#Dedicate Rosethorn

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Magnus Chase- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

Dedicate Rosethorn- Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce

[themysticaljellyfish]

“What’s them vines with needles on them? Big, sharp ones, that rip chunks out when you grab ’em?” [Niko] smiled. “Roses. Briars.” He liked the sound of that second one. “Briar, then.” [Sandry's Book, Chapter 1]

This is when Briar chooses his new name. I find it hilarious that he chooses a very similar name to Rosethorn, way before he even knew she existed.

[cryptidindrid]

I just finished Briar’s book today. Haven’t read it in a decade or so. I forgot that That Thing Almost Happens and I was VERY anxious about it

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Rosethorn and Evvy Do the Battle Islands

Ok, so I am still very much adamantly of the opinion that Tamora Pierce, like Naomi Novik, has never written a bad book in her life. That said, of all the Circle Universe books, Evvy's story just kind of slides out of my head. It does not tend to stick the way other books do. That said, it gives a new perspective in the Circle Universe that we don't often get. Evvy does not have a magical connection to three foster siblings, and she, like Briar, just survived a war and is dealing with pessimism, PTSD, and trauma-induced misanthropy. Not having three siblings in your head and being all of ten years old makes dealing with that HARD. Let's talk Melting Stones.

*Circle Universe Spoilers below; proceed with caution*

Evvy is not ok when this book gets going. She takes self-defense from a gang of bullies a step too far and Rosethorn has to take her away from Winding Circle for a while. Unfortunately, Rosethorn and Evvy's traveling companion, Dedicate Myrrhtide, is an absolute dick about not only Evvy's recent behavior, but also about not respecting that Evvy was *checks notes* IN A GODDAMN WAR. Even Rosethoren tells him that he deserves the broken nose Evvy gives him when he blatantly disrespects the "do not touch us to wake us up or get us out of meditative trances because PTSD" boundary that both Evvy and Rosethorn set. He respects it with Rosethorn without question, but because Evvy is a child--and worse, a child her percieves as having "behavioral issues"--he fully does not respect that boundary. Evvy has to fully show him her scars from where the Yanjing mages whipped her feet to ribbons when she was taken prisoner for it to get through Myrrhtide's thick-ass skull that she MEANS it.

The fact that Evvy has to PROVE her trauma to Myrrhtide pissed me off enough that while a lot of this book slips out of my head, that interaction never ever has. Literally nobody is OWED proof of your trauma, and fuck them for putting you in a position where you feel like you have to prove it to them. JFC. We do NOT stan Dedicate Myrrhtide in this house. We like him EVEN LESS than Dedicate Crane. At least Crane had a damn heart.

When Evvy and Co. arrive at the Battle Islands, my geology professor dad would be very surprised and proud of me that I called "HOLY TITS VOLCANO" when I first heard that crops were dying and water sources were going acidic. It was a little frustrating how long it took everyone else to figure it out, but a green mage and a water mage really shouldn't be expected to get it faster than they did, and Evvy is a student mage still, and her education was a bit piecemeal because...*gesures broadly*.

What was interesting was watching Evvy learn to like and appreciate humans again in real-time while also being explicitly called out for thinking that rocks are superior to humans. That's such an understandable position to take for Evvy, because she got betrayed HARD by people, and becoming stone literally saved her life in Gyongxe. If I were a child and lived through that, I'd also prefer rocks to people. Hell, experiencing that as an ADULT I'd probably come out the other side preferring rocks to people.

Some of this also drives the plot, because Evvy misses some pretty big red flags from Flare and Carnelian--our antagonist magma spirits. The fact that they get the island evacuated before the volcano really blows is kind of miraculous, and the fact that Evvy and three village kids who got trapped with her on the island during the eruption survived is even more miraculous.

Evvy's experiences ultimately lead to her choice to become a novice at Winding Circle, which honestly is fine. It's fine.

I don't honestly have a ton to say about this one, other than it's doing something very different from what the Circle of Magic Quartet did, and Evvy was, for me, less compelling as a protagonist than Sandry, Daja, Briar, and Tris were. That said, I actually think that Evvy's story is absolutely CRITICAL in the Circle Universe, because I have to imagine that Evvy's is a much more representative story of the world.

Our Circle Quartet protagonists are unique; Evvy's story could graft onto any number of neglected or abandoned kids. It's a critical story to be told, and I appreciate that the book does not hide how difficult recovery and learning to trust humans again can be when you aren't atypically mature and supported. For that, I think Evvy's story is an invaluable addition, and I suspect it speaks to a demographic of kids and adolescents that desperately needs more representation and attention. Pierce does not shy away from the fact that reality happens to kids too, and the rest of us need to open our eyes and see that too.

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Another reason why the the Circle of Magic is so so good: the teachers and the school setting are done perfectly!

There is none of that Harry Potter bullshit where the teachers and adult figures were neglectful, incompetent or abusive. The teachers in Circle of Magic are amazing. They all have different teaching styles, but they dedicate themselves to their students and do a wonderful job. They make mistakes, but realistic ones and then they fix them.

Not only are they great teachers, but the Winding Circle Temple isn't just a school, it's a home. Hogwarts was a school, and the students lived there, but it never seemed to be a good home. There are very few adults, all intimidating and not very personal. There is unchecked bullying and very little free time. It's just never ending school with some holidays thrown in.

