#queen thayet

[jeweled-weevil]

Ages ago I made a couple moodboards for Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series. One for Alanna and one for Jonathan and Thayet. Never got around to posting them, so here they are.

[nimblermortal]

Observation: The most fun characters to declare trans are the ones who are very firmly Gender, so you can go 'but what if the Gender were deliberate'

[theladyragnell]

Welllll now I can’t stop thinking about it, so if it appeals, middle aged Kel/Neal/Yuki? With a preference for the realization/pining/getting together stages rather than established relationship. [If a more specific prompt than that is useful, maybe Neal and Yuki talking about being into Kel?]

(I heroically condensed a lot of things here, this was SUCH fun to consider that it could have gotten very out of hand. Also, ignore me steadfastly refusing to commit to things like naming Neal and Yuki's kids or deciding whether Jon and Thayet are still ruling.)

Yuki returned home from the palace to the familiar sound of her husband remonstrating some patient of this who had the unfortunate honor of being his friend and thus fair game for a scold. Under his care, Queen Thayet had once said, the palace’s healing ward was much less restful than it had been under his father. Yuki couldn’t disagree, but she couldn’t mind it, either.

“—reckless disregard, as always,” he was saying as she took her shawl off and handed it to her maid, “for your own safety! You have people to do that kind of thing for you, and may I remind you, you aren’t eighteen anymore, whatever kind of shape you keep yourself in!”

The reply was too quiet to hear, which eliminated Sir Owen, any member of the Pirate’s Swoop and Olau family, and any of Yuki’s own children (thank the gods) from the possibilities.

“And that,” Neal continued, as though he hadn’t heard what the reply was, “is why you are staying with me until that leg is healed. And I mean fully healed, Mindelan.”

Pleasure and worry warred in Yuki, and she took a moment to soothe both before she knocked on the door of the converted parlor where Neal saw patients privately. A moment later, Neal swung the door open, somewhat wild-eyed. She couldn’t blame him. He didn’t like anyone getting injured, but Keladry had always been a special case, and so often, when she was hurt, she was out in the field where he couldn’t do anything but inspect her long after the healing was done and mutter about upstarts. “I get the impression we might have a visit from our dear friend Keladry?” she asked, a little pointed.

“Maybe you can talk some sense into the Lady Knight Commander so she stops doing things like leading charges against giants and getting her thigh shattered, among other things!”

“It is my job, Neal,” Kel pointed out from behind him. The injury must have been fresh, because she was fighting the yawns that meant Neal had just poured a good deal of magic into her. “And I was the best with a lance, it only made sense. Hello, Yuki. Obviously I will not be imposing on your household, I have perfectly good quarters at the palace, where a maid can see to my needs.”

Neal made a noise like a kettle letting off steam. She looked at him, and was grateful for the twenty years of marriage that told her this wasn’t simply the drama he still put on like a coat to cover up showing his emotions, his own version of the Yamani control Yuki still relied on. Kel had been in real danger. It hadn’t just been her leg. “Nonsense,” she told Kel, and watched Neal relax. “None of the children are at home right now, as you well know. You’ll stay at least a week, under a healer’s tender care. Perhaps longer. The Knight Commander of the King’s Own cannot heal poorly when the realm relies on her so much.”

Kel frowned at her. She could be stubborn when she wanted to, and so could Neal. Yuki, stubborn herself, frequently brokered between them, and if she picked a side, the loser would, if with ill grace, abide by the majority. Sometimes Kel would argue a little longer, and Neal would grumble for days, but one holding out against two hadn’t yet lasted more than a day. And Kel was apparently mostly immobile, exhausted from healing and pain, and on the losing side. Sure enough, a second later, she sighed. “A week at most, and then back to the palace, where I have no doubt I will see one or both of you every day anyway.”

“We’ll discuss this again in a week,” said Yuki, and frowned at Neal when he started to object. “And now we will let our guest rest, and send to the palace to have them send down some clothes.”

After a moment, Neal smiled. “My very wise wife. Fine. Please do rest, Kel, you know you don’t have to stand on ceremony with us.”

Keladry grumbled something, but Yuki, who knew how to accept a victory, was already ushering her husband out the door.

