#sword catcher ask

[belle-keys]

As you said in a post about Conor and Kel, “Does anyone really want to see Kel and Conor turn on each other ... The inherent toxicity in there is so appealing to me.” Just want to say, yeah, same. I'm all for a messy fight and then a brotherly hug, in the end.

I'd just really rather have it based on everything that's been going on between them, including the “one day there will be something of yours he wants badly enough to betray you for it. And you will hate him then. Hate him enough to wish him dead” warning but not over a girl; not over Conor finding out Kel and Lin kissed, not because Conor got jealous, etc. etc. Misunderstandings and toxicity would be great to read based on anything else (secrets) but not over a girl (Lin). I also think it'd be interesting if Antonetta (another girl, yeah) ended up being the one creating mistrust and misunderstandings between Kel and Conor, though I don't really see it happening, just a probability in my head.

But do please elaborate on what you had in mind when you said that. Would love to know how you think the toxicity might go boom 🙈

What I had in mind was a kind of Victor and Eli situation from VE Schwab’s “Vicious”, mwahaha. I want to see them full on exploit the intimacy between them to the fullest as they turn on each other, each for semi-valid reasons.

I can see Kel coming to resent Conor for all the power he’s had over him his whole life and Conor’s general irresponsibility. And I can see Conor coming to be envious of Kel’s freedom as a “nobody” and resentful of Kel trying to build a life outside of the Hill. If Conor finds out Kel is working with the Ragpicker King, that could be a possible catalyst for this.

That being said, while I just love the animosity and toxicity, I want them to make up in the end. Mostly. I mean, my Shakespeare-loving ass loves doomed tragedies and ruptured bonds. But I know Cassie doesn’t love that, lol, and so it’d be nice to see how they could reconcile after Krakatoa.

[rinadragomir]

Um... who am I supposed to ship with who in sword catcher???????

Only god knows

Conor and Lin will probably fuck

Conor and Kel probably fucked

Kel probably fucked anything that breathes

The Ragpicker King.... please fuck me

[bookishjules]

What are your thoughts on the Kel x Antonetta ship in sword catcher? 😊❤️

oh babe so many. from the moment kel sat down next to her at that first dinner, i've been soso intrigued by them. i think that's the difference between them and conlin tbh like i've been projecting the trajectory of that relationship since the beginning, but while i def nosedived straight into shipping kel with antonetta in the fucking prologue, they've really kept me guessing! there were times when i kinda drew back from their ship, but that was erased every time they were in a room together. bc kel is obsessed and so am i.

they are both just SUCH intriguing characters with their secrets and their masks and it's exactly what makes them perfect for each other imo. each sees through the other's exterior, but not far enough to know anything close to the truth and that's just so dsahflkj like i'm desperate for them to know things about the other that no one else does and for that to tie them together in some way that leads to romance (bc i feel like that's the only order in which that will be able to happen given the circumstances)

oh and don't even get me started on that grass ring??? i died. i died. i am a little worried that.. well given the theory that ana is actually prosper beck.. that she only had kel steal the locket so that he would find that and that would allow her to manipulate him in some way.. but that doesn't mean the love can't also be there hehe

i just can't get over the way kel kisses people as a distraction and a way to focus. and like not always in a good way. like what did merren say after he kissed him? about using him. but the conscious effort it takes kel to hold himself back from ana.. the way he'll kiss anyone but her.. i just.. o<-<

anyway i love them and their dynamic. also antonetta is an icon and i need to know simply everything about her, which means i need kel to do the finding out <3

[edwinspaynes]

Also side question-

I rated The Sword Catcher a solid 6.5/10 rating. It felt like a very slow moving fantasy novel (which is fine! I love slow moving hello ROTE?) but none of the characters gripped or compelled me as much as other ones in TLH or SHC.

What do you think went 'wrong' with Sword Catcher? What do you think could go better? Who do you ship and what do you think CC could improve with Ragpicker King ?

