#asperants

[alcrystallize]

“ hey, alcryst! tell me what’s wrong . ” (hands on her hips. it doesn't look like she's taking no for an answer).

⌜ & .˚      found  family  prompts. ⌟

⌜ ✥。.:*: – "ah! princess hortensia!" alcryst practically jumped out of his skin as he was retrieved back to this grim reality by the everlastingly domineering yet strong-willed elusian princess. be as it may her sixth sense or astute observation of his face - to which her perception of his existence proved even more unnerving - but she always seemed to be the one who recognized that the prince was not feeling his typical self. for someone who was three years his youth, she exuded an innate sense of confidence that appeared effortless and impenetrable to any exterior forces that attempted to pierce their way through. perhaps envy was not the appropriate emotion, but nevertheless, the prince never ceased to be amazed by how she walked in this world with a self-assuredness that he could never begin to scratch at the surface of for himself. as that haunting realization befell upon him, his façade of normalcy dissipated as he exhaled a pitiful sigh.

"princess hortensia… please forgive me for speaking to you like this - or at all, for that matter - but even you must understand that your value far exceeds expending your time or energy on someone as insignificant as me." from his struggling performance in his classes handling weaponry to damaging monastery property that was priceless and a blatant sin in and of itself to the goddess, it was putting into question his arrival to the academy in the first place - was he making a mistake? or did the monks make a mistake by allowing garbage like him step foot in their halls? either way, the last thing he wanted was to share this burden with hortensia - and spare her his thoughts and feelings that did not deserve to be breathed into existence.

"i would much rather hear how you are, princess hortensia. how are you spending your time here at the academy? it is quite different from elusia, isn't it?"

[atypicalsenerio]

"Hmm," Hortensia hums, looking Soren up and down with what he might recognize as surprisingly scholarly interest. "Good! Very good, actually. I like you. I may already have a man in charge for fashion but a princess can hardly have too many!"

She holds out her hand, proudly showing off her mark of the wind.

"I'm Hortensia of Elusia. I don't suppose you have any interest in career opportunities up North? Either way, let's shake! To kindred spirits."

"You what?" Like him?

Soren stared, not quite sure why he of all people got this sort of request. He accepted a handshake with their marks together but grimaced at the implication of him ever being a fashion advisor.

"I have to decline. My skillsets primarily lie elsewhere." He looked down at himself, realizing where she got such an idea from. "This was not my doing. I am Soren, a mercenary and tactician."

Well, he did have advice though.

"The fairies here could equip you with many accessories that would fit your look. Be aware that they do have a tendency to go overboard." He gestured down to all of himself.

[hosannan]

Daydream Dandy { Hortensia & Nanna

prev post - @asperants

Her soft flush and half-choke was not lost upon Nanna, but she had the courtesy to turn her eyes away, lest it tary the girl's reputation. Without a batting her eyes, she instead turned her attention to her companion's bow-crested red dress, which was layered to the nines in heaven's ribbons. "Ah...! Goodness, to think the local town had something so doll-like." Pressing a hand to her cheek to admire the stitching, she hand the other up to her heart in delight. How long had it been since she had been in the company of someone who would indulge in her more fashion-forward diversions? "Well, with your porcelain skin, I can say you're far prettier than a mere doll."

"My own dress? I suppose it's been to town. More than a handful of times for alterations." Softly, she made an attempt to avoid vanity, though the metaphorical feathers she preened were for the eye's delight. She could only hope that the glitter in her eye gave way to a passion more sincere than mere conceit. "I cannot say I am anything but an amateur in design, so I send my drafts over to those more suited to the craft."

And to her delight, Hortensia crossed their streams with an exchange of flowers. Crisp and trimmed like a dream, the flowers that bloomed from their hands were far more beautiful than any rose Nanna would procure, (but none so personable.) "Princess Hortensia..."

"Oh! So you are Instruc-- Queen Ivy's younger sister, is that right?" Nanna hummed to herself, thoroughly enthralled by her charm. How silly. "What a small world this is!" They both evoked a vision of roses, but Hortensia's jubilance turned eyes like a daydream, and Ivy's, a winter's day.

