#tesali ranek

[clockworkbee]

❗the fragile threads of power❗

the hope and desperation in her voice along with her gestures and words was just enough to have me howling in my head. wish I could hug her—

[purplebass]

shades of magic & threads of power color palettes

[happygirl2oo2]

And ofc I had to make one for the Threads crew as well x

[inspo]

[typingwithmyhandstied]

Tes's characterization, storyline, and backstory has parallels and similarities to almost every other major character in The Fragile Threads of Power. (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Kell: Kell's parents traded him in for his powers. That's probably very similar to what Tes's father would have done to her if she hadn't gotten away. Both Kell and Tes want to be viewed as a human being and something beyond their powers. Neither really are. Both feel like people look at them and see their power not a person. They also seem to both have the urge to hide it as a means to not be viewed that way.

Lila: Lila's father sold her to pay off his debts. Tes fears---or really knows---that if her father knew her power, he would try to do something similar. He made use of all her sisters in similar ways. Both Tes and Lila had to leave and fend for themselves on their own because of this. They just did so in different ways.

Alucard: There's the very obvious fact that both Alucard and Tes can see the threads of magic, but both of them also have a bad relationship with their siblings. Obviously not exactly the same, but it is still very reminicent of the other.

Rhy: Tes and Rhy seem to share the same core goodness. Both of them are the kind of characters who don't seem to believe that their survival is anymore important than anyone elses.

Nadiya: Tes and Nadiya are both inventors to a certain extent.

Kosika: They are the two youngest characters. Kosika also had a parental figure that was ready to sell her for her potential power (maybe that is really just the repeated pattern throughout the books). Both were also thrust into a situation where they had a lot of independence at a young age.

Holland: He's the only character I can't really think of anything for.

[antaripirate]

I think there’s something really powerful about the way Tes thinks of Kell…

About the way she never sees him as anything other than a person. The way she has to actively force herself to think of him as an object in her shop when she tries to fix him.

Kell has spent his whole life being seen as something to be used. An object. A weapon.

His birth parents saw him as something to be sold - he was simply a currency used to remove a pair of limiters.

His adoptive parents saw him as something to be wielded - he was the prince’s protector, and then his life force. He was a way of communicating between worlds. A symbol of power for Vesk and Faro to see.

Aside from Rhy and Lila, no one had ever seen him for himself.

And then we meet Tes, who clearly has some form of admiration for Kell - having named her bird after him - and she can touch the threads of magic. Manipulate them. And yet she never once sees Kell as just his magic. Never sees him as a test subject or a source of magic to tinker with, despite the fact that of any magic she could ever touch or handle, the type he possesses is the most rare, the most unique.

I think the fact that she always sees him as a person, more than she sees him as an antari is really important.

She wants to help him because she can see he’s hurting, can see he’s broken, but refuses to reduce him to something to be tinkered with. And even after copious threats from Lila, who wants nothing more than for Kell to just be ok again, and being asked by the King, and seeing what she was really capable of, she still has to force herself to see him as anything other than a person.

I just think it’s really powerful when you consider how he’s been treated his whole life by literally everyone but his partner and his brother.

Tes, Lila, and Rhy always see Kell as Kell. Magic or no magic. He is a person, and not something to be used or exchanged for personal gain.

[ramblings-of-lola]

The way Tes and Alucard see magic in colors and textures is so interesting. I have synesthesia so I see music, words, and sounds in color and textures. When I first read Shades of Magic, I loved Alucard's ability to see the threads of magic in colors and textures because it was similar to how I see the world in a way. I was also really happy when Tes was introduced with having the same ability in Threads. I wonder if V.E. Schwab meant for the ability to represent synesthesia?

[mentalcurls]

Books I read in 2025 The fragile threads of power by V. E. Schwab

[mercurialskiies]

Threads of Power spoilers below the cut, but

———

Lila’s willingness to go so far just to get Kell’s magic in working order without causing him so much pain makes me so sad.

She doesn’t show it in the typical doting way, but it’s so obvious that watching Kell suffer the way he does PAINS her (to the point of threatening Tes to fix Kell’s magic).

And I understand why Kell doesn’t want to even risk Tes fixing his magic because of what could happen to Rhy if she fails.

