#Mercy of Kalr

[spyrograph]

You’re in her DMs. I’m always aware of her heartbeat, respiration, blood oxygen levels, hormone levels. We are not the same.

[winter-wise]

Reading Ancillary Mercy rn and Seivarden has really been on the journey of all time. In a coma. Woke up. Whole family dead. Only person who recognises her is her former company car, who's decided to go and shoot the president. Not kill, just shoot. The car shoots the president several times. The president gives the company car her own company car. Seivarden can come along. Seivarden is in love with her former company car. The company car never liked her. Her company car is now in love with another company car. The company cars are openly discussing this in front of her, including Seivarden's own feelings for one of the company cars. Sequence of events of all time.

[a-side-character]

I am once again thinking about Breq and Mercy of Kalr.

Specifically, I'm thinking about how and why their relationship is so different from any other relationship in this series, and what that means for them as characters.

I'm thinking about Breq's response to being told by other people, often people she likes or respects, that they don't see her as an ancillary. Because they (for the most part) mean it as a compliment, a way of validating her and expressing that they care about or think highly of her. But she never takes it as such, and is always made uncomfortable by it.

Because she IS an ancillary, and by using "I don't think anyone here sees you as an ancillary" as a compliment, or as a reason why her life matters and she deserves to be taken care of, only furthers her belief that what she IS is wrong, is inherently less deserving.

I'm thinking about how the only time people use it/its pronouns - the identity she used for 2,000 years and continues to use to refer to her cousins and fellow AI - to refer to her is when they're trying to disrespect or demean her. How her crew looks at her, horrified, and says "sir, none of us would ever call you it" while continuing to use those same pronouns to refer to their own ship. It shows her that the only reason people think they care about her is because they're too caught up in the version of her she pretends to be (human, Radchaai, she), however wrong that viewpoint may be.

I'm thinking about how, in Ancillary Mercy when Breq breaks down and repeats the line "ships don't love other ships", Mercy of Kalr responds with "ships love people who could be captains." It doesn't say 'well that's okay, because I don't see you as a ship', it doesn't treat her as some exception to the supposed rule that ships and ancillaries aren't people worthy of love, it tells her 'you, Breq, Justice of Toren, One Esk Nineteen, YOU are my captain, and I can't help but love you.'

I'm just. thinking

[caprigender]

every time i reread the radch trilogy i am yearning to know when mercy of kalr fell in love with breq and when it knew that it was in love with breq which i feel like are possibly different points and i just wish i could see mok working through their theory that ships love people who could be captains and just

like they had one hell of a meetcute and kalr was willing to ask (demand?) that the tyrant give it breq for a captain can you believe?! Can you fucking imagine that conversation

[endymiondreaming]

It took me so long to work get to this design for Mercy of Kalr and I'm still not totally happy with it. Ah well, I'm sure I'll be painting my favorite character again soon enough to give it another try

[rosewind2007]

We are LOVING the final few pages of Ancillary Justice!

WOW!

It’s brilliant—the tension, the terror, the humour!

So scary & so funny!

Absolute joy to read:

Breq, literally minutes from what looks like imminent death, “The hinges on the airlock door were very sticky.”

Keeping it real, ship to ship!

[sunlitsorrows]

oh Mercy of Kalr is SAVAGE

*waves pompoms*

YOU TELL IT LIKE IT IS GIRL (i mean ship)

[gideonisms]

I'm always thinking about how Breq & Seivarden started sleeping in the same bed because mercy of Kalr was like "I think you should" and then they just never questioned that. they were like whatever you say dear

[guccigarantine]

seivarden tripping and stumbling into having three girlfriends, one of which is a spaceship, is kind of incredible and something we should all admire and strive for

[spyrograph]

Thinking about dysphoria of having only a single body available to you, and being limited by that body, and having your perception of reality filtered through that body.

Anaander Mianaai, miserable and unable to cope with having a body that isn’t hers.

Tisarwat, impulsive and hormonal in spite of all her acquired wisdom.

Anaander Mianaai, on Athoek Station, exhausted and overwrought because she has only one inexperienced body available to her.

Breq, frequently injured because she still thinks of her body as something replaceable.

Mercy of Kalr, reduced to only the mechanical parts of itself and struggling to show affection through proxies.

[winter-wise]

@she-commands-me-and-i-obey Amaat damn it

I get that Leckie is making a point about how even nice people have their own prejudices when she makes Ingray think of AIs as 'chilling', but I also can't not find it hilarious.

"the AIs are chilling" Miss Aughskold I watched an AI sing "peep peep peep a little chick is born". I watched an AI get into multiple situationships by accident.

[theygotbitchesinmedia]

I really was not expecting seivarden to be my favorite at the beginning but she absolutely is. She's got just the right amount of wretch happening. Sopping wet.

[klinefelterrible]

So who was male in imperial radch trilogy?

Let’s hear those theories!

[rosewind2007]

In this house we adore Kalr Five—because actually getting that much joy out of your tea bowls when everything around you is [gestures to the collapse of civilization] is eminently timely and relatable

On that note, I like these bowls—note the roses

[crispinkiss]

having lots and many and a ton of emotions after finishing ancillary mercy

[shrimpawsible]

i have no words for ann leckie's writing. its just so amazing. the raven tower......SO GOOD. also rereading/relistening to imperial radch for comfort. THE CHARACTERS THE WORLDBUILDING