chronic-rereader

[chronic-rereader]

it's funny how often, in the queen's thief books, the sad and shocking twist is that the love was there all along. there's the big obvious one, of course, but it comes up again and again: Dite with his hopeless crush, Sejanus with his mocking cruelties, Relius with his abject devotion and Teleus with his stalwart loyalty, Attolia's ladies closing ranks around her, Sophos telling all his tale and bashfully leaving out how often and how wistfully he thought of Eddis. in other cases it grows silently and catches our narrator by surprise: Costis down the well, Pol on the cliffside.

and it doesn't save everyone. love is not always a gentle thing, and it's not always enough. the minister of war nearly strangled his son to death. Sejanus committed treason. Eddis went to war. but it's always there, unobtrusive as a shadow, pervasive as the sunlight.

I think sometimes of a quote from mwt saying she front-loads the trauma: the worst thing that is going to happen to the characters, emotionally, generally happens in the first few chapters. their world ends, their life shatters, they lose everything, they are alone and afraid with no allies and no hope. and then we rebuild. over the course of slow, painstaking pages, they regain their footing in the world, carve out a new self, discover a new perspective and a new strength. further ills befall, of course, and at the great climax everything seems bleak and dire once again, but it's still not the worst thing to happen to them. they face the dire moment bravely, afraid but not alone, certain now in who they are and how they will face the end if it comes.

I'm still mulling this over, I don't have a tidy knot to tie between these points, but they feel connected. something about the compassion woven through these stories, both for the characters and for the readers. something about how they're tales of intrigue and adventure, yes, but they're also stories about building something good, and about seeing the best in people even when their worst is horrific, and about love as an act of courage in a harsh world. love as an act of faith. love as the last thing left that might be able to save you.

[chronic-rereader]

the king of attolia is sick of this shit.

redraw from La Nuit Vetienne based on this

[chronic-rereader]

“the gentleman having named the last day on which his existence could be continued without the possession of the toothpick-case” I AM CRYINGGG

On ascending the stairs, the Miss Dashwoods found so many people before them in the room, that there was not a person at liberty to tend to their orders; and they were obliged to wait. All that could be done was, to sit down at that end of the counter which seemed to promise the quickest succession; one gentleman only was standing there, and it is probable that Elinor was not without hope of exciting his politeness to a quicker despatch. But the correctness of his eye, and the delicacy of his taste, proved to be beyond his politeness. He was giving orders for a toothpick-case for himself, and till its size, shape, and ornaments were determined, all of which, after examining and debating for a quarter of an hour over every toothpick-case in the shop, were finally arranged by his own inventive fancy, he had no leisure to bestow any other attention on the two ladies, than what was comprised in three or four very broad stares; a kind of notice which served to imprint on Elinor the remembrance of a person and face, of strong, natural, sterling insignificance, though adorned in the first style of fashion.…

At last the affair was decided. The ivory, the gold, and the pearls, all received their appointment, and the gentleman having named the last day on which his existence could be continued without the possession of the toothpick-case, drew on his gloves with leisurely care, and bestowing another glance on the Miss Dashwoods, but such a one as seemed rather to demand than express admiration, walked off with a happy air of real conceit and affected indifference.

Jane Austen, she slays. By presenting Robert Ferrars in the most annoying, natural situation ever (someone holding up a queue), we start with near hatred. But when we hear that all his expensive ornamentation is just lipstick on a pig, and that he’s also profoundly vain, well it’s all over for Mr. Ferrars. We haven’t even learned his name and the character assassination is complete.

[chronic-rereader]

a flicker of hope ✨

[chronic-rereader]

[ The Survivor ]

free my man, he did all of it

hi gang i finished the first trilogy, im not okay, secret history is the best mistborn book no i am not biased, had me kicking my legs giggling because Oh my God What thats Fucked Up lyrics from "Woke up a rebel" by Reuben And The Dark, a very kelsier song if i say so myself

[chronic-rereader]

I Need everyone to see my favorite J.R.R Tolkien artworks.

This man made some seriously beautiful books and along the way was like well in addition to the maps,

I'm just going to paint everything in gorgeous detail and hide most of it away for years. You know as artists do.

BUT LOOK AT THESE!!!

This one was originally painted in 1928 and originally titled Beleg finds flinding in taura-na-fuin. It was reused as mirkwood and then later with tolkiens consent posted in a calendar in the 1970s renamed the Fangorn forest.

I'm fully obsessed with the way he colored, some drawings featuring dark and pastel shades separated by the bright lines of the unpainted paper.

Another favorite trait is the winding lines and repeating patterns that were unique to each piece. The texture of the mountains and hills and water are all excellent

LIKE

THE COLORS

The COMPOSITION

This is one of my absolute favorites just because I love the old man willow. The Old Forest is one of my favorite parts of the series, and It looked EXACTLY as I had imagined it when reading.

That's all. I just really wanted to share some of these with y'all

[chronic-rereader]

Cosmere Planets as Social Medias

Note: I am not 100% sure that all of these websites can be called "social media" but eh. Here are the social media (?) websites that I think would be most closely associated with various Cosmere planets.

[The Roshar & Braize entries contain Wind & Truth spoilers, and the Grand Apparatus entry contains Emberdark spoilers!]

1. Komashi: Etsy

A place full of art and beauty and creativity...that is in a constant battle with AI.

