#ranger's apprentice spoilers

[theriu]

I'm enjoying the Ranger's Apprentice series (I'm on book 10!), but I continue to be amused at how the writer started this series out as a Very Obviously Stereotypical Fantasy Setting and then kinda... spends the rest of the time (so far) trying to pretend it's definitely pretty unfantastical and more historical-adjacent, actually.

To demonstrate, let's review the main antagonists of each book so far (some spoilers ahead):

Book 1: Evil human baron mind-controls entire population of bear/dog-like humanoids to be his ferocious army. Also he employs three intelligent, super stealthy giant assassin ape-bear monsters who love silver and can paralyze victims with eye contact.

Book 2: Evil human baron with mind-controlled army, and also not-Scandinavians.

Book 3: Not-Scandivians.

Book 4: Not-Mongols.

Book 5: Maybe a sorcerer, except turns out to be normal betrayal and tricks. Sorcery is generally poo-pooed, with a sort of grudging mention of Evil Baron while also suggesting he doesn't really count, somehow.

Book 6: Normal man with apparent mind control powers but it's Actually Just Hypnotism.

Book 7: Not-Arabs/Taureg, but also kinda the Not-Scandinavians again.

Book 8: A cult that wants everyone ELSE to think they have supernatural powers, but it's tricks again.

Book 9: The cult again. Also some Not-Spaniards.

Book 10: Not-Samurai.

Don't get me wrong, I really am enjoying the series, the characters and writing are great! :D But I'm still gonna point and grin at the barely disguised sharp decline of Fantasy Tropes in favor of what feels like, "Magic is boring, let's show how awesome they are with their normal human powers and also explore as many real-people-group-adjacent lands as I can get in here. Inhuman monsters are boring anyway."

(Note: Yes I know of the spinoff series that goes back to the Evil Baron and tells that story. I am looking forward to it, but in the meantime, I can't wait to see how they save the Not-Samurai emperor from his Not-Samurai deposer and the encroaching army of Not-Samurai. =D)

[thatoneperson747]

Hi

So while procrastinating writing the fic I'm working on, I decided it was time for me to read the Royal Ranger. I only have book one, and I've had it for about a year now, but I never read even the first page. I've heard stuff throughout the fandom about it, but I've tried to stay away from royal ranger specific posts in order to not spoil the book for me.

If you also haven't read it yet and want to avoid spoilers, stop reading now. You've been warned.

Here's the things I knew before reading:

Will has a beard now. This is very controversial.

Alyss dies. She was burned to death. Also very controversial.

Horace and Cassie have a daughter named Maddie. Maddie becomes Will's apprentice.

And that's about it.

I decided that since the Royal Ranger was so hit or miss for the community, I'd document my thoughts on it (as a personal record, if you will) and see how my opinions change, if they change at all. Feel free to laugh at me if I make predictions and they end up being completely wrong lol

I've read the first seven chapters, and here are the main thoughts I have right now.

1. Is Will now just Halt? When he was first being described during the scene with Henry Wheeler, I dead ass thought Flanagan was talking about Halt. I mean, Will is grey already? Like, fully grey. He's described as having a "steel-grey beard." Not grey and brown, just grey. Halt???

2. Alyss' death fit her character well, but why did she have to die? Keep in mind, I was never the biggest fan of Alyss - I thought a character as interesting as a diplomat should have more personality than just "the main character's girlfriend" - but come on? We barely got to see them married. Idk man. I feel like her death would be better justified if they had actually like. been together longer? 10/10 for writing her death though, saving a poor child from death seems really in character for her, especially considering that's pretty much what Baron Arald did for the ward kids (he didn't die for it but still, he saved them from a childhood of neglect and almost certain death). I feel like it's a great wrap to her story, although I wish her story was longer.

3. Crowley was done dirty. What the actual f u c k Flanagan? The Corps Commander, the man, myth, and legend gets a paragraph to explain his death. It's such a lamely written death too? Crowley, a ranger, who was probably in peak health, just nopes out one night. At least he was smiling..? And maybe it's the fact that TEY is my favorite part of the series so far, but Crowley deserved way better than that shit. Also I'm surprised that I managed to not know about Crowley's death before this?? I actually cried reading it. He was such a precious little man in TEY, how could you do this Flanagan???

