Hi, my name is Marty. I'm a unrepentant 20-yr. old fan of various things. Among other stuff, I'm white, agnostic, cis-male, straight/bi, snarky, shy, and a supporter of human rights.
Extremely correct response, leaving out the inevitable debacle over citizens declaring counterfeit genders in order to have rarer pronoun pins to sell to collectors in the underground pronoun market.
Dibbler, only mildly discouraged, eventually realizes he can sell embellishments for your pronoun pin, which he claims will upgrade your gender.
Also of note is that there are no cops present at Ankh-Morpork Pride. This is not because they aren't welcome (everyone knows Nobby is as kinky as they come), but because the festivities include throwing bricks at the City Watch building and they are busy trying to make sure they still have a place to work the next day. The Night Watch prepares each year with a barricade, and pre-marriage Vimes always collects the good bricks so he can save for a house. Nobody is really sure where the tradition came from, but it's good fun and usually nobody gets hurt too badly.
The bricks are provided by Vetinari, who considers it a good test of city infrastructure and training for the Watch.
Cheery would 100% march in the parade. She'd get Nobby to go with her, but Nobby would be completely oblivious as to why (he assumed she just wants company).
Moist von lipwig would have pride-themed stamps made; these would inevitably have some kind of issue, which would create some outrage and ultimately make the stamps more valuable as collectors' items.
I don't get the impression that Ankh Morpork ever had anti-sodomy or crossdressing laws, so I don't think the queer community's history with the police would be the same as it is in the real world. Especially because Cheery Littlebottom literally started the Dwarf trans/feminism movement as an officer of the Watch, with the Watch's support.
Dibbler would totally sell pride flags with the wrong colors (and then insist it was the "new, updated version" if anyone questioned him)
The nobility are all scandalized, meanwhile the Seamstresses Guild has a float in the parade
Adora Belle Dearheart is deeply involved with at least one queer organization and is one of the main organizers of the Pride festival, but refuses to answer any questions about why
Ridcully decides the wizards should be involved, and Ponder Stibbons should make a float and organize the refreshments for them to eat while riding on the float. Ridcully's concept of allyship is loudly saying, "Well done, that man!" and pointing at anyone he thinks is exhibiting particularly queer behavior.
Madam Sharn and Pepe release a whole new line of Pride-themed chainmail
Bengo Macarona is embraced as a gay icon
Reg Shoe decides the main pride event is too corporate, and organizes an alternative pride parade for the same time and place; this immediately gets subsumed by the main pride event. Some Omnians show up to Pride to protest and Reg is delighted to have someone to fight with.
I'm totally in support of the writers in theory but I'm trying to understand more of what you're fighting for because I've seen some people on twitter claim writers make more money a week than most of us make in a month so I'm trying to understand what the issue is. Also if that info is accurate. This is a genuine question. Not trying to have a "gotcha moment". I really want to hear from a writer.
people have always had wild misconceptions about how much a writer earns because of their lack of understanding of how the industry actually works. there's so many posts about how "you guys make 5k a week. what more do you want?!" yeah...let's do some math on that.
5k a week for 14 weeks (and that's a long room. a lot of rooms these days are 8-10 weeks. those are the dreaded mini-rooms we're trying to kill) is $70,000. for roughly three months of work. you'd think we're cooking with gas...BUT HOLD UP. that's gross! let's see everything that has to come out of that check:
10% to our agent
10% to our manager
5% to our entertainment attorney
5% to our business manager (not everyone has one but a lot of us do. i do, so that's literally 30% immediately off the top of every check)
most of these breakdowns ive seen downplay taxes severely. someone made one that says writers pay 5% in taxes and i would like to ask them "in what universe?". that doesn't even cover state taxes. the way taxes work in the industry is really complicated, but the short of it is most of us have companies for tax reasons so we aren't taxed like people on w2s/1099. if we did we'd be even more fucked. basically every production hires a writer's company instead of the writer as an individual. so they engage our companies for our services and then at the end of the year we (the company) pay taxes as corporations or llcs (depending on what the writer chose to go with). my company is registered as a "corporation" so let's go with those rates. california's corporate rate is 9% and the federal corporate tax rate is 21%. there's other expenses with running a business like fees and other shit so my business managers/accountants/bookkeepers have recommended i save between 35-40% of everything i make for when tax season comes.
you see where the math is at already??? 25-30% in commissions and then 35-40% in taxes. on the lower end you're at THE VERY LEAST looking at 60% of that check gone. 70% worst case scenario. suddenly those $70,000 people claim we make are actually down to $28,000 as the take home pay. and that's if you're only losing 60%. it goes down to $21,000 if it's 70%.
lets pretend you worked a long 14 week room (that's the longest room ive ever worked btw) and let's also be generous and say you only have 60% in expenses so the take home is $28,000. average rent in los angeles is around $2,800-$3,000. if you're paying $2,800 in rent that means you need AT LEAST $4,000 a month to have a semi decent life since you need to also cover groceries, gas, medical expenses, toiletries, phone, internet, utilities, rental and car insurances, car payments, student loan payments, etc etc etc. and again, this is los angeles. everything is more expensive so you're living BARE BONES on 4k. and these are numbers as a single person. im not even taking having children into account. so those $28,000 you take home might cover your life for 6-7 months. 3 of which you're in the room working. the reality is that once that room ends, you might not work in a room again for 6-9-12 months (i have friends whose last jobs were over 18 months ago) and you now only have about 3 months left of savings to hold you over. we have to make that money stretch while we do all the endless free development we do for studios and until we get our next paying job. so...3 months left of enough money to cover your expenses -> possible 9 months of not having a job. this is how writers end up on food stamps or applying to work at target.
this is why we're fighting for better rates and better residuals. residuals were a thing writers used to rely on to get them through the unemployment periods. residual checks have gone down from 20k to $0.03 cents. im not joking.
they've decimated our regular pay and then destroyed residuals. we have nothing left. so don't believe it when they tell you writers are being greedy. writers are simply fighting to be able to make a middle class living. we're not asking them to become poor for our sake. we're asking for raises that amount to 2% of their profit. TWO PERCENT. this is a fight for writing even being a career in five years instead of something you do on the side while you work retail to pay your bills. if you think shows are bad now imagine when your writer has to do it as a hobby because they need a real job to pay their bills and support a family. (which none of us can currently afford to have btw)
support writers. stop being bootlickers for billion dollar corporations. stop caring about fictional people more than you care about the real people that write them. if we don't win this fight it truly is game over. the industry as you know it is gone.
