#to kill a kingdom quote

[hikaruchen]

I’ll keep the king when you are gone away. I’ll keep him safe from the dark things that wait. — King by The Amazing Devil

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Some details for archaeology nerds (Here we go again AHAHAHA)

First of all the costume Alfred wears in this pic is BY NO MEANS historical accurate, but if we really want to be 100% accurate then to my knowledge there’s a high chance that Alfred wouldn’t be wearing dresses gowns at all (whoever decided to make Alfred wear those pretty cough dresses cough in the show I wish your family to prosper for all eternity YOU’RE A HERO), so instead I just chose to design whatever clothes I want and add some Anglo-Saxon elements in it :)

1. Alfred’s earrings

Took inspiration from the 7th century Anglo-Saxon/Frankish crystal ball, now in Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Here’s the thing, I know English men (and the monarchs) don’t wear earrings until the 16th century and earrings weren’t even popular during the Anglo-Saxon period, but once I saw Charles I wearing pearl earrings in his portrait I just can’t help but put something pretty on Alfred’s ears as well lol…Sadly I can’t find the exact size of this one but the official site says that it was used as a pendant/an amulet! Probably for pagan practices though, but it’s pretty, isn’t it? :D

2. Patterns on Alfred’s gown

Taken from the patterns on the Bewcastle Cross in Cumbria (which used to belong to Northumbria, built in around the 7th to early 8th century, aka the period Bede lived in.

3. The woven band

The pattern is taken from the Laceby band found in Laceby, Lincolnshire, dated to early 7th century. It seems both Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons enjoy wearing tablet-woven bands? Saw this kind of things a lot in viking clothes reconstruction as well.

4. …Whatever this is

From fol. 34r in Book of Kells, the famous Celtic gospel book completed in Ireland circa 800 AD. As you can see I got lazy during drawing this lol but the illustrations in the original manuscripts are really impressive!

Now I don’t know if this is a good news or not but I’ve still got like…six wips for alhtred in hand…Good god of arts DELIVER ME

[archvillain]

where's your fucking rage? where's your ANGER?! rise! rise! rise!!!

[autumn-may]

“You and I, we stand by the light only to cast shadows and beget darkness; you with Eraqus, me with my sister. And when that light disappears, we lose our purpose and are swallowed by the void”

[sock-to-the-third]

The wind rose. The boughs of the willows whispered, a sly, gossiping sound. Kaz held her gaze, saw the moon reflected there, twin scythes of light. [Inej] was right to be cautious. Even of him. Especially of him. Cautious was how you survived.

At last she nodded, the smallest dip of her chin. They returned to the tomb in silence. The willows murmured on.

pg185 of Chapter 12, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

[six-of-cringe]

I think that one of the reasons why people misinterpret Wylan's character and arc, among others, is because they misinterpret the relationship between him and Kaz. This post has kind of mitosised off from the BFWP (Big Fucking Wylan Post) I'm writing because it's a bit of a different focus and constitutes its own post.

A lot of people talk about Wylan's character and development as though it's meant to match Kaz's - starting out as a nice kid who the city forces to become amoral, indifferent to violence, and well-versed in crime. These qualities are usually talked about with a weird reverence as an irrefutable symbol of "badassery", as though it's always a positive development for any character regardless of the story's narrative, which annoys me but is not the topic of this post. That's part of the BFWP's job.

Following Kaz's exact development is not the point of Wylan's character. The point is that Kaz and Wylan narrative foils - very similar in many ways, but with a fundamental difference that creates the "broken mirror" effect/shows how they could have turned out if they'd chosen differently. I think that difference is how they respond when they climb out of the harbor after their respective betrayals. Narratively, Ketterdam represents a very harsh system that presents the people struggling there with very few options. You can either choose to ditch decency, play by the Barrel's rules, and live, or you can hold on to decency and die.

When Kaz returns to the streets after Jordie's death, he chooses the first option. He copes with what happened through ideas of revenge, and to survive long enough to see it he quickly turns to thievery and violence. He thinks to himself after he robs a kid for money and food that it was much easier to survive when you've left decency behind. He survived through violence, creating the Dirtyhands persona around himself for protection.

When Wylan has to fend for himself, he choses the second option. He finds "honest work" at the tannery, where they exploit workers and expose them to toxins. He wonders if he'll live long enough to use his savings to leave the city, or if the chemicals would kill him first. He was smart enough to steal and survive, but he chose decency, and with it, he chose death. There are a number of reasons why he chose differently than Kaz despite their similarities - his older age and thus more developed moral code, having no one to avenge but himself when he believed himself worthless, his more privileged upbringing, and his relatively low drive to live. Alone, he would have died.