"You can expect the same hospitality to be extended from myself, hehe..." She laughed wholeheartedly, wondering what future lay ahead of them. "Any princess as cute as yourself is welcome in my court any day. I have the invitation already written up in my head as we speak..."

"Though, if I may add..." Slyness overtaking her. "You may want to set the parfait down if you hear from me. A bouquet may very well be a hazard, otherwise."

[twistedisciple]

“Hey, you!”

She’d heard rumors of one of Sombron’s Hounds roaming Garreg Mach but had been a bit preoccupied having been shrunk earlier that month. And hey, while she knew Ivy could handle herself, now that they were all gathered in one place may as well make her intentions clear.

“Grin. Grit. Whatever your name is – you better not be causing any trouble for my sister! Elusia is done with the Hounds. And Sombron. All of it. So no idea what even made you decide to play school of all things, but don’t expect any of us to extend a hand to you.”

Fitting her arms are crossed and hands hidden, at the moment, but there’s a spell incantation waiting on her tongue all the same. One never can be too careful around people like him.

Now where had he heard that shrill, glass-shattering voice before.

"Oh, Princess Hortensia." Funny that Griss would remember her name, but she couldn't quite land on his. Then again, even though his dealings had been mainly with King Hyacinth and, sometimes, the elder princess, the younger one was loud in more ways than one. Practically impossible to ignore. He couldn't forget her name even if he wanted to by now, and a half-decade's worth of not-altogether-friendly exchanges in the halls of Elusia castle colors his sneer.

"Now that sounds like fun." He peers over the heads of the crowded ballroom as if searching for Queen Ivy. Were it not for Zelkov, and now her sister, Griss wouldn't have even thought twice about her, or cared about whether or not she was here, but now they were bothered with assumptions about his ill intent. And who was Griss if not a people-pleaser.

"There she is, walking around like she sat on a stick." He challenges Hortensia with a sidelong glance. "You gonna do something to me if I go say 'hello'? I even got a few ideas to loosen her up."

[serraic]

Someone sits down next to Serra, and it’s, like, a surprise. Especially because it’s someone she doesn’t know. (Then again, maybe someone who knows her better would steer clear of her obvious bad mood.) The girl that plops down next to her is cute... but not Serra cute. Serra’s something of a minimalist — touch of gold jewelry here and there to accent clean, stainless outfits and boldly contrasting colors. Hair done up meticulously, skin cared for tirelessly, everything about her entirely well-groomed and easily maintained. But this other girl — Hortensia, she calls herself — is... sort of high fashion. Maximalist. Hair with streaks twisted and twirled eye-catchingly, a heart on her cheek, high collars and dramatic colors.

This is all to say — she doesn’t feel threatened by her. Not really. They’re totally in different competitions, Hortensia and her.

Besides... Hortensia has called her cute. You can’t hate someone who calls you cute!

(... Unless it’s a boy, of course.)

“Oh! I’m Serra. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” But that’s all the introduction Hortensia gets before she says, “You absolutely won’t believe it. It’s rotten, really, absolutely horrible! My birthday came and went... and nobody celebrated it!”

The sigh that falls from her is deep, soul-wrenching.

“And it’s like, what do you even do, when no one celebrates your birthday? You can’t throw a party by yourself for yourself! That’s just... sad and pathetic!” (And it’s what she did the first many years of her life, anyway.) “It’s totally wrong! Totally, absolutely. You can’t treat a lady like this! There should be lines around the building of people just hoping to see me on my birthday! You know???”

It is wrong and selfish of her to think that the monastery is boring when people like her sister Ivy and King Diamant are out there risking their lives in other lands, Hortensia knows that.

But if she's going to be wrong and selfish... might as well be when Ivy's away.

Her hair kept frizzing today and that combined with an out of structure month has her in a tizzy; not that she'd say so, but she definitely would say she needs some extracurricular time with her pegasus and so to the stables she goes.

But then she sees someone who looks absolutely miserable. And worse, unlike Hortensia they aren't even trying to hide it!

