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brontefanatic April 13 2012, 19:07:18 UTC
Denna had learned the lessons Darken had to teach all too well, and become more like him than any other he had ever known, living or dead.

As much as he loved her, he also despised her. Spot on!!! Darken and Denna are so much alike it's rather scary. And of course, his feelings for her say much about Darken's feelings about himself.

It was odd, seeing Richard’s face when he studied his reflection in the water. He would get used to it, he knew, but the sight of it now still evoked a visceral reaction.

Envy.

Hatred.

Betrayal.

Those were the things he associated with this face. This was epic. If Darken wants to lead Richard's life, there is so much to. And I love how he stubbornly takes the risk of making his physical appearance as much like his old self as he can get away with.

And his attempt to seduce Kahlan:

You don’t understand,” he whispered harshly. “Time there, in the underworld… it isn’t like time here. I was gone… how long was I gone? It doesn’t matter. I was there for years. Centuries. Kahlan, I burned for centuries.”

He didn’t have to feign the brightness of unshed tears in his eyes. The lie of the pretense of being Richard overlapping with the truth of his own torment. When Darken lies, he's never able to prevent some truth from leaking out.

The poignancy of Darken's realization that in Kahlan he wants her willing surrender, her love, not just sex. And that is something, of course, he can never have.

Even Renn had trouble reading all of Darken's thoughts, and we never really see Kahlan try in canon, so it makes sense to me that she really can't.

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pristineungift April 14 2012, 16:16:07 UTC
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the Darken/Denna moments! I'd had these thoughts about them for a while, but I think this is the first time I've really articulated them through a narrative.

And I love how he stubbornly takes the risk of making his physical appearance as much like his old self as he can get away with.

Totally! He tells himself he's just improving the appearance of his new body, so he won't look so young, but the truth he won't acknowledge is that he wants to look more familiar to himself.

Thanks for the lovely comments bb! I'm so glad to see you enjoying it! XD

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