingspelt may not be a lover, but a child or ward young and dear to hob’s heart, the truth of which the other characters and we are unaware of yet.

#also this is meta and more personal so im putting it in the tags but: #brennan has said before that as a person hed love to be a father #so honestly like. i just think itd be really sweet if he played hob as a dad/mentor/similar figure instead of like. hob with a secret lover #THIS IS PROBABLY HORRIBLY WRONG I JUST THINK ITD BE COOL i want hob to be a dad.... #acofaf #d20 #acofaf spoilers #a court of fey and flowers #kp hob #captain hob #dimension 20 #JUST IN CASE IM RIGHT. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST THOUGH #d20 meta #also this is all assuming wrackingspelt is a goblin bc the name sounds gobliny #though ofc. they could be from another court which is also cool #ALSO couldnt fit this into the post but like #im also feeling like maybe hob and wrackingspelt crossed paths or like. was born or WHATEVER during the time of the skirmishes #with the unseelie court #but i have nothing to back that claim its just i think itd be cool #with the child theory for that to really strongly play into hob sparing andhera