#thick rote

[sarbofarbie]

“Thick shocked me when he halted and suddenly took my hand. Even through my Skill-walls, I felt the steady warmth of his regard. “I always got angry at my mum when she washed my ears,” he told me. “But she knew I loved her. I love you too, Tom. You gave me a whistle. And pink sugar cake. I’ll try not to be mean to you anymore.”

The simple words caught me off guard. He stood, lips and tongue pushed out, his round little eyes peering at me from under his knit cap. He was a toadish little man, and his nose was running. It had been a long time since I’d been offered love on such a simple and honest basis. Strangely enough, it woke the wolf in me. I could almost see the slow, accepting wag of Nighteyes’ tail. We were pack. “I love you too, Thick. Come on. Let’s get out of the wet.”

- Fool’s Fate, Robin Hobb

This is one of my absolute favorite moments from the tawny man trilogy. I might’ve cried when I first read it 😅

[automatonwithautonomy]

it's just so sickening out here

[msunitedstatesjames]

Oh, Robin Hobb, who else could so seamlessly transition from scenes of torture, tragedy, and death to two friends, carefree and joyful, flying down ice slides together on a glacier in the middle of nowhere?

[cha-lii]

SOMEBODY SEDATE ME

[crowninja]

Thick, of King Dutiful's Coterie.

For @high-summer-rote-bingo

Bingo card + design notes below!

I know, I'm starting with the free space, but the cards that have Thick don't have the other characters I want to draw lol

Notes:

Thick's description from the wiki: "He is short and pudgy, has small ears that are snug close to his head and raggedly cropped hair. He keeps the end of his tongue pushed out of his mouth and the set of his eyelids makes him appear sleepy. His clothes were at first second-hand and too big for him, but since his talent was discovered, he's had clothes that mark him as the Prince's man. Fitz estimates his age to be in his late twenties." I didn't include the tongue being out since I knew I wanted him to be smiling for the portrait, but I tried to stay close to the description. I specially wanted his clothes to be rich and for him to look very dignified, as befits his station.

I have always read Thick as someone with Down Syndrome, so I was looking at references of people of color with DS while drawing. These two in particular:

Sources: shutterstock.com/search/down-syndrome-black / https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/08/25/341672950/people-with-down-syndrome-are-pioneers-in-alzheimers-research

One of the first things I decided was that I wanted him to be surrounded by light to represent his happy Skill-music. I always associate Thick with light and warmth.

Thick's origins are vague since he only came to Buckkeep as part of a traveling group of musicians. I usually draw people from Buck and the surrounding areas with darker skin, but since Thick may not originate from the coastal region I went with a lighter brown skintone.

[sirguyofnothing]

i love you thick. i miss you thick

[cityofbullshit]

"But she knew I loved her. I love you,too,Tom. You give me a whistle.And a pink sugar cake.I'll try not to be mean to you anymore" [...] It had been a long time since I'd been offered love on such simple and honest basis. [...] We were pack.

I'll be honest i burst into tears for both Thick and Fitz here... I'll come back to this post when I'm done crying so I can properly explain why this is so dear to me.

[smoky-solitude]

6D Dungeons & Dragons Characters

Fitz = blue dragonborn ranger (breath weapon, tail, and have an animal companion?? Doesn’t care Dragonborn is mechanically the worst PHB race)

Beloved = tiefling sorcerer (draconic, blue) (hot and naturally good at everything worth being good at)

Chade = drow warlock (he wanted to surprise everyone with his character and surprised no one) (angrily makes a rogue when he causes a TPK with a poorly placed Hunger of Hadar)

Kettricken = elf cleric (someone has to keep the party alive)

Patience = gnome druid (obviously)

Lacey = dwarf fighter (“oh well I suppose I’ll play,” by far the most effective character)

Dutiful = half-elf Druid/Paladin (drawn to paladin values but also indecisive and wants to be a cat)

Nettle = gnome wizard (evocation) (she breaks free of the older sister mindset to be a chaos gremlin with carve spells)

Hap = half-elf fighter (creates boring character in attempt to be useful, but will create increasingly unhinged characters over time)

Burrich = dwarf paladin (stalwart and loyal, doesn’t understand the game. Often wanders away from the table and leave oldest son Chivalry to play for him)

Molly = halfling barbarian (relieved to have a safe place for her rage, enjoys being small and hitting hard)

Verity = Dragonborn barbarian (party notetaker. Prefers watching to playing)

Starling = tiefling bard (obviously)

Thick = halfling rogue (likes rolling a lot of dice)

Web = half-elf bard (likes talking to everyone, moves easily in both worlds)

Bee = goblin sorcerer (wild magic) (enjoys causing chaos by ‘accident,’ and claims it isn’t her fault that wild magic works like that. Wrecks havoc and calls it ‘character choice’)

Bonus villains!

Regal: noble elf warlock (how will they know I sold my soul? I’m a noble elf)

Illi: drow wizard (necromancy) (wants to have legions following her, doesn’t want to keep them alive)

Rawbread: half-orc barbarian (has lost a dozen nearly identical characters, Illi has them all in her undead army)

Dwalia: halfling cleric (‘it’s what my goddess commands, I must follow her instructions’)

Thoughts? Other characters, LST, or RWC?