The Winding Circle Temple, on the other hand, feels like a home. First, a temple is such a neat setting for a children's book. They actually talk about midnight service, religious figures and holidays, and philosophy. It's very neat.

The kids have plenty of lessons, but they also have free time, and the teachers are also good caretakers. Lark teaches the kids handstands and tumbling. Frostpine told them stories. Rosethorn taught them how to make sun lotion. Gorse gives them treats whenever they drop by. Lark and Rosethorn take the kids to markets and festivals. Throughout it all, the adults are responsible, teach the kids all sorts of life lessons and skills, and are really amazing adult characters.

This is how a school type book should be written.

[httyd-art-requests]

📌

(Originally one-httyd-a-day)

Read the rules‼️

Requests are currently CLOSED!

Commissions are open!

[Started on 2024/01/01]

Hello! :D

This blog was started in honor of the 2024 Year of the Dragon, which also happened to be a leap year, aka Hiccup Haddock's birthday year. This blog was originally a daily art blog, but I changed it to an art request blog due to burnout and the sheer amount of requests people have sent me.

That being said, I'm drawing YOUR 🫵 HTTYD requests - which are periodically open. You can see whether requests are open by checking this pinned post, or in the bio of the blog itself.

Any requests sent in during the closed period will be thoroughly ignored.

(I'm in the process of fulfilling old requests - sit tight!)

I hope my fellow HTTYD fans will appreciate this blog, and I hope you'll stick around <3

Toothless in Gravity Falls crossover (Ad Astra AU):

⭐️ Part 1

⭐️ Part 2

⭐️ Part 3

⭐️ Part 4 (1/2) (2/2)

⭐️ Part 5 (?)

⭐️ Hiccup and the twins

⭐️ Stanley getting harrassed by Terrible Terrors

⭐️ Toothless and Bill

Request criteria under the cut!

🤎 Dragons I will draw for you:

Dragons from all three of the movies

Canon dragons (Toothless, Stormfly, Cloudjumper etc)

Dragons from the spinoff shows (Riders/Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge)

🤎 Dragons I will not be drawing:

Dragons from the HTTYD games (Rise of Berk, School of Dragons, Dawn of new Riders and Titan Uprising)

Hybrid dragons

Dragons from The Nine Realms

Dragons from the books (This blog is dedicated to the animated franchise)

Fanmade species

I love you and I appreciate you being here. Thank you for following my silly dragon project 🤎

[HTTYD OC blog: @wardenofdragons]

[Main blog: @theonewiththeideas]

🤎Dragons I've already done🤎

In order of posting:

Death Gripper | Stormcutter | Deadly Nadder | Gronckle | Monstrous Nightmare | Zippleback | Snaptrapper | Hobblegrunt | Silver Phantom | Scauldron | Reignstorm (Rise of Berk) | Woolly Howl | Auroma (Rise of Berk) | Thunderdrum | Death Song | Flightmare | Night Fury | Skrill | Dart (Nightlight) | Dramillion | Typhoomerang | Terrible Terror | Razorwhip | Screaming Death | Light Fury | Changewing | Sandbuster | Sand Wraith | Speed Stinger | Boneknapper | Timberjack | Nightlight | Singetail (Freezeburn from Rise of Berk) | Sentinel |Prickleboggle | Sliquifer | Skyfire (Rise of Berk) | Shivertooth | Tuffnut's Chicken | Groncicle | Scuttleclaw | Shockjaw | Brute Stormcutter (Rise of Berk) | Egg Biter | Slitherwing | Triple Stryke | Red Death | Eruptodon | Tide Glider | Skrill × Stormcutter Hybrid (my design) | Zipplewraith (Titan Uprising) | Drago's Bewilderbeast | Toothless :) | Sea Shocker | Windstriker | Catastrophic Quaken | Rumblehorn | Titan Woolly Howl | Baby Typhoomerang | Baby Bewilderbeast | Rosethorn (Rise of Berk) | Hobgobbler | Bone Gripper (Bonknapper × Death Gripper Hybrid) | Viggo's Skrill (and Viggo) | Smothering Smokebreath | Deathly Galeslash (Titan Uprising) | Raincutter | Grim Gnasher | Snow Wraith | Snafflefang | Ruffnut's Trancemare (Rise of Berk) | Night Fury OC (Warden) | Fireworm | Fireworm Queen | Scimiterror (Rise of Berk) | Wise Wind (Rise of Berk) | Flame Whipper | Sand Wraith × Night Fury Hybrid (my design) | Monstrous Nightmare × Deadly Nadder Hybrid (my design) | Stormfly and Astrid | Non-Binary Pride Terrible Terror | Transgender Pride Night Fury | Asexual Pride Night Fury | AroAce Pride Changewing | Transgender Pride Hookfang and Snotlout | Asexual Pride Deadly Nadder | Aromantic Pride Scuttleclaw | AroAce Pride Night Fury | Asexual Pride Light Fury | Progression Pride Gronckle | Bisexual Pride Stormcutter | Bisexual Pride Deadly Nadder | Agender Pride Sandbuster | Cupiosexual and Cupioromantic Pride Night Fury x Skrill Hybrid | Exiled Stormcutter (Rise of Berk) | Lesbian Crimson Goregutter | Gravedigger (Rise of Berk) | Hackatoo | Night Fury × Death Song Hybrid | Aroace Speed Stinger | Asexual Silver Phantom | Light Fury × Sand Wraith Hybrid | Bambi Lesbian Terrible Terror | Concept Art Light Fury | Pouncer and Ruffrunner | Hunterbolt (Rise of Berk) | Color swapped Night- and Light Fury | Marinecutter (Rise of Berk) | (Sleeping) Night Fury | Patch and Scribbler from Dawn of New Riders | Lycanwing Hiccup | Terrible Terror Hiccup | Quartz Wraith (Rise of Berk) | Toothless :) |

