#Her prime reaction to someone trying to subdue her will be extremely violent

[onaperduamedee]

Heartbroken reminder that Egwene is 17 when she gets taken by the Seanchan, spends two months in captivity being tortured, used as a weapon and dehumanized. When she gets back to the Tower, she immediately passes a test that's not at all traumatic, nearly gets killed by a Grey Man and is sent on a secret mission to hunt murderers completely unsupervised. During this period of wandering, lacking direction, she naturally gets angrier and erratic, but Nyn and Elayne mostly treat it as childish rebellion against Nyn's authority, with Elayne slapping Egwene because she was mean to Nyn. When the girls eventually get captured because they are not equipped at all to hunt the Black Ajah, Egwene becomes so terrified of being taken again that she keeps on resisting the sisters long past it is sensible, earning a brutal beating from the sisters who throw her back into a cell, beaten to a pulp, with no hope for help this time.

Clearly, Egwene has no PTSD whatsoever.

#egwene al'vere #The wheel of time #Wot book spoilers #The Great Hunt #The Dragon Reborn #Remblai #wot book journey #I think about it all the time #About how early in the books she gets to experience something so horribly traumatic and to receive little support afterwards #None from the Tower #None from her mentors #And little from her friends because they have their own stuff going #And even if the books don't give as much room to Egwene's trauma as Rand's it's always here #Her prime reaction to someone trying to subdue her will be extremely violent #She would rather die than let that happen again #It's beyond me how she managed to rebuild herself after this and mostly on her own #The Wise Ones helped tremendously here #Because she had a strict routine #She was far away from everything and everyone that could remind her of what happened #Being a Dreamwalker has also little to do with the OP so it allowed her to regain control without interacting with the OP #I love her arc from very early on tbh #It's not about Egwene being unbreakable #It's about Egwene living with a pain that could destroy her #That's something she shares with Rand as well

[love-fireflysong]

Day 3: Mistake

Fandom: Tales of Phantasia Character(s): Arche Klein, Chester Burklight Words: 1232 Rating: T (Fantasy racism, swearing) Author’s Notes: Wait, what? More ToP? I guess so, huh. Gonna be honest, this is actually a scene I planned to have in the novelization that I am never gonna write. Just truncated. By like a lot. Think of this an unholy amalgamation of the scene in episode 3 of the OVA (you know which one) and the first visit when they go to try and find the hidden ninja village.

Arche had been sitting just outside the entrance to Ymir Forest when she watched as Chester was escorted out by what looked like two elven guards. While very confused, the sight was amusing enough that it was a shame she was unable to hear anything that was being said between the three of them. She could only watch as one of them angrily shoved Chester out past the tree line and gave was she was sure was a scathing scolding. The other stood off to the side, not really doing much of anything, until the first one’s rant finished and turned back into the forest. They seemed to talk to him in a much calmer manner, before clapping a hand on his shoulder and following their much angrier partner.

Well, she hadn’t been expecting that. She wondered what in the world Chester had done to deserve not only being escorted out from the elven village’s borders, but to get two entirely different reactions from guards. Other then just being Chester, of course.It seemed Arche wasn’t going to have to wonder for very long though, he had seen her and was now making his way over to join her under the shade of the tree she had been resting under while waiting for the others to get back.

“Shove over.”

Alright, not the way she had expected this go. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, or are your ears starting to go along with your brain now?”

“Both are still working better than yours I bet though.” She moved over and watched as Chester collapsed next to her on the ground and laid back spread eagle on the grass. “Man spreading much? I think there’s enough shade to cover even your huge ego.”

“Well there is now without your lazy ass taking up the majority of it.”

“Jerk.”

“Ditz.”

Letting the childish name calling signal the usual end of their game, the two of them sat in silence. Not really enjoying the other’s company per say, but enjoying something that neither could put a name to just yet.

Surprising exactly neither of them, Arche was the first to break the silence. “So, you gonna tell me what that was all about, or should I just guess?”

Chester grimaced. “I don’t want to know what your guesses would even entail. You got an apple gel on ya?”

Arche shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? Will you tell me if I give you one?”