Then Kaz steps in. Kaz's role in all the crow's lives is that, intentionally or not, his ruthless rule of the Barrel creates a sort of haven that allows them to survive where they would have died had they stayed alone. Wylan is a really clear example of this, and though Kaz's intentions were at least partly self-serving, his involvement both kept Wylan from dying of exposure or street violence as well as prevented him from needing to do the more terrible things that it takes to survive in the Barrel. Throughout the books, we see Kaz kind of taking the brunt of enacting violence in Wylan's place - traumatizing Smeet's daughter, killing the clerk on the lighthouse. Wylan could get by making explosives in the workshop rather than having to shoot or stab or beat the life out of people. And at the end of the series, Kaz sees to it that he never will have to. Of course Wylan did bad stuff to survive when working with the Dregs, it's the Barrel. But the extent is greatly lessened because of Kaz's involvement.

Wylan's arc was never about becoming comfortable with violence, or becoming just like Kaz - the way people characterize him as some sort of ruthless murder mastermind is inaccurate and redundant with Kaz's character. He isn't nonchalant or celebratory about crime or death or violence by the end of the book. He doesn't HAVE to become like Kaz, because Kaz himself gave him the space to continue being decent, intentionally or otherwise. Understanding that dynamic is important to understanding what Wylan is like as a character and as a person. If you assume Wylan's trajectory is to become "Kaz 2.0", then you're going to mischaracterize him. I've seen posts about how Kaz was the Jordie that he didn't have to Wylan, and I think that makes a lot more sense. Because Kaz is willing to do the horrible things in his stead, Wylan has the third option otherwise impossible in the Barrel - maintaining his decency and surviving.

[gobcorend]

"THE MIDDLE OF WHAT? EAST OF WHERE? THE REGION'S VERY name is based on a European view of the world, and it is a European view of the region that shaped it. The Europeans used ink to draw lines on maps: they were lines that did not exist in reality and created some of the most artificial borders the world has seen. An attempt is now being made to redraw them in blood."

-- Tim Marshall in 'Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics'

[robotsafari]

the next world is just a borrowed body away

[kingdom-hearts-on-crack]

Luxord : "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Saix: ...

Saix: What a stupid fucking quote.

Saix: I'm killing way more than two people, idiot.

[dreamsy990]

good thing sora doesnt ask questions

[fr33sh00tr]

Time did reverse. The teacup that I shattered did come together. [...] I let you know me. See me. I gave you a rare gift. But you didn't want it.

[garunsdottir]

lord aldhelm’s wardrobe 3/?

bonus from the same episode: 'lord, you cannot simply execute your subjects as you please. this is the ninth century'.

[stromuprisahat]

The market reminded her of Os Kervo, the bustling town that had served as capital to West Ravka before the unification...

Crooked Kingdom- Chapter 13

“No indeed,” said the count, seating himself at the end of a long rectangular table engraved with the West Ravkan crest—two eagles bracketing a lighthouse.

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 5

Tamar’s spies had brought them news of the Fjerdan prince’s public collapse, and it didn’t bode well for Ravka. They’d renewed diplomatic talks, but Nikolai knew Fjerda was holding separate conversations with West Ravka and trying to encourage them to secede. Jarl Brum had been steering his country’s strategic choices for years, and a weakened Prince Rasmus would only embolden him.

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 12

Remind me again, why did destruction of the Fold mean “unification” of Ravka, when the West was obviously basically sovereign state, the East was weak, vulnerable to any kind of attack, fighting both of their neighbours, with zero resources and newly easy to attack from the west too?!

Why didn’t the richer part easily declare independence and/or crush the east?

[lex-blogs]

"The thing about taking something that's not yours is that there will always be someone out there ready to take it back."

- Lira, To Kill a Kingdom

[nillabean]

Yuushou: Name a way to be nice to others.

Asen: Don’t kill them.

Yuushou: Setting the bar a little low, but I’ll allow it.

[caveatscriptor]

It had felt strange to wear a proper kefta after so long. The one Nina had worn at the House of the White Rose had been a costume, cheap finery meant to impress their clientele. This was the real thing, worn by soldiers of the Second Army, made of raw silk dyed in a red only a Fabrikator could create. Did she even have a right to wear such a thing now?

When Matthias had seen her, he'd frozen in the doorway of the suite, his blue eyes shocked. They'd stood there in silence until he'd finally said, “You look very beautiful."

"You mean I look like the enemy."

"Both of those things have always been true." Then he'd simply offered her his arm.

― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

[artistyuri]

Incorrect Tears of the Kingdom Quotes

Spoiler warning for Tears of the Kingdom

Link: Hey Sid-OH GOD

Sidon: -panting, turning to Link while splattered with blood- Ah, Link! Hello my friend~!

Link: I-Is...Is that the head of the Lynel on Ploymus mountain...?

Sidon: Hm? -looks at the Lynel head in his hand- Oh, yes. Yes it is.

Link: And you killed it yourself...?

Sidon: -looks back up at Link- Well you see, Link. I needed to scope out a new location for my dear elder sister's memorial, and Ploymus Mountain has such a lovely view. The only issue was this nasty beast, so I dealt with it.

Link: ...

Link: -just happy that Sidon is proud of himself- The mountain does have a nice view.

Sidon: -absolutely beaming with pride- It does, doesn't it?? Mipha would be so happy to see it!!