[featheryminx]

As a child, I basically didn’t even know what gay was. I’m pretty sure until Obergefell in 2015 it was never explicitly brought up to me

And even then, I knew that Lark and Rosethorn were together. It was never a question in my head; like, them being in a romantic partnership was about as surprising as the sun rising in the east. I didn’t know that I knew it and if you had asked me to name books with gay people in them I wouldn’t have been able to give you this title, but by god did I know that these women loved each other in a way that wasn’t purely platonic.

Was there anyone in the world fooled by the publishers' insistence that Tamora Pierce specifically designate Lark and Rosethorn as friends for the first four books

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Cohmac Vitus- High Republic by Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, and Daniel José OlderDedicate Rosethorn- Circle of Magic series by Tamora PierceSaya Keem- The High Republic by Daniel José OlderJimmy Kaga-Ricci- I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

[chen-chen-chen-again-chen]

WIP Wednesday

Hello hello! Thank you for the tags, @martsonmars, @hushed-chorus, and @artsyunderstudy. As always, I love the glimpses of what you're all working on!! ❤️❤️

I’m still plugging away at my EGF, but today was just backstory notes, so no fun shareable prose from that. I re-listened to AWTWB recently and it gave me a lot of Jamie Feels, so here's another portrait from the Rosethorn girl universe:

He’s a little heavy, but he’s my brother

By Lucy Winifred Salisbury

(Not-quite) Black and white photography

Interview with the subject and the subject’s flatmate, Lachlan MacCionagh (This is for you, @larkral 😆)

A: I already told you, I’m not going to use cleaning spells around the flat. I’d be in heaps of trouble as it is, if anyone found out I told you - 

Q: Jimothy, Jimothy, Jimothy - you didn’t tell me. I found your wand in a pencil cup. 

A: … You shouldn’t just go - rummaging through my things - 

Q: If mages are so dedicated to secrecy, why don’t they make their magic wands look like ordinary objects? Why not make a wand that looks like a fountain pen so that when someone saw it, they’d think, “Oh look, a fountain pen. How commonplace and not at all suspect.”  

A: … 

Q: Jimothy, how many magical objects are hidden around this flat?

A: That’s not - 

Q: Challenge accepted. 

More blather, resolutions, & tags behind the cut, because I’m never going to master the art of writing shortform for Tumblr. 😆

Robot overlords: I’m quite torn about using DALL-E 2 now, because of the discourse on AI-generated art and stolen datasets, but I’m still emotionally attached to the art that was part of brainstorming Rosethorn girl. 

After a lot of wrestling, I decided that I’m still going to share some of my favourite DALL-E 2 generations, but I won’t be generating any new ones. It’s a murky compromise, but that’s where I’m at right now!

My shit lungs: After three weeks, I’m finally, finally getting better and feeling more like myself. I'm still slow and shaky and crawling along at a snail’s pace when it comes to writing, but I’ll take it. 

My head hasn't been in a fandom space at all for the past three weeks, so I'm also excited to dive back into reading fic!! But on the writer side, I am going to continue to be gentle with myself and toss expectations for myself out the window.

Resolutions: Some 2023 resolutions, in no particular order: 

Be content with doing less. 

Prioritise your health & well-being over your productivity. 

Keep having good conversations with people. Keep listening. 

Show up for your beloved people the best that you can. 

Keep doing weird shit and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, into your growth zone.

Keep doing art that you’re bad at but that you enjoy. 

Say goodbye to old WIPs - finish them, bury them, post them as they are, or otherwise let them go. 

Walk outside more, especially before writing, as your doorway into diffuse mode. 

Remember to do grounding/self-compassion exercises before, during, & after writing difficult things. 

Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. 

Pressure-free hello tags! @bookish-bogwitch, @cutestkilla, @dohrnaira, @facewithoutheart, @johnwgrey, @larkral, @moodandmist, @nightimedreamersworld, @raenestee, @sailorblossoms, @whogaveyoupermission, @thewholelemon, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[best-green-character]

Okay hello I submit the following: Beast Boy (teen Titans), Elphaba (Wicked), Double Trouble (She-Ra PoP), Jeremy Owens (Stagtown, depicted in monochromatic green as color-coding with other main characters), the Green Wind (The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making; I just think this series is cool), Link (Legend of Zelda), actually, Link (Ocarina of Time), Link (Majora’s Mask), Sakura Futaba (Persona 5), Molly (Lumberjanes), Madame Vastra (Doctor Who), Dedicate Rosethorn and Briar Moss from the Circle of Magic books (they’re plant mages, called green mages, Rosethorn wears green because of this and Briar has green eyes this is extremely tenuous logic but I love my blorbos), Molly Blyndeff (Epithet Erased—green eyes/color elements and hee magic powers manifest as green), Kazul King of the Dragons and Roxim (Enchanted Forest Chronicles), Calvin “Freckle” McMurray (Lackadaisy—green is his character color), Green Hannah (Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood), Gremlin Babushka (Gremlin Babushka—webcomic), Imsh (1 HP Club), Toph Beifong and King Bumi (ATLA), Legolas Greenleaf (LOTR), Princess Muffin from Once Upon a Tower. Thank you for your patience.

