#dark rise spoilers

[euypraxia]

ok but the parallel of Violet fighting the shadow king in the end of dark rise and believing in herself because Will believed in her vs James in the end of dark heir using every bit of his power to keep the gate open and again reminding himself that Will had faith in him someone please tell Will how much he inspires those around him pacat please end his suffering

#poetic cinema #dark heir #dark heir spoilers #dark rise #dark rise spoilers

[zombie-bait]

trying to explain why Dark Rise and Dark Heir are so good without immediately giving huge spoilers is so hard. Like yes the characters are good, the worldbuilding is cool but the last like 30 pages of Dark Rise just flipped my whole world upside down in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. It’s such a brilliant subversion of the chosen one story. It utilizes reincarnation in such a fascinating way to tackle fate and question whether the history of every character is doomed to repeat.

Will’s inner turmoil is expanded beautifully in book 2. He is terrified of the person he might become yet simultaneously drawn to it. He is constantly plagued by power and knowledge he knows he can never share. He falls easily into ancient patterns, lying and sneaking and bending the world to protect those close to him. He tries his best to be kind. He is somewhere between monster and man and must hope he comes out as the latter.

#Dark rise #dark heir #dark heir spoilers #will kempen #Dark rise spoilers #cs pacat

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

More Dark Rise and Dark Heir thoughts:

My prediction is that Will isn't a reliable narrator about his past self and the text is deliberately misleading about the relationship between Sarcean and the Light. Bait and switch foils are some of Pacat's favourite narrative tools and i'd be surprised (and honestly a bit angry) if it was as simple as the Dark King (with all his queer symbolism) equates to evil and the Lady (with all her Christian iconography) equates to good.

The biggest example of 'unreliable narrator Will' is how he already believes he's evil and that people are right to abuse and want to kill him. As we see with how all his thoughts about his mother in Dark Rise are loving, magnanimous, and illustrating a desire to avenge her death. Then in Dark Heir the reader discovered how abusive she was because of her belief in his 'innate evil'.

The point is, though, that Will isn't innately evil. No one is. Eleanor never had the right to treat baby Will as she did. Just as the Stewards never had the right to treat James as appallingly as they did. No one had the right to abuse and try to kill them. The Stewards created their own villain by treating James like a villain and that same principle applies to how everyone is treating Will.

Sarcean in his pov isn't good, but neither is he evil. He is Will. He's observant, artful, sneaky, scheming, smart, and uncommunicative. He's heartbreakingly loyal to those he loves. He rewards loyalty to him even if they turn on him later. He's ruthless and overly aware of how others perceive him. He craves control. He's obsessively and irrevocably in love with Anharion. I don't think Sarcean is some evil self separate from Will, Will keeps making all Sarcean's mistakes because they are, fundamentally, the same. I do think Will coming into himself and making better decisions will be in his accepting that Sarcean is not a separate person at all.

#dark rise #dark heir #will kempen #cs pacat #sarcean #dark rise spoilers #dark heir spoilers #these books strongly remind me of the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #for some reason

[subject-to-entropy]

Does anyone else think the Elder Steward knew what Will is - knew the entire time and took him in because she believed that Sarcean turned out the way he did because of how he was treated and not because he was inherently evil?

I’d put money on there being a huge moment of catharsis for Will in book 3 when he finds this out. It’s a good explanation for the continued existence of the Elder Stone, too. It’s going to be used again in book 3 and I think this will be the conversation he ends up having with it/her.

#dark rise #dark heir #dark rise spoilers #dark heir spoilers #cs pacat #will kempen #elder steward #sarcean #dark rise cs pacat

[hypnostouched]

Thinking about James and the Collar again

I do agree with people that it doesnt work exactly the way James and Will thought it did, however I do think it would be very anticlimactic if it just. didn't actually do a lot, negatively, after James has spent two entire books being terrified of it. Narratively, the Collar has to be important and it clearly has changed James; even if hes not the mindless toy that he assumed he might be.