My first question to someone who’s like, “You should give up writing and learn to code!” would be to ask, “Is that how you entertained yourself during the pandemic? With long videos of people coding? Or did you read books and watch TV and movies like the rest of us?”
Hello, Nichya. My question is probably very inappropriate, so I apologize in advance. I saw some Americans claiming, that Spanish & Portuguese are colonizer languages. However, these are the most spoken languages in latin countries. Again, I don't agree with such statements, just curious what real Latinos & Latinas would say to it.
Ah, the irony of americans, who speak ENGLISH because they were colonized by ENGLAND, and who made american-english become so wide-spread in the entire world through both imperialism cultural imperialism and invading other countries and placing military basis and/or overthrowing their governments over and over, realizing "Wait, latin america speaks spanish and portuguese (as well as french and dutch in some places) because europe colonized them, that's problematic."
Now, obviously spanish and portuguese were brought to latin america as "colonizer languages", aka to further erase the native languages, and cultures. However you'd be surprised at how complex a topic can become after over 500 years.
Languages are living things, and no two places have the exact same relationship to it. That's how accents, slang, dialects, and eventually new languages, come to be. I have a much easier time understanding modern spanish, italian or french than I do understanding OLD portuguese, despite being brazilian. To me it just looks like a language Tolkien made up. It's too different.
In the same vein, the spanish spoken in Spain today is not the same as the one spoken 500 years ago, and is also not the same as the one spoken in Mexico today - which is also not the same as the one spoken in Argentina, or Venezuela or Chile. And that happens not only due to the distance, but due to what other languages (from bordering countries, immigrants or surviving native tribes) have an influence on the "main" one. I lost count of how many times I was mindblown to discover some random word that I use everyday is NOT portuguese, but rather an old word from languages of brazilian native tribes.
That also ties into two other details that people often forget in that discussion of "you're speaking the language of your opressor and passing on their legacy":
1 - The native tribes were NOT all buddies with each other, and their languages also became dominant for so long because they conquered or killed all their rivals. Like any people group, they had the ones they were allied with, the ones they were neutral on, and the ones they fucking hated. There were groups that tried to isolate themselves as much as possible, others that sought out alliances without any form of merging, and some that went full "I want an empire" mode. The historical tendency of just erasing all that complexity and pretending they were one large homogenous group with a generically peaceful "culture", instead of being as complex and messy as europe, is as racist of a generalization as "They're all a bunch of blood thirsty savages that will kill anything in their path, including each other"
2 - Languages like european portuguese and spanish ALSO were influenced by other languages, often of groups they were at war with or even invaded by, and passed on their legacy too - portuguese has A LOT of arabic influence for exemple. The broad generalization of "Europe colonized the world" is useful in a lot of cases, but also dangerous in others, as it ignores that europe is not magically immune to being influenced by other cultures (sometimes through brutal means).
That last one is also THE main thing that this "these are colonizer languages" discourse misses: it ignores that europeans are not the only ones who can influence others, and that sometimes their tactics backfire.
Portugal conquering a place as large as Brazil, with a HUGE population was itself a power move... but as a consequence, we out-number them to a comical degree. Meaning people are far more likely to learn brazilian portuguese than european portuguese, something a lot of people in Portugal are rather salty about - and that's without taking into consideration that they themselves consume a LOT of brazilian media, but the reverse is not true. It got to the point of there being parents in Portugal freaking the fuck out because their kids could only speak "brazilian" (and we made them even more mad with the "Let's change Portugal's name to Brazilian Guyana" jokes).
That's why latinos tend to get mad at foreigners (especially americans) who assume we somehow don't realize "Oh, we speak these languages because we were colonized." It's condescending and ignores how much of our cultures and identities, by necessity, are built on the basis of us going "Fuck off, this is MINE now, and I'm doing MY thing with it." It crosses the line from a genuine conversation about colonialism to "Let me explain your situation to you since you're too dumb to get it"
No but to be serious guys i didnt expect that movie to be that kind of good. I expected great fights. I expected complicated morals. I did not expect that movie to say i know everything seems hopeless but you dont get a choice, you have to try. I did not expect that movie to say when we are up against an impossible, unjust threat the only way through is freely given kindness and forgiveness. I did not expext that movie to say the real way villans win is by preying on those we’ve already decided are hopeless. I did not expect that movie to say we all have to believe we can get better. Please believe me we can all get better. Oh my god.
“She leaned in closer to him and the boy felt her slender body mold against his, soft and flower-scented and delightful,” Someone needs to calm down Tavi definitely a teenage boy
“Crows, no I wouldn’t dream of it, academ.” pg. 4 Ok so what I’m getting is ‘crow’ is some kind of god and I’m going to have to pull up translation for Latin
“No,” Fidelias said with a grin. “I love telling that story because I know you hate it.” pg. 4 Ha
“Now, then. My first concern-“
“Question” Amara corrected.
“Question,’ he allowed, ‘is with our cover story.” pg. 4 Ha
“Don’t quote the Codez at me,” Fidelias snapped, annoyed. “I was a Cursor before your mother and father had called their furies.” pg. 6 Ok there’s a codex and a position(?) called cursor and something called furies
“My slave, good master,” pg. 9 Ew slavery
“Any furycrafter strong enough to be a Knight could command virtually what price he wished for his services.” pg. 10 Ok so a furycrafter is a person who can control furies
“To leave a pretty young girl in a camp full of soldiers.” pg. 14 shudders
“The collar around her neck, even on its smallest sizing, hung loosely.” pg. 14 Boo collar
Amara is terrible at pretending to be a slave
“The last thing she saw was the beautiful watercrafter” pg. 19
“I think this can be safely be considered a failing mark in your graduation exercise.” pg. 21 Ha
“She tried again. And again. Her wind fury never responded. “The dirt,” she said, finally, and closed her eyes. “Earth to counter air. Cirrus can’t hear me.” pg. 21 Ok learning more about the magic system. Earth counters Water
Did the rebels kill Fidelias?
“Traitor,” pg. 26 Oh Fidelias is a traitor
“You pinked me. No one’s done that since Araris Valerian .” He smiled then, wolfish show of teeth. “But you aren’t Araris Valerian.” pg. 32 Ok so Araris is was? a great swordsman
Oh you can use wind crafting to fly cool!