Lila hates that he has a point and it irritates her because she just wants Kell happy ☹️

And what’s really funny is that it reminds me so much of this exchange from AGOS between Lila and Rhy

Because, in this regard, Kell and Lila (at least in the last seven years) are really similar.

Kellila my beloved ☹️☹️

[typingwithmyhandstied]

Taking advantage of the open tag

Kell Maresh (A Darker Shade of Magic)

Celia Lang (Foul Lady Fortune)

Nikolai Lantsov (Grishaverse)

Jacques (As You Like It)

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles)

Victor Vale (Vicious)

Taryn Duarte (The Cruel Prince)

Karen (Daisy Jones and The Six)

Andry Trelland (Realm Breaker)

Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

Open tag for me too

10 characters from 10 fandoms! (in no particular order except for #1)

Thanks @lunar-years for the tag!

Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things)

Penelope Featherington (Bridgerton)

Ace [REDACTED] (Nancy Drew)

Nick Nelson (Heartstopper)

Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)

Percy Jackson (PJO)

Shauna Shipman (Yellowjackets)

Nathan Scott (One Tree Hill)

Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf)

Kitty Covey (XO Kitty)

No pressure Tagging @faintedloves @faithfulcat111 @maddie-grove @leslie057 @emily-mooon & Anyone else who wants to play

[purplebass]

2023 books - the fragile threads of power by v.e. schwab A thing taken by force would always be a pale shadow of something given freely.

[antaripirate]

[clockworkbee]

When Holly Black said, “It turns out that men have more authority, even when they're not real,” and V. E. Schwab said “apparently a man half in his cups still inspired more faith than a sharp-eyed girl who looked even younger than her age,” it really hit.

[purplebass]

Each of the new younger female characters in Threads of Power is a fan of the original Antari trio and I think it's funny and could also be foreshadowing, I don't know Kosika admires Holland and she is dedicating her life to accomplishing what he couldn't do. Tes' owl has a black eye and a blue eye and is called Vares after Kell. Ren is enamored with how Lila uses her magic and seems to hang on her every word.

[typingwithmyhandstied]

TESALI RANEK. send post. done.

[purplebass]

Lila and interactions with animals

Lila being afraid to ride a horse in acol will always amuse me. It's an interesting quirk which reveals more about her character and her trust issues. Animals, unlike people, are unpredictable. She doesn't trust people, how can she trust a horse she can't even control? She didn't even pretend to know how to ride because she knew that the odds that she would lose control and fall were high, and she valued her life too much to even attempt it. She could have gone by foot, but if she did, she'd be left behind, and the situation in that part of the story didn't allow Lila to be picky. So she got on the horse with Kell and trusted him because he was an expert rider, unlike her. And he probably felt her discomfort and tried to offer his support, which was nice.

Another instance where Lila seems uncomfortable with animals is in tftop, when she finds Tes' dead owl Vares and asks what is it. She yelps when the owl comes to life, because she didn't expect it to be "alive". Lila mistrusted Tes as well, and her older sister calls her "little rabbit," which is symbolic of how Tes is a bit of a threat to Lila as well but also the only one who could help them. Ren also has a pet rabbit and Lila creates a little rabbit figure when she shows her magic tricks. It all comes back full circle because after Tes fixes Kell's magic, the first thing he sees it's Ren's rabbit Miros, which again is possible because Tes the "little rabbit" fixed him like she fixed Vares. Rabbits mean fertility and new beginnings so it fits.

Lastly... cats. Lila and Esa don't seem to like each other and she often thinks the cat is glaring at her. Lila is often compared to cats throughout the story, because cats represent mystery, cunning and independence and are also considered sacred and linked to magic. I think Esa might've been a hint about Lila being aven in agos, so the cat perceived her being special just like Alucard could see the silver threads before she even knew she was antari. In tftop, Lila and Esa continue to regard each other warily but you can see that there is a certain degree of distance between them, as the cat is protective of Ren and of course, her fathers. It's like they don't like each other much, yet there is mutual respect because they have the same goal (Lila also cares about Ren's well being).

As usual, if you have any thoughts, please share <3

[typingwithmyhandstied]

fragile threads of power spoilers maybe? also I have 120ish pages left so no spoilers

I want to give Tes a really big hug and place a kiss on the top of her head. I love her so much.