*

When the children were younger and Kel not quite so grand a personage, she stayed with them often. Those years were a blur of late nights, of Yuki being left alone while Neal and Kel were called away together and apart at a gallop to deal with one thing or another as promising young knights of the realm. Kel wasn’t the only one who’d helped—Yuki was very grateful, as it turned out, for her kind parents-in-law and their love of babies—but she’d been there often, and it hadn’t seemed odd. How could it, when she was helping her best friends and her godschildren?

When Kel had received a posting with a detachment of the Own in hill country that took her away for a long time, they’d missed her sorely, children and adults all. The babies had wept, Neal had been irascible and wrote voluminous letters dispatched to hill country with impressive regularity, and Yuki had lost the person in her household most likely to speak her home language, and with Shinko busy and Lady Haname pleasant enough but not a close friend, she’d been cut off.

Yuki had had half a thought then, the kind of thing that well-bred young women from neither her old country nor her new were supposed to think about, but Kel was gone for a long time, and there was always something else to do. Kel had been a guest after that, not an integral part of the household, and Neal had been worrying about knighthoods and his father’s retirement and a thousand other things.

It hadn’t been possible.

Or, as Yuki thought in the days that followed Kel’s arrival in her household, it hadn’t been possible yet.

*

Kel was, no matter her good manners, a terrible patient. She followed Neal’s orders to the letter, but she chafed, and kept sending missives to the palace that had members of the Own trotting down to receive orders and get scoldings they didn’t deserve from Neal.

Yuki distracted her with one thing and another: poetry Kel hadn’t had time to read for years, letters from her children in both of their languages. Neal, more effectively, was sometimes convinced away from his anger and into sitting at her bedside regaling her with the antics of the pages and squires he had to patch up after their training incidents. Under Owen of Jesslaw’s irrepressible guidance, there was less of the fighting and bullying and stupid danger that Neal spoke of in his own years, but he was an indulgent teacher famous for saying “Well, we should try it” and letting children strand themselves up trees and in caves, or attempt a hand-to-hand exhibition match on the edge of a wall.

In her turn, Kel was convinced to tell stories, wherein she credited a great many other people for tasks she had done herself. In between the modesty, Yuki heard a fuller picture than Kel had ever written in her letters about her dangers and frustrations, the lessons she’d learned that she was doing her best to apply to the King’s Own.

Half-formal dinners turned into laughter at the fireside, which turned into quiet breakfasts and afternoons spent in the garden Yuki insisted on maintaining herself, which turned into games of dice and chess depending on the mood. Neal fretted over Kel as much as he’d ever fretted over Yuki or their children, and Yuki enjoyed the company.

“Our house is much nicer than your apartments in the palace,” she said when Kel’s week was over and Neal was allowing her to hobble around the house. “And it doesn’t need airing out whenever you visit. You could stay somewhat longer. Especially since you said you’re recruiting and you need to be here a while anyway.”

Kel opened her mouth to argue, but after a moment’s assessing gaze, she said “A few more days, at least.”

Neal’s naked relief when Kel communicated that decision over dinner told Yuki it was time to have a talk with her husband.

*

“I love you,” she said to him in bed that night. They were still words she savored in their bald honesty, even if she said them less often than he did.

Neal savored them too. He never stopped smiling to hear them. “And I love you. To what do I owe the honor?”

“I don’t mind,” she said, trying to choose words that wouldn’t propel him out of bed and into explanations and apologies that she didn’t need, “if I’m not the only one you love.”

Somehow, though Yuki wanted to blush for the forwardness of it, he didn’t understand, his brows knitting with confusion. “I know. We have friends, and we have the children.”

The Tortallan word was so imprecise. Yuki returned to Yamani. Neal’s accent would never be good, but his memory for anatomy helped him with vocabulary too. “You love Kel.”

Then he understood, from the horror in his eyes. He took her hands and squeezed. “If I’ve given you any reason to doubt—and even if I did, surely you know Kel has too much honor—”

“And I love Kel,” she said, still in Yamani, and that silenced him. “You’re right. She has too much honor to allow herself to love us, unless we tell her she may. But I think she’d like to.”

Neal took a few long breaths. Twenty years ago, or even ten, he’d have been out of bed and pacing, or halfway out of the house looking for distraction or, disastrously, banging down Kel’s door to ask her opinion on the matter. “What do you propose? Anything we try on Kel will have her flying out of here in fear that she might ruin things for us.”

“For now, we love her and make her welcome. She’s a general. If we try to plot and plan she’ll know it in a second.”