4. Maddie is a bit of a brat. Not even a bit, she kinda just is. To be fair, Cassie was that way sometimes as well, but Maddie just seems... I don't know, too much of a 'I-do-what-I-want-and-you-can't-stop-me' kinda person, but in a bad way??? Like that one kid in school who would never listen to authority figures and got everyone in trouble all the time? I hope she mellows out because she could be a great character, I think. It's said she takes after her mom, but I'd like to see her act like Horace too.

5. Gilan. Just Gilan. What?? I never liked his relationship with Jenny much, he seems quite a bit too old for her (at least 5 years, most likely quite a bit more since Halt had a few years between Gilan and Will), but he's so relentless in asking her to marry him? Huh??

And also, BOLD of Flanagan to assume Gilan would be hesitant about letting a girl into the corps. This man has traveled with Cassie. He's traveled with Lydia from Brotherband. He knows women are capable. I mentioned not liking his and Jenny's relationship, but like. he even respects her. She's a business woman, she owns her own restaurant. No one can possibly convince me that Gilan doesn't drink his respect-women juice DAILY. It feels out of character for him.

6. Poor Duncan. That's the end of the sentence.

7. Those guards are hysterical. Ah, yes, let's just casually not mention or try to stop the princess sneaking in and out of the castle even though this could end really really badly. Perfect logic.

And yeah that's all I got right now. I'm very excited to see how my opinions so far change! I'll document them here too in case anyone cares. Feel free to reblog with your own RR opinions and the like! I'd love to see what you guys think of my takes lol

[araluenrangerdanger]

Will and Maddie learning about the Direwolves:

[burnin0akleaves]

ARAZAN'S WOLVES SPOILERS but minor enough that I'm not putting this under a read more

Will ten minutes after this conversation: Fuck it we ball

[artsysurvivor]

Ferris: Hey, Halt goes by they/them pronouns, right?

Caitlyn: Yeah

Ferris: Thanks :)

Ferris, writing in his diary: "I think the best way to kill them would be poison--"

[theraven-gil-lyn]

(minor, not really plot-related imo)

babes i had to take a breather when i read this. i had to put down the book. i had to stare at the wall and process it. ever since. i cant stop thinking about it. i was sitting there like

[pricklelocks]

Rereading the Icebound Land and the

“I should think it’s going to be cold here,” Will said quietly.

line just HURTS so much knowing what he’s going to go through.

Someone get him and Cassandra sweaters and a therapist.

[rangerangel]

If I find out you've been spoiling the books for ANY new reader, prepare to catch the fastest block of your life 🤗 If you can't follow the basic rules of being in a fandom, you don't get to participate or view the fandom, simple as that!

[hiddenvioletsgrow]

All of right where you left me is incredibly Willyss coded but these lyrics specifically hurt so much:

If our love died young

I can't bear witness

And it's been so long

But if you ever think you got it wrong

I'm right where

You left me

You left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever

[stella-lesair]

Okay folks, time to play a little game:

So, as I always do, I have an AU for ranger's apprentice in my head. This time, it's about gods.

But instead of telling you who's who, I'm just going to name each title and give a snippet of information about them. You then have to guess which character got what (also, I am making this game up on a whim, it might turn out either very easy or very difficult, I don't know, please be kind about it). Anyhoo, we'll start with an easy one so you catch my drift.

Gods:

The God of the Withering - He once was The God of the Blooming, but that title was ripped away from him. Most say that his more recent title fits his demeanour better anyway.

The God of Time - A good friend of the God of the Withering. They are so close, they consider each other family. He was there when his friend turned and he does see himself responsible for the change.

The Goddess of Storm - One of the few female gods. She's a wild one and likes a good prank. For some reason, the Golden God tends to be her victim. Quite risky.

The God of Healing, aka. The Golden God - He rules over one of the four godly cities. He's well-liked and despite his healing powers, he is a great fighter.

