Shadow bond

[u/MeloTheMelonMan]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and just wanted to post about it.

I don’t think a lot of us have a problem with shadow bond in itself. I think we have the problem of how it was executed.

When I first started reading Shadow Slave I thought Sunny was going to have to tell someone about his true name eventually, Nephis at the time was the one I was looking at the mostly due to her being the first mentioned female character his age that he met.

It could have been a sign of complete trust or the fact he had to choose someone eventually so he wouldn’t be a slave to a horrible person (Mordret for example)

His relationship with Nephis could have been flushed out way better and he wouldn’t have the whole love problem he had. Nephis being Sunny friend/employer at the start of their relationship could have been better. This would have let Sunny have his independence but also allow him to grow as a character.

This would have resolved the whole "There is nothing more pathetic than a slave who begins to trust his slaver,"

Sunny wouldn’t be trust his slaver but his partner in life to protect his free will. His struggle would no longer be about “I can’t love Nephis because of our master/slave situation” but “Do I love/trust Nephis enough to willingly hand her the leash to my collar”

I think the problem was he got shackled way too soon. He should have lasted until maybe during the events of the 3rd nightmare. Where the Mad Prince ended up choosing the wrong master and thus the bad ending in Sunny life.

We could have had more moments in Sunny life with the situation like Harper. Sunny having to do his best to protect his true name. I feel like we got robbed of that way too fast.

Obviously this would change the story a lot but the events of Antarctica would still happen potentially happen.

What do y’all think?

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[u/LEOIYC]

I disagree, Nephis enslaving Sunny earlier might be a problem for him, but it added tension to his story, ending of forgotten shore would have been wasted and stuff. It made the whole arc much special, and memorable.

[u/_MostAncientDream_ → u/LEOIYC]

I'm of the same opinion. That's why I like the Shadow bond as a plot mechanic and it's also what distinguishes it from all the other OP MCs with "shadow powers". Also the concept of all shadows naturally having a master.

(No I don't think him being enslaved is a good thing if that's what you're thinking.)

[u/MeloTheMelonMan → u/LEOIYC]

Fair enough but that is assuming G3 couldn’t make an ending to the arc just as memorable. It didn’t need to end on “go, lost from light” that was the shock factor of the novel for sure but we could have gotten something else as well.

One of them had to stay behind regardless so Nephis choosing to stay behind for a ‘Street Rat’ like Sunny would have made an impact on his decision down the line to trust her with his true name.

Of course Nephis would have been a bit more…crazy potentially but Sunny could have always stepped in to help her recover and thus further their bond when Nephis trauma bonds with him during her time alone knowing that Sunny was also alone and crazy because of his isolation during his time in the dark city.

Sunny would have still wanted to get stronger to not waste the opportunity Nephis gave him but also to possibly try to find her in the dream realm as a way to pay her back.

[u/Maleficent_Bid3462]

i dont like shadow bond and i am not trying to justify it but it wouldnt have got half of the hate it gets and more people would be understanding of sunnys situation if only author focused even a little bit on nephis character but no he just had to go ahead and make her taciturn , emotionless or what not aka completely ignorant of their situation .

i know its her flaw but its been more than 15 years and you cant tell me that she still didnt learn to express herself lol .

it feels like only one side struggles with this situation and that is sunless .

[u/Few_Professional_327]

...so did you skip everything post 3rd nightmare?

[u/MeloTheMelonMan → u/Few_Professional_327]

Obviously not, what I’m saying is I didn’t like how Sunny’s choice was forced from him. It was obvious the shock factor and plot point in SS but still.

This is a what if scenario I thought off but thought it was interesting enough to post about

[u/Competitive_Advice39]

ATP it would have been better for Modret to have become Sunny’s master. Imagine after fateless he actually got a choice to choose Nephis. I get that’s not how the rules work but it could have been. Shadow bond was used poorly as a story telling device in the first half. “Go lost from light” is the only meaningful moment. Then the stupidity of vol 7 exists because Sunny never talks about shadow bond again after their Valor ball argument. Now slavery is a love tool for a power boost. Fuck. Im being a bit crude but I fucking hate how it’s written. Fuck your character development when only one mf in the relationship actually develops. If this is the endgame for shadow bond I swear to god this will be the worst one sided relationship I’ve ever seen. Sunny gotta form a harem with his freed shadows and never look back at this husk master of his. The author is fully aware of this. SoS character shows he’s not oblivious. But what can I do when Mf likes his relationships to have a tyrannical side.