artino-c

[artino-c]

i'm still on the fence about whether i would enjoy a queen's thief screen adaptation but i'd really love for it to get the wheel of time treatment (make it gayer)

[artino-c]

The Jewel Casket (1900) by John William Godward

[artino-c]

The Queen of Attolia.

I saw this picture on Pinterest, and it reminded me of her.

[artino-c]

Not “Only my reading of canon is correct” or “Interpretations are subjective and all valid” but a secret third thing, “More than one interpretation can be valid but there’s a reason your English teacher had you cite quotes and examples in your papers, you have to have a strong argument that your interpretation is actually supported by the text or it is just wrong and I’m fine with telling you it’s wrong, actually.”

[artino-c]

Magus, The. "Lecture XVII: Correction on Eddisian Mythology." The Journal of Sounisian Appropriation, 1 Oct 1996, pp. 83-86.

in-text citation example:

In fact, the Magus is so sure of his own superiority on the knowledge of the legends and folklore of other countries that he makes the claim that he is "sure that (he has) the most accurate versions" (85). He then goes on to say that "emigrants ... can't remember parts of the original, so they make things up and then forget that the story was ever different" (Magus, 85), showing his arrogance and opinion of non-scholarly sources very clearly, even when speaking to a man who he knows is of Eddisian descent.

[artino-c]

Susa was shaking with rage. “You see how you have corrupted her,” he said. “It is not enough that you threaten our treaty with Eddis and Sounis, you deprive us of our queen.”

This surge of feeling on Susa's behalf should annoy me more than it does, the truth is i love it...the idea of Irene, a woman who defies gender roles, murders husbands, tortures political opponents and boasts of a spy network, as someone 'uncorrupt'...

[artino-c]

fascinated by irene invoking The Law twice we don't give enough credit to the indentured in this book/fandom Irene is such a hide-behind-the-law* type of person... in QoA that's what she tells Gen when she explains her rationale for his punishment I might be way off but it gives me a vision of her learning exactly the word of the law so when she puts a nobleman such as Sejanus or Gen through 'interrogation' then she knows exactly what her legal limitations are and aren't

i think all the time about irene the reformer kind of...externalizing her morality in this way. not "is it right" but "is it permissible under the law"? it makes me wonder whether she's pushing back against an even worse way of doing things (e.g. perhaps how things were under her father or other recent, more despotic rulers)?

Eddis went to speak to the king, and Ion, on the king’s orders, had to turn her away. She went to Attolia with her concerns, and Attolia told her about Lader’s warning. “Lader was always poisonous,” said Eddis. “His words are still prophecy. The gods themselves say that what Sejanus knows will destroy the king,” said Attolia. “He must give up the names of those who have committed treason. It is an ugly business. I see your concerns, but the law is clear.” Eddis said, “Sejanus used every weaseling trick he knew to torment Gen. Even if Gen had his own reasons for allowing it, he came to hate Sejanus and those wounds still bleed. I am afraid emotion clouds his reason.” “Then it is good that he has the law to guide him.” Eddis frowned. “The law may not be enough.”

not Helen trying to stop Gen from torturing a prisoner and trying to enlist help from Miss Torture Is My Specialty

[artino-c]

A year later he had made up a silly excuse to visit a vineyard in the country, and I’d seen Marin there. He’d sold her to a man he knew would be kind to her, one who would free her and make her his wife. We didn’t have a chance to speak, we only exchanged a glance as she carried in a tray of coffee, but I could see that she was happy. I told the Attolian this, but he just shook his head. Maybe he was right. Maybe I gave my master too much credit for his kindness. Maybe he had gotten rid of Marin to keep me focused on my work.

been thinking about this passage every day for a week...there are like a million different things going on here. how much of this is Kamet editorializing/making assumptions about Marin's new life that will help him cope with what happened? "A man he knew would be kind to her" feels like something Kamet couldn't possibly know for sure, but isn't an unfair assumption to make. He must have seen Marin and her husband together - maybe he doesn’t seem awful, and she doesn’t seem afraid of him, so Kamet just tells himself that Marin’s husband is kind. And what is freeing Marin and marrying her if not the act of a kind man, in this context? Obviously we can’t know how happy Marin actually is, or what her relationship with her husband is really like, but it makes sense for Kamet to assume a certain degree of good intentions on the part of Marin’s husband - after all, if he was only interested in sex, he could have just kept her as a slave.

