#varice

[checkoutmybookshelf]

I appreciate that Tempests and Slaughter spends so much time deconstructing the prejudices and classism that are inherent to higher education power structures, because this is just startlingly accurate to universities gatekeeping knowledge and ways of knowing.

[thiagoarantesousa]

⛔ VARITONE Crema Reseña ⚠️[ NUEVO ALERTA!! ]⚠️ ¿La Crema VARITONE Elimina Realmente las Varices?

[walk-the-fade]

The Epilogue card that says "Varic ignored all incoming letters from The Prince of Starkhaven" Is FUNNY ASF when Hawke is left in the fade and romanced Sebastian. Mans is DESPERATELY searching for answers on what happened to his wife and the queen of his country and Varic is like "lmao not my problem choir-boy"

[fortheloveofsolas]

Pretty sure this has been done but it's the way that Solas looks at Lavellan when Varic questions Solas about changing one's nature if you so wish to.

[lyssq]

Stupid Willverse text posts… part one?

[nex-kyit]

yeah im not going to bother coloring this

[theposhperyton]

Sometimes a family is just a silly and whimsical guy and the group of traumatized randoms he's collected who would kill or die or continue living despite it all for him. And I think that's beautiful

[mihrsuri]

I just listen so much of The Immortals makes sense as Ozorne (a) still being in love with his ex (unhealthy but very much in love) (b) wanting him back and (c) definitely has a dartboard with Jon of Contes face on it.

Also if anyone deserves the utter yelling at that probably went on after they got back it’s the mages in Wolf Speaker who once again failed to acquire Ex.

[captainsvscaptains]

I may not need this, but just in case...

[cyantt-does-stuff]

Colent Varice, the Ice Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail!

[checkoutmybookshelf]

School Days

Ok, so as I said in this post, I am very much a Numair stan, so when Tamora Pierce announced a million years ago that there was a Numair Origin Story trilogy in the works, I was PSYCHED. Then I waited with the rest of the fandom for I-don't-even-know-how-many years until we got the first book. And while I and the rest of the fandom wait patiently for the second Numair book, let's talk Tempests and Slaughter.

I made no secret that Emperor Mage was my favorite Immortals Quartet book, and that Numair was a lot of the reason for that, but I also really enjoyed Carthak as a setting. That we get to see even more of Carthak in this book is a HUGE plus. We get the much-vaunted university, we get the arena, we get some of the city, and we get some of the rivers and green spaces. Objectively the arena and the university are the primary locations, and I loved the educations that Arram gets in both places and how the imperial family and imperial power structures are so deeply woven into both spaces.

And Arram comes to realize this over the course of the book, even going so far as to realize that he could leave the toxic structures once he achieves mastery. That realization is somewhat complicated by the fact that his is both a student who finds his way to teachers who value him and are willing to teach HIM rather than the politically acceptable curriculum, and the fact that he is roommates and BFFs with Ozorne Tasikhe. Plus, the fact that Varice is dedicated to protecting and supporting Ozorne...that's gonna get complicated in future books.

This is where I feel like it's important to point out that reading Tempests and Slaughter after Emperor Mage had the potential to land like The Phantom Menace did, because there were a lot of similarities. We KNOW where Ozorne, Varice, and Arram end up. We can see all the foreshadowing and we are writhing in our seats as we see every single one of the red flags that were always there for Ozorne. We can see the setups to payoffs we know are coming but don't have yet.

Where Tempests and Slaughter stands head and shoulders above Phantom Menace though is in not simplifying characters because they have a pre-set trajectory and pre-set growth they have to go through to get them to where we know they're going. Ozorne, Arram, and Varice are still complex, compelling characters, and knowing where they're going does not in any way make the journey less interesting. This book does more than just fill in a backstory gap. It is itself a story that weaves into the wider Tortall universe. It's really, really damn good, and it has things to say independent of the expected ending in Emperor Mage.

This book has things to say about class, power, sociopolitical institutions like the arena, and the politics of education institutions. It also has a lot to say about what learning is and where it occurs. I have a PhD, I was in university for eleven years. There is a huge part of me that holds a deep, complex, and oft-uncomfortable love for these insitutions, and having Tempests and Slaughter both recognize the good things universities can do and also highlight the hideous harms they can do was just an incredible experience.

As with all Tamora Pierce books, I cannot recommend this one enough. I will say that we have been waiting for a while for book 2 and will probably wait a while more, but the wait has never not been worth it with this author, so hang on to patience folks, and definitely pick up this book.

[walk-the-fade]

SOMEONE TALK TO ME ABOUT DRAGON AGE OCS BEFORE I SCREAMMMM

[best-star-trek-character]

Round One

[lyssq]

A family can be a man with six lifetimes’ worth of PTSD, a red power ranger, an actual video game character, a guy who’s also a pile of goop, a deposed queen who’s better than you at everything, a girl grown in a lab to be the world’s best engineer and your spaceship’s AI who you’re pretty sure is gaslighting you and I think that’s beautiful

[nex-kyit]

TLH doodles made during february. I was obsessed with Mell for a while, these are my favorite sketches I made during that time.

+1 happy Raion