“And then the screaming and the running.” He sighed. “I could try poetry. She might be so busy laughing that we could trap her before she ran off.”

Yuki laughed. “I’m sure we can find a better way.”

*

Kel stayed. She stayed a few more days, and a few more after that. Her maid came down with a bag for her, and people started paying her visits at the Queenscove residence like they expected to find her there. Yuki’s own children, who thought their parents very dull, came back clamoring for stories from “Aunt Kel,” and Kel was happy to give them.

“I may not let you leave,” Yuki said lightly one evening. “You make my house happier when it feels so empty with all of them mostly gone these days.”

“You’ll get tired of me eventually.”

“No. You’ll leave when your duty calls you away, and we’ll be glad to see you whenever you come back. If you come back to us, all the better.”

Kel frowned at her for a minute, but she didn’t ask. Yuki wouldn’t have expected her to.

*

Neal, his feelings admitted, couldn’t help pining. It was in his nature. He hovered over Kel at every spare second, stared at her and sighed more than was wise, and read (though didn’t write, or at least didn’t show his wife) a good deal of love poetry. Kel frowned at him too, and complained that he thought she was incompetent and that she knew how not to impede her own recovery. That sent Neal clutching at his hair pacing his way back and forth in Yuki’s study while she tried her best not to laugh at him.

Yuki paid Kel what special attentions she could, and hoped that she was successful. She ordered Kel’s favorite meals from the kitchen and the market, asked her about her latest pet causes, invited Lalasa Isran for an afternoon and Tobeis Boon for another, though both of them were successful and busy enough that they couldn’t stay longer, with apologies.

Kel started watching both of them with the puzzled look of someone who’d stood too close to a painting and could only make out the brushstrokes rather than the subject, but she didn’t ask.

*

It was Neal who broke, nearly a month in, and Yuki couldn’t blame him. Kel was part of their household, and so close to fully healed that she was back to doing pattern dances in the courtyard at full speed and prodding her hosts into joining her. She barely blushed and averted her eyes when Neal and Yuki exchanged kisses of greeting or parting in front of her, and she never seemed to want to extract herself from their presence.

So, when Neal was called up to the palace in the middle of a quiet evening to attend to the Tusaine ambassador’s burn from some ridiculous accident, it wasn’t a surprise when he kissed Yuki in the same way he always did upon leaving and then turned as natural as breathing to Kel who, looking up to tell him to ride safely as she always did when Neal left, was in the perfect position to receive the identical kiss he bestowed upon her.

All three of them froze. “Mithros,” Neal swore, and looked between them. “Damn. Yuki, it really does seem like a very bad burn. You don’t mind—”

“We’ll talk,” Yuki promised, and shooed him out the door.

Kel was already on her feet, no doubt several steps into a self-sacrificial plan Yuki had no intention of letting her enact. “Yuki, I didn’t—we haven’t been, you know Neal would never, he loves you, he has since you met.”

“Keladry.” Yuki stepped forward to take her hands. “I think maybe you should listen first, and I’ll explain. And when Neal comes home, he’ll confirm everything.”

Kel was smart, had years of command behind and ahead of her. Yuki wasn’t surprised when realization broke over her face, and was relieved when hope followed, and then, predictably, a likely realization of all the scandals they would be courting if anyone caught on. “This can’t—”

“It can. If all of us want to, it should. But give me the pleasure of saying it first.”

*

Neal must have terrified the ambassador and used even less than his usual bedside manner, because he was home long before he usually would have been for so important a personage. When he arrived home and found Yuki and Kel sitting together in the sitting room, hands laced together while they talked, his whole body relaxed in a way that would have been comical if Yuki weren’t feeling much the same.

She stood up and drew Kel along in her wake, watched them exchange one of those looks that reminded her all the things they shared, love in all its definitions and translations, before Neal kissed her again, a much longer and more purposeful kiss. Kel’s hand flexed in Yuki’s, in surprise or joy or dissipating fear, and Yuki stood close by, so when they parted, she could kiss Kel herself, and then her husband and then, trusting that warriors might have an easier time saying things with their bodies, she used their joined hands to lead them to bed.

*

When Yuki woke in the morning, Neal and Kel were talking, up and dressed by the window, hands clasped together. Between them, they were no doubt coming up with worries and dismissing them, saying all the things they hadn’t said the night before, taking their minutes of privacy to reaffirm their friendship and build this newest layer of it.