He thought it over for a moment before responding. “If that’s the deal, then no. I’ll just wait till Cress and the others get back and get Mint to cast First Aid or something.”

“Rude. I guess I’ll just keep this apple gel then. So, you walk your dumbass into the side of a house or something? Your inflated head blocked out the sun. You tried to show off your archery skills and they were so embarrassing that they had to throw you out. Ooh! Your complete lack of anything but the color blue made you prime prey amongst the green forest! C’mon, I must be getting close.”

If possible, Chester somehow managed to grimace further. “Nevermind. Anything is better then listening to you guess. Give me that gel.”

Pleased that she had won, but disappointed that none of her blind guesses had been close (she had been so sure of the house one too!), Arche nevertheless started to dig into her own item pouch and pulled out the requested gel.

“Thanks.” Chester sat up and popped the gel into his mouth. She didn’t miss the almost pained expression on his face as he began to taste the overly sweet apple flavored medicine. She was gonna get the story behind that one day. And watched as the wounds that she hadn’t even noticed on his right hand seal up. 

“Well? Spill! I fulfilled my end of the bargain and now its your turn. So spill. What did you do in the village that was so bad that they had to kick you out?”

Chester shrugged. “Got into a fight.”

Honestly? Should have probably been her first guess. It was a well-known fact that despite being an archer, he wasn’t actually all that aloof and reserved or serious as the stereotypes went. In fact, he was actually extremely hot-blooded, it was what made teasing him so much fun after all. “Really? Well that’s boring. There’s gotta be more to it then just that. Didn’t think the elves had enough drive to start fights honestly. How badly did you lose?”

To her surprise though, Chester turned away from her, but not before she caught a hint of color on his cheeks. Huh, well that was weird. “They didn’t start it actually. I did. They kicked me out right away though.” He paused and then picked up what she had said at the end. “And I definitely didn’t lose!”

Arche couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “Wow. You’re kidding, right? I’m pretty sure that them kicking you out is the definition of losing!”

He seemed to consider this for a moment. “Was worth it though. Guy deserved getting punched in the face.”

“What the hell did the guy even do? He make fun of your fashion sense? Cause newsflash, I already do that, and the fact that he’s encroaching on my territory is depressing.”

“He was talking shit about half-elves.”

Just like that, the mood of teasing and joviality evaporated. All Arche could do was respond with a small, subdued ‘oh’.

“It was infuriating! He was going on and on about how half-elves are abominations and don’t belong with ‘us pure-breeds in the village’, that humans shouldn’t be allowed in cause we’re ‘teaching our violent and crude ways to the mixed-breeds’! That all half-elves are are mistakes of nature! It was all such utter horse shit! And the worst part of it was that no one was doing anything to stop him! Even Cress and the others were just acting like this was none of our business!” Chester let out an angry breath. “So no. I didn’t lose. I couldn’t have gotten my ass kicked in there and there was still no way that I could have lost.”

“Why did you do that?” Arche winced at how small and weak her voice came out. “I’m used to it. People have been treating me like that my entire life. We need the elves anyway—”

“I don’t care!” Chester turned to look at Arche, and cursed her traitorous heart for the flips it was doing at the fire in his eyes. “Anyone who decides that treating someone else like they’re less then the shit on their shoes, we don’t need. We’ll find another way to that ninja village somehow.

“Anyway, you’re a violent, crude, annoying, shrill shrew of a woman because your personality’s shit. Not because your old man’s a human.”

Well that killed the flips quick. “Wow. Thanks. If my personality’s shit, then yours is a burning pile of it.” She nevertheless leaned over to place her head on his shoulder. “Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

“....”

“....”

“So you think that we’re gonna have to camp out here tonight while the others stay at the inn?”

“If so I think I have some bread and cheese for sandwiches still.”

“...If you think I’m letting your ‘Worst. Chef. Ever’ ass anywhere near those ingredients then you have another thing coming.”

#pride month prompt challenge #my writing #tales of phantasia #arche klein #chester burklight #less archestery then the last one but its still there #i know that this one is late #its past midnight here #but its still done so take it anyway!