#aphmau garroth

Recent art! Tried a new artstyle and it works pretty well I guess 🤔

One hill I will die on is that I do not believe MCD (Specifically and exclusively MCD) Garroth and Laurance saw Aphmau as a prize.

AT FIRST

I do think later on their competition with each other and yearning etc defo distract them from how their feelings originated. Garroth is a weird case because he proposes to her in season 1 without actually saying anything - but Aphmau wasn't a prize to him. In the beginning Aphmau was something similar to a monk who traveled, found Phoenix Drop and then brought it back to life. I theorize he fell in love with Aphmau when she showed true unwavering unself-centered kindness and put in effort into reviving a place he would soon call his home.

Garroth fell in love with her kind heart and soon her ability to resolve conflict without physical conflict, taking charge, helping the villagers, etc. Garroth ran away from O'Khasis because of a loveless marriage so when he gets to know Aphmau, he confidentally proposes to her(she ignores the ring in the chest and walks off - which I interpret as rejection. Garroth never brings this up again) Laurance does flirt with Aphmau, mostly with her looks at first but Laurance also experience the same draw that Garroth does as Aphmau offers to help find his sister, help in any way she can with lazy ass Lords, etc. She earns his trust so much that he feels justified in sacrificing his life for her. Even after he becomes a Shadow Knight, he's not too concerned with killing her and totally willing to wander around blindly(literally) if it means she can live in peace. Where the line blurs between genuine love and seeing Aphmau as a prize to claim is not when Garroth and Laurance butt heads(unless you count that weird ooc moment at the end of season 1) but when Aaron shows up. Garroth and Laurance become great great friends with one another as Laurance becomes a Guard in Phoenix Drop and arguably its them butting heads abt the O'Khasis thing that brings them closer. Even as Laurance lets Garroth try to woo Aphmau(even tho he does show up when Garroth is abt to make his moves, but I see that as like a taunting thing than deliberate). Point is, neither of them have a problem if Garroth or Laurance ended up with Aphmau. Even when Laurance gets so jealous of Aphmau marrying someone he transforms, does he admit that he wouldn't dare touch her without permission not only from Aphmau, but from Garroth too.

When Aaron shows up out of the blue and Aphmau starts taking an interesting in her do their objectives change. Especially with the Shadow Knight problems causing Laurance's bad qualities to become toxic and overbearing, mostly taking them out on Aaron(for example when Laurance admits hes not sure why Aphamu cares about Aaron or anyone else for that matter) its a whole thing. Only when Aphmau seems to be romantically involved with Aaron does Laurance disappear and his vision of his original attraction to Aphmau becomes askew. Only when Garroth finds out Aphmau has had a kid with Aaron does he begin to view Aphmau... I wouldn't say as a prize. I think, he views what Aphmau has done as a betrayal. He doesn't seem bothered when he hears Laurance has been close with Aphmau - only when Aaron has. Because the biggest thing that changest their perspective is their history as Guards - they trust one another. Aaron is not only the Lord of Falconclaw, rumored to have gone mad and killed a bunch of people - so Laurance was already worried there And then Garroth hasn't seen fuckall about this man, just trusting he's got Aphmau's best interest then the man kills himself to bring back Garroth and leaves Aphmau knocked up. So his emotions are conflicted - but I don't believe he had seen Aphmau as a lost prize.