Yuki was patient. She didn’t sit up and interrupt them, didn’t listen in. She lay there, listening to the cadence of those well-loved voices, in the morning light, watching shadows play across the ceiling, until it was time to sit up and greet the day.

[mihrsuri]

Inspired by @lemonsharks lovingly sending me Tortall Content (specifically Numair content) some Numair in Tortall pre Immortals:

Teaching baby Kally and Roald magic tricks/juggling. Their parents ask to learn as well and that’s how yes, the King and Queen of Tortall can now be found juggling at odd moments.

Trauma Found Family Slumber Parties

Quiet times at the summer palace! Swimming and picnics and kids running around and listen, I firmly believe cuddle piles happened (and continue to happen it’s a tradition).

Thayet and Numairs friendship is so so lovely to me in my brain. (Actually so is Numair and Jon’s). Obviously I love Alanna and Numair and Numair and Onuas friendships but Numair and Jon and Thayet!!!!

NUMAIR AND GEORGE. Actually I wonder if George was the one who like, bought Numair to the Kings attention.

[cricketnationrise]

Okay, in the end I couldn't pass up: Kel in New Hope at [I can't remember how they do time and the books are all the way on the other side of the room so the Tortall equivalent of 10:17am]

a little almost post-Scanran war moment. no i don't know if that's how it would work in 'real' life but i like the vibes of this one - (new) hope you like it! 💜

want your own ficlet? rules here

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

new hope, third bell after breakfast

Kel opened the next letter on her desk with a sigh; Wyldon never warned her about the sheer volume of paperwork that being in charge generated. But he probably didn’t have to deal with correspondence that was downright rude about his person, his title, and his command. Even after returning from Scanra with over four hundred of her refugees, the hate mail addressed to Kel continued, especially once New Hope had been built and she had a fixed location once again.

She doesn’t get further than ‘ought to be ashamed of yourself’ before she throws the letter on the pile to be burned. Lighting the nonsense on fire was the simplest way Kel had found to deal with the avalanche of hate sent her way. It had been Neal’s idea, originally, all the way back in Corus when they were still pages. It still baffled Kel that people bothered to spend time on an insulting letter to a stranger (and a child) purely because her life didn’t look how they thought it ought to.

The next letter made her smile – Fianola had sent her an update on her page training, with a veiled plea for more bruise balm. Kel made a mental note to have Neal make some more up and send it out with the next messenger to Corus. The next were all inventory reports she would have to collate and parse through before sending her end of month report to Wyldon. Thank Mithros for clerks – Kel didn’t know how she’d ever done without them.

Finally, she got to the last letter and Kel sat up straight when she saw the official seals of the King and the Magistrate’s Office. She opened it carefully and felt her eyes widen when she read the opening line. She needed to alert the camp. Still clutching the letter, Kel ran out of her office and rang the bell at the center of the practice yard, summoning the residents.

Less than five minutes later, the entire camp was assembled. There was a low-level of curious muttering among the people, but Kel’s lack of weaponry and armor and the smile she couldn’t quite control made any worry of an attack fall by the wayside.

“Everyone’s here, Kel, except the duty watch on the wall.”

“Thank you, Merric. I’ll catch them up right after this,” she replied before shifting her voice to a Command volume. “Thank you for assembling so quickly. New Hope got some news this morning, and I wanted to tell you all straight away.” 

“Are we being granted a new shipment of mud?” Neal asked. The gathered refugees and off-duty soldiers, her people, laughed at his impertinent tone.

“Not until the next rainstorm, Sir Nealan. But we are being granted something.” She beamed out at them all, proud beyond measure that they’d all gotten to this point.

“King Jonathan and Queen Thayet send their regards, and advise that following the signing of the Peace Treaty with Scanra that is currently being negotiated, New Hope will become an permanent Town – meaning that once the war is officially over, you all have the option of remaining here and building a more permanent life.”

“And who would be in charge?” Fanche called out.

Kel could feel herself blush but stood straight, reading directly from the letter. “‘The Crown suggests Lady Knight Commander Keladry of Mindelan to serve as New Hope’s first mayor, pending approval from the residents and her own acceptance of the role.’” She paused there, unsure how to go on. 

“Well that settles it, I’m staying,” Seafas said, breaking the silence. Ripples of agreement went through the crowd.