Hortensia walks past her clack, clack, clack. And then stops. Turns. Goes back and sits right down in the courtyard with her because really what's there to lose? She glances over at the taller girl, noting that one - she doesn't think they've met since Hortensia has enrolled and two - her hair isn't frizzy at all.

"Soooo," Hortensia says, drawing the word out, "what's up? You clearly want something sitting like this out here. I would have seen you here before, otherwise, and from one connoisseur of cute to another you take way too good care of your skin and hair to be someone who just lays around in the grass all the time."

Hortensia thinks she is quite polite not to mention the risk of stains on the other's (cleric?) robes, choosing instead to play with a bud she recognizes on a nearby bush. So hydrangeas bloomed late into the summer here... different from Elusia. She picks the blue one, careful so that she can rebud it later if need be and waves it in the girl's face.

"Come on, tell your new friend Hortensia all about it!"

[plasmometer]

deathwatch

[moonlightsimss]

Soft beige room

Special thanks to @biancml for this beautifull wallpaper. Probably has become my new favorite. The download link can be found here.

༄  simterest | tumblr | patreon | ccfinds ༄ 

[incorrectswordcatcherquotes]

Merren: Isn’t this going a little too far?

Kel, poisoning himself: No, why would you think that?

[dreamofmysoul-tsc]

Merren Asper and Ji An from Sword Catcher ⚔️

Art by Sasha Coleman

[makingalarkofthemisery]

Me, starting Sword Catcher: okay, the blurb on the back mentions Kel and Lin so they’ll probably be love interests

Kel: *Starts to hook up with Silla*

Me: oh ok, that’s probably his first love interest who he’ll move on from

[Antonetta interrupts them]

Me: oh shit

Kel: omg I loved her when we were kids but she only ever liked my bro ☹️☹️

Me: ok??

Kel: *comments on how beautiful Merren is*

Me: wait-

Kel: *proceeds to mention Antonetta every chance he gets*

Kel: *shows up to Merren’s house to threaten him*

Me: oooooo ok drama

[they almost kiss]

Me: ok HOLD ON

Kel: 🏃‍♀️💨

Me: Turn around????

Kel: *kisses Lin and describes it as “surprisingly pleasant”*

Me: you’re joking

[Kel and Merren kiss traumatically]

Me: wAIT

[Conor and Lin kiss]

Me: no fucking way

[Conor and Silla hook up]

Me: SIR??

[Kel is jealous]

Me: YOU HAVE 5 PROSPECTS????

Kel: *almost kisses Antonetta*

Me: HOLY-

[the fucking grass ring]

Me: HOLY SHIT SHE KEPT IT

[Antonneta denies having anything in her locket]

Me:

[rinadragomir]

It's me trying to convince y'all to get invested in the Sword Catcher, read it all cause I tried!

1) I need someone to talk about it + see your theories/memes/edits, I NEED MY FRIENDS IN THIS FANDOM okay?!

2) listen, we have to wait about 2 years before The Wicked Powers, let's try to distract ourselves with something exciting!!

Reviews from George Martin (my beloved, listen, this man knows a good fantasy book when he sees one, trust him), Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo

Synopsis (read the full detailed version here):

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, a young orphan named Kel is stolen from his old life to enter a new one of luxury and peril. He’s to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double, shielding the Prince from all dangers. As his ‘Sword Catcher,’ he and Conor become close as brothers – yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor.

Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But events pull her and Kel together and into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld.

Together, they’ll discover an extraordinary conspiracy. But can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war and the world into chaos?

Here, a boy lives to protect his Prince with his life. A girl is destined to return lost magic to the world. A Prince must choose between his heart and his duty. And thrumming beneath it all, the heartbeat of a city unlike any other. Welcome to Castellane.