But ive also been thinking about - if indeed peoples theories about Anharion siding with Sarcean before the Collar was put on him are correct - why the Collar would exist at all. And it makes me think of what Sarcean was accused of.

Sarcean was accused of ensorcelling the Sun King; or attempting to. But even if Sarcean wasn't at the height of his power yet - he wouldn't have failed. His two powers, according to Kettering, are control and death, so yeah of course accusing him of controlling the King makes sense but what doesn't make sense to me is that Sarcean would have attempted it and failed. Now clearly Sarcean had been intending on getting caught at some point, because he needed to get into the oubliette, but he did seem bemused that it was happening when it was so he wasn't actively planning all the details of it - he knew he was being trapped and went willingly, but he didn't actually put this into motion directly. If Sarcean wanted to control the Sun King, then the Sun King would be controlled. I think the accusation was false.

I also think, that very often in political issues, false accusations are oftentimes a redirect. The accuser is often guilty of the crimes they claim others have committed. I wonder, then, if the Sun King had Anharion under some form of control and the Collar was made to negate that.

There's a lot of talk regarding consent around Will and Sarcean's abilities. Will and Sinclair are only able to control those who have been branded and the interesting thing is that all those Sinclair had branded had been willing. They'd not understood the extent of what they were agreeing to, but it didn't seem like it was forced on people. Will repeatedly thinks that he didn't force people to follow him like Sarcean did, the entire everything about James and the Collar, the Lady telling Sarcean that people wouldn't follow him if they knew him, the Returners stealing bodies. Consent and free will are very key topics.

And while I don't entirely believe this idea that Sarcean was faultless, I do think a lot of what we know about him has been skewed by the Light over time - I do think Sarcean is far more grey than believed. Sarcean doesn't seem to be able to control people without the Brand, to the point where the branding rod is the symbol of his power. If, like Sinclair's version, most of these Branded followers take it willingly, then for Sarcean to rob Anharion of his free will entirely seems off.

So yeah I am of the mind that the Sun King was playing at his own control and had some power over Anharion that Sarcean sought to break. Perhaps it couldn't be removed, but instead replaced.

#dark heir spoilers #dark rise spoilers #dark rise #dark heir #will kempen #james st clair #my dark rise posts get notes i forget that when you actually post things people interact with them

[dranka]

Sarcean ✨💅

#dark rise #dark rise spoilers #Idk everything is spoilers in this series lol #sarcean #you could Never #dranka art

[mysticmilks]

Probably unpopular opinion, but...

Book 3 needs more James.

Not just more of Anharion (although him too), not more of Will looking at James, and not more characters appearing and dying after a few chapters just to emphasize that "people are dying, there is a real danger here," but more James.

This-life James, the James hated by his father, cursed because of his identity, the James who was forced to kill people to survive, the James who was branded more times than he can remember, the James who was sexualized by almost every grown-up asshole he met, the James who was just a child when his family wanted to kill him, the James who watched his brother turn into a monster, the James who found out about the Collar, who spent years listening to how his role in all his lives is to be other men's tool, fulfill other men's plans, and spend years knowing that even in death he didn't have a choice. He just wants to find his place (and preferably not die, not be r*ped or manipulated to kill anyone).

Now, here's the unpopular part — currently, James (is my favorite, but) is the least (for lack of a better word) shown character. He's gorgeous, powerful, is gorgeous, sits in provocative poses, is gorgeous, says mean things, is gorgeous, and wants to be with Will... did I mention he's gorgeous?

If this was some other author, I'd be annoyed with them. This is Pacat, and I do believe that Book 3 will blow our collective minds, but it's the end of Book 2... and all I have are some glimpses and gut feelings that James is much more than a pretty face, powers, and a tragic backstory.

I want to see that he is much more than Will's love interest or Sarcean's love interest or the Prize or the Boy in Collar.

I need more James!

#dark rise #dark rise spoilers #dark heir #dark heir spoilers #james st clair #anharion #Sarcean #I demand more James #demand!!!!!!!!