“You’ve proved worth your feed, right enough,” Fanche agreed with a sly smile. “Might as well stick around a little longer.”

“I’ll need to think about it – I never thought about this possibility—”

“For once you haven’t pondered through every angle? Say it isn’t so,” teased Neal.

“Oh shut it, Neal. I promise you all I will seriously consider it. For now, think seriously about what you want your post-war lives to look like. You don’t have any obligation to stay here, you could return to your home fiefs, or somewhere new altogether. Your new hope doesn’t have to be at New Hope. Thank you.” Kel hopped down from the low wall, grinning at the cheers that went up amongst the refugees and soldiers alike. She strode in the direction of the outer wall, thinking hard as she went.

What did she want her new hope to look like?

[boxofbonesfic]

I find it really interesting that the queen only had one daughter. From what I remember I think women can be heirs in the Witcher universe but sons are still preferred. My guess is that the queen either struggles with fertility, which could be a problem for her since without a child of her own with the king her place at court could potentially be in danger once Geralt is king OR either she and her husband or both didn’t really want to sleep together.

well, Tonality doesn’t take place in the canon witcher universe, so things are going to be different in regards to succession. i’ve completely rearranged the entire setting lol. the queen doesn’t struggle with fertility, she just only wanted one child. you don’t really have enough information yet to determine Thayet’s intentions, or her goals—so i wouldn’t assume she’s just here to pop out heirs for an already existing dynasty. 👀

[reviewsthatburn]

As the final book of Alanna’s quartet, LIONESS RAMPANT wraps up several things left hanging from the previous books. Since the previous book (rather dramatically) featured Alanna rejecting Jon’s proposal, this shows Alanna having other relationships (George and a new person), and gives a strong indication as to who Jon’s queen will be. It reveals the result of Thom’s magical experiments, Claw’s attempt at George’s throne, and the contents of the mysterious letter from the sorceress of Alois. 

Full Review at Link.

[randomness-it-is]

Ranking of Tamora Pierce books in the Tortall Universe (fight me).