Known characters: (from top to bottom, from left to right, please appreciate the wonderful arts below)

Kellian Saren - our protagonist~ was kidnapped from his family when he was 5 and brought to the palace in order to be the Sword Catcher, the body double for the Crown Prince(🏳️‍🌈?). Used to have a crush on Antonetta, now too busy spending time with Prince Conor (🏳️‍🌈?). Big spoon energy

YOU'LL SAY: Rina... bestie he looks exactly like the second guy a bit lower, why so many Will Herondale cosplayers🤨 YES YES, THAT'S THE POINT, THEY HAVE TO LOOK ALIKE, IT'S LIKE Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman in Star Wars

Lin Caster - female protagonist, doctor, is skilled in healing magic (Catarina & Clary's daughter🤨?). There is a prophecy surrounding her, that says a very powerful goddess would return one day and it would be one of the girls from her community, ~possibly her~

Antonetta Alleyne - Heir to the wealthy silk charter, her mother dotes on her, dressing her in lace and grooming her to marry Prince Conor (the next guy). Her, Kel and Conor used to have this gang😎 when they were kids, but then her mother decided to turn her into a Kendall Jenner and now she's 💅🏻not like other girls💅🏻 and makes this ew sound everytime our protagonist walks by (secretly feels something else towards him....I guess?...)

Conor Aurelian - our Prince🤴🏻definition of: So you're a tough guy, Like it really rough guy, Just can't get enough guy, Chest always so puffed guy. What else? Oh, everyone tries to kill him and he hides behind his boyfriend's back. Little spoon energy

Joss Falconet - some lazy whore, idk. He has been friends with Conor and Kel since they were all small children. He loves parties, a good time, and ridiculous exploits, but there may be rather more to him…Matthew Fairchild core?👀✨ maybe....

The Ragpicker King - he's so 😋😩🤤he lives his dark emo girl aesthetic life. Doesn’t have a name or real identity. He lives in a big black mansion in the middle of Castellane and runs the crime scene. My future husband btw

Merren Asper - part-time student, full-time poisoner, and hopeless romantic. Merren has a dreamy, cheerful personality, despite being a poisoner. Well good for him, god bless🌿 he seems like a mixture of Kit Herondale and Wylan Van Eck

I'm going to update this post in case Cassie shares some new information!

The first book comes out on October 10 THIS YEAR so~ you can pre-order🌟✨for example, I can't so I'll just wait till someone sends it to me once it's out.

I REALLY hope I managed to get you slightly invested. It seems like a really nice fantasy series and I'd like to support Cassie's new work. She gave us our beloved TSC world and I have a strong faith in her. I know it's hard to dive into a new series but let's give it a chance!

@chibi-tsukiko @hahahax30 @roseofthomas @queenhelenblackthorn @not--a--pipedream @tea-and-a-clandestine-agenda @spacehero-23 @tys-kitty @carelessflower @dustandducks @one-fond-mortal @magnus-the-maqnificent @delightfullyterrible @learningshelfcontrol @thewolfnephilim @literallytypogod @gayforcarstairsgirls @clockworkbee @elettralightwood @captainswanandclintasha @radisv @lord-jethro @luciehercndale @bytheangell

[ofstarsandmoonlightt]

They’re so much like the crows:

Ji-An like Inej, with her knives

Merren like Wylan

And of course

Andreyen like Kaz~

[kaitcreates]

Over analyzing the Sword Catcher official art because I can.

First up Kel. He has his sword catcher medallion on and his clothes look blue then green like he’s described wearing in the book because the Queen wanted him to wear her home country’s colours and it doesn’t look like what we see Conor wearing in his portrait so Kel might’ve picked this outfit himself. The coat also ruffed up’s little, one of the sleeves even has a tear in it, he doesn’t start getting into any serious fights in the book until he sides with the Ragpicker King, around the same time he starts finally exploring his own identity if only slightly so this’s probably around that time frame. He has the scar on his eyebrow that Conor is described as having which I can feel has some sort of importance to their characters. The background is some waves, clearly referencing his love of the ocean and sailing, along with swords indicating his sword catcher title. His foreground is one of the less interesting with just a pile coins for his wealth as the prince’s fake cousin, a pile of scroll for how much reading he does, and a pile of something back that I’m not quite sure what it is. It looks like it might be some black powder but he hasn’t done anything with black powder yet in the story. Maybe it’s a metaphor for life as he knows it getting blown up as the story goes along, who knows. It’s also worth noting that he doesn’t have any flowers in his portrait, this might be nothing but it’s almost like a theme with most of the other portraits so it’s worth noting.