Added! :)

[misscammiedawn]

What are some of your best/favorite/most memorable media moments/segments you've experienced recently? Why those moments?

I'm just going to gush about the Emelan/Circle of Magic books by Tamora Pierce for a while.

This post contains full spoilers for the Emelan series, particularly Circle Reforged and Will of the Empress.

@daja-the-hypnokitten (name not a coincidence) got me interested in reading Tammy's work after we started dating last year and I burned through all of Tortall in a matter of months.

I haven't read this much in my life. Normally 2-4 books a year was me at my peak. So far I am on 25 and I'm still working on another 2 at the moment and am preparing to tackle another 3 if I have time before the next Numair book.

In recovery I have read Shatterglass, Will of the Empress and Melting Stones.

I also just finished Cold Fire days before the surgery.

I'll focus all my thoughts on WotE though. Because it is the culmination of the series (and also it's been a few months since I read Briar's Book).

The Circle of Magic series is about 4 traumatized children who for reasons are without family and are raised in a monastery dedicated to natural magics. Each of the 4 have ambient magic and after the first book a deep psychic connection to one another that causes them to bleed in to one another.

One of the 4 is as blatant of a BPD allegory as can be (albeit Daine is still my BPD projection character for Tammy's works) who was expelled from her family and overheard conversations where she was treated as an unwanted *thing* to be gotten rid of and one grew up in extreme poverty and is defined by the class divide between his roots and his current circumstances.

So I see a lot of myself in them. I'm not always one for reading books as a mirror, but if they're going to show me a character who has deep seeded abandonment issues because her parents literally kicked her out then I'm not going to turn my nose up. Especially if she has red hair.

This book involves the 4 of them returning from their travels in the prior quartet, bearing scars of further trauma as each of the Circle Opens books involves them being up against literal murderers and being forced to grapple the ethics of justice. Daja brutally incinerated a man she thought of as a friend *as a kindness*, Sandry performed corrupted magic and killed 3 people who may not have deserved to die. Briar's trauma runs so deep that we do not even get to learn about it for another 2 books. I still haven't read what hurt Rosethorn's boy so badly, though I can imagine it pretty well after seeing him grapple with his PTSD.

They are wounded. Hurt and defensive.

And the home they wished to return to, a monastery cottage, turns them away for being over 16 and no longer pupils. 4 orphans out on their ass, hurting deeply and feeling completely abandoned in their suffering-- worried that their Family, the 4, would reject them should they open up about their experiences.

Which brings me to the first of the 4 scenes I wish to talk about.

The first chapter of the book was hard for me. Daja was the first to find out that she was no longer welcome at the place she called home. Her teacher was foolish about how he handled it and Daja went cold and stoic. I've been Daja in moments like that. I'm not proud of it, but sometimes when something you cannot process is coming you simply don't think about it and reject it when it comes about.

Daja ends up buying a house, something her mastery of Smith magic allows her to do, because she needed to have something... some*where* that couldn't be taken from her. She expected her siblings to live with her when they returned. Over the course of 2 years Tris and Briar do return but Sandry remains with her uncle-- all 4 of them have closed off their psychic connection from one another. Sandry is being emotionally immature because she felt abandoned by her Family and expected them to go back to How It Was. Tris, who has found herself unable to make money, hates the idea of charity and insists on acting as a maid and Briar is dealing with trauma and keeping everyone at distance and cannot handle the chaos of the household and the flying green thing is creating constant chaos.

The events of 6 Cheeseman Street broke my heart in the most beautiful way because for a chapter of this book I saw all these people I cared about broken beyond the ability to reconcile. I understood all 4 of them deeply and wanted them to feel better but knew it just couldn't happen. The first chapter takes place over 16 months and the dysfunction doesn't improve because none of them are capable of working on their issues or bonding closer together and the more any of them pushed the more broken things became. 3 of the 4 were living together, they had freedom, agency and respect but in the end it just was a proud and closed up artisan, an anxious and mentally unwell plant boy and a bitter red head who felt like an imposition (with flying green cutie) all suffering within a bond that couldn't open up again.

I contrast that with the ending.

Through the book's events Sandry and Daja opened up their connection and Briar opened up to Tris. The scene where Tris dryly opens up to Sandry and reminds that they are family actually had me crying.

The end of the book is when all 4 are finally connected and they go in through Briar's connection to the roof of the house they all grew up in together, Discipline Cottage. Briar says that he had spent time in a brutal war being tortured and he created this place in his mind to escape to and he was now inviting his siblings to be there with him.

The four just opened up. Shared their traumas, their fears, their pains and they reforged the connection which had been broken and felt one another's presence inside their hearts and minds again and became whole. Which just.

I cry easily, okay... and I just got back on Estrogen 2 weeks ago!