“You’re a fifteen-year-old boy, Tavi. There’s always a girl.” pg. 38 Ha
“It’s not as bad as you think, Tavi. Furies aren’t everything.”
“Says the man with two of them,” pg. 39 Ok so people can have more than one fury
So Tavi either doesn’t have any fury crafting, is a late bloomer, or there’s some shenanigans happening here
“I need to be back before the other Steadholders arrive.” pg. 39 What are steadholders
“He come into any furies yet, or are you finally going to admit what an unless little freak.” pg. 43 Rude
“Rape is a realm offense,” pg. 44 Good that rape is realm offense
“What have you learned this morning?”
“That woman are trouble, sir”
“Oh, lad. That’s about half of the truth.”
“What’s the other half?”
“You want them anyway,” pg. 47 Ha
“Isana looked up from her scrying bowl with a faintly irritated frown.” pg. 48 Ok watercrafters can scry
“Holly bells don’t just miraculously appear, and you know the law about harvesting them.” pg. 51 Why are holly bells important and why is there a law?
Ok so water crafters can tell if a person is lying
Thirty-seven years old, and she was alone. No suitors, naturally.” pg. 53 Thirty seven isn’t that old Isana can get whoever she wants
“All I’m saying,” Kord drawled, “is that if that little slut of yours can’t keep her legs together and men out from between them, it’s your problem, friend. Not mine.” pg. 56 Can I punch Kord
“Well, well,” he said. “What we got here? Another little hold whore standing up for whore Heddy?” pg. 58 Kord is the worst
“Your word Warner,” Isana snapped. “Or I’ll rule against you in the truthfind right here and now.” pg. 59 She wouldn’t right?
Why does Isana have a slave?
“He had a broad, strong build and a face that would have be handsome if it had been less petulant.” pg. 62 Oh time to make my favorite counter, Bi Tavi moment 1
“Bernard’s voice took on a sharp edge of anger and command that Tavi had never heard in his uncle before.” pg. 66 Oh no
Scary bird creature
“There aren’t any Marat in the Calderon Valley, Uncle. The Legions keep them out.” pg. 71 More lore
“He had tied dark feathers into his hair, here and there, and they lent him a savage aspect.” pg. 75 This feels a little xenophobic
“His eyes, Tavi saw, were precisely the same shade of gold as the herdbane’s, inhuman and bright.” pg. 75 Intresting
“Tavi ran for his life.” pg. 78 Oh no
“the river Gaul” pg. 79 I wish I had a map
“Gaius Caria, wife to Gaius Sextus, Alera’s First Lord, seemed young, hardly older than Amara herself.” pg. 81 Is this the first lords first wife?
Why doesn’t Caria want Amara to talk to the first lord?
“Please excuse the First Lady,’ Gaius murmured. “These last three years have not been kind to her.”
Three years since she married you, my lord, Amara thought” pg. 84 Ha
“An old man. An old man married to a willful and politically convenient child.” pg. 86 Ah
“What they taught at the Academy” pg. 87 Cool that the academy is gender equal
“And it was where the Marat killed your son, milord.” pg. 88 Interesting so the heir to the kingdom was killed fifteen years ago and Tavi is fifteen and it’s in the same place I’ve connected the dots! (Mostly joking)
“Fidelias hated flying” pg. 91 Too bad flying sounds cool
“He could have turned over power to a nominal heir a decade ago,” pg. 93 What’s a nominal heir
“His love was for Alara” pg. 94 Paternal right?
“Fidelias had been forced to this
It was necessary.
It had to be done.” pg. 95 No it’s not necessary no one forced you
“Gargoyles?’ he breathed. “All of them?” pg. 98 Oh interesting
“The only man who has ever matched me in battle was Araris Valerian himself.” Teeth shone white in Aldrick’s smile. “And you aren’t Araris.” pg. 109 Cool and again with Araris Valerian what happened to him?
“At dawn, you leave for the Calderon Valley.” pg. 111 Party at Calderon Valley it seems
“No slave in her right mind would have been anything less than anxious in that room.” pg. 112 I hope there’s a slave revolt
Slives are scary
“Tavi let out a panicked scream, his light baritone cracking into a child’s higher pitch as he did.” pg. 116 Shouldn’t Tavi have gone through puberty already or at least started puberty by this point
“Salt?” she shouted, through the storm. “You have salt?” pg. 119 How would salt help?
Bittan is the worst
“Bittan was working a firecrafting on the room, sending out a subtle apprehension to almost every person in it heightening their fears and drawing their anxieties to the forefront of their thoughts.” pg. 132 Oh no
“Isana lifted her head, eyes sweeping around in a sudden panic. She struggled to speak, but couldn’t, her throat unable to expel a breath- or, she realized a moment later, to draw it in.” pg. 132 Oh no
“Your brother. He’s gone.” pg. 139 Oh no I liked him :(
“His face was thin-feathered, stark, handsome, and his expression peaceful, sleeping.” pg. 146 Bi Tavi 2
“This is the mound on the Field of Tears. The Princeps died here, fighting the Marat, before I was born.” pg. 147 Ah this is where the heir died
Yay Bernard is alive!
“when she drew her hand out she saw the mud dappled with bright scarlet.” pg. 158 Oh no that’ll led to infection
“Marat? The savages hadn’t given the Realm any trouble since the incident on this very site, fifteen or sixteen years ago.” pg. Characters keep mentioning this event
“No. Too coincidental for mere chance. Something larger is underway.” pg. Something is a foot
“But Marat didn’t often take more than one beast as . . . what sufficed to describe the term? Mate? Companion? Blood-sibling? She shook her head with a sliver. The savages’ ways were still alien to her, something fantastic from a tale rather than the businesslike reality she had learned from classes in the Academy.” Xenophobia is rampant. I hope the Marat don’t actually mate with their beasts please just be xenophobic lies and propaganda.
“But what would a Marat hoardmaster be doing in the Calderon Valley?
