Last dance at World’s End

Nakamas and Soulmates

I remember how giddy I felt when my favorite fictional couple, Vin and Elend, from Brandon Sanderson’s ‘Mistborn Trilogy’, attended a ball in the middle of a war while the world was coming to an end. It was top 2 ‘God When?’ moments for me. 

Cause who doesn’t want to slow dance with the love of their life in a resplendent ball room to sensual music, as the universe falls apart all around them?

Not this writer, thank you very much. 

Romance, a whole genre onto itself, manages to invade others and sprinkle it with the light headed feeling of wandering butterflies in your stomach and in your heart. 

I’m not a fan of the genre as I prefer it in small doses but I’m shocked to discover that I might be one of these ‘romantics’. I feel a cringe bubbling within me at the admission but perhaps, unlike the rest, I enjoy it more when it’s not the center of attention. 

The art of seduction is more than just baring ones nudity abruptly. It is about the tease. The misdirection. The sandwiching of vulnerable moments within lush givings. This is why I’m a fan of the romance in the Mistborn trilogy. It’s gently placed within the core theme. Yes, I love my cheesy moments dressed up in delicious fantasy or science fiction.

I enjoy finding it ensconced in stories I hadn’t expected to find it like money in your pocket on laundry day. It’s like Ron and Hermoine’s relationship in the Harry Potter series. They start out as friends and the tension builds till it erupts in book 7 when they break into a kiss after an endearing display by Ron that showed how much she’d influenced him for the better. 

Other such scenes hit you in the gut and you reminisce about them even when you’re not reading or seeing the movie. One of these is the aforementioned dance by Vin and Elend. 

A little backstory: 

Elend is the Emperor of Scadrial and Vin is his 5ft4 god-killer wife. They are both superhumans called Mistborns who use metals in mystical ways. My favorite part of their love story that starts with Vin as an orphan street urchin and Elend, a weak son of cruel lord, is this ball they attend after reaching their respective heights. 

What makes this particular part interesting is how Elend and Vin have an army besieging a city and decide to attend the ball, uninvited,  inside said city for a chat with with it’s leader. They intend to take the city so they can save the world(it’s a long story).

On the night of the event, the couple fly through the defenses of the city, undetected and arrive with Vin dressed in a opulent black dress and Elend in a regal white outfit and a cape. They literally fall out of the dark sky unto the venue and walk hand in hand through the midst of enemy lords and ladies who have jaws dropped at the entrance of the power couple.

After a chat with the leader and some mingling with the nobility who are scared and in awe simultaneously, Vin and Elend decide to have a last dance, ironically their first together because they know when they leave, only war and the end of the world awaits them. So right there in a ballroom filled with enemies, they dance for perhaps the last time.

“Vin looked up into his eyes, and they returned to the dance. Neither spoke; they simply let the wonder of the moment hold them. It was a surreal experience for Vin. Their army was outside, the ash was falling perpetually, and the mists were killing people. Yet, inside this room of white marble and sparkling colors, she danced with the man she loved for the first time.

They both spun with the grace of Allomancy, stepping as if on the wind, moving as if made of mist. The room grew hushed, the nobility like a theater audience, watching some grand performance, not two people who hadn't danced in years. And yet, Vin knew it was wonderful, something that had rarely been seen. Most noble Mistborn couldn't afford to appear too graceful, lest they give away their secret powers.

Vin and Elend had no such inhibitions. They danced as if to make up for the four years lost, as if to throw their joy in the face of an apocalyptic world and a hostile city.“

I re-read this trilogy every time this scene pops in my head. Perhaps I’m not a true romantic as I only seem to enjoy it in these kinds of situations.

Like in the movie, passengers. I had gone into the cinema expecting a standard sci fi movie and I was met with a new age ‘Sleeping Beauty’ story. Chris Pratt’s character finds himself sentenced to a slow death and he has the opportunity to spend it with a woman he seems to be in love with but it would mean she dies too. 

He chooses wrongly and wakes her to spend the rest of her life with him. She eventually finds out but she forgives him and it’s pretty much alls well that ends well. I would advise against making such a choice in real life though, one shouldn’t have such a decision taken away from them in the first place.

I reckon what makes these stories enjoyable to me are the little detours and challenges to the different unions. Most times, the love triangle is often utilized for this. For Elend and Vin, we have Elend’s assassin half brother who falls in love with Vin. For Aragorn and Arwen in the Lord of the Rings, we have Eowyn. And the mortal/immortal incompatibility of course.

I often favor relationships that also have a strong bond in friendship. Sometimes, the non romantic relationships that possess strong intimacy convey more excitement. Yes we love the Harrys and Ginnys and the Rons and Hermonies. Other times, the bond between the trio, (Hermoine, Ron and Harry) is even more endearing. 

The anime ‘One Piece’ exemplifies this. We have a band of pirates who are ‘Nakama’ to one another. The Japanese word means ‘friend’ but it connotes a deeper meaning of the word as not all your friends are your ‘Nakama’ but all your ‘Nakamas’ are your friends. More than friends but not romantically. Basically, anoher family where unlikely relationships take place and blossom into beautiful unbreakable bonds. 

This is another trope I appreciate when I do not search for it. When I find stories I expect to have the usual boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love narrative and discover that it’s about pure friendship with no strings attached. It mirrors my own reality more accurately.

I’d love to read more stories like that. Perhaps I will write them. Yes, I think I will like do so like I did for ‘The Evolution of Daddy’s Trousers’ , a story of mine about the love of a father for his son and Vice versa.

Perhaps only few of us are destined to drop dramatically into a ball room of enemies and twirl to our hearts delight as the world crumbles. 

Perhaps the kind of love we find, will not be magical. Perhaps it will be boring and stable. Perhaps we will only get to experience these beautiful moments in the lives of characters on precious pages. 

And Perhaps not. 

But I believe that, though soulmates may not exist, our Nakama do. Some of us have found them already and some will do so eventually. Treasure these bonds as much as the glamorous ones that are mainstream. It’s your second chance at family. 

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What fictional couples or friends do you like? Let me know. ; )

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All Origimi in this edition by Aisha Gbadebo on IG as @legendofaisha Also follow her art page for more amazing origami. @origami.ng

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