I joked to Daja afterwards that the dysfunction, the opening up, the safe space and all 4 of them sharing a common mind and needing to feel their connection to be able to be a better whole while still maintaining their individuality kind of made it accidentally better DID representation than 99.9% of the stories I've read that actually are about the condition.

Anyway...

I've been enjoying the books a lot. They helped me survive the rough half of my recovery cycle.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Rosethorn, Briar, and Evvy Desperately Need Hugs

So the Circle Reforged books in general tend to be heavier than the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens books, and of those two series, Briar-focused books tend to be heavier than the others. That pattern sticks with Battle Magic, but oh my goodness I love this book with my whole freakin' chest. So let's dispense with the preamble and talk Battle Magic.

*Content Warning: This book focuses on war and soldiers, and there is also torture depicted, so take care of you first, and if this is not something that you can/want to engage with, we will see you another day for another topic with zero judgement.*

*Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens quartets*

We know Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy really well at this point, but the amazing thing about this book is that those relationship dynamics and character needs and wants are challenged in a way that we really have not seen up to this point. There has been combat in other books, and there has been danger, but there is a difference between a pirate raid or a plague or a forest fire or even a murderous Takameri and an empire going to war to conquer another country that happens to house the first Living Circle Temple and there is a sense that the empire would destroy it.

For Rosethorn, there is a massive conflict between duty and desire. Rosethorn just wants to go home, she misses Lark, she misses her girls, and she wants nothing more than to keep her boy and Evvy safe and away from the horrors of war. But her duty is to warn the First Temple, and then Dokyi leverages her duties as a Dedicate to send her off on a mission that has a FANTASTIC chance of more or less eating Rosethorn alive.

We get more time in Rosethorn's head in this than any other book, and it is honestly a fascinating new perspective on my favorite Winding Circle dedicate. Seeing her experience of her body after dying in Briar's Book and being at altitudes and in situations where it is just physically harder for her to exist and still be absolutely ROSETHORN about it. I would never describe Dedicate Rosethorn as having a soft, squishy center, but I'll be damned if compassion isn't woven into every spike and sharp edge the woman has.

I also appreciate Rosethorn's bi representation in the form of her relationship with Parahan. I also appreciate the little bit of perspective we get from Briar about the nature of Rosethorn and Lark's relationship, the fact that it works for them, and that it's not any of Briar's business. That was very deftly handled and very well done.

Now for Briar, the main conflict in this book is him being pulled three ways: His protective streaks for Rosethorn and Evvy and his desire to get involved and be a war mage for the Living Circle to defend the temple and the people the temple protects as well as for Gyongxe. Briar is not new to combat, from his earliest days in a Hajran gang to the pirate raids on Winding Circle and the gang war in Street Magic. What's different is that Briar is considered an adult by every society involved in the Circle Universe, and he is learning that being an adult means balancing oft-contradictory impulses. He cannot shield Rosethorn from thin air, from her duties as a Living Circle dedicate, or from the fact that she can be equally as effective a war mage as she is a green mage. He also cannot protect Evvy from the Empire, as much as he might want to.

This is a rough space to truly learn what it is to be an adult in, and holy cow we see the toll it takes on Briar. It's a really interesting contrast from the gang warfare in his past, and where Tris, Sandry, and Daja were his peers and sisters, Briar's relationships with Rosethorn and Evvy are different and put significantly different pressures on him in this environment. One particularly poignant moment is when he notices that Evvy--who has been using communal baths her entire life--is suddenly absolutely terrified and vulnerable in them because Jia Jui tortured her. That moment really hammered home for Briar that there are consequences for people even if he is pulling unequivocal heroics out of his back pocket every five minutes. Rosethorn knew this going in; Briar needed it driven home.

Another really interesting facet of this book for both Briar and Rosethorn was the fact that a war is a marathon, not a sprint, and where both mages have been able to divide their attention between combat and healing magics, that is not the case in this situation. The consequences of choosing to be either a war mage or a healer mage on any given day make that a complex choice, but it's one that has to be made.

Now, where Rosethorn and Briar are grown-ass adults making adult choices in a terrifying and deeply unfair situation, Evumeimei Dingzai is a literal child and student who ends up being yanked around by circumstance. Tamora Pierce does not shy away from highlighting that in these situations, the people who are often most vulnerable and who have the least agency are the kids, and they--as Evvy does--end up in some truly hideous situations. Evvy survives and heals, but it isn't fast, and it isn't complete at the end of this book, and that I think is critical. One does not just "get over" living through a war in a week. And it's not only the soldiers and people who are actively fighting that live with those consequences.

This books is heartbreakingly even-handed about highlighting that nobody escapes a war truly unscathed. Walking through it with three of my favorite Circle Universe characters was heavy, but so worth it.

[awaylaughing]

10 Faves from 10 Fandoms

I was tagged by @faejilly earlier so here we are! This is in no particular order except the #1 spot is indeed my forever #1

Non-bindingly tagging... @omiomicron, @quantumghosts & @firebirdeternal Also #6 is cheating but it’s also TRUE so idk what to tell you lol

Keladry of Mindelan - Protector of the Small Quartet, Tamora Pierce

Glorfindel of the Golden Flower - Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

Sokka - Avatar the Last Airbender

Sora - Kingdom Hearts

Hyuuga Neji - Naruto

Commander Shepard - Mass Effect OT

Constable Benton Fraser - Due South

Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars (with R2-D2 vying hard for his place)

Dedicate Rosethorn - The Winding Circle, Tamora Pierce

Steve Rogers - Captain America

[shetheyshenanigans]

I think the best way to ensure that your character dynamics don't fall flat and your non-MC characters don't become one-dimensional is to make up at least one piece of lore for every major side-character.