Invading” pg. Or they could be running away from someone or something or maybe they want to live here now I’m just saying there are other reasons the Marat could be here
“The boy had courage, even if he lacked some more life-perspectiving common sense.” pg. Ha and I see a pattern with Butcher protagonists
“Something else tugged at her attention, but she pushed it firmly away.” pg. No don’t, listen to your instincts
“Someone’s grumpy boy this morning.” pg. Ha
“Then the Marat turned toward Fidelias with his face set in a flat, murderous rage and flung himself at the former Cursor.” pg. 179 Oh no
“And that’s what happened,” Tavi said. “It all started with that one little lie. And all I wanted to do was to get those sheep back.” pg. 187 Well I’d say it all started when you went and got those holly bells
“Or you could be a Cursor.”
Tavi wrinkled up his nose and snorted. “And spend my life delivering mail? How exciting could that be?” I’m going to take a truly wild guess that Tavi ends up as a Cursor truly a crack pot theory
“She kissed me, and my brain melted and dribbled out of my ears.” Ha
“But if you are a runaway, and I don’t do something about it, the law could come back and hurt my uncle.” Boo
“Even when he’d given Tavi a whipping” What
“He had lost his uncle’s respect” Oh no :(
“If the wounds were as serious as the boy had described, it would have taken an extremely talented watercrafter to have had Bernard on his feet again, and Amara didn’t think that anyone that skilled would live so far from one of the major cities of the Realm.” Maybe Isana doesn't like city life, maybe she’s hiding out, maybe her family lived here, there are options to consider
“Imprisonment, blinding, and crucitfition were some of the gentler sentences she could expect from such a trial.” Fun :/
“Not as bad as it could be. You used crafting to keep your foot warm.” Can slaves use fury’s?
I think Amara is attracted to Bernard and is in denial
Amara might get more info if she told Bernard who she actually was
“Apparently you fell along the blade of a sharp sword.” Not your greatest lie there Amara
“That’s right, Steadholder,” said Fidelias” Oh no
“I remember setting out with him yesterday, but beyond that. . . nothing” Oh memory loss
“Without changing his expression, he moved a bit more to block her view with his body” Ha
“It’s happening isn’t it” Oh
“What about Tavi? He should know.”
She shook her head. “No. Now more than ever, no. He doesn’t need that on his head.” Oh secrets
“To say nothing of other reasons” pg. What?? I want to know
“Bernard lived simply: He had, ever since Cassea the girls had died.” pg. So Bernard is a widower and lost his kids :(
“The slippers had been a birthday gift for Cassea.” pg. Ohh
“Have you come for the boy?” Asked Isana asked. “Are you here to take him?” pg. Why would anyone take Tavi?
“Keep a cup in your hands, and drink in the cup. I’ll hear.” pg. Clever
“Fidelias watched him and waited until the Stealholder had left the hall to glance at the staircase himself. Interesting.” pg. Stop being smart
“He’s furyless, sir.” pg. Beritte you don’t go around telling people that
Why is Isana washing Fidelias feet? Watercrafting?
“Kill them” pg. Oh no
“But you’re a girl.” pg. So girls can be Cursors too
“I faked passing out and I listened in on all the talk up here.” pg. That worked?!
Oh come on let Fade come it’ll be a road trip
Nice use of the horses panic
“Tavi,” Isana screamed. “Tavi, run! Run!” pg. Oh no
“Fade’s expression barely moved but Tavi thought he detected a sense of deep, slow pain there nonetheless.” pg. 247 Poor Fade
“Bitten of Kordbolt” pg. 249 Ugh to this guy. Can Tavi stab him? Please
Oh no Fade :(
“an ugly smile twisting his handsome face” pg. 249 Bi Tavi 3
“Didn’t figure they’d send the freak and the idiot.” pg. 249 Rude
“Maybe that bitch died trying to save to him.” pg. 250 Rude
“realized that it was very probable that she was about to die.” pg. I hope Amara doesn’t die I like her
“Amara looked down to find the arrow’s shaft wrapped around her wrist” pg. 255 Oh no
“Where is the boy? Bernard snarled. “If you’ve hurt that boy, I’ll kill you.” pg. 255 Papa wolf Bernard
“Crafters?”
“Air and fire-“
“Fire” Amara blurted” pg. 260 I take fire crafters are dangerous
Cool fight between Kord and Bernard
Bitten starting a forest fire what would smoky the bear say
“You leave him alone!” pg. Yes protect Fade
“Tavi saw his uncle draw back his fist and ram it hard into Kord’s neck” pg. Let’s go!
Nice job using your emotions to get the better of the water witch (I forget her name)
“One hand seized the woman by her hair, and the other raked abruptly across her face.” pg. 269 Go Isana!
“My river” pg. 269 So cool!
“You barren witch” pg. 269 Bitten is so rude
“Get through the woods” pg. 269 Aren’t they currently on fire?!
“She leaned into him and pressed a kiss against his forehead. “I’m sorry, Tavi, so sorry. There’s no time for questions now. You must trust me. I love you.”
“I love you too.” pg. 270 Aww
“Without expression, the tallest of the Marat stepped closer. He put his foot on Tavi’s shoulder and rested the tip of his spear against the hollow of Tavi’s throat.” pg. 274 Oh no
“Clever, getting his shoes like that. She been planning on the boy running, and on hampering pursuit.” Smart
“They did, in rapid order, proving more than anything else that the flood had been a deliberate crafting rather than a natural event.” pg. Isana is so cool and powerful
“Turns into the Wax Forest” pg. 278 What? Surely it’s not an actual wax forest
“We’ve lost the horses in the flood” pg. 280 Oh no the poor horses :(
“Do you own many slaves?”
Bernard shook his head. ‘I used to buy them sometimes, give them the chance to earn their freedom. Lot of the families on the steadholt started that way.” pg. 285 Boo
“He moved then, his hand sliding from her shoulder. He stretched out on his side, his chest against her shoulders, so that she lay between him and the fire. “Lay back against me,” he said, quiet. “Just until you get warm.” pg. 286 Cuddling!
“she felt herself arch into the kiss, slow and sweet. He kissed her back, gently, but she could feel the faint traces of heat in it, feel the way his mouth pushed hungrily at hers, and it made her heart race even more swiftly.” pg. 287 Yay!
“I’m not going to take advantage of that.” pg. Good
“Crows. The cawing crows. The cawing of thousands of crows.” pg. Oh no
“She was prisoner at Kord’s steadholt.” Oh no
Odiana’s backstory is terrible :(
“Being captured, Tavi thought, was a twofold evil. It was both uncomfortable and boring.” Ha
Oh good Fade is ok
“Fade stared vacantly for a moment and then frowned. “Marat eat Alerans.” Surely they don’t actually eat people
“Maybe they like hot dinner,” Fade said, darkly. “Raw dinner.”
