#but while its acknowledged that her lack of restraint (emotionally and otherwise) is a barrier in her life / it's not a flaw but a strength

[senadimell]

I’ve realized I have a particular soft spot for characters with no guile in them. Characters with hearts on their sleeves, with their reactions written on their faces. Sometimes they’re left out of grand plans or restrained to prevent their interference—this tends to happen in those vast, epic stories that put a premium on intrigue and cunning. Other times, though, (and these are particularly dear to my heart), their honesty is not portrayed as a flaw that holds them back but as a core and valued part of who they are that enables them to do what is needed, even though it’s not always without consequence.

#so foremost among the latter (in my mind) is meg murry who couldn't mask if she attended a masquerade in full costume #but while its acknowledged that her lack of restraint (emotionally and otherwise) is a barrier in her life / it's not a flaw but a strength #and it's her ability to unabashedly love her brother that saves him (in a way that we understand has cosmic reverberations) #but i think megs are fairly rare when it comes down to it... #perhaps i should acknowledge that guileless characters tend to only feel genuine when there are acknowledged consequences #not that i want them penalized! but it falls flat to see characters who are only honest in cool or helpful ways #and only lose control of their emotions in cool plot ways or funny sarcastic ways #i'd put kaladin in the guileless category even though he does put a lot of effort into mimicking emotional stability #it's stuff like whitespine uncaged and the aftermath where the man cannot keep his mouth shut for the life of him #but he cannot accept Jasnah's realpolitik and he cannot accept amaram's utilitarianism and this dedication is tearing him apart #but i'm especially thinking of Max McDaniels; it's clear everyone around him is constantly trying to use him #and that he's a weapon rather than a general; they do it with love and concern but they rarely see him as an equal #ultimately he is not a David Menlo; he doesn't know the deep dark workings at play. he doesn't *get* how everything works #and sometimes he feels silly or has the wool pulled over his eyes. But he's not belittled narratively for that even when he regrets it #but ultimately that is who he is. what you see is what you get. there is depth to him certainly. but not deception #there's something amazingly poetic about his time as the Bragha Rùn and coming mask to mask with himself #and that as one of the things that wears down his willingness to collaborate with Prusias #he is treated like a pawn and underestimated but people mistake guilelessness for docility and expect easy manipulation #but max is also a wild card even if he is often predictable and i love him for it