I think Sword Catcher was an objectively extremely strong book. I'd have given it 4 stars if pressed, though I know it's actually a 5-star read. So, with that said, I don't think there was anything wrong with Sword Catcher at all.

I think the reason that more character-driven people like us were less compelled by it is simply that most of the book went to world-building and story setup. Which is fine, and makes more than enough sense for a high fantasy novel! But I - and I suspect you - wanted the same immediate character-driven type of story that TSC offers us, and instead we got... exactly what was advertised. The first book of a high fantasy series was of course going to go to setup.

This is a case of "that wasn't exactly what I wanted/got my hopes up for, but it's not a flaw in the book."

I don't really think therefore that there's anything for Cassie to improve beyond "let the series move forward." The world's established now - she can start playing with it and toying with the characters to develop them. They already have fairly strong bases.

I'm already really interested in Conor and Lin, both individually and together. I also think the entire Ragpicker King group is super cool and want to see where that plotline goes.

[kaitcreates]

I feel so undeniably sorry for kel wtf. The power imbalance between him and conor breaks my heart. And don't get me wrong, I know that conor cares about kel --kel is probably the person he cares about the most-- but he does so much indirect damage to kel. It's insane istfg

I know right! There relationship is built off such a toxic mindset from Conor and especially Kel. They were both raised to believe that Kel was expendable to an extent and his job was to die for Conor, and even if Conor doesn’t fully believe that it’s still apart of his mindset even just subconsciously.

There relationship is so interesting and I just can not wait to see what happens to them as the books go on.

[just-like-aerin]

have you seen any good movies or read any good books lately?

I don't watch a ton of movies, but I did see a documentary recently called The Search for General Tso about like, the history and origins of American Chinese food and like, what it even means to be "traditional". Been thinking of checking out The Iron Claw because that particular wrestling history story is fascinating to me, as well as Blue Giant and Gridman World, which I don't think there's a (legal) way to watch yet.

As for books, I've really enjoyed Legends & Lattes and its prequel Bookshops & Bonedust. Fantasy stories with a super chill slice of life bend. I've got a massive novel called Sword Catcher sitting on my shelf that I'm meaning to crack open but haven't started yet.

[livia-dovehallow]

seeing cassandra again tonight

everyone say thank you to my roommate who kindly agreed to drive me an hour away to go to this event even though she does not like any of the same books i do and has no idea who cc is

this time there's a meet n greet so who thinks i should remind cassandra that we're still waiting on the answer to what cecily and gideon's birthdays are????

[cassandraclare]

*sighs a bit* Okay. Guys. I have been asked this question a lot, and answered it a lot. I don't know how to give a better answer — Dru & Ty&Kit share significance as main characters — so I guess I'll talk a little about comparison and structures.

First, all series have different structures. I don't think it's super useful or predictive to try to map an upcoming, unknown book series onto an existing series. In TLH the main character was Cordelia, everyone else was secondary to her, and people's roles and the significance of them altered from book to book. It was a big ensemble cast and they mostly stayed put in London especially in book 1.

TWP focuses on a smaller group of people. It also has a very different structure. In book one, Dru is not with Kit and Ty. They are in different places, both of which have their own stories that are significant to the plot. There is no way to see Place One without following Dru. There is no way to see Place Two without following Kit and Ty.

I know that TWP is a long way off. I know there are people who are very angry with me that there's such a gap, but there isn't anything currently I can do about that, or about the fact that I don't yet have the schedule for my upcoming books. That rests in the hands of several different publishers who must coordinate the release times and production schedules for four different series. I am not withholding any information about when these books come out. I simply don't know it yet.

I understand that TWP being a long way off makes for anxiety, and that those who are worried Kit and Ty will somehow be secondary are looking for tiny clues in microscopic details — micro-reading the of placement of the word "and" in my newsletter and such — that are meaningless, but I get that it all comes from anxiety. (FTR, those worried Dru will be secondary are equally anxious.)