More characters under the cut because this got long:

After that we have Conor. His clothes and jewelry aren’t anything to write home about, it looks properly royal with plenty of jewels showing of his wealth. Though I do take not that the eyebrow that has a scar though it is covered in his portrait. His background depicts the Castelane lion on top of the city state’s national colour of red obviously a nod to him being the prince of the City-State. The hour glasses seem to represent his limited time as pressure begins to build on him, and I’m not quite sure what the falling rings represent, maybe they’re supposed to be coins and represent something about his debt. Again the piles of money, books, and scrolls represents his wealth and being well read. We can see what one do the scrolls says but it’s not very clear and seem to be written in one of the world’s fictional languages, if anyone can translate it please send it to me but it might not be anything special. The banner/flag in the corner is certainly important but I can’t remember anywhere that it would belong to at the moment so again if you can think of anything that would be a huge help. It’s also once again worth noting he’s one of the few character to not have flowers in his portrait.

Lin’s is arguably the most obvious. She has her mystery-stone brooch, her ashkar ring, is wearing the ashkar’s mandatry colours of blue and grey, and her medical satchel. The background has a glyph behind her with runes in it since she’s trying to bring magic back, the golden whisps also look magical, and the herbs and plants are for healing. There are diagrams of human anatomy behind her and the flowers have vials of what I presume is medicine strewn in them. This is also the first showing of flowers in a characters portrait, I thought it was representing her medical herbs and flowers. In the flower bed you can also see a split open pomegranate which could symbolize her growing doesn’t into darkness and crime as she tries to find a cure to Mariam similar to Persephone and the underworld.

Antonetta’s is relatively simple. Her outfit is what her mom forces her to wear throughout most of the book and she’s wearing her heart locket. Her background is also pretty simple with no special patterns or symbols to speak of, just some lace patterning at the edge of the circle similar to her outfits. It’s really the foreground that interests me. The perfume bottle is slightly odd as we never get any focus on her using perfume or smelling nice, but it does fit the perfect noble woman image so it’s not out of place. The sword being mostly hidden except the hilt is a nod to the secret sword lessons she takes, which she’s hiding from nearly everyone. The rose is obvious symbolism for looking beautiful and pretty but having thorns if you try to grab it. Around this I started thinking that maybe the flowers represented characters who were trying to get more then their current position in life was giving them. The most confusing thing about her portrait though is the bloodied handkerchief and golden locket around it. Bloodied handkerchieves are pretty much solely used in fiction for someone with a deathly illness but as far as I know Antonetta isn’t sick in anyway and defiant not of the fatal kind. Maybe it’s a nod to her friendship with Mariam.

For The Ragpicker King I would like to bring your anterior to his right hand. As you can hopefully see it looks like some slights scars are peaking out from his sleeve. What does this mean? I don’t know. I have no memory of this being described in the book, and was just something interesting I noticed. In the background you can see something that almost looks like a jail cell, likely referring to him being a criminal. There are also many playing cards flying around behind him for some reason, I’m not really sure since it’s never made note of him being especially in to card games or to use card metaphors in his plans. The piles of envelopes are likely his letters to and from the King and the books represent him once again being well read and his enjoyment of research. The evolvement of flowers once again confuses me because from what we see he seems perfectly content in his current life. Maybe it’s about how he escaped a life he was unhappy in.

Ji-an doensy have much going on, neither do most of the characters moving forward. The most interesting thing I could find about her appearance is that she’s wearing makeup. She has the two black swans, which I’m pretty sure I’m not remembering the full importance of, from her line about the swan pulling her carriage. She has a variety of swords in the back ground, one of which is she is holding. This could both represent her status as a killer but also as sort of like ghosts of the family she killed. Her flowers continue to feed into my “escape from current life/escaped from past life” theory and there isn’t much else to say.

