#Melting Stones

[bibliophilecats]

May 11 2023: Nature

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Rosethorn and Evvy Do the Battle Islands

Ok, so I am still very much adamantly of the opinion that Tamora Pierce, like Naomi Novik, has never written a bad book in her life. That said, of all the Circle Universe books, Evvy's story just kind of slides out of my head. It does not tend to stick the way other books do. That said, it gives a new perspective in the Circle Universe that we don't often get. Evvy does not have a magical connection to three foster siblings, and she, like Briar, just survived a war and is dealing with pessimism, PTSD, and trauma-induced misanthropy. Not having three siblings in your head and being all of ten years old makes dealing with that HARD. Let's talk Melting Stones.

*Circle Universe Spoilers below; proceed with caution*

Evvy is not ok when this book gets going. She takes self-defense from a gang of bullies a step too far and Rosethorn has to take her away from Winding Circle for a while. Unfortunately, Rosethorn and Evvy's traveling companion, Dedicate Myrrhtide, is an absolute dick about not only Evvy's recent behavior, but also about not respecting that Evvy was *checks notes* IN A GODDAMN WAR. Even Rosethoren tells him that he deserves the broken nose Evvy gives him when he blatantly disrespects the "do not touch us to wake us up or get us out of meditative trances because PTSD" boundary that both Evvy and Rosethorn set. He respects it with Rosethorn without question, but because Evvy is a child--and worse, a child her percieves as having "behavioral issues"--he fully does not respect that boundary. Evvy has to fully show him her scars from where the Yanjing mages whipped her feet to ribbons when she was taken prisoner for it to get through Myrrhtide's thick-ass skull that she MEANS it.

The fact that Evvy has to PROVE her trauma to Myrrhtide pissed me off enough that while a lot of this book slips out of my head, that interaction never ever has. Literally nobody is OWED proof of your trauma, and fuck them for putting you in a position where you feel like you have to prove it to them. JFC. We do NOT stan Dedicate Myrrhtide in this house. We like him EVEN LESS than Dedicate Crane. At least Crane had a damn heart.

When Evvy and Co. arrive at the Battle Islands, my geology professor dad would be very surprised and proud of me that I called "HOLY TITS VOLCANO" when I first heard that crops were dying and water sources were going acidic. It was a little frustrating how long it took everyone else to figure it out, but a green mage and a water mage really shouldn't be expected to get it faster than they did, and Evvy is a student mage still, and her education was a bit piecemeal because...*gesures broadly*.

What was interesting was watching Evvy learn to like and appreciate humans again in real-time while also being explicitly called out for thinking that rocks are superior to humans. That's such an understandable position to take for Evvy, because she got betrayed HARD by people, and becoming stone literally saved her life in Gyongxe. If I were a child and lived through that, I'd also prefer rocks to people. Hell, experiencing that as an ADULT I'd probably come out the other side preferring rocks to people.

Some of this also drives the plot, because Evvy misses some pretty big red flags from Flare and Carnelian--our antagonist magma spirits. The fact that they get the island evacuated before the volcano really blows is kind of miraculous, and the fact that Evvy and three village kids who got trapped with her on the island during the eruption survived is even more miraculous.

Evvy's experiences ultimately lead to her choice to become a novice at Winding Circle, which honestly is fine. It's fine.

I don't honestly have a ton to say about this one, other than it's doing something very different from what the Circle of Magic Quartet did, and Evvy was, for me, less compelling as a protagonist than Sandry, Daja, Briar, and Tris were. That said, I actually think that Evvy's story is absolutely CRITICAL in the Circle Universe, because I have to imagine that Evvy's is a much more representative story of the world.

Our Circle Quartet protagonists are unique; Evvy's story could graft onto any number of neglected or abandoned kids. It's a critical story to be told, and I appreciate that the book does not hide how difficult recovery and learning to trust humans again can be when you aren't atypically mature and supported. For that, I think Evvy's story is an invaluable addition, and I suspect it speaks to a demographic of kids and adolescents that desperately needs more representation and attention. Pierce does not shy away from the fact that reality happens to kids too, and the rest of us need to open our eyes and see that too.

[eviefrie]

dedicate myrrhtide vs luvo is the difference between being a cunt and being cunty

[fiction-quotes]

I slumped in my saddle. I hated having this argument with others, even more so when they seemed like they might be sensible. I squinted so I could see Jayat’s face better in the shadows. “I know they are cruel. See here. My mother sold me as a slave when I was only six. It was because I was only one mouth too many, and only a girl. I understood that. The part I minded was where they sold me. They brought me all the way from Yanjing to Chammur. Why didn’t they just sell me in Yanjing? At least I was born there, and I knew the language.”

“You would have liked it if they sold you before they left?” Jayat sounded shocked.

“It would have made more sense,” I answered. “In Chammur I was a stupid slave who could barely talk. I had to run away, my master beat me so much. Then I lived on the street. You really see the good side of people that way. They chase you from their garbage heaps with brooms and rakes. They dump chamber pots on your head. They scream ‘thief!’ when you walk by, they steal what little you have, they kick you when they pass...For every person who did me a kindness, I knew twenty who left bruises on me.”

   —  Melting Stones (Tamora Pierce)

[wispscribbles]

I love your ghost design. I wanna squeeze him :⁠^⁠)

If no hug then why hug-shaped???

[stitchwitchsapprentice]

My body hurts. And my brain rebels against me. But I thank my ears, for letting me hear music, and [my neices'] laughter. And I thank my voice because I speak for people who cannot. --ND Jones, Reading Circle Temple, Season 10, Episode 21

[first--lines]

“Hey, kid – stop hanging off that rail!” A sailor, one of the women, was yelling at me. “We've only told you a dozen times! If you fall overboard, we'll not turn back!”

  —  Melting Stones (Tamora Pierce)

[violet-kink-rambles]

I just learned that weed science is apparently really advanced now and they can design strains of weed for specific things. So naturally I had to Google "weed designed for extra munchies" and now all I can think about is a feeder doing dispensary runs and specifically choosing strains to make me extra hungry and greedy

It's just next level enabling, leaning into an already brewing food addiction and lazy lifestyle

[mildr3d]

Lord of edgys gets domesticated by his own daughter.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Magnus Chase- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

Dedicate Rosethorn- Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce

[gremlinbean]

Leverage/The Librarians crossover where Ezekiel and Parker know each other, are good friends even (Parker is the only person Ezekiel worked jobs with before joining the Library here). Also, Eliot and Jake are twins, but Eliot was presumed dead and changed his name, so Jake thinks he is dead

That changes when Parker is hurt (nothing too bad, maybe a broken arm or something?) and she calls Ezekiel in to help work a job because she isn't capable at the moment, only for him to clock Eliot as Jake's presumed dead brother

[readingcircletemple]

Goodwin: I like dragonsalt! This has been Reading Circle out of Context

[simmyfrobby]

idk how you feel about poem recommendations but you might really like "a physics" by heather mchugh for the whole sidney crosby god's favorite vibe !!!! augh such a good one

[tsukana]

i miss monday morning phil logging on to do solo resource gathering for his team and saying fuck everyone else i only have the emotional capacity left to leave an attachment to my team because everyone other team has already betrayed us and left us behind for slaughter at the whim of a fucking eye like the last six months of village parenting and taking care of their kids has been nothing

[squidsinyoursoda]