Tavi stared at him for a minute. “That’s enough help, Fade.” Ha
“You are the enemy of Marat, and we will partake of your strength.”
Fade whimpered in his throat and clutched at Tavi’s arm hard enough to make it go numb.
“You mean,” Tavi asked, after a moment’s silence, “that you’re going to eat us” What they actually eat people?! I thought that was just xenophobic and propaganda
“To Tavi’s astonishment, the women wore nothing more than the men, and lean, muscular legs, naked, strong shoulders and arms, and other things a proper Aleran boy was not supposed to see (but wanted to anyway)” Ha
“Quiet Tavi,” Fade whispered back. “Do not move.” Listen to Fade
“Valleyboy, you have agreed to a Trial of Wits with Kitai. The victor in the trial will be considered to hold the favor of The One on the question you raised.” At least it’s a trial of wits
“Tavi,” Fade said. “You must not do this. Let me face the trial.”
Tavi blinked. “Uh. Fade. It’s a Trial of Wits, remember? Fade shook his head. “Valley of Trees. Remember that.” The boy frowned, turning to Fade. “What do you remember?”
“It is what the Marat call the Wax Forest.” Fade looked past Tavi to the retreating Hashat, his scarred face haunted. “One of you will surely die.” pg. 322 Cheery and why am I getting the vibe that Fade is smarter than what he lets on? And again I ask surely it’s not an actual wax forest made of actual wax right?
“Fidelias blinked. “My. So you’re off to warn Garrison of trouble?” pg. 325 Oh no
“You’re about my height, aren’t you?” pg. 326 Oh no
“Aldrick wiped the blood from his blade and said, “You could at least wait until he’s dead.” pg. 326 Boo
“I’m not sure that was necessary,” pg. 326 It wasn’t necessary :(
“Kord forced Isana to watch what they did to Odiana.” pg. 327 KORD CAN GO DIE >:( he better die by the end of the book
“She’s a woman, Kord. A person. She’s not an animal to be broken.” pg. 327 Facts!
“He struck her with a closed fist.” pg. 328 Hiss
Aric you can do better than this family
“Odiana’s expression changed. The hardness vanished from her eyes, and her mouth dropped open in an expression of something close to horror.” pg. 330 Oh no why what is it?
“It’s called a discipline collar,” pg. 331 That doesn’t sound good
“The way he’s left her, anyone can tell her anything and she’ll keep feeling good as long as she does it. She tries to resist and she’ll . . . and it will hurt her.”
“That’s inhumane” pg. 336 That’s horrible
“It wasn’t Bitten that was with Heddy. It was you, Aric.”
He didn’t look at her. He didn’t speak.
“It was you. That’s why she was trying to draw her father back from juri macto with yours. She wasn’t raped.” pg. 337 Ohhh
“I wouldn’t leave any woman here, Aric” pg. 338 Good
“That’s right. And so is my brother. Bernard will call him to juris macto.” And he’ll win, too.” pg. 338 Is Isana not a Citizen? Can she call a juris macto? I think she could win.
“His partner leered. “I suppose we could always take off those breeches and find out.” pg. 344 Ew
“Bernard’s face flushed. “They might be spoiled cities boys, but they’re Legion, by the furies. They should treat women with more respect.” pg. 345 Preach
“Amara smiled, but didn’t say anything. Bernard flushed even brighter and coughed, looking away.” pg. 345 Ha
“She almost didn’t see through the veil.” pg. 351 Oh
“He went down at once, without so much as a cry or a gasp of pain, and lay still.” pg. 353 Oh no
“Arrest these two and take them to the cells on charges of murder and treason against the Crown!” pg. 354 Oh no
“Snow’s starting up again.” pg. 359 Why is this important? Is the roof going to collapse? Can Isana use the snow? Is the snow going to cool down the smokehouse? Can they drink the snow? Will they melt the snow into water?
“Water” pg. 361 Yes!
“I had a family. My mother and my father. My older brother and two younger sisters. Gaius Sextus destroyed them.” pg. 370 Oh no
“You’re eating them alive?” demanded Aldrick
“Pure,” corrected Aldrick.” pg. 373 Ahhh creepy
“The girl looked around, frantic, her eyes red with tears, body shaking in the cold, her lips blue. “Please,” she gasped, toward Fidelias. “Please, sir. Pleas help me.” pg. 373 Poor girl
“Then he broke her neck.” pg. 375 :(
“Kitai. Your son.” pg. 379 Did I miss something I don’t remember anyone saying if Kitai had a gender or not
“From the ones you call the Icemen.” pg. 384 There are Icemen?
“Fade’s eyes glittered with something like good humor, and ruffled Tavi’s hair with one hand. “Tavi smart. There. Bag of tricks. Be smart, Tavi. Important.” pg. 385 Aww
“Tavi stared up at him in confusion. Until the other boy drew his knife, reached across to the rope that held Tavi thirty feet over the floor of the bizarre forest below and, with an answering smile, used the dark, glassy knife to begin swiftly slicing through Tavi’s rope.” pg. 387 Oh no
“A wax spider. A Keeper of Silence.” pg. 394 Horrifying
“Tavi felt the understanding between them without words needing to be said: truce.” pg. 395 Good
“I am not a child,” Tavi hissed furiously. “I’m older than you. What are you, twelve years old? Thirteen?”
Kitai narrowed his eyes “fifteen” pg. 396 Oh they’re the same age
“Where had Fade got something like that? Tavi wondered. Why had the slave had this pack stored with such efficiency inside his chambers, presumably ready to go at a moment’s notice? He had returned with the pack so quickly that he could not have packed it. It had to been ready to go.” pg. 397 Interesting
“Fire leapt up from the depression in the croach, as high as Tavi’s chest.” pg. 401 Now Tavi is starting a forest fire. Smoky the bear would be disappointed
“You’re a girl.” pg. 402 Ohhh
“I don’t want to lead a girl into that kind of danger.”
The Marat girl scowled. “As if I am any less able to defeat you now than a few moments ago.”
Tavi shook his head, “No, no, it isn’t that.”
“Then what is it?”