I think there is only so much I can say. Because there's a big gap between TLH and TWP everything I do say or every image or hint about it is freighted with a weight of assumption it can't really support. Anxiety is always going to trump reassurance. And truly, at the end of the day, if you only care about Kit and Ty and find the idea of a Dru story tiresome, you will feel like they got shafted because when you absolutely hate a plotline, you will always feel like it's taking up way too much space. That's just how our minds work.

I've been doing this long enough that I know no book can survive a hostile reading. I know that Book Three of a trilogy is the one people hate until they don't. (When Clockwork Princess came out people hated it so much I considered quitting writing!) I know that it's wonderful to love a character but can also be a problem for people when I put out books that aren't about that particular character or dynamic. I know that for a lot of people, Sword Catcher and Ragpicker King are just tiresome things that have no business on my schedule because they're not Shadowhunter books. And I get it. But I also have to block it out, because I've been writing a long time, and I've gotten to a point where I know that I have to write the thing I want to be writing, because if I don't, if I sit down and try to force myself to write something I'm not feeling like writing at that time, I'll be making myself physically and mentally sick. And that's no good for anyone, really.

I suppose the positive thing is that, while this would not have been true five years ago, I am at the place where I want very much to be writing Wicked Powers. I missed these characters and am glad to be back with them. I consider this a story in which there are three main characters. And that is all I can say right now because it's all that I know.

(And this was much more of a general response to a lot of things than a specific response to this question, but I did feel like it was stuff that I needed to say. Creators are at the end of the day, just people. Sometimes we are powerless to reassure. Sometimes we are tired. Sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes we try things and they don't work. Sometimes we can't explain to you what our story is going to make you feel, because only reading it is going to tell you that. This may be one of those times.)

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 39 Part 3

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)    

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Days of Future Past

After they leave Yi City, the gang comes to a proper town where there is a lantern festival going on, or else it's just a town that is really nuts about lanterns.

The juniors go shopping, looking at random trinkets, cell-phone cases, sunglasses, and electric toys that will break as soon as you get them home. Wait, that's my local mall I'm thinking of. But it's the same idea, pretty much.

Judging by the dream catchers hanging up on the right, this particular Ancient-China kiosk is owned by a traveling Ojibwe person.

Sizhui experiences a callback to symbolism from the past as he looks at an array of toy insects.

Jin Ling toy shames him, and Lan Jingyi comes to his defense.

Toys are for every age, people. Even if you outgrow one style of play, there's a lot of ways to enjoy toys, including tucking them in your robe and pulling them out to look at them whenever you have a memory cascade.

When Sizhui was young, he looked at toys with Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian didn't give him the toys, however, because "asking is asking, buying is buying." For Wei Wuxian, there was always a vast chasm between what he wanted and what he could actually have. Lan Wangji, of course, promptly gave A-Yuan toys, including a version of this grass butterfly.

The last time we saw A-Yuan with the butterfly is the last time A-Yuan saw Wei Wuxian. WWX frightened him and he dropped his butterfly, and everything went to shit after that. So I think it's fair to say the butterfly symbolizes some stuff.

(More after the cut!)

Jingyi points out to Sizhui that they have all of this same stuff at home in Gusu, which is what happens in a franchise-based retail economy.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian enter the market together, but Wei Wuxian quickly runs ahead, enjoying the energy and the sights. Grown-up Lan Wangji, unlike his younger self, seems perfectly comfortable in this crowded and busy environment.

Lan Wangji pauses at a seller's stall to experience his own callback to the past, as he contemplates a lantern with rabbits on it.

Here the show the show restrains itself and does not show us a flashback to the rabbit lantern of the past. That's ok, though; the first lantern scene is one of the most memorable in the show, so we can just replay it in our heads.

Back then, Wei Wuxian made a special lantern for Lan Wangji, and they released it together. That was the first time we saw Lan Wangji smile, and it's also when Wei Wuxian's pledge of chivalry turned their mutual interest/attraction into something much deeper.

While Lan Wangji and Lan Sizhui are contemplating lost things from the past (sky lanterns, by their nature, are losses, but in a nice way), Wei Wuxian is confronting one of his own losses.

He sees a little kid running to a vendor, and his mind's eye sees A-Yuan.

