sanananan

[literaturereads]

"And Cain says, “When you split me and my brother in the womb, you did not divide us evenly. He got kindness, and I got longing. He got complacence, and I got ambition. I want to kill him sometimes. I think sometimes he wants to die.”

- Nathaniel Orion, "Hevel"

[neutralomensart]

I hate him (in a fun way)

[kiaroou]

redraw of something from last year

2024 version:

[hichufox]

Neil Josten being a freak on the court animatic

[renison-truther]

Nora will see a traumatized character and be like is anyone gonna further traumatize this guy? And then not wait for an answer

[eatsbooksarchive]

people complain about c.s. pacat’s writing in capri being sparse and informal, often claiming there isn’t enough access into damen’s head. i have many thoughts on this, but there are two that i need to put into words because they keep just swirling around in my brain.

one being that i think the writing style is simply true to damen’s characterization. the trilogy is almost exclusively from damen’s pov. damen, who is straightforward and blunt. damen, who does not allow himself to sit in his feelings because then he would not be able to take the action he needs to. damen, who, when he does give way to his feelings, often ends up with a sword in his hand and blood spattered on his face. things he cannot risk if he wants freedom, if he wants to protect himself and his kingdom and, eventually, laurent. would it not feel so strange if the writing waxed poetic from damen’s militaristic, straightforward, assessing mind? like really the only times the prose is more fanciful is when it comes to him loving/admiring laurent or him loving/admiring akielos, which just shows the way the writing style accords to the character we’re in the head of. even when he does begin to process his trauma in the epilogue, it’s largely unspoken, just now beginning to wash over him because to engage with it is to be overcome by it. so of course we aren’t wallowing in his emotional state; damen himself can’t even reckon with it.

two being that this style also just puts trust in the reader, which many authors don’t. in my recent experience, i feel like i’m being spoonfed obvious things in a lot of books, which detracts from my experience putting things together while reading. but the thing is, even with the writing being more pared down, you’re never uncertain how damen feels, despite it not being explicitly stated. you’re never feeling gaps in what’s going on because you’re given all that you need to understand the stakes, the world, the connections. there are layers to every word that is written, and there is weight to the ones that aren’t.

i just really love this trilogy so much and think it was so masterfully written and it hurts my heart to see ppl dog on the writing style

[sanaakururu]

Tsc out here breaking my mind, body and soul.

How am I supposed to go back to life without my heart threatening to come out of my mouth because of the hurt????