Hello There! Tamora Pierce if my favourite author, and I have been obsessed with her books for years. I love all of her books so much, so it was impossibly hard for me to rank them. Often the ranking changes everyday, so this isn’t definite - I don’t think it’s possible for there to be a definite hierarchy for Tammy’s books, as they are all so good! For the sake of simplicity I won’t include Tortall: A spy’s guide or Tortall and other lands: A collection of tales. Please feel free to tell me your opinion in the comments below, and beware of major spoilers. 18. Wolf SpeakerI first read Wolf Speaker when I was still quite new to the Tortall universe. I believe it was the second book I read in Tortall, and the seventh Tamora Pierce book I had read. I don’t know what it was, but reading this book was a bit of an effort. I have only reread a few times since then, and although I love Maura’s character and am really excited for a potential book series set in Dunlath, I never really got into the book. That being said, it is still wonderful and an important part of the Immortal’s Quartet. 17. TerrierTo be really honest, Beka Cooper’s Trilogy is probably my least favourite Tamora Pierce series. I loved seeing Tortall as it was a few centuries before Alanna came along, but I have never been one to enjoy police thrillers. There is nothing wrong with Terrier, and the plot is exciting, but I prefer fast paced books as opposed to ones that are more slow paced. 16. BloodhoundAgain with Terrier, I never really found Beka’s Trilogy to be all that interesting. I have ranked Bloodhound over Terrier, however, because I really enjoyed the change of location. It was interesting getting to know a city different from Corus, and I hope we get to see Port Caynn more often in upcoming books. 15. MastiffI feel like we need to address the fact that Beka got engaged without us. And then her fiancé died without us, and we never got to meet him. I am really sad that we never got to meet Holborn. Although he sounds like a jerk, I would still have liked to see Beka’s relationship with him build up and then crumble. I still believe that this is the best book in the Beka Cooper Trilogy. Farmer is a likeable character, although his name is unusual. The plot is alright, but I am disappointed by Tunstall’s betrayal. A good book, just not my go to, pretty much. 14. The Realms of the GodsI love this book, just not as much as I love Tammy’s other books. The quest format is different from what she usually does, and reminded me of Lioness Rampant in a way. It was certainly an exciting conclusion to The Immortals quartet, and I definitely enjoyed it - even if Numair is the love interest. I was personally rooting for Kaddar in Emperor Mage, but I suppose you can’t have everything in life - and I doubt Daine would be very happy as Empress of Carthak. 13. Trickster’s ChoiceI certainly enjoy this book, although it lacks when it comes to my favourite trope - a group of friends who just do fun stuff together. Kyprioth is an amazing character, that’s undeniable, and I built up a healthy hate towards Bronau. The only problem is that I found many of the scenes to be boring, and like the plot was going nowhere. It was only when Trickster’s Queen came around that the plot came into action. Although I suppose that the Raka rebellion did need time to get to know Aly as an ally - I don’t really know, to be honest12. Wild MagicWild Magic is one of my favourite books in the Immortals Quartet. It is paced exactly how I like my books paced, and I remember reading this as a 10 year old and wishing really badly that Daine could be my friend. I love the scene where Daine meet Thayet, and I think it proves that Thayet is one of the best book characters of all time. If I ever have a daughter there is a high likelihood that her name will be Thayet. The reason this is only my twelfth favourite book is only because there are so many other books that I enjoy. 11. The Woman Who Rides Like a ManLet me just get this out of the way, Song of the Lioness is an amazing book series. This book is very detailed, and I loved meeting Bazhir. This is also the book where I started to dislike Jon. He was redeemed a little in Lioness Rampant, but I went back to disliking him in First Test. I don’t have much to say about this book, it’s eleventh because although it’s an amazing book it’s just not as amazing as any others. Also Kara and Kourrem have an amazing friendship dynamic, in my humble opinion. 10. First TestProtector of the Small is my favourite of Tammy’s series. When I read the book series I remember finding Kel really relatable, as back in the day I was a shy girl who towered above her friends. The only reason I’m so obsessed with Protector of The Small is because of Kel’s friendship group. I love, love, love it when there is just a group of friends in a book series who just have fun together. I also love how supportive Kel’s parents are, as oftentimes in Y/A books the parents are either dead, abusive or just not there at all. 9. Trickster’s QueenI love books about citizens rebelling against their government. I just think it is so fascinating, all of the planning that these characters go through just to carve out a better future for their world. A part of me is always still crying about Elsren’s death. I think that the last few chapters were so epic, and they let me breathless with excitement. Aly is not the most relatable protagonist, but I admire her ability to make mistakes like the normal human being she is. 8. Lioness RampantThe finale! I totally understand why Alanna and Liam didn’t work out, and I’m so glad that its George that Alanna ended up with. I am still disappointed over Liam’s death, and I feel like he would have been a valuable ally to the court of Tortall. He also would’ve supported Keladry in the court, which is definitely a plus! He didn’t accept all of Alanna, and I feel like that is highlighted really well in the book. You can clearly see how hurt Alanna is when Liam doesn’t seem too understand that Alanna can both be strong and like womanly things - it definitely shows young readers that you can never be happy with someone if they don’t love all of you. Also Thayet was introduced in this book, and I adore Thayet. She is such a strong character, and although I know she could have done better then Jon, she is an amazing queen. 7. In The Hand of the GoddessIt’s always nice to have a book character that you can hate, one that doesn’t have a redemption arc so you can feel satisfied that they are truly horrible. That’s why I love to hate Delia. She is such an unlikeable character, which somehow makes me love to read her. It’s strange but true. This book’s aura just radiates comfort, and I love books where the plot is just the passage of time with a few interesting events in between. 6. Alanna: The First AdventureAhh so nostalgic! My favourite scene is definitely when Alanna meets Jon for the first time, and Gary sponsors Alanna. I remember being so happy when Alanna got her period, because it was the first time I had ever seen periods be mentioned in a book. This is definitely a comfort book, and I think Alanna’s hard work to fight for a better future is so beautiful. One of the main reasons I love Tammy’s books is because her protagonists are not Mary Sues’, beautiful woman who are seductive and dangerous and have no faults. I love her heroines because although they mightn’t be incredibly seductive, or have ethereal beauty, they are still respected and they still do great things. 5. Lady KnightCleon made a big mistake, Kel is amazing. Although I would love for her to be with Dom, to be honest. Also Neal and Yuki have just got the cutest relationship dynamic, and I’m so glad things worked out for them. My favourite scene is where Dom makes fun of Kel’s carpentry, and also where Kel talks to the jerk Idrius - I just love his surprise when she informs him that she’s the head of Haven like yes ma’am tell the stupid idiot.  4. PageJust a bunch of kids being kids and having fun, while still training. I mean I suppose it’s a little more serious than just that, but this is still one of my comfort books. I first borrowed it out at my school’s small little library, after having already become obsessed with First Test. Also periods! I’m so glad that Kel had Lalasa to help her with ‘womanly stuff’, and I’m also really proud of how Kel stood up for Lalasa multiple times when she was being assaulted. Lalasa is one of the strongest characters in the series, and it is so admirable how she took what Kel told her and probably prevented many rapes and assaults by teaching other girls how to defend themselves. 3. Tempests and SlaughterOH MY GOD I’M SO EXCITED FOR THE EXILE’S GIFT! On Booktopia it says that it will be available 27th October, and I’ve already saved that date on my calendar. It was very interesting seeing a new perspective of Varice, as in Emperor Mage she comes off as quite shallow, but in Tempests and Slaughter she is a very likeable, ambitious person. You also see a mixture of traits with Ozorne, such as how you get to know him as a valuable friend, but also a person with numerous red flags. 2. SquireNeal is a daffodil. 1. Emperor Mage I love books about politics and international relations, and I feel like it’s even more compelling when in a fantasy universe. I think we can all agree that Daine beating Kaddar’s friends in archery was amazing, as well as Daine kicking Numair in the neck. I could go on forever about Emperor Mage, but it’s late and it’s already taken me forever to write this! I originally wrote this on my website but like no living soul has ever ventured onto my website so like here, I’m writing stuff here instead now, 