He shrugged beneath the blanket. “I can’t explain it. We just - we don’t treat our women the same way we treat our men.”
“That’s stupid” pg. 404 Preach!
“By the One yes, That was his plan all along.” pg. 406 Doroga is smart and yay teamwork
“And the shadowy shape within the mound abruptly shuddered. And moved.” pg. 412 Creepy
“Fire leapt up from the tree in a blaze.” pg. 413 MORE FOREST FIRE! At this rate they’re going to burden down the whole wax forest
“Kitai had saved his life.
She had trusted his plan to get them both out of the chasm alive.
He was the only one who could help her.
Tavi let go of the rope.” pg. 415 LET’S GO!!!
“Oh crows, Tavi thought. It knows. It knows I’m going for the ropes.” pg. Oh no 417
Doroga is strong threw that boulder
Kitai better not die
“It took Tavi a frozen, endless moment to separate the beating of his own heart, the rush of blood in his own ears, from hers. They beat together, perfectly in time.” pg. 420 Cool
“I know,” Bernard said, face flushing bright red. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
“You earthcrafted me.”
“I’m sorry” pg. 430 So can earthcrafters induce lust?
“Bernard,” said Harger cheerfully. “I was just asking Pluvus here if we shouldn’t let you out and he said yes’” Harger seized Pluvus’s hair and vigorously rocked his head back and forth. “See? The boy can’t handle his drink, I’m afraid.” pg. 432 Ha
“I’m counting how many ways I’ll be executed, Your Ladyship.” pg. 436 Ha
“There’s a hoard out there. And about ten thousand of them are coming right behind me.” pg. 446 Oh no
“They came without warning. The Marat surged forward, thousands of screaming throats with one voice,” pg. 451 Scary
“The legionaries fought with ruthless efficiency.” pg. 452 Go legionaries
“Let the surgeons see to the men that are hurt” Pirellus said, his tone firm. “Get yourself some water, too centurion.” pg. 457 Good for Pirellus for being a good leader
“Something’s occurred to me,” Amara said. “This doesn’t make any sense.” pg. 457 Oh
Sky battle very cool
“Crows and furies, are you alright? Where are they coming in?”
“The gate,” Amara gasped. “The firepots. Get them off the gate. Hurry.” pg. 465 Oh no
“In answer, the firepots, a waiting on the walls besides the firecrafters now pinned down by the gale winds above them, exploded into blinding flame.” pg. 466 Oh no
“She could only watch in horror as the Marat, howling like madmen, hauled the gates of Garrison to kindling before her eyes, and began to pour into the fortress.” pg. 467 Oh no
“Scalping me,” Amara thought. “They’re taking my hair.” pg. 470 Oh no
“Bravely done, girl. Shamed those city boys into the fight into the fight at last.” pg. 471 Yay
“Gram looked from Amara to Harger, then back again. “Fear,” he said. “Fire.” pg. 475 So firecrafting induces fear
Good work Gram and Amara with the touch that was some powerfull firecrafting all the Marat scattered
“Thousand upon thousands of Marat” pg. 481 Oh no
“The Marat got into the Valley yesterday. Sometime last night. They attacked Aldoholt and burned it down. As far as we can tell, no one made it out.” pg. 484 Oh no :(
“We heard you were having company and thought we’d invite ourselves over to help entertain them.” pg. 488 Ha
“Really? Women better than a Legion watercrafter” pg. 490 Yes, why is that such a surprise? I know why misogyny
“He embraced her, hugged hard, and lifting her up off the ground.” pg. 491 Aww
“These walls are made of layers of interlocking strata girl” pg. 493 Rude
Oh no Kord’s here
“There’s a very limited amount of trouble the women can make in any case.” pg. 497 I wouldn’t be too sure of that
“And then, with a screeching of breaking earth they began to grow” pg. 503 So cool that they were able to make the walls higher
“Pirellus nodded to her. “You were right last night,” he’s said. “I was wrong” pg. Takes a big man to admit they were wrong
“They’re in the east warehouse, and it’s already been secured.”
“Already been secured,” Giraldi growled. “How do you know?”
“Doors was locked” pg. 508 So Isana and Kord are in the east warehouse
“Here they come” pg. 508 Alright second round here we come
“Each man loosened an arrow five or six breaths.” pg. 510 Impressive
“Giraldi abruptly seized her shoulder and dragged her back from the edge. “Not without a helmet,” he growled.” pg. 512 Thank you Giradi for enforcing safety
“H-hiding” Pluvus stuttered. “I found them hiding under their father’s bunks in the barracks.” pg. 513 Aw
“Amara who began to turn, felt splitters of wood flickering against her cheek” pg. Close too close
“She lifted her eyes to the barracks and saw Fadelias.” pg. Oh no
Poor Pirellus :( he was growing on me
“There,” Giradi said, pointing. An arrow shattered on his shield, and he didn’t flinch.” pg. Cool
“was the signet dagger of an Aleran High Lord” pg. The guy just let him have it?! It’s damning evidence that Aquitaine is plotting against the First Lord
“Out on the plain, beyond the savage hoard of Marat below, there had come another hoard” pg. 521 Oh no
“Then he turned to her, slipping an arm around her waist, and kissed her” pg. 525 Yay!
“Uncle Bernard! Uncle Bernard!” he shouted, pointing to Doroga. “He followed me home! Can we keep him?” pg. 528 Ha and my boy is back!
Nice job using the globe Isana
Nice job tracking Kord with watercrafting
Yay Isana won the fight now can we please remove the collar on Odiana
“Tavi,” Bernard said, and engulfed the boy in a rib-cracking embrace.” pg. 539 Aw :)
“Isana, unmistakably his aunt, even if he didn’t see her, wrap her arms around him and hugged him.” pg. 539 Aw :)
“Are they betting on the fight?” Amara asked incredulous
Tavi nodded. “Yeah they do that. Doroga won his daughter betting on me.”
“What?”
“Shhhhh.” pg. 543 Ha
“Five silver bulls on Doroga,” pg. Tavi responded
“You’re on” pg. 544 Ha
“He tricked him!” Tavi said, gleefully
“Hush” said Amara
“He’s got him now” Bernard said.” pg. 544 Ha
“He’s got the dagger! Kill the boy” pg. 548 Run Tavi Run
“They’re trying to kill you!”
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re here to tell me that” pg. 551 Ha
“Frederic stepped forward, in front of Tavi” pg. 551 Go Frederic!