The God of the Hidden - A god who lives near the God of the Withering. He, too, counts to the family. Most don't know that, because he tends to be rather hard to spot, even near people.

The Goddess of Truth - A goddess rarely seen around. Rumour has it that she lives among the Mortals. But she can be seen quite occasionally around the God of Time.

The God of Reason, aka. the Iron God - One of the rulers over the four godly cities. Despite his title, he has a bad relationship with the Golden God and it takes a revolution in the system made by the God of Dreams to fix their relationship. Afterwards, they actually become fairly good friends.

Mortals: (They don't have a title, so I'll just describe them)

A young man - For most of his life, he did not believe in the Gods. This changed, however, when the God of the Withering claimed his friend's life. Now, he despises all Gods.

A young woman - The sister of the man mentioned above. She works for a strange middle-aged woman who lives at the side of town. Although most people believe that this woman is rude, she firmly disagrees, saying that woman just never lies.

The friend - While climbing a wall to watch the sunset, his life was claimed by the God of the Withering. Still, although he was fully aware of his doom, he told the God his ambitions, who in turn learned to dream again.

A young priestess - Her goal in life was not to turn to religion, but she was quite amazed by the God of the Hidden, and dedicated her life to him. She is the younger sister of the man and the woman, and a joy to be around.

And now the extra special (also hard) one:

The God of Dreams - a kind old god, mostly staying in his bed. He cares for the dreams of the mortals, but has given up on the dreams of gods, making his kin unable to sleep. He has seen enough of this world and his only wish is to pass on.

Now then, that's it. Hope you enjoyed. I'd love to hear your answers, so dump em into the notes! Also, if the AU sounds interesting to you, ask me and I can send you a rough summary of what is suppose to happen*.

*(That rough summary might turn into 40min of story telling in a Discord Vc)

[haltscoffeecup]

Me running away from RA spoilers because I haven't read all the books:

[iwanttobepersephone]

I WAS JUST TRYING TO SEE HOW OLD HALT IS WHAT DO YOU MEAN CROWLEY DIES????????????

[theoakleafpancake]

ARAZAN’S WOLVES SPOILERS

She was interested by the fact that Will, who was an enthusiastic snorer when he slept in their cabin, slept silently when he was in the field.

I guess you learn new things everyday because when??? did Will ever snore???

[maidenofcrows]

I really like the idea that red is Cassandra’s colour. When we look at colour theory, red has all kinds of connotations. It draws attention. It’s a strong, zealous colour. Cassandra, as I see her, carries these attitudes in how she rules her country and the way she goes at the problems facing her. Not only does red reflect her iconic stubborn determination, it also serves to represent danger and advise caution— a fair nod to the war during which we meet her.

The historical side is also interesting. Around the Stone Age, red powder was used to ward off evil. Many monarchs used it to signify a Divine right to rule. The Chinese used red to represent fire, which is very Cassandra, per The Burning Bridge. Turning back to colour theory, the fire red represents many things, including leadership and confidence. The colour has a considerable number of meanings behind it. It has good symbolism and bad symbolism, and Cassandra wears it very well.

The meaning of the colour red (particularly the symbolism of Divine right to leadership) is also entertaining if we turn our attention to The Red Fox Clan. We’re informed, if I recall correctly, that it was Cassandra’s grandfather who made it possible for her to inherit the throne. If that hadn’t happened, Dimon would have had a much better shot at being King. Believing himself robbed of his very birthright, he moves quick through the ranks and eventually leads the Red Fox Clan, once again nodding to both his leadership skills and the idea that he thinks kingship is his destiny by Providence.

Just a fun thought.

[entropicquilibriumofchaos]

Okay, I know it’s not like EXACTLY correct (because the song is about cancer not you know, dying in a fire), but the song Terrible Things by Mayday Parade being Will telling Maddie not to fall in love because of what happened to Alyss? Rip my little heart

[artsysurvivor]

Does anyone have any idea of what Halt's mom and dad look like? I've been trying to draw them but none of the drawings feel quite right, so other people's ideas would be really helpful :)