2. Threnody: Facebook

The dead never quite rest here: Their profiles, archived and difficult to delete, linger on. Plus, there is an overwhelming feeling of Evil all around.

3. Nalthis: Instagram

You know how the Returned are all large and sexy because when they Return, they get turned into whatever they think is the height of beauty? Well, that's like Instagram filters, where the people and the food and the landscapes can be edited so that they look absolutely glossy.

There are also some people in the corners of Instagram joyfully uploading blurry pictures of the pizza they got on their vacation. That's Idris.

4. Roshar: Twitter [Spoilers for Wind & Truth!]

A land of constant battles, where people gain valor (followers) by coming out on top. Many warriors even try to cause battles through bait, hoping to entrap the unwary and embroil them in conflict. There's also just, like, tons of racism. Plus, the place was recently conquered by a horrible tyrant, so it's only going downhill.

5. Scadrial: TikTok

Man, doesn't it seem like this is everywhere these days? Much like you can't go to any planet in the space-age Cosmere without finding a pocket of Scardrian researchers hiding somewhere, so too can you not go to any airport or bus or park or grocery story without hearing TikTok playing from somewhere. Plus, Scadrial, like TikTok, is a place of investigation and discovery and "spreading the word"--sometimes with honest, good intentions, and sometimes seemingly to deceive and scam you. And it can be really hard to tell which.

6. Grand Apparatus: Reddit [Spoilers for Isles of the Emberdark!]

A place full of many, many different rooms, where you can request the thing that you need. "Please show me winter boots that hold up well," you whisper, and r/boots sweeps its way toward you, promising to fulfil your winter-boot-related needs.

But this doesn't mean it's a happy place. Sometimes you feel trapped. You've been in r/revenge for 19 days now. Sometimes you wonder if it's possible to escape from this place.

7. Braize: 4chan [Spoilers for Wind & Truth!]

It's hell, basically. Full of people being as cruel as possible. But I heard it recently got shut down, so perhaps the torture machine has ended at last?

8. Taldain: Vine

I know very little about Taldain. I know it is Autonomy's planet, so I'm sure it's full of people trying to prove themselves. I know it has a light side that is sandy plus a dark side where people have cool glowing tattoos. I also know that if you pour water on the sand, then VINES will burst forth. So you can tell yourself that I chose Vine because "do it for the vine" is surely an Autonomy motto or you could assume I chose it because my brain said "Fuck it. Sand Vines. Close enough." The choice is yours.

9. Canticle: LinkedIn

Much like the ever-moving, deadly sun stalks this planet, so too does the specter of unemployment stalk those who venture into LinkedIn. Plus, much as the dead exist as a chorus on Canticle, so too do all of those fake postings and fake companies plague the halls of LinkedIn.

10. First of the Sun: Discord

"It's on the Discord" they say when you ask a question. "But Discord is a terrible jungle and I can never find answers there!" you protest. "It's on the Discord" they reply. I guess it's into the jungle for you.

11. Lumar: Pinterest

All of the oceans are color-coded, each with its own glittering waterfall pouring down from the sky. Look me in the eye and tell me that's not a Pinterest planet.

12. Sel: Tumblr

The gods are dead on Sel--that is to say, no matter how many times tumblr is sold to various entities, those entities are never successful, and yet, their influence does linger. Plus, if you just stick to your corner of tumblr and block anyone who annoys you, then it's like you're in a shining silver city full of friends, and no (successful) algorithm exists to forcefully introduce you to things that you don't want to see. But just outside your shining city there are people trying to convert you to their violent ways (terfs) and war (discourse) and other terrible things (bad fandom takes).

But, if you do go exploring & venture into the right places on tumblr/Sel, you'll also find people making INCREDIBLE art.

[chronic-rereader]

in almost every other children's book where the main heroine is swept away to a land of whimsy she's shown having a lovely time; braving dangers occasionally, trying to find her way home, sure, but ultimately delighting in the magic around her. meanwhile alice spends her entire time in wonderland like

[chronic-rereader]

According to Know Your Meme, on August 18th, 2005, Erwin Beekveld brought forth this work into the world. HAPPY TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY, THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD.

[chronic-rereader]

Progress on my stained glass Narsil.

[chronic-rereader]

mass murderer wife imperialist warlord husband

[chronic-rereader]

The reunion scene we deserved to see. Based on this text post by @laz-laz-ace-pilot.

[chronic-rereader]

You people will never know how long I suffered to make this meme (it was like 2 minutes)

[chronic-rereader]

Anyways. Thick as Thieves meme drop

Bonus:

[chronic-rereader]

based on nothing but vibes my brain has decided that the song See Her Out by Francis and the Lights is about the Queen’s Thief series

[chronic-rereader]

something about loss, growing up and the lies you're told for a sketchbook exchange I'm part of

[chronic-rereader]

also he would like Nothing More than to NOT rule this country and is actively avoiding doing so

idk at what point in the writing of king of attolia megan whalen turner was like. actually i should write almost the entire book from the pov of a guard that doesnt know what the fuck is going on, but it was the best point and im very grateful for it. literally unrivalled, hilarious, incredible. every single chapter costis is like. god i hate my stupid idiot king who doesnt like his wife and wants only to rule the country and can barely lift a sword and doesnt know whats going on ever and then the pov will shift for three paragraphs to someone who does know whats going on and theyre just like. Eugenides Is The Scariest And Most Capable Bitch Alive And Hes Up To Something. And He Loves His Wife.