“Damn you, Fidelias!” pg. 559 Boo Fidelias
“We’re trapped” pg. 559 Oh no
Oh no Bernard
“If Araris Valerian himself was here, he couldn’t beat me. And you aren’t Araris.” pg. 563 If Araris could show up at any minute now that’d be great
“Fade stood over Tavi,” pg. 563 Go Fade!
“Fade’s sword whipped toward Aldrick’s face, and split the white scar there open anew, blood flowing.” pg. 563 Ohh
“Aldrick dropped back into a guard position, watching Fade, his eyes wide, his redden face going pale. “No,” he said. “No” pg. 563 He’s freaking out
“You aren’t,” Aldrick snarled. “You can’t be. You’re dead.” pg. 564 I take it Fade is actually Araris
“Aldrick has always thought in lines. So I thought in curves.” pg. 566 So cool
“Then, in one swift motion, she drew back the knife and flicked it at Fidelias back.” pg. 567 Yea let’s go!
“Tavi cried quietly, until the darkness swallowed him.” pg. 568 Poor Tavi
“The cries within Garrison were joined by others - the screams of terrified children.” pg. 571 Oh no
Go Isana!
“You could have killed me at Kordholt. Or simply left me behind. You did neither. You could have given me to the Cursor girl. You did not. It deserved a reply. This is mine.” pg. 576 Glad that Odiana helped
“Then…” Isana closed her eyes. “Then we go home.” 577 Yay
“Tavi let out a glad cry and threw himself across the space of beds at his uncle, hugging him tightly.” pg. 582 Aw :)
“You’re a hero”
Tavi blinked “Uh. I am?” pg. 583 Yes you are!
“Bernard grinned and leaned forward giving Isana a kiss on the forehead.” pg. 584 Aw :)
“She laughed and kissed his forehead” pg. 585 Aw :)
“Doomed, young warrior. Doomed. But her mother and I started off that way.
Tavi blinked. “What?”
“We will see another again.” Doroga turned to go
“What?” Tavi said again. “Her mother what? Doroga wait” pg. 587 Ha and Doroga is a shipper
“The stranger smiled. “My name is Gaius Sextus.” pg. 589 Ohh it’s Gaius, Tavi’s maybe probably grandpa
“After that, everything got just sort of…”
“Got complicated” Gaius suggested”
“Tavi flushed and nodded. “Exactly” pg. 589 Ha
“Then I want you to help the holders who got hurt, and families of those who were killed. Winter’s coming on, and it’s going to be hard for all of us.” pg. 590 Aw that’s nice of Tavi
“I believe you can. Then if you will accept it will be done. I will give you patronage for attendance at the Academy and assist you in your fields of study.” pg. 590 Yay!
“Lady Aquitaine smiled. Then she stepped around the tub and let silk robe from her shoulders. She slide into the water with Fidelias and wrapped her arms around the man’s shoulders.” pg. 592 Whoa there
“Fidelias watched as Gaius Caria, First Lady of Alera, wrapped her arms around Lord Aquitaine and drew him closer to her.” pg. 593 Ohhh the scandal
“He stood up and looked down at her eyes, smiling. “Amara. Well done.” pg. 594 Yay!
“For courage, loyalty, and resourcefulness in the face of enemies of the Realm, Frederic of Brenardholt, I do hereby dub thee a Knight of the Realm” pg. 595 Yay!
“By the authority of the Crown, I do hereby dub thee Bernard, Court of Calderon.” pg. 596 Yay!
“Gaius laughed, the sound rich and rolling. “I look young for my age.” pg. 596 Ha
“You be good to him. Or you and I will have words.” pg. 597 Ha I love that Doroga threatens Gaius
“Pluvus Pentius, who had saved a handful of children from a wounded herdbane by clubbing it to death with his accounts ledger.” pg. 597 Cool!
“Amara saw something cold there, something defiant, and she blinked at the old woman” pg. 598 Oh add that to my suspicions
“Gaius drew in a slow breath and nodded.
“The boy. Your-“
“Nephew, sire”
“Nephew. Of course.” Gaius glanced aside at Amara.” pg. 598 More suspicions
“Tavi of Bernardholt, please step forward
There was an eager murmur from the crowd.
But no one stepped forward.
Amara frowned. “Tavi of Bernardholt. Please step forward.”
Still, no one did” pg. 599 Ha
“He, um. He seems to be rather independently minded sire.” pg. 599 Ha
“And so the First Lord of Alera, surrounded by subjects, Citizens, and Knights of the Realm watched in silence while Tavi drove home Dodger’s little flock of ewes and lambs, the shaggy haired Fade loping along beside him.” pg. 600 Nice ending
Final thoughts
I enjoyed the book. I liked most of the characters (looking at you Kord). I liked magic systems. I liked the fights. I’m still trying to piece together what happened with Kitai. Something happened and they seem connected? I’m still on the Gaius is related to Tavi, maybe his grandfather Isana and Gaius talk was suspicious. We have 3 Bi Tavi moments. I should look and see how Amara describes Bernard and see if
I think the funniest thing about Jeff Smith’s Bone graphic novel is that he introduces the Bones as the regular people, and the human characters are the weird ones in the strange land that the Bones stumbled upon.
My favorite take re: Bone is that if the story is Jeff Smith’s take on LOTR, the Bones are the story’s hobbits: they’re a physically smaller race of humanoids who are the main viewpoint characters and come from a strange land that’s closer to the modern day aesthetically & thematically along with being super far off from the story’s main plot and setting.
Even putting aside all of the criticisms of Restoration that I’ve heard through the grapevine, I don’t think I’m gonna watch it for a long while b/c I’m just not ready to say goodbye to a series that really helped me get through college & inspired me as an artist & that I sincerely love.
Red vs. Blue has an entire story arc all about the importance of saying goodbye to a loved one… I just wish I could take that to heart.
Here’s a thing I’ve had around in my head for a while!
Okay, so I’m pretty sure that by now everyone at least is aware of Steampunk, with it’s completely awesome Victorian sci-fi aesthetic. But what I want to see is Solarpunk – a plausible near-future sci-fi genre, which I like to imagine as based on updated Art Nouveau, Victorian, and Edwardian aesthetics, combined with a green and renewable energy movement to create a world in which children grow up being taught about building electronic tech as well as food gardening and other skills, and people have come back around to appreciating artisans and craftspeople, from stonemasons and smithies, to dress makers and jewelers, and everyone in between. A balance of sustainable energy-powered tech, environmental cities, and wicked cool aesthetics.