Lan Wangji sees Wei Wuxian's reaction to the child, and he stops looking at the lantern to watch Wei Wuxian instead.

When Wei Wuxian realizes that the child is not, in fact, A-Yuan, the air goes out of him.

Is it too cruel of me to point out that while Wei Wuxian's heart is breaking from realizing that A-Yuan could not possibly be shopping for toys in this market, the real A-Yuan, Lan Sizhui, actually is shopping for toys in this market?

Wei Wuxian allows himself to feel things, for a moment--and when he turns around and sees Lan Wangji watching him, he doesn't immediately paste a fake smile onto his face, which is some kind of relationship growth.

Lan Wangji takes this opportunity to say "hey, Wei Ying, I forgot to mention that A-Yuan isn't dead."

Ha ha ha ha ha of course he doesn't say that. He's waiting for the right moment to share this information, and Lan Wangji has no idea what constitutes a right moment for verbalizing anything. If he can't use his sword to communicate his devotion or his disappointment, he's in a pickle.

Also, Lan Wangji is aware of the popular Wuxia trope of "lone survivor of a massacred clan grows up to seek revenge," and the rules say you can't reveal the survivor's identity until they have gotten a job as the bodyguard and/or concubine of their enemy's innocent heir. Sizhui has made a good start by befriending Jin Ling, but he's not showing much inclination to revenge, so Lan Wangji is stuck for now.

Like a Lantern in the Dark

When Wei Wuxian sees the lantern next to Lan Wangji, he breaks into a genuine, sunny smile, and runs up to very gently tease LWJ about it.

Like a lantern in the dark, Follow on now, follow your heart

Back then the lantern had a single rabbit, and was a gift from Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji said he's used to doing things alone, and Wei Wuxian said that he can change. This rabbit lantern has two rabbits, and is about to be a gift from Lan Wangji to Wei Wuxian. Because Lan Wangji has changed.

"Lan Zhan, let's buy it"

Wei Wuxian has also changed. He asks for what he wants, instead of just wishing, and is delighted when Lan Wangji gives it to him. The lantern, people. Lan Wangji gives the lantern to him.

They take the lantern together, walk with it together, and immediately give it to (their son) Sizhui, telling him to take good care of it. Sizhui is confused but Jingyi knows what's up. Look how happy he is that his favorite teacher has a boyfriend.

I'm pretty sure ceremonial lantern-giving is going to be incorporated into Gusu weddings from now on, at least weddings where there is already a kid who needs a special role in the ceremony.

Brotherly

The kids tell Lan Wangji that Zewu-Jun is here to see him, and Lan Wangji makes this face:

Holy fuck, what is going on between the Lan brothers? It occurs to me that we haven't seen them together since Wei Wuxian came back to life. They were close, in the before times, but 33 lashes and 3 years of forced seclusion might have changed things.

Wei Wuxian gets back into his mask, and they go and show the sword spirit to Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen...absorbs it...into his body? What is actually happening here?

I mean, it looks cool, but that can't be healthy.

Now that Nie Mingjue's body has been - mostly - found, his fears are confirmed. He says that Nie Mingjue qi-deviated in public and "all his veins were broken," which I'm pretty sure should actually be translated "all his meridians were broken." Meridians are what carry your qi around your body. After that happened, nobody knew what happened to him and/or his body.

So he's sad about this, but not shocked. I feel like Lan Xichen maybe could have tried harder to find out what happened, but he never was as stubborn as Lan Wangji.

You Don't Know Him Like I Do

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji point out that Jin Guangyao is the obvious suspect in the current situation, but Lan Xichen doesn't want to hear it; he literally turns his back on them while he explains all the reasons Jin Guangyao couldn't be the person who's in control of the Yin tiger seal.

Lan Wangji is hard to read in this conversation; he lets Wei Wuxian do the talking. But he seems deeply suspicious of Jin Guangyao, and is maybe kinda resigned to his brother refusing to hear him.

I wonder how many sketchy things Lan Xichen has forgiven, over the years? How many does Lan Wangji know about?