For example, my current WIP has four kingdoms. The main story takes place in Aspares, which has a group of knights known as the Tagma Basiliadon who are the royal family's personal guards. One of the Tagma is my main MC but every Tagma has lore, even if they won't be featured as much as Kir, our MC.

One thing that is often complained about in fiction, is that the MC is disconnected from the side characters, as they are the most specialist character. That's why you have to flesh out even the side characters, otherwise your story is one-dimensional. If you have side characters, they have to have meat AND bones.

(If anyone is interested in the Tagma knights lore, it's under the cut lol)

Note- the book centres around a competition for some of the princesses hand in marriage. As the Tagma are so close to their charges, a lot of them entered to either protect their own charge or were asked by their charge to protect their sisters. Some of them just entered to be competitive lol.

Tagma Basiliadon Lore

Kir Stormhold – stupidly in love with Prince Alexandros but once had a fling with Theon. He is a cutie patootie, and the absolute definition of Baby Girl. If Baby Girls ever flung assassins out of a seven storey building.

Timaeus Thorntree – Princess Calanthe’s OG guard who fell in love with her and got married and is no longer her official guard, but is with her all the time anyways so he’s basically still her guard. Mock rivalry with Daimon, her new guard.

Theon Starkwood – aromantic, bisexual, flirty dude, mother-son vibes with Queen Stasia and the sweariest healer you’ll ever meet. If Queen Stasia asked him to pull off a coup, King Halcyon would already be dead. Grew up with Aegis as he is the Tagma healer’s son, and now spends a lot of time with him due to their respective charges being the King and Queen. He is the most competitive person in any building at any time ever.

Aegis Kingsword – Every single TB dedicated to the King has been a Kingsword. He has a manual written with all of King Halcyon’s quirks, and is in cahoots with Queen Stasia and the kitchens to make him eat more vegetables. Bonded with Theon over growing up Tagma-adjacent.

Castor Queenswood – He is both Prince Damian’s skilful guard, and his Partner In Crime. So many crimes.

Charlus Stormcloud – Entered the competition with the stated goal of “making every Ahabadian I meet cry”, because he is Prince Kamran’s guard, and he wants to prove he’s better. Asked Kir to teach him Ahabadian before Kamran arrived in Aspares. Besties with Ilya, because they bonded over having to stand outside Kamran and Selene’s door at the wedding night.

(Selene is an Asparian Princess and married Prince Kamran of Ahabad)

Nicholas Stormtide – He is obsessed with swimming. He is aware that he is a cliché, as many families with sea-related names are stereotyped as being avid swimmers but he Does Not Care. He had a pet dolphin as a child (the dolphin actually just lived in the bay his family ruled) and once caught a fish bare-handed to impress a girl. She was Not impressed, so he broke up with her and ate the fish himself. He once invited Prince Atlas to join him and his siblings in a jellyfish fight and that’s how everyone found out Atlas is allergic to jellyfish stings.

Dorian Wavebreak – fiercely protective of Princess Artemisia, like all TB, but extra. He has hidden several bodies in her defence. She is 5’4 and he is 6’5 and if anyone ever tries to upset her, he is looming behind her with the deadliest expression possible. He lets her make him flower crowns though.

Gregor Rosethorn – Once intimidated a man into a nervous breakdown because he made Prince Calix upset. Would do it again.

Alexios Amberwood – Alexios is a very dedicated crocheter and the Tagma have come to blood over his pieces before. Princess Ianthe encourages this by buying him the best yarn she can find and he crochets an entire wardrobe and a baby blanket when he finds out she’s pregnant. He has stabbed a man in the eye with a crochet hook before in her defence. He did have a sword with him. He just used the hook instead.

Stavros Ravenhill – Stavros worships the ground Princess Aurelia walks on, because before she married Prince Jason, he was on Jason-wrangling duty by himself. Prince Jason is the definition of “Wouldn’t it be cool if I did X?” and Stavros went and had a private little cry the first time Aurelia talked him out of doing something stupid.

(Jason is Asparian, and Aurelia is a Savarian Princess who married him)

Ilya Frostfall – Besties with Charlus because of their shared Kamlene trauma. Has a twin brother no one knew about and nearly sent the palace into lockdown because his brother came to visit, didn’t know any of the Tagma, and triggered an intruder protocol. His brother isn’t allowed to visit without prior warning anymore.

Leandros Fawnwood – He is allergic to dogs, but if he’s not on duty, he can only be found at the kennels. Made himself a mask to alleviate his symptoms and is constantly begging Theon or Delias to give him herbs so he can spend more time with the dogs. Princess Aurelia brought her pet dog with her from Savaria and it was a breed not found in Aspares, so Leandros is absolutely obsessed with it.

