I'm not sure where to put this, so I'll put it here because it involves non-Green Ember things.
Helmer: *dies*
My mind: *plays the Laurens Interlude*
What if Helmer is like Laurens?
Hear me out. Be warned that this is a very dark fan theory.
According to a fellow Wattpadder of mine, Laurens was apparently depressed and wanted to die. Upon further research, he knew that the war was over yet defied orders to retreat from the battle that led to his death and charged instead. While the Wattpadder did say that he was enraged and could have just wanted to kill more redcoats, it would also make sense for him to charge in and die, as he'd wished.
What does this have to do with Helmer? Well, he felt incredibly guilty for not cutting off his arm when Garten had him tied to a tree, mocking him and saying he can cut off his arm and fight for his king or stay there. Helmer, in fact, felt as though he had betrayed the king when he stood on helplessly. In The Green Ember, we see that he set up training challenges for himself that could've very well killed him. What if the training was just an excuse for him to set up such fatal challenges, and he could only evade them thanks to reflexes, as opposed to a will to evade them? What if he intended on having them kill him because he couldn't stand the guilt any longer? Also of note is after this incident, we see that Helmer says the Mending is an impossible fantasy. That, in and of itself, may indicate that he's depressed, and thoughts of that nature aren't the kind of thing you just wake up and have. This kind of thinking may go back to long, long before he set up the challenges, and after a point, he may have decided to set them up and die. If he believes that no one can get them out of the mess he might blame himself for making (remember, the war was going on for a while, and the king's death, which Helmer sees as his fault because of his failure to act, was the last straw for the rabbits, as after his death, the era of the Great Wood ended and the afterterrors came), he might not believe that life is worth it anymore. If he thinks that there is no way out of the problems he feels he caused, that, added to the immensely crushing guilt he felt after the king's death, may just have drove him over the edge, leading him to make the contraptions and hoping they kill him, the only reason for his survival being that he couldn't seem to die. The community's reaction of shock, while it can be read as mostly fear that said contraptions will harm them, could also be because they couldn't understand why Helmer would want his life to end. In Ember's End, the blastpowder's failure to trigger prompted him to set it off himself, resulting in an explosion and his subsequent death. While we all hope that his death was just a side effect of him setting off the explosion, what if it wasn't? What if he believes that redemption equals death and wished to make up for his perceived betrayal? Also of note is that throughout the series, he's quite gruff and stern. Could this just be a front for his inner sorrow?
This might be a very far-fetched, "out there" possibility, so sorry for pointing this out, but I have no one to share it with. I have no real-life Green-Ember-loving friends, so I can't discuss it with them, and if I told my parents, I'm afraid of them thinking I need to go to therapy or whatever, all because of this fan theory.
I never got the sense that Helmer wanted to die-it was more a case of having nothing to live for but revenge against an enemy he didn’t think could be beaten.
This is all really interesting, and the only thing I have to say is that you're all smarter than me, and that I've never listened to Laurens' Interlude. 😥 Though I really want to.
@Power I saw you liked my post. What about it did you like? Is it painful? Believable? Far-fetched? This is probably going to be my only fan theory, so let me know.
Ok. So trumpet does not play in concert key, but the piano can take it.
YES! I arranged it a while ago.
Does it work on your trumpet? I worked it out on my keyboard a long time ago.
Woohoo! Tell me if there are any errors, and I'll fix it at my earliest convenience.
I just posted an arrangement of "The Mended Wood" in Bb major for everyone who plays an instrument in concert key (flute, piano, glockenspiel, etc.) Pianists, add Bb, D, and F or any inversions thereof to the left hand.
Oh, yeah. That must be it.
Hmmm...strange. I don't know what's so different from swimming about those sports that they won't let you smile for the team pictures. Oh, well.
But I'm on the swim team and they let us smile. What sport do you play?
Also, why is it that almost all the historical figures that were painted, rather than photographed, were creepily straight-faced?
I like to joke it's because they're mad that the painter is taking forever, but if they show just how angry they are, the painter will need to start again.
Laurens was one of the few who smiled for the painting. Do you know of any others who did?
Peggy is a cinnamon roll too good for the world, but the real forgotten Schuyler sister is Catherine, whom she saved from a Native American attack according to legend. That may just be because there's a huge age gap between them. Also, the Schuylers had sons. Lin forgot they existed when he wrote "Satisfied."
Oh goodness... I don’t know anymore... NO I don’t believe it!!!!
and I love Hamilton!!!!! Peggy is just 👌🏼
"Alexander, are you all right?"
"I have so much work to do."
Me too! So sad, though.
Hmm... I don't think the theory is believable, but I love the Lauren's interlude!