"He wouldn't do that"

Lan Xichen's statement here is a direct parallel to Lan Wangji's statement way back in epsiode 21, which is the last time we saw the brothers talking about anything besides battle strategy.

Back then, Lan Xichen asked about the deaths at the supervisory office - you know, all those people who killed themselves in horrible ways and/or were killed by vengeful spirits. He wanted to know if WWX killed them using Yin Iron. Lan Wangji said nope, not my sweetie, he sure didn't.

"He wouldn't do anything like that."

Same framing, same camera angle, same blocking. Same message: the one I love would not do bad things using Yin iron. But - here's the thing - Lan Wangji was flat-out lying in that earlier conversation. He saw Wei Wuxian doing forbidden stuff and got in a huge-ass fight with him about it, only to deny it to his brother.

Parallels being what they are in this show, I think this is a strong suggestion that Lan Xichen is knowingly lying in the current conversation.

If we look back at that previous conversation, when Lan Wangji asked Lan Xichen "how can we understand someone's heart?" Lan Xichen gave a surprising answer.

"When looking at someone, you[...]shouldn't use a clear right or wrong, black or white to judge them. What matters is what their heart believes in."

When this conversation happened, it seemed that he was giving Lan Wangji advice about his Wei Wuxian situation, but in retrospect, I think he was thinking about Meng Yao, who had recently murdered a guy and defected to the Wen clan.

In the present moment, I think Lan Xichen knows that Jin Guangyao is sketchy, but he also believes there are some lines his friend won't cross. (He doesn't know yet about the fratricide, patricide, and filicide, or the massacre of the sex workers in the brothel where JGY grew up.) I don't think any of these guys really believes that "Yin iron" is one of those uncrossable lines.

The conversation is interrupted by the juniors having a loud argument inside about whether Wei Wuxian is The Worst, or merely bad. Lan Sizhui started this by very very mildly defending demonic cultivators. Jin Ling is super upset, because of the whole "Wei Wuxian killed my dad" and "Uncle Jiang Cheng frequently reminds me to kill people like Wei Wuxian and feed them to my dog" situation.

Lan Wangji immediately drops the important conversation he is having to go inside and deal with the more important problem of a child talking shit about his boyfriend.

Busted

The moment that Lan Wangji goes inside, Lan Xichen addresses Wei Wuxian by name, letting him know that he's recognized him. Watching him fondle his untouchable didi's shoulder might have been a clue. Wei Wuxian is alarmed but makes a quick recovery.

Lan Xichen is surprisingly kind to Wei Wuxian at the same time as being extremely extremely wary of him. He's not pleased to see him, and Wei Wuxian's 1000 watt smile and apparently genuine pleasure in greeting him properly receives a chilly response.

Wei Wuxian gently asks Lan Xichen to think about what they've discussed, but he doesn't press. He gives him time and space to think. In a way, Wei Wuxian is better at handling Lan Xichen than Lan Wangji is; Lan Wangji's stubbornness makes him inclined to push. Wei Wuxian is better at fitting his tactics to the situation.

He says his bit and then leaves Lan Xichen to think things over in peace.

Soundtrack: Follow the Heart by Yaima

[silasplaskett]

rewatched some guy. let me know why ezekiel isnt regarded as objectively the hottest man on this show. like look at him. hes sad. hes fucking wearing catchers gear. he has a cane sword. hes a dilf. what more can u ask for in a man.

[belle-keys]

A lot of the “spicy” romansce fantasy authors that kind of pioneered the sub genre (SJM, Jennifer l armentrout, laura thalassa etc) all started in YA, and then in mid series, they shifted and grew with their audience to go more adult in themes.

Do you think Cassandra Clare should have done the same thing and missed this opportunity? Would you have preferred if she reflected this? I personally feel like her fandom would still be as strong as ever if she followed her colleagues suit.

Or do you think that she stayed good sticking to her roots and her writing voice lends itself to not have more adult type of romances and benefits from a fade to black shall we say.