Markos Windrush – He is somehow in charge of the Tagma, and he’d like to give that position back. If he was allowed to drink on duty, he would be having wine nights with Princess Philomena. His one weakness is Children. Not because he just loves their little faces, he is actively Terrified of them.

Hector Crownleaf – Hector has Strong Opinions on the slave trade and democracy. He recognises the irony of being pro-democracy and yet serving a royal family but Aspares is basically a constitutional monarchy so he’ll allow it. Princess Farah definitely does not (wink wink) enable him to murder slavers but every time someone forces him to take a holiday, he disguises himself in Savaria and frees slaves, bringing any Tagma who is available with him and Farah just so happens to give him as much coin as he needs because “oh how much does bread even cost? Take a hundred gold ☺️”

Aeneas Treefall – He is Prince Nikos’ Chief Enabler. Begged him to get Cyprius assigned as his wife’s guard six years ago because he had a crush on him. Has yet to do anything about said crush. (Nikos is married to Cyrine of Cebalia)

Tycho Thorntower – His family name was given when his ancestor deliberately planted thorns all around their tower, so no one would bother them. Tycho is the exact same way, and cares about three things – Prince Ambrose, his Tagma friends and Horses.

Yannis Stoneleaf – Yannis was a cook in the royal kitchens, prevented an assassination attempt on Princess Leora and then took the Tagma Trials for fun. Passed them, has no idea how, and is just vibing as her guard.

Zephyr Stonekeep – He keeps Prince Endymion in the loop of All palace gossip. They’re both very serious, calm, individuals so no one expects Zephyr to be keeping tabs on the local rumours. But he knows Everything.

Cyprius Bellbridge – Would kill a man if Aeneas asked him to. Princess Cyrine is his hypewoman, but he still has not asked Aeneas out.

Daimon Ivyleaf – Calanthe’s new guard, has a mock rivalry with Timaeus and is occasionally their third. Is smarter than Kir or Kasra about it, because he is Deeply Unwilling to deal with the mocking.

Delias Silverwood – Ride or Die for Princess Maia, like all TB. His mother was an apothecary though, and he has been known to threaten bad suitors with herbs that cause *ahem* dysfunction.

Kasra of Sararis – Head over heels for Princess Isidore. Spent his first month in Aspares pretending he couldn’t understand Asparian. Forever making snarky comments in Ahabadian to Kir and Charlus and then acting innocent about it. Master of the Puppy Dog Eyes, but he’s the youngest Tagma and they all have a massive soft spot for him anyways.

(Kasra was originally an Ahabadian knights but his knight mentor came to Aspares with Prince Kamran when he married Princess Selene. The mentor died so Kasra joined the Tagma)

[lebibish]

Yuletide Letter

It's that most wonderful time again! If you are writing for me --Thank You! If you're just interested in seeing what's going on, feel free to explore (and if anything here prompts you towards any kind of creativity, please let me know--I'd love to see it!

Dear Yuletide Author,

Happy end of the year! The Yuletide exchange has been one of my favorite experiences year after year. Below, you will find a lot of different ideas and prompts but DO NOT feel beholden to them (they're in optional details with the key word being optional). I include lots of thoughts because as a writer, I like having some starting places to work from. If you have your own idea or direction you want to go in, I can guarantee I will love any story that you want to tell.

Please no child death, death of pets, grim!dark, or infidelity (polyamory requires enthusiastic consent from all parties). I don't really enjoy character bashing, but that's a really subjective line. In general, I just like to give people (and characters) the benefit of the doubt

I love worldbuilding and cultural details, family relationships (I am especially all about the sibling feels—found family and family you were raised with equally), extremely competent characters, discovering secrets, mythology, and discovering/building competence. You know how training montages are common tropes for saving time in a series? I’d be a happy little clam if those were expanded into entire series where I could watch people building their skills, connecting to the people around them, and learning more about the world. I adore fantasy world-building—the concept of everyday magic, for example, where everyone has their own little piece of the world (always knowing when the phone is about to ring or being able to call how many times a rock will skip on the water) or integrated magic systems where the society has been built around a magic system. I like stories about hope, about survivors who find joy and comfort together (not a request this year, but Kipo and the Wonderbeasts is a great example of the kind of “dystopia” I really love—where people are rediscovering how wonderful the world can be even when there are a lot of terrible things).

Anything from gen to smut is welcome, angst with a happy ending is good but the happy ending is key, kidfic is lovely, all types of pairings or no pairings at all work. If you present me with a love triangle my go-to solution is always polyamory.

Ideas are always suggestions, optional details are optional, tell me a story you enjoy telling!

Emelan

Characters: Dedicate Lark, Dedicate Rosethorn

Why I love this: I love everyone, I love the magic system; the idea that there are people who learn this school-based/book-based magic, but also people who just interact with magic in their own ways. Craft-based magic and magic that flows through how you interact with the world—love it. I loved all of the found-family feels in the books too and I adore fics where we get to see that relationship as they grow up and continue to care for and take care of each other. I especially love the teachers. This one is all about the characters for me--and also characters being actual grown-ups and actual grown-ups being responsible care takers of kids. In my YA fiction? Don't I wish.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions (choose any or none!):

Explore the magic system even more! New characters, daily lives of existing characters, how they interact with each other.

