#baru map

[muire-lo]

I wasn't able to find an image description for Baru's map, so here's one! Feel free to copy, paste, and share.

[ID: A map done in black, sketched outline, featuring mountains, sea, rivers, major cities, and borders between duchies. 

The very north of the map at the top of the page shows a mountain range in a horizontal line across the top of Aurduynn, labelled Wintercrest Mountains. 

South of the mountains is the northern duchies, from left to right Erebog, Lyxaxu, Vultjag, and Oathsfire.

Erebog is rectangular shaped, with a river running from the Wintercrest mountains south into Duchy Nayauru. Baru’s point form note reads, “THE CRONE. Clay. Landlord problems. Probably going to starve.”

Duchy Lyxaxu is also rectangular shaped. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE HIGH STONE. Quarries. Smart man, write back!”

Duchy Vultjag is a thin rectangle, the second smallest duchy. A tributary of the river Vultsniada runs through the duchy, feeding Oathsfire to the east. Baru’s note reads, “DUCHESS OF COMETS. Nice scenery. Utterly unimportant.”

Duchy Oathsfire is rectangular in shape, bordered to the east by the river Inirein which runs south to Welthony, in Unuxekome. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF MILLS. Lots of money. River trade. Awful beards.”

The next row of duchies includes Sahaule, Nayauru, Ihuake, and Pinjagata. Next to Pinjagata is the Duchy Unuxekome, which runs fully south to the coast. 

Duchy Sahaule is a thin rectangle. It’s labelled, “THE HORSEBANE. Good soldiers. Client to Nayauru. What’s the name about?”

Duchy Nayauru is rectangular at the top and more round at the bottom. A river flows in from Erebog and ends in many dams. Baru writes, “THE DAM-BUILDER. Reservoirs. Cavalry. Stupid feudal marriage politics.”

Dugy Ihuake is the largest duchy, wide and broad, with Mount Kijune in the north (labelled “climb me!”). It includes a sketch of walled Freetown Haraeod, with one very large building in the centre. Baru’s note reads, “THE CATTLE DUCHESS. Herds. Cavalry. Huge!”

By comparison, Duchy Pinjagata is merely a slice of land, even smaller than Duchy Vultjag. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF PHALANXES. Best soldiers. Bad at names. Client to Ihuake.”

The last row of duchies borders the Ashen Sea: Autr, Radaszic, Heingyl, and finally Unuxekome.

Baru’s notes on Duchy Autr reads, “DUKE OF BRINE. Good salt. Large muscles. Client to Nayauru.”

Duchy Radaszic simply contains notes that read, “DUKE OF WELLS. Grain. Olives. Complete moron.” Bordering Radaszic and Heingyl is the city of Treatymont, right on the coast, and it is sketched to show a large walled city with many towers. Notes on Treatymont read, “Apparently Duch Lachta? Best port, federal capital. Naval base. Stay out of northarbor.”

Duchy Heingyl has notes that read, “THE STAG DUKE. Cavalry. Grain. Hates joy.” 

Finally, Duchy Unuxekome, at the bottom east (right) of Aurduynn, bordered by the Ashen Sea to the south and the river Inirein to the east. The south of the duchy is labelled Sieroch floodplain. Baru’s notes read, “THE SEA GROOM. Good seaport. Pirates. Seems pleasant.” Where the river Inirein meets the sea is the city of Welthony, which has many small buildings and one large building with a tower. Baru’s note of the city reads, “Unuxekome’s capital. Second-best port.”

Baru has made notes of the areas outside Aurduynn. 

At the very top of the map, north of the mountains, is a blank area with an arrow pointing up, labelled Stakhi Empire? With a question mark. 

To the west (left), a blank area labelled GRASSLANDS, TAIGA, AND DESERT. Baru’s note reads, “What’s over here? Look it up soon.”

South is the Ashen Sea. Baru’s note reads, “Sail only in summer!” There is an arrow pointing south/down and a note from Baru that reads, “south to Taranoke and Oriati Mbo. south to SOUSWARD and Oriati Mbo.”

East is an arrow pointing east/right. Baru’s note reads, “EAST to AWFUL MARSHLAND and NORTH FALCREST. Completely useless in winter.” 

In the top right of the map is a compass decorated with the silhouette of a cormorant. End ID.]

[thematicparallel]

THE MONSTER BARU CORMORANT - MAP

[july-19th-club]

first thing i do with any baru book is read the entire table of contents and book three has like ten more stories about ash YES yes yes AND it ends with a chapter titled 'the lightning in the east' YES YES YES finally we get to go out there and see what horrible stuff is in the frightening zone yessssssssssssssssssssssssss

[ossifer]

i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will not try to make a baru cormorant ttrpg. i will n

[bumpyfrog]

Most of the baru fandom is sapphic which makes sense but it does mean that Sea Daddy Unuxecomb (sp?) is criminally underrated

[psychosodomy]

baru coloring her loyalty maps

[unpickled-olive]

Realizing that, while I like Destiny lore, what I love is Seth Dickinson's writing.

