Sep 05, 2025
I think a consequence of Gideon being many cycles in for the book, is that I don't really recongnise the Rose he mentions. We have seen her lack confidence and struggle with her heritage q bit certainly but not to much of an extreme. Even when 'we' first meet her shes fighting to the bitter end, making a stand on her own two feet even though she has no fate she'll win. She's running her own bussines, trying to carve out her own place - the Rose Gideon say on their first trip is pretty alien even compared to early chapter Rose. Sure, shes settling, not becoming some super mage, but she is not like him at all in the ways he describes here😆. She hiding, but shes hard working, resilient and trying very hard - early chapter Rose is not the mirror of irl Gideon that he seems to make out📝.
That said, I appreicate you can't have him be many runs in (which I quite like) and show his first run similoutinouly so its definetly a bit of a catch 22.
I do think Gideons resolution is a bit shaky too. I mean he's still doing everything for her, setting everything up so that she grows naturally - is a better outcome then doing everything for her💯 - but it's the exact same mentality of pushing her to be what you think she should be, just with better results. That said, that point is more an obseration (well both are tbf) then a critique, as Roze has mentioned peer pressure and the like and I do think the story is aware of that contradiction, so if anything that point might be praise in sense. Its definetly an interesting topic that makes one think😎📝
And as commented below, somen somen, power of Nakima!!😆🔥