In her latest kickstarter, one of the four novels that are in it, will feature 10 spicy romantic couples from shadow hunters universe. Given this is crowd funded it makes me wonder if, if it were up to her, she would have gone more adult themed but her publishing contract held her back from it. But then from a publishers pov, isn’t that shooting yourself in the foot? All the authors I mentioned above changed their contracts I feel to reflect the direction the audience knew would give the most captain gain.

I would love to know your thoughts on this 🤭.

I don't think Cassie ever wanted to write romantasy or spicy romance-fantasy as her main "vocation".

I think I picked up on this when she deleted a lot of Julian and Emma smut scenes from The Dark Artifices because they didn't serve the progress of the story. Cassie has her indulgences, but she tends to not be overly focused on writing romance or smut in the grander scheme of the fantasy story. Cassie's guilty pleasure in writing seems to be writing semi-unnecessary angst and fluff between close friends more than anything, not spice.

I'm quite glad we're getting some spice from the Kickstarter project, and I think the reason she's making this an additional, optional project and not part of the main series is because she knows it's just for fun; it's not her main "thing", just an additional treat.

So all in all I'm quite happy she didn't follow with the Sarah J. Maas and company trend. And frankly, neither did Cassie's close writer besties either. Neither Holly Black nor Maureen Johnson nor Sarah Rees Brennan have gone into smutty adult fantasy either, so I get why it's not Cassie's preference. Cassie seems more set on establishing herself as a "serious" high fantasy writer now, hence rubbing elbows with George RR Martin.

[rinadragomir]

No but like talk shit about me, say that im being the meanest bitch idc but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WOULD SHE START ANOTHER YA FANTASY SERIES IF SHE HASN'T FINISHED WITH TSC AND SWORD CATCHER YET?!

ANOTHER! For fuck sake WOMAN PLEASE FINISH THIS ONE, your young adults have turned into actual adults with their own families. I'll get violent if that series THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR will end in second or third TWP book releasing later than it's supposed to.

"She has a right to try new things, maybe she's tired of TSC" —

WELL THEN MAYBE SHE CAN FINISH TSC, LET IT FINALLY REST IN PEACE AND MOVE ON?! Instead of being like

"ohhh I'm so tired, being rich and famous is so exhausting, I have million of books to finish and I have no idea when I'll do it BUT HEY~ maybe I should start another YA series?😋"

Please no PLEASE STOP, look at me Cassie, you've just told me that I might get one of the Seasons of Shadowhunters books in the end of 2025/ beginning of 2026. Don't do this to me, I'm genuinely happy for you and the Sword Catcher, it was great, BUT MAYBE IT'S TIME TO FOCUS ON THOSE 5346743 projects which "haven't been scheduled yet".

I defend her every single decision, so I'M CERTAINLY not a hater, I've been promoting her books way more than her "promotion bloggers". But there's no way she'll complain about being too busy to write the books we've been waiting for years and then go: so I found a solution! I'll start a new series!

This is a cursed year

[faithfromanewperspective]

was just thinking about how easy it is to compare the current president of Israel (whose name I don’t even remember) to hitler. it fits the way we think, doesn’t it, foreign people do bad things, what we see as familiar is good. but then the more I think about it, about how this whole thing has been set up and the extent (which I have to learn more about exactly still) to which usamerica is driving a literal genocide then the person I’ve gotta do that comparing to is actually… joe biden??? like that’s such a curveball in our brains we never expected but if you trace the power structures, yes there’s a fair deal of being a puppet going on but only because he never stands up against it. because he doesn’t actually care to stop it. and actually how fucked up is it that we’re literally talking about how the best thing is to continue voting for him for president because the other guy is worse like ??? none of us expected it of usamerica. we respected that country. we still respect its people and hang out with them every day

but like. let that sink in for a second. the guy encouraging and allowing a genocide is the better of two options?? if that’s the case I’m sorry but the civilians really don’t have any power. I’m sorry but if that’s the standards we have we have to start imagining better. this is like when your parent asks you if you want to wear a red shirt or a blue shirt but you never got the option to wear a dress instead or simply no shirt at all. it’s the illusion of choice. and as a world how do we turn a blind eye to this?? how do we not call out our dear cousin usamerica who is clearly in a bad state right now? whose leadership desperately needs to do better especially if they’re going to be in a position of leadership in the world as the power structures would have that they are?