A lot of people seem to share a vision of futuristic tech and architecture that looks a lot like an ipod – smooth and geometrical and white. Which imo is a little boring and sterile, which is why I picked out an Art Nouveau aesthetic for this.
With energy costs at a low, I like to imagine people being more inclined to focus their expendable income on the arts!
Aesthetically my vision of solarpunk is very similar to steampunk, but with electronic technology, and an Art Nouveau veneer.
So here are some buzz words~
Natural colors!
Art Nouveau!
Handcrafted wares!
Tailors and dressmakers!
Streetcars!
Airships!
Stained glass window solar panels!!!
Education in tech and food growing!
Less corporate capitalism, and more small businesses!
Solar rooftops and roadways!
Communal greenhouses on top of apartments!
Electric cars with old-fashioned looks!
No-cars-allowed walkways lined with independent shops!
Renewable energy-powered Art Nouveau-styled tech life!
Can you imagine how pretty it would be to have stained glass windows everywhere that are actually solar panels? The tech is already headed in that direction! Or how about wide-brim hats, or parasols that are topped with discreet solar panel tech incorporated into the design, with ports you can stick your phone charger in to?
(((Character art by me; click the cityscape pieces to see artist names)))
If you’re unemployed, it’s not because there isn’t any work.
Just look around: A housing shortage, crime, pollution; we need better schools and parks. Whatever our needs, they all require work. And as long as we have unsatisfied needs, there’s work to be done.
So ask yourself, what kind of world has work but no jobs? It’s a world where work is not related to satisfying our needs, a world where work is only related to satisfying the profit needs of business.
This country was not built by the huge corporations or government bureaucracies. It was built by people who work. And, it is working people who should control the work to be done. Yet, as long as employment is tied to somebody else’s profits, the work won’t get done.
rwby textpost memes pt23!! on second thought i feel like the penny one could alternatively be used for the blacksmith but i already made it >:) so i’m not gonna change it >:)
I was in line at Aldi and this girl with two toddlers in front of me had her card declined and she looked so fucking sad and said “let me call my husband real quick” and it was only 18 dollars, so I just paid for it, and she was very sweet and then as she walked off, the lady behind me said `”You know that was probably a scam, right?” and like, even if it was, like what a sad fucking scam, right? 18 dollars at the Aldi. If you’re “scamming” me for some Tyson chicken and apple juice and cauliflower, then just take my fucking money.
This happened to me, too. A woman had used WIC for the majority of her stuff (which I say from personal experience is such a long and embarrassing process) and to buy the remainder of her groceries, which included diapers and wipes, she used a card, and it got declined. I bought the other $30 of her groceries because hey, I’ve been there, and now I’m not. She was extremely emotional and began to cry and even hugged me. My mom called me on the drive home and could tell I had been crying myself, asked what was wrong, and when I told her what happened, she berated me for being “duped.” I couldn’t believe she could be so disappointed in one of her children for doing something- nice? Is that the hill you want to die on? Getting mad about people needing groceries?
I once paid for a woman’s bill at the vet…it wasn’t a big one, but she was trying to pay for some medication for her dog, and her card was declined. And her lip started trembling, and she says “I don’t get paid until Tuesday, would he be ok until then?”
So I just told them to add the $20 something onto my bill, and I thought she was going to break down crying right there.
And I don’t care if it was a scam or not. Just do nice things for people sometimes.
So this has happened to me but from the other side. Several years ago when my oldest was around three or so, I had my debit card decline at Walmart. It wasn’t a scam or a mistake, I was genuinely broke. Out of money. I checked my bank and discovered I had something like 7 dollars left to my name and a hungry kid and nothing to eat at home. So I sat there trying to come up with the best way to stretch that tiny amount of money to feed my kid. Not even to feed me. I can live on popcorn or something if I have to but my kid was three and he had to eat. So there I am trying really hard not to cry while I slowly take things out of my basket to get it down to under 7 bucks, when a lady tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up and she smiled at me and started putting the things back in my cart. I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t have the money for them but she stopped me right away and said “Don’t worry about it. It’s gonna be fine.” Then she handed the cashier her credit card and said “Ring up all of it.” My kid got to eat because of her. I got to eat because of her. I had laundry soap and deodorant because of her. She could’ve just ignored me silently struggling in that line. She could’ve decided I was a scam and gone home feeling good about avoiding being duped. But instead she chose to help me and she saved us. So maybe the person struggling in front of you is trying to put one over on you or maybe they are just sad and broke and trying to figure out what to do. You get to decide which you want to believe and what you want to do. But I’ll tell y’all, no one has ever been more beautiful to me than that lady in that line who saved me and my baby. Be like her. Be beautiful.
One time, my dad and I were living the grocery store and there was a guy outside asking for money to buy some stuff to take home for his kids. It was around Christmas time. My dad asked him if he could give him groceries instead of money, and the guy immediately said yes, so my dad gave him one of everything we bought (meat, rice, some chocolates, milk, oil). At that time, my dad hadn’t gotten his paycheck because the company he worked for was going through a tough time, but he didn’t care, he saw an opportunity to help someone and he did.
Another time, my dad gave 50 bucks to a guy who said he needed to buy medicine for his kids. I told my dad he was probably going to spend the money on alcohol or something, but my dad said that “whether he was lying or not says something about HIS character, but hearing someone in need and choosing not to help when I have the means to says something about mine”.
“whether he was lying or not says something about HIS character, but hearing someone in need and choosing not to help when I have the means to says something about mine”
About a decade ago, I was trying to figure out how to put together a holiday meal for my little household, with only $7 to my name. We were joking around about it and stuff, because it’s better to laugh than cry, and this very nice older lady noticed us, and said it looked like we were having fun. I laughed, and told her what we were doing, and she insisted, then and there, on giving us $20 to help us out. We tried telling her we’d be fine, but she would not take no for an answer.
It’s not the first time a stranger’s kindness has helped me during a rough time, but every time it’s happened, it’s made such a huge difference.
If I refused to help out in turn when I can just because the person in need MIGHT be a scammer, it would feel like spitting on the kindness that was shown to me.
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