Kingsley

Earlier my little sister slammed her closet and room door-- not out of anger as far as im aware, she just pushed them too hard. I yelled at her to stop it.

she said she would, but it was clear from her tone she just said so out of obligation and was annoyed. i tell her to stop making loud noises a lot, so she probably assumed this was just another example of that.

realizing this, i explained her the reason: our rooms are right next to each other. When she slams doors, the wall shakes. When the wall shakes, my mirror shakes, and if it shakes too hard it can fall and break

after the explanation, she apologized genuinely and actually understood the reason instead of just thinking im nagging her or just want quiet. the fact that she knows the reason means shes more likely to remember, and she can apply the knowledge in different ways: "even if my older sibling isnt home, their mirror could still break, so i still shouldnt slam the door." She knows im not just trying to annoy her or assert dominance over her like a lot of rules and demands we give to children do- i just dont want my mirror to break. It helps her understand cause and effect.

Would this result be the same if i had just screamed at her or spanked her? Or did it make more sense to just explain? After all, it was a simple mistake. I could see my parents doing the same thing-- when you close a door, youre not usually thinking about the walls in the other room.

That that must feel so weird.

To name a few very basic things....

Us greeting a man they've never met before with the same excitement of someone greeting an old friend

Us already knowing what Asriel looks like even though we have never actually seen him

Us obsessively trying to talk to neighbors Kris has never met

Not to mention if they can feel what we're feeling or at least gleam it from some of our actions???

That would be so terrifying.

We know so MUCH about their family that we shouldn't, have a relationship with each member that Kris doesn't.

Like could you imagine waking up with a soul that's not your own beating in your chest.... and when it sees your mother, you can actually feel it's surprise and excitement, know that it recognizes her.....

...or the cold shock it feels when it lays eyes on the totally normal flowers your father keeps.

That would be so spooky and unsettling, even the good, excited feelings would be so freaky because, there's so many moments were the player simply has WAY more context than Kris.

The soul from Kris's point of view must be just as hard, if not harder to understand as we find Kris to be sometimes.

Someone just had to point out that Velora in TLOVM would have been around the same age as Bren at that time and it got me thinking (because Syldor is both a shit parent and one of the most easily manipulated men I have ever seen) what if Velora grew up and went to Soltryce? Imagine Trent showing up at Syldor's door when Velora is like sixteen years old and asking to teach her. We all have seen by now that the girl is drawn to knowledge like a moth to a flame. She would jump at the chance, probably begging her father to let her go. She can't stand being trapped in the castle all the time, couldn't he just let her go see it at least? Syldor agrees because Trent doesn't seem that bad and well, he IS one of the Empire's chief advisors and a reputable professor. Yada yada yada Velora enrolls, meets Bren and Eadwulf (/or Astrid I haven't decided yet, probably Astrid tbh), etc etc. She starts training and picks up pretty fast that this isn't your typical wizarding school. Something about their teacher is... well, he's a little odd, isn't he? But she figures that's just how things are in the Empire, she has been sheltered her whole life, so how would she know? Bren and Astrid seem fine with it.

The first time she pulls up a flame out of nothing, or makes lighting crackle from her hands, she's ecstatic. So is Trent. She is whip smart and learns fast. She quickly gains his favor, and he begins pushing her more and more. He's pushing all three of them to their limits, and by the time they're all almost eighteen, they're practically soldiers in their own right.

The last task he gives them? Kill a traitor to the Empire.

Worse? One of them is her father.

His supposed crimes are written for her in great detail. Hiding fugitives in Syngorn, conspiring against the king, etc etc.

Velora is furious. The Empire has treated her so well, she thought her father loved her, how could he do this? Trent uses this to his advantage, inviting Syldor to a "friendly" meeting about his daughter.

Velora slips poison into his food, as quick as a mouse and quieter still. As Syldor chokes to death on his own blood, shock and betrayal on his face, his daughter watches. Her eyes blank. Her hands folded calmly in her lap. Even Astrid looks a little rattled by her friend's demeanor.

In Syngorn, Devana is distraught. Her daughter is unreachable, her husband is missing, and she can't rule Syngorn by herself. So she sends a letter to Whitestone for one Vex'ahlia de Rolo and one Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III to please come and help her.