because people live and breathe economy I was thinking, what if the rest of us simply boycott usamerica like we boycott Israel?? that would send the global economy to shambles. and I know it’s not gonna happen all of a sudden (so no need to hurriedly account for all the people that would get hurt) but what if we did? simply stop buying and consuming things that come out of America?

now I’m probably one of the biggest and most long-standing swifties you’ll meet (tumblr doesn’t count it’s an echo chamber) but could I? could I simply hold off listening to the tortured poets department when it comes out and stick to her older stuff I already own on cd’s and the like? Taylor doesn’t need my money or my numbers next to her songs and I’m going to be missing a lot if I do this but when this is over, her music will still be there. My favourite author is American. that one might be harder since I really want to read the second sword catcher book (I’m not worried about twp since it’s not coming out til 2026). I know a bunch of technology comes out of usamerica but I don’t need to update any of my devices and if I do there’s probably other brands I can buy from. I think because my iTunes is Australian I might be okay with it?? but I’m trying to transition away from it and buy more cds anyway. And I don’t watch tv, I rarely watch movies now so I could probably forgo that too.

I was actually just thinking about how there are so many songs out there I probably won’t get to listen to. what if, in boycotting some this is my chance to broaden my horizons? and I will preface with the fact that I know many non American artists do live and record in LA: im not gonna boycott them for that. In fact I’ll support their music because I want them to come home. and I might make an exception for green day and good charlotte for generally protesting much about usamerica?? but tell me guys, what do you think?? is this feasible? I might actually do it. I’ll make an exception for tumblr probably and use meta social media to the minimum (maybe I should for tumblr too and google). but also. is this racist?? is it going to do any harm?? because damn it I want to support the people. I want to support marginalised groups and native americans but I also want to be part of a boycott that’s meaningful rather than a token gesture. and I know the usamericans of us can’t do this, but please if I do it see it as me supporting your rights to having your opinions heard on a political level because I come from a country that isn’t great colonialism wise but at least we have that and I can’t imagine not having it

[tmicouture]

Sword Catcher thoughts/theories

I really enjoyed this book, wasn’t sure I was going to read it until it came out and decided to give it a try. Being a big fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books I wasn’t sure how I would like reading a different world from her but it was so well written and the characters really draw you in and I’m invested now lol and already needing the second book!

Now I’ve got some thoughts or theories on some stuff that left me with ??? 🤔 (spoilers below)

There is some mystery with the King. And before I get to my possible theory, maybe someone can refresh my memory but I can’t remember if they specifically said if Jolivet (being the captain of the arrow squadron) was the kings sword catcher or not? The tradition with the sword Catcher wasn’t new with Kel and Connor, it was a Malgasi tradition that the king grew up in. It was mentioned that once Connor married and had his own kid, Kel would then lead the squadron and eventually have to find a new sword catcher for the new prince and basically the tradition continues. But if that’s the case wouldn’t that mean jolivet was the kings sword catcher? Again maybe I missed it and they had mentioned it but I can’t remember top of my head, but if they didnt, that leaves the mystery of who the kings sword Cather was which then leads to my theory…..

The king is apparently mad/ill but later on in the book he has this great strength that isn’t normal which makes me wonder how? What if he isn’t the original king? What if the entire time he was the kings sword catcher having never taken off the talisman and it could have had an affect on him driving him a little mad and giving him some side effects (weird strength).

