#tané miduchi

[wonderingcheese]

Sabran & Ead

[spec-squared]

just finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree. here are my thoughts:

Roos is so fucking pathetic like wow holy shit

i still don't really like Sabran all that much, but that's okay because not all characters have to be likeable (exhibit a: roos). she reminds me of my sister a little bit in that she is super cunty.

i feel like Ead is a little too overpowered but wtv

Tané is definitely my favorite. idk why but I always imagine her looking like Janice Lee lol.

i hc Loth as being aro/ace

Kitston Glade deserved better

Susa DEFINITELY deserved better, fucking OW

Roos is like, the epitome of sopping wet rat man

i will forever be mad at the editors who told Samantha Shannon to shorten the final battle

Nayimathun is a boss ass bitch and ily her vm

kinda weird of Aleidine that the first thing she does upon seeing her deceased husband's secret bf is to go "so there's this cute astronomy professor you might like..." but go off i guess

Meg is great and her husband/fiancé has a sickass scar on his face, I'm so happy for them

Kalyba is just. So Much. like there's a lot there.

Chassar is sweet and i fucking LOVE Aralaq

Niclays Roos is the pettiest, most miserable motherfucker on the planet, and i adore him.

overall I'd give it a 9/10

[ann7av]

So I finished The Priory of the Orange Tree just now and I feel dead inside. This book was so good it's not even funny, and to simplify the plot:

Ead eats holy oranges and discovers lesbianism comes with the burden of dealing with mean brunettes with mommy issues and slaying dragons.

Sabran can't stop herself from insulting people, realizes she's not the messiah, has three different identity crises, and decides on a new approach to succession called 'fuck them kids'

Tané and her misadventures because all she wants is a sea puppy and a sword but she can't be trusted not to get herself into the worst possible scenario at any given opportunity

Loth gets hit in the face by atheism repeatedly but decides that it's just a test from his Saint, so he drags himself across the world to destroy satan until he finally realizes there's a difference between water puppies and literal fire demons.

Niclays finally visits the love of his life's grave after ten years, finds out morals are actually important and that you shouldn't base your entire existence on beefing with the mean brunette with mommy issues.

I think that sums up the main conflicts

[whoisdsmp]

It happens so so often that I'll see characters in shows or books and stuff and rather than wanting to fuck them, or shipping them, or wanting to be in their world or whatever...

Usually I wanna give them a fucking hug. Like, I'll see a character get broken down again and again and have to keep going, keep fighting, because the story isn't done yet, and they aren't done yet, and so they keep going. And inevitably there will come a moment where I'll pause it, or put down the book, and just imagine the character in front of me. And I imagine I hug them so so close, so tightly in my arms. Press their face into my shoulder and hold them together so they don't have to anymore.

[winter2468]

Theory: the butterfly at the end of The Priory of the Orange Tree is Kwiriki.

Kwiriki was known to take the form of a butterfly, and at the same time as Tané  notices the butterfly, we find that the stitches in her side have opened, and she’s bleeding.

Previously in the book, Tané recalled climbing a mountain and getting the overwhelming sense that Kwirki was both ‘with her’ and ‘within her’

We know that when Tané was a child, her parents put the jewel in her side to keep it safe. I think that when that happened, Kwiriki took the form of a butterfly and slipped inside too, perhaps to keep the jewel safe, or to keep Tané safe, or both.

Then at the end of Priory, the jewel has been removed from Tané’s body, the Nameless One is defeated, and Kwiriki no longer needs to be so close to Tané to protect her, so he slips out again. When Tané thought of Kwiriki as being ‘within her’ he was literally within her; in her side, along with the jewel.

[sort-of-dying]

i made some art :)

im bad at drawing water and the sky is weird but I'll blame it on using a new drawing program :/

[stickypiecolordiplomat]

Tané: Could you guys at least try to see this from my perspective?

Meg: [crouches down]

Ead: [kneels down]

Sabran: [sits on the floor]

Tané:

Tané: I hate all of you.