then there's the Nahuseresh of it all...the fact that he brings Kamet to see Marin and doesn't tell him where they're actually going, which must have been a horrible shock to both Kamet and Marin when it happened, is obviously a cruel and vindictive thing to do, and I'm positive Nahuseresh meant it to hurt both of them. But Marin's actual fate is so far from the worst thing that could have happened to her that it's no wonder Kamet manages to see this as a kindness on Nahuseresh's part. Nahuseresh could have sold her without caring where she ended up, he could have made sure she ended up somewhere awful on purpose, he could even have killed her himself. But instead he basically arranged a respectable marriage for her? He obviously does care what happens to her to an extent, and doesn’t want her to truly suffer - because if he did, she would be in a much worse situation.

also the lack of detail makes me insane, especially in the part about Kamet telling Costis. How much did he tell him? Costis "just shook his head," but did he say anything after that? It kind of sounds like he didn't, but I want to know! and what on earth was Costis thinking during this conversation?

[artino-c]

When Attolia gets kissed by a foreign ambassador, it's not her who rises to defend herself, it's Gen who does (because she lets him and he loves her but still). Were I her, I would not have let that ambassador get away with an apology. Just saying.

I don’t think she “lets” Gen do anything in this scene—he reacts without thinking and makes a bad situation worse. Because Gen tried to kill Quedue, the Pents are able to twist the situation to their own advantage. Attolia quite literally cannot demand a formal apology from the ambassador because Gen’s behavior made it all about him, instead of about the insult to her, which I think underscores your point!

So I admit that I am swooning over Eugenides like a stupid fangirl but if I met him there's one thing that I would say to him: Grow up.

Do you know what his unlikeable trait is?

That he can do whatever he wants, because he is a man.

This guy can grin and steal and be pathetic and whiny and be sick and make a show of his own court and he is free to do so because he is a man. In the TQTverse, a man is still seen as worth more than a woman.

Attolia must keep her composure at all times. She cannot afford to play around like Eugenides can, else she loses her throne in a day. She has made herself a fearsome creature because she HAD TO, and she must kill, and she must keep her barons in check, all while Eugenides gets to excuse himself from the executions because he can't bear it. Attolia can't bear it either, but guess what, she has to.

She's the strong one in their relationship so Gen, who doesn't want to be king, can be weak. You think Attolia wanted to be queen???

When Attolia catches Gen it's because the Gods betrayed him, not because Attolia's palace guard finally succeeded in cracking his secrets or because Gen became reckless and did something stupid.

When Attolia gets kissed by a foreign ambassador, it's not her who rises to defend herself, it's Gen who does (because she lets him and he loves her but still). Were I her, I would not have let that ambassador get away with an apology. Just saying.

I don't want to dive too deeply into this, because Attolia is still a formidable ruler and enemy all by herself - someone who can definitely be cunning and make her own decisions - but she has to fight twice as hard to keep the mask on, and cannot allow it to slip, EVER, while Gen is just free to be himself most of the time. Yes, even as king. His challenges as king are seen as a whole arc that gets wrestled through and described, whereas hers are seen as self-evident, not worth mentioning more than necessary. She just has to function and survive no matter what happens. He's used to taking his freedom more often as well. You could never find Attolia sneaking into a tavern. She hasn't learned that she can do that. Because she has learned that her reputation can't afford it. Plus, whatever takes place, Gen still has Eddis at his back, but Attolia is alone.

The difference is that Attolia must be stern and she cannot make mistakes... Eugenides, however, can make mistakes, be stupid, and have fun. Six books. Six books, and we have seen Eugenides sorely humbled, and we have seen Attolia learn to trust, but we have not seen Attolia have fun. Not really. Smiling on occasion, or watching her husband have fun, is not her own fun. It's why she envies Eddis' fun. That's something that has begun to bother me tbh, I want to advocate for her personal life so hard. She's amazing.

You know whose struggles I genuinely support? Sophos'. My man became king through the help of someone else, and he will have to bear that with gratefulness through all his life and fight to create his own fame. The queen made me, I make the king.

So to Gen, my man: You're not the only one who suffers. Grow up.

