prince rebelle

#me and them and Other Things That Ruined My Life: An Autobiography by prettyoungfish

Some people seem to misunderstand that Kuang is painting Robin’s self-sacrifice as noble, when I really didn’t read it that way. If anything it’s emphasized that he was looking for an opening, a justifiable reason to take the ‘easy way out’, as Ramy put it. He even admits that Ramy was right. Robin’s death is a tragedy not because it’s righteous self sacrifice but because he couldn’t overcome his own itch to martyr himself rather than live in shame and grief and discomfort, yet persevering. People think the protagonist has to be on a pedestal to be worthy of being the protagonist, but Kuang really doesn’t try to put Robin on a high horse. Before they join the effort to stop the war against China, before they seize Babble, Robin is a coward. He’s frightened, complacent, and indecisive. Afterwards, before the Westminster Bridge falls, he’s reckless, combative, impatient, and borders on uncompromising because he’s now fully converted to Griffin’s philosophy of violence. But he’s never some knight in shining armor. He’s not some shining voice of reason or revolutionary strategy. He’s just a scared boy. That’s what he is. That’s what he’s always been.