I'd love to dig into the lives and relationships of the teachers.  I’m all in for Rosethorn/Lark, but it’s not a requirement. I’m really interested in all of the teachers and what it’s like to be a teacher in a school like that and how they deal with other the other more traditional schools and what they think about the kids in their care. What about the other students they’ve had in their care over the years?

More about the teacher's backstories and how they discovered their magic and how they have used it in the past.

What conversations are going on between the teachers during canon?

Raya and the Last Dragon

Characters: Raya, Namaari

Why I love this: Badass women. The beginning of a found family. Worldbuilding based on southeast Asian cultures. A dystopian adventure that ends in hope.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions: 

The missing time – Raya growing up. The fact that she and Namaari clearly have continued to run into each other as they grew up and what that looked like (and yes, I very much ship Raya/Namaari).

The perspectives of Raya’s father and Namaari’s mother through the movie and after. Maybe what it means to Kumandra that the dragons are back and how do you learn to trust people when that trust has been lost and broken for such a long time? What needs to be built, how are the different groups working together (where are there culture clashes?) Or, hey, time travel fix it fic.

Sinbad

Character: Sinbad

Why I love this: I ask for this fandom every year because: people with different cultures and languages coming together and forming a functional group/found family/deep friendships, real mythology being played with, magic hiding in the world as science becomes more prevalent…it’s all amazing.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions (choose any or none!): 

Sinbad’s original curse—not being able to stay on land for more than a day and what that would mean if they had succeeded in being traders.

The possibility that Cook has something strange going on with his own refusal to leave the ship. Who is he?

Post-series what these people end up doing and how they interact.

Any and all back-stories will be loved.

Any and all myths, legends or monsters entering the story are brilliant. I’m in it for the magic, for the adventure, for the learning to care about other people and finding a new sense of family. Also, playing creatively with world mythology.

The Hundred and One Dalmations

Characters: Nanny Butler, Nanny Cook

Why I love this: I haven't read the book; this, for me, comes entirely out of illustrations of these two characters posted in media and catching femslash feels.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions (choose any or none!):  All of my ideas are built around these two ladies falling in love, but I would absolutely accept a solid friendship based on the same foundations.

Nanny Cook and Nanny Butler figuring out their new roles and new positions while slowly falling in love (older women in service who maybe never thought to have love of their own…). Maybe there's some jealousy/defensiveness as they worry about being replaced, but ultimately realize they can support each other instead;

Nanny Cook and Nanny Butler met and fell in love a while ago and actually had adorable schemes to get the Darlings together because they just knew they were right for each other.

Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Characters: Wenren E

Why I love this: I didn't expect to love this, but I found myself intently invested in this story. I love the twist on "character reads their own story" -- seeing all of the perspectives and information and reasons that weren't in the limited pov novel, Wenren E trying to backwards engineer his own motivation from the story. I loved seeing his (fairly strong) sense of morality that just so happened to clash with other peoples (and my own! Hahaha.) I loved seeing him encourage Yin Hanjiang become his own person, become an equal and then build a relationship from there.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions (choose any or none!):: I don't actually have a prompt or idea for this. Feel free to explore! The past? The future? Alternate universes? Run wild! I absolutely ship Wenren E/Yin Hanjiang.

Mr. Queen

Characters: Jang Bong Hwan, Queen Cheorin

Why I love this: Because every single moment of this show is Queer (man in a woman's body flirting with women a and them flirting back--even if it's a fantasy? Queer. Man in a woman's body having a romance with a man? Queer. You're gender non-conforming one or another, dude.) Because several characters are living in completely different genres and the show manages to seamlessly tie them together into a story. Because the love story felt very real to me. Because Bong-hwan’s cooking was amazing and the fact that he kept retreating into a place where he felt comfortable and confident meant so much to me, because there were so many DETAILS they paid attention to including what modern convenience and global trade networks mean to ingredient sourcing and how ridiculous some of his demands were in the time period.

Ideas, Prompts and Questions (choose any or none!):

 I pretty firmly believe that Jang Bong-hwan was Kim So-yong’s reincarnation, so anything incorporating that (like, I think that after her experiences of being powerless as a woman, when she killed herself she insisted on being reborn as a man, and because she wasn’t supposed to die (or a lake spirit took pity on her? IDK), her future self was called back into her past self to fix things.

I’d be interested to see the changes made in Korea, the butterfly effect of the past, and Jang Bong-hwan finding his own happy ending.

 I’d be interested to see Kim So-yong with both sets of memories, figuring out who she wants to be.

I’m also a sucker for outsider pov—so the perspectives of other characters during or after the show.

The Most Important Thing to remember: I honestly will love anything you write that comes from your own joy, love, curiosity or interest. THANK YOU for participating in this event this year and THANK YOU for everything you put into this!

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Not only does Circle of Magic have poc and queer characters, it also has neurodivergeng characters too, so casually.

I noticed and mentioned Nico's OCD, but re-reading Briar's Book has let me pick up on Dedicate Crane, who I am positive is autistic. He disregards social norms in favor of his own goals, is exacting about during things his way, keeps a very strict schedule, and, something I noticed, tends to fidget a lot. When he talks to Lark about making clothes, he tears his bread apart has he talks to her. When he talks to Rosethorn to ask her to join him researching the pox, he take sout his hankerchief and folds it over and over into squares. These are such stim behaviors.