[itarobattemon]

I'm reading Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce for the first time, and I have a very strong, very intense urge to write an iddy biddy out of canon fanfic of just. Maura. Meeting the king and queen. And after having the whole moment of formality about srrymysistercommittedtreasonplslettheogreshavesomefarmland she just. Has an ugly cry. And Queen Thayet just hugs her. Please let that poor girl have a moment to grieve, and be a child grieving, and having someone be kind to her. She deserves so much. She is goddamn ten. Ten! Let the kid grieve!

I have feelings about this, okay?!

[justabrowncoatedwench]

Anya Chalotra for Thayet of Conte, neé jian Wilima, Queen of Tortall.

Just saying. XD

[evonnagale]

"Remarkable Views of Bridges" please!

George has been working at his desk all day, but he's certain he stopped retaining anything he's been reading hours ago. The hands that have just settled on his shoulders are a welcome reminder that he's not waiting alone this time. Thayet's long braid slips over his shoulder as she leans into him.

"You look like a man who could do with a distraction."

He chuffs a laugh, pushing his papers away and leaning back into her. "I shouldn't be worried. She's the King's Champion, she can more than take care of this." Thayet gives his shoulders a squeeze before slipping around him to settle carefully on the desk in front of him.

"Jon says that's the biggest problem with loving our Lioness; he frets every time too."

"Glad to know I'm in good company, at least."

"You are." Thayet gives him a shy grin, holding out her hands for him to take. "Distract me?"

George takes them and carefully pulls himself up, aware of how close this now puts them. "And how would my dear Queen like her distraction, hm?"

When she leans in and kisses him all George can think is that Alanna was right: Thayet does taste sweet as honey.

[Edited to fix a dropped word and add tags so I can find it easier]

[the-tiktok-rogue]

Thayet, the original girl boss!

[goodgrammaritan]

"The queen said if Raoul was going to squall like an infant cheated of a sweet he could go to his room."

-Cleon of Kennan, Squire by Tamora Pierce

[mihrsuri]

Just thinking about how much Numair clearly blamed himself for so much when he never should have done (that moment with Kally in Wild Magic is him reassuring himself as well I will die on that hill) because it’s not his fault his best friend ended up a possessive abusive dick it Is Not and also how much would you not want to be the person to tell Ozorne ‘oh we failed to get your ex (who you are still in love with and want back) and also Queen Thayet and two of her children because um, A Dragon and A Giant Squid And Also Apparently Mage Who Can Talk To Animals’

Though thinking on it @dr-dendritic-trees maybe they just distracted him with the animal related news first.

[miramelindamusings]

Doodle from the other day of Alanna and Thayet :)

[dominionjewel]

“It’s the noon bell. Lunchtime. Or will you just graze with the herd?” - Thayet meets Daine, Wild Magic