Merren has nothing super interesting about his appearance in this portrait. It suits his personality and that’s about all I could say. The background is an obvious nod to his poisoner status with the wisps of smoke(possibly from hot tea?) leading up to a skull. I’m not entirely sure what the quills are supposed to represent, maybe it’s supposed to be because he’s a student so quills are like pencils in their world. Mostly his foreground also just seems to be about him being smart if a little messy when it comes to parts of his life outside of poisons and antidotes. The most specific thing I can find is the spilt concoction which is likely poisons. Once again the flowers are confusing, I had a theory that the flowers represented someone studiously seeking out knowledge, except Ji-an and Antonetta don’t follow this pattern. Merren also doesn’t fit into the “run/ran away from a life they didn’t like” theory unless there’s a part of his backstory that we don’t know about that fits into it. If anything he was pushed out of a life he liked. The flowers aren’t a super big part of the portrait and more of just an accessory anyways so fine, maybe it’s not meant to connect to the other flower portraits.

Joss’s portrait has two elements worth taking note of. First, the abundance of arrows and bows. This is mostly likely a nod to indoor archery, but I do hope we get more archery in his character and fighting style down the line. Second, he has some flowers in the foreground. Which just adds to the confusion because, as far as we know, he’s pretty happy with his current life and he almost definitely hasn’t ran away from an old life.

And the flowers continue to be confusing. Vienne is special in the fact that the flowers are pretty much the only other element of her portrait outside of herself. They do kind of make it look like she’s buried in flowers, especially with her helmet resting on the bed, and does work with the fact that she died at the end since giving flowers is a common way to pay respects to the dead, at least in western culture. In my admittedly short research session, the flowers seem to be Marigolds. These flowers are commonly used in day of the dead and symbolized grief and mourning in the victorian era, continuing the idea that these flowers are being used to represent her death. In renaissance times(the time period Cassie says she took the most inspiration from for those world) Marigolds were gifted to woman that men wanted seduce. What this means for Vienne I have no idea but it felt worth mentioning.

Now at this point you might be thinking “Couldn’t the flowers not actually mean anything and instead it’s the lack of flowers that represents something?” And I was think that too until Jerrod and his lack of flowers came along! Why are the only characters without flowers Kel, Conor, and Jerrod?! In other news Jerrod has basically nothing to take note of. His fingers look much paler then the rest of his hand from the chalk and the daggers facing towards his head could either represent that he’s being threatened or that he’s threatening. That’s really it. The rope and keys seem to be vaguely related to being able to get into places, but at the current moment they don’t seem to really be that personally connected to him.

So over all I have three main questions after this:

What in the world do the presence or lack of presence of flowers mean?

Were the details that don’t make sense to us right now cut after the art was made or are they hinting at future developments?

Why didn’t Mariam get a portrait?

[plasmometer]

token

[markscherz]

A frog (Phrynoidis asper I think) for the Tumblr frog guy. I love your work sir, full respect o7

What a honker! Yes indeed, i think this is P. asper!

[julescarstairs]

But seriously though, all in all, I think that Sword Catcher was phenomenal. It’s easy to see why CC took her time with this project, because there’s been time and effort and, I imagine, countless amounts of research put into each and every aspect of the story: the setting, the characters, the plot, the magic. The lore and religion. The history. The intricate social web of Castellane and its surrounding neighbours: Marakand, Malgasi, and especially Sarthe (as we see in the closing end of the story.) It’s a far cry from the modern angst of the Shadowhunters world (which I do so love) but it’s so refreshing to read up on an epic fantasy world with such a familiar writing style behind it. If you haven’t already guessed from my spam, Conor takes the cake for my favourite character, and reading all the fandom analyses of his personality and the consequences of his upbringing only drives home why I love him so much (also because his character design is stunning. I’m in love! What can I say?.) But I also adore each character in our lineup, if I’m being honest. CC has taken the time to develop and give each and every character — From Kel and Lin, to the Ragpicker King’s ragtag team, to even the one-hit-wonder characters of the Malgasi procession — their own flair, their own depth. Because each character is so well loved and thought out, their dynamics and interactions feel authentic and humane. Sword Catcher took me for the ride of my life and is easily one of my favourite reads of 2023. For the plot, the world, the character dynamics and the very discreet, underlying promise of romances to come in the future books.