[mylittlenookcorner]

This is just a brain dump because I finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, and this book got me in a chokehold. If I don’t let it out some way I think I will explode.

I honestly haven’t read a book in so long that represented POCs like Priory where being a POC is not them being insecure or that their whole plot line or personality. They are in depth characters with goals and journeys they go through, they have their own passions and beliefs they hold so dear to their hearts that seem unbreakable, but develop an open mindedness to learning, growing and forming a deeper understanding of the world beyond their own beliefs. They are badass magical warriors who are so so vital to the plot. They’re not just there to coddle or be side characters. They are given the biggest spotlight to shine and grow!

Samantha Shannon writes them so beautifully and so strong with so much care and love! And the queerness of the characters. Oh my god. How natural and normal it is in the Priory world is gorgeous! Imagine living in a world where you’re not chastised the slightest bit for loving who you love. The Queen of the greatest kingdom falls in love with her handmaiden and the repercussion that followed was due to rank difference, not because they’re two women.

As a bisexual woman of colour, I can’t emphasise how much joy and love I have for this book. Growing up it was difficult to find literature where LGBTQ+ characters were the protagonists in genres I gravitate towards, let alone LGBTQ+ people of colour! Not in the mainstream and popular media at least in the early-mid 2010s when I was a teenager (will not disclose my age but yes, I am this old). I’m sure a lot of people my age can relate to this, but the world is expanding with literature and media a lot of us were searching for when we were younger.

What a beautiful thing that is, right?

And, honestly, all the characters! They’re so fleshed out and unique. Sabran is complex and such an interesting character with her own pain from societal pressures as Queen, to produce a daughter for her line, etc. She did annoy me at times in the beginning. I found her a little bratty but in my opinion? She didn’t know any better and to watch her character development was stunning. High key grew into probably the best ruler of Inys ever had. Even Niclays, honestly. Man’s sanity was hanging on by a thread and got himself in the worst situations known to man, but his downfalls and breakdowns were so entertaining. Loth’s journey was so stressful and this guy had one crisis of faith after another, but he’s one of my favourite characters, for real. He’d go to hell and back for his friends, he loves his sister so dearly and it just melts my heart what he’d do for the people he loves.

And goes without saying Ead & Tané: god-tier characters! My badass warrior queens! Both so stubborn and passionate and strong and flawed! They parallel each other, they have so many similarities but so unique from each other!

I may or may not shut up about Priory for a while, but I do have a few more books in my TBR I’m dying to read in the next coming months. That includes the prequel, A Day Of Fallen Night. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that one!

[stellarish]

It's been a real slow couple days at work, and I just finished reading The Priory of the Orange Tree, so I've been sitting at my desk doodling my girl Tané

[cerasifera]

Tané, and the star that was inside her.

[greenfinchg-illustration]

Tané 🐉

[fallenight]

the priory of the orange tree and a day of fallen night are so perfect bc you have povs of many strong, amazing, interesting and complex women and then you have that one pov of some pathetic little guy who is miserable 24/7 😭

[wlrsna]

the beauty of aroaces characters that have SO MUCH love, that irradiates care on they own special way, that love the people around them SO SO SO MUCH that they can't barely say a word about it-

[statuesquueart]

When history fails to shed light on the truth, myth creates its own.

Eadaz "Ead" du Zala uq-Nāra, Sabran Berethnet and Miduchi Tané from The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

i had the wonderful opportunity to visit @sshannonauthor at kinokuniya sydney on the 19th, and it was such a lovely and inspiring time to hear exactly how the world of priory was created and why things existed in it!

to anyone looking for a queer feminist retelling (of st. george and the dragon) with IMMENSELY engaging worldbuilding and characters, i do highly recommend priory!

[enchantra35]

No, because both Tané and Loth being CANONICALLY on the ace spectrum is so special to me. Thank you Samatha Shannon, from the bottom of my heart.

[a-devout-shannonite]

She’s just like me fr