[artino-c]

@child-of-hurin tagged me on a WIP wednesday meme:

“Shh,” said Nahuseresh. He stroked my hair for a moment, his touch as gentle as a lover’s. “Think carefully, Laela. She never talked about her plans? What she wanted to do, places she wanted to go?” To buy myself time, I narrowed my eyes a little, as if I were wracking my memory. I truly hadn’t known that Marin was sleeping with Kamet, let alone that she was planning to run away with him. I had never suspected either of them. But I didn’t think the truth alone would be enough to protect me. I had spent almost no time alone with my master, but I had lived in his household for a year, and I was familiar with his character. Nahuseresh thought women were airheaded and shallow, even the ones he liked. Perhaps I could use that.

and i know this is a cop-out, but tagging anyone who wants to do it :)

[artino-c]

Fandom: The Queen’s Thief - Megan Whalen Turner Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kamet/Costis Ormentiedes Characters: Roamanj, Skell/Skerrell, Kamet, Costis Ormentiedes Additional Tags: Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Pre-Relationship, Minor Character(s), POV Outsider

Summary: Why would a scribe from the empire pose as a caravan guard in order to travel with an Attolian mercenary? Why would a soldier lie through his teeth to secure free passage with a merchant caravan for a man who had probably never held a sword in his life? Roamanj could think of a few possible reasons, but as long as they didn’t cause any trouble, it was really none of his business.

A merchant caravan hires a few more guards before starting out on the road from Sherguz to Perf.

Notes: Candy Hearts authors have been revealed, which means I can finally post the gift I wrote for @artino-c! It’s my very first Kamet/Costis fic, in which they are not actually a couple yet, but several people in Roamanj’s caravan think they are. 

[artino-c]

Burning Down the House of Kallicertes - Moira's Pen x

[artino-c]

i truly believe a midnight sun-style remix of tat from costis’s pov has the potential to be the greatest novel of our time. i think costis would tell me about the eleven days in the taymets

[artino-c]

Years ago I made a series of bookmarks for someone for their queen's thief books. They lost the one associated with the first book, The Thief. They asked me to remake it again this year. I obliged, and am actually really happy with how it turned out.

I never did take a picture of the first set, but I did post the preliminary sketches: https://www.tumblr.com/selkieskies/178579909061/i-did-these-in-preparation-for-a-bookmark-i-made

[artino-c]

in my work of fanfiction i am going to hold the villain responsible for their actions by making them have sex with the person they tried to kill, which will effectively address all the relevant moral issues by being hot.

[artino-c]

You know what I think its grossly under-rated in fandom? Second loves.

What it's like to love and lose and then love again. To suffer through either the death of a loved one or the death of a love you used to share. To know that loss, to know that hurt, and to still make yourself vulnerable to someone again. To love scared, to love wounded, to love anyway.

[artino-c]

Thinking again about the way MWT depicts slave naming conventions in CoK and TaT by giving us contradictory, neither-is-quite-accurate hot takes from the two different narrators:

Conspiracy of Kings:

"So, man-killer," he asked. "Do you have a name?" I thought before I answered. Wisdom is not a name for a slave. Stone, Mark, Faithful, Strong are slave names. I had a nurse once who named her son Shovel. She was a foreigner, from somewhere far north, and she told me that she liked the way it sounded.

Thick as Thieves:

"Not Immakuk," he said. "Godekker." Godekker--it's a decorative cord that fastens a scroll closed. No one, no matter how lowborn, would name a child after something so trivial. His master must have given him the name using the first word that popped into his head. I wondered that Godekker didn't change it now that he was a free man.

I love the way these two passages undermine and reinforce each other, both as a matter of worldbuilding (both Sophos' and Kamet's accounts are rooted in historical, real world practice) and as a way to underscore the limitations of both narrators' understanding of other people's experiences. In remembering his enslaved nurse, Sophos doesn't really acknowledge the dehumanization inherent in his first statement (some names are inappropriate/forbidden to slaves), or check any of his assumptions about how those rules ("wisdom is not a name for a slave") might have interacted with his nurse's apparent choice of name for her child. On the flip side, Kamet is so invested in pitying/patronizing Godekker the escaped field slave that it doesn't even occur to him that perhaps Godekker also knew his mother or could have been named by her.

It's also a great way to introduce Godekker, who functions in the story as an antagonist but is also textually correct about a lot of things (Kamet acknowledges this even as he isn't happy about it), and who constantly resists Kamet's attempts to impose his own terms on all their interactions. Anyone who reads the books back to back and remembers that first passage would know to immediately question Kamet's first assumptions about Godekker!