[henreyettah]

Y’all should read Dark Rise btw

#dark rise #dark heir #cs pacat #will kempen #dark rise spoilers #dark heir spoilers #dark rise cs pacat #art #doodle #henreyettart

[anzathebananza]

Dark Rise is literally

“THAT TIME I WAS A REBORN DARK LORD AND ALL MY HOT BLONDE EXES TRIED TO KILL ME”

#implied dark rise/dark heir spoilers #dark heir #dark rise #books #will kempen #james st clair #dark rise spoilers #Kathrine Kent #the lady #sacrean #anime and manga #isekai

[ohnobii]

sarcean literally said: when your circle is small but you fcked all of them

#i too would come back from death for him yk #like i get them #dark heir was actually a comedy if you think about it #dark heir #dark rise #will kempen #sarcean #anharion #james st clair #will x james #the lady #c s pacat #violet ballard #dark rise spoilers #dark heir spoilers

[gaygoetia]

I've seen some discussion about whether Will will go Full Evil at some point and personally I wanna see him try so hard to be Good that it makes him Worse

- So protective of the people he loves that it becomes controlling

- So insistent on doing the Right Thing that he steamrolls anyone who gets in his way

- So sure he's being the Good Guy that he doesn't realise what he's become until it's too late

...Something something the best villains are the ones who think they're heroes...

#dark rise #c s pacat #will kempen #dark rise spoilers #my posts #dark heir #dark heir theories

[bellandeano]

characters that fall into this general vibe make me want to EAT GLASS

#justice from dark rise by c.s pacat you will always be famous to ME #writing #im being dramatic abt a character from a book nobody's read again #AAUGH THE TRAGIC HERO WHO DID IT ALL FOR NOTHING AND WHO WAS NEVER ANYTHING BUT WHAT HE THOUGHT HE NEEDED TO BE #BRAINWASHED AND DEVOTED AND GUILTY AND DEAD. AAUUGHBBSNDKG #dark rise #justice dark rise #dark heir #dark rise spoilers #but only bc i cant shut up in the tags

[porschekittisawasds]

james: my whole life, all anyone’s ever wanted was to possess me. the only one who ever set me free was you

will:

#will: right so about that…. #anyway can’t wait for the sequel #there’s going to be so much angst I just know it 🤌🏻 #dark rise #cs pacat #dark rise spoilers

[swordsswordsswords]

Elder steward: How did you even get into this part of the castle?? It was blocked off by a massive stone door

Violet, who’s not supposed to have super strength:

#dark rise #dark rise spoilers

[subject-to-entropy]

So my partner is like 40% into Dark Rise and she just told me “I’m waiting for Will to become flawed, so far he’s too perfect, I really hope that changes” and I want a goddamn medal for keeping a straight face

#dark rise #dark rise spoilers #dark heir #cs pacat

[hypnostouched]

Reread Dark Heir and I love that the trauma the characters go through actually follows through in the writing

Visander is incredibly claustrophobic after having to dig himself out of his grave and its a repeated theme when hes anxious; walls closing in, shortness of breath, darkness, returning to that box. Its such a nice touch, especially because Visander does keep getting put into claustrophobic environments; the carriage, tight clothes, the boat, small rooms... He's the perfect Champion and he is traumatised and he is still the perfect Champion. He's very human, for lack of a better word, he isn't untouchable

And Will has a so much trauma from his mother, and then from Kathrine and he links them together so much. To be hated, for those he loves to try to kill him. Choking. Being stabbed; his mother through the hand, and Kathrine's visage stabbing him as Prescott.

A lot of characters in media go through shit and while they might talk about it, the way Pacat writes out the extending effects of trauma is so good. Especially when you can just assume that all of Will thinking of his mother was just to build up to the reveal in Dark Rise, but he continues it into Dark Heir because its not just a writing trope, not just for a reveal, its part of him

(also speaking of repeated words and a reveal, im fucking feral in realising that the 'try to run, i'll always find you' was said to Sarcean by Anharion and not the other way around, even though its echoed now in reverse with James and Will fearing the Dark Kings pull over James)

#dark heir spoilers #dark rise spoilers #dark rise #dark heir #will kempen #visander