It crossed my mind when towards the end of the book Connor left that note and Kel had to be him at the party to save face. With all the mystery around what happened with the king especially with Fausten…

Anyways random but a guess

Also does anyone else think Jerrod is Kel’s friend from the orphanage? Idk something about him seeing kel’s face and not killing him gave me the thought even though later on when asked about it he just gives another excuse. Plus he has a part of his face hidden so maybe Kel wouldn’t be able to see if it possibly could have been him, idk I feel like characters being someone different then who they were is a feeling a lot of people have with this book having seen some theories others have had on who the ragpicker king is or beck

[foxyyaoguai]

Stuff in my WIPs Folder

Tagged by @eghfeithrean, thank you for tagging me! This looks fun. 🤭

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you asks with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Oh, oh god, here we go!! Some of these are almost done, others are just an outline. I hope to get to all of them eventually 🤭 pls beware I am terrible at naming things and some of these titles are very literal and almost all of them will have to be changed before posting 🤣

A Brush Dipped in Fate

Catcher of Nightmares & Pursuer of Dreams

ChengXian

ChengXian dogs

Moonlight in your eyes

Tentacle seclusion

Separation Hurts

Broken Swords and Cutesy Dates

Pretty Lan Wangji

Sweet, Rejuvenating Milk (yup)

Make A Wish

Run away with me

WangXiZhui Part 2

Claiming Him

Confessing on Repeat

Heart Deviation

To Buy a Slave

Jadecest + Sizhui Omegaverse

Jadecest Influencer AU

Accidental Stoner LWJ

A Flicker in Seungho’s Soul

LWJ is Eggpreg

Lwj has an oral fixation

Ohhh damn those are a lot more than I expected 😭 🤭

Tagging (if you feel like it!): @deathbyoctopi @foreheadkissesforzewu-jun @theindianghost @erotica-hooligan @jaggededges123 @jadedbirch @valkyrieshepard @kianspo @rx-mercury @likeaflamingkiss-consume @anaxandria-writes @iamwestiec @whoretsumu @veraverorum @omegaji @ck90

[gracecarstairss]

From my reread, I have noticed multiple discrepancies in Sword Catcher when it comes to age and years gone by, relating to Artal Gremont and Kel's age specifically. Kel is 23 years old (Conor is said to be 23 on page 40, and Kel is known to be the same age as stated in the prologue where they are both 10), and was taken by the Palace at 10. Therefore, he has spent 13 years on the Hill. However, he says "I have been watching the nobles of the Hill for fifteen years now." on page 418, which does not make sense because that means he would have been 8 instead of 10 years old when taken into the Palace.

Then, we have Artal Gremont. On page 153, Kel reminisces that when he and Conor had been 14, Gremont was sent away due to a scandal. However, on page 145, Kel is thinking back to when he was 15 (page 142) and gave Antonetta the grass ring. Months later, she has her debut (she is also 15) and he is searching the room for her and "It had been Conor who tapped him on the shoulder, directing his attention to a young woman speaking to Artal Gremont" (page 145). (The young woman is Antonetta, but he doesn't realize it at first). This is more of an offhand comment where Gremont doesn't have much relevance. However, this does not make sense chronologically if Gremont was sent away when Conor and Kel were 14, but he is still attending Antonetta's debut ball when they are 15? This could have easily been an editing mistake. Let's go by the idea that Gremont was sent away when they were 14. Now they are 23, so it has been around 9 years since his departure. This is reinforced by this quote, where Kel is overhearing Bensimon saying that he doesn't want Gremont to come back to take over his father's charter: "Whatever Artal Gremont had done, it was bad enough that Bensimon disliked the idea of him returning, even a decade later" (page 262). This tracks with Gremont being gone around a decade, so this timeline works out with them being 14 when he was sent away. However, on page 285, Kel is asking Merren what Gremont did and he says this: "He's a figure of curiosity on the Hill. He was sent off into what amounted to exile nearly fifteen years ago-". Fifteen years ago??? What? If Kel and Conor were 14 when he was exiled, and it had been 15 years, then they would be 29 years old in this book!! What the hell is going on with this timeline? Maybe I am getting way too deep into this but I had to write out all these discrepancies because the timeline was making me go crazy. I think most of these are just editing mistakes but it’s kind of interesting how many mistakes have to do with the number “fifteen.”