The Final Shape was a lovely story and the characters' archs were all emotional and satisfying. Maybe a nostalgic tear was shed for Cayde bonding with his reformed, resurrected killer.

But the things that have kept me coming back for 9 years were missing. I thought there'd be concrete answers about the Traveler, or some more thorough insights into the Witness, or even good lore on the Dread. I was hoping for another great lore book to join the ranks of Books of Sorrow, Unveiling, Mysterious Logbook, Marasenna, Last Days of Kraken Mare, etc. Some philosophy and horror, a genesis or exegesis or thorough backstory on a yet unexamined character/species.

Sadly, I didn't find those. The Dread's origin is that the Witness made them. Do they think and feel? TBD. The Traveler's conclusion was something like "you just have to have faith <3." Fine for the characters, but not for the readers/players of a 10-year-old mystery.

There's some nice things. The Micah-10 Traveler interpretations are cool, as is her origin story. And the foreshadowing still has me excited for the Dreadnaught, a yet unseen Disciple, etc. But I think key parts of what made Destiny lore so alluring for me are diminished.

Maybe it's the layoffs at Bungie. Maybe it's new writers going in a different direction. Either way, the aspects of sci-fi/space fantasy—ancient mysteries, metaphysical warfare, _____—have taken the back seat to personal drama that frankly isn't that interesting or fleshed out.

Maya could be an interesting antagonist, but she needed more backstory than "this simulation was evil or something" and more nuance than "the Vanguard are coercive, so I will coerce all of humanity." Why not explore what her presence means for the Vex, or the other simulations helping Praedyth escape the Vault?

The Witness trying to sway various characters was fine, but that has been covered so many times, especially in Beyond Light.

All that said, back to Seth: their absence in TFS made me realize how huge their presence in the lore was for my love of Destiny. I finally went and read their original works. What an incredible writer.

First, I read Exordia, the first/only entry into a dark mindfuck of a space opera. Its horrific in abstract ways: mysterious alien monoliths that poison reality around them. It's horrific in grounded ways, too: the alien invasion plays off of parallels with the Anfal campaign and the US involvement in Iraq. It's campy at times (with a villain who shouts "I love genocide!") but also profound. There's souls and date, but also math. There's also my favorite trope: mysterious, ancient architects.

After that, I read Baru Cormorant—all three books in a month. It's tragic and inspiring and genius. Originally I couldn't get through the first chapter because of the "fantasy" label. I've already read Earthsea and wasn't in the mood for wizards on boats. But I had the wrong impression. Understandable, because there is just no succinct way to label it.

Is it even fantasy? Honestly, I still don't know.

What it is is its own world. One that the inhabitants haven't fully mapped. One whose past is a must and whose future is uncertain. It's about hegemony. It's about purpose, obsession, and revenge. It's about revolution and community.

The colonizer culture is a kaleidoscope of different influences. Seafaring. Peri-industrial. Eugenic. It strikes me as something like 17th century Britain with a 20th century grasp of science. They don't have guns, but they do have both Greek fire and lobotomies. The story plays with different cultural views on indigenous rights, race, sexuality, and gender in ways that commentary real life while serving as interesting world building.

This story also weaves an insane amount of intellectual concepts into it. But rather than bog it down, they lift it up. The fate of the republic hinges on a myriad of different questions: is evolution Lamarckian or Darwinian? Can mathematical proofs usurp cultural hegemony? How do economics influence history? Most importantly, can you destroy the enemy from within before it destroys you?

It is not just cerebral, but tragic and heartbreaking. I saw the end of the first book coming, and yet I was devastated by the last chapter. Crushed like no ending has ever really crushed me. I didn't want it to happen.

There will likely be some time before the final book comes out, which is understandable. So much research goes into these. So many plot threads need to be woven together. So many mysteries not yet confronted.

This is all to say: if you like what I like about Destiny–thorough examinations of ancient mysteries, sci-fi takes on souls and magic, fantasy takes on science and technology, obsessive characters and vividly fucked up monsters, cancer and math as motifs, metaphors manifesting, and genius characters written by genius authors–give Seth Dickinson a chance.

[spiribia]

Baru (looking at map): wow the world is so big!!! 🥺

Apparitor (still pissed about the tain hu thing): egomaniac freak

Apparitor (still pissed about the tain hu thing): tain hu used to get high

[wearethekat]

Anticipated New Releases of 2024

**As anticipated by Me. Mostly SFF. Links are to goodreads because that's what I use, sorry. Anything marked "new to me" I haven't read anything by that author before and therefore can't vouch for the quality. I just think the premise is neat.**

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, Heather Fawcett (16 January)

Sequel to the charming novel about the fairy anthropologist.

Exordia, Seth Dickinson (23 January)

Well, it isn't a new Baru Cormorant, but this modern SF about first contact may be the next best thing.

City of Stardust, Georgia Summers (30 January)

New to me. A young woman descends into the underworld in order to break her family's fatal curse.

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (6 February)

New to me. A sherlock holmes flavored duo solves the mystery of the murder of an imperial official in a labyrinthine fantasy realm.

What Feasts at Night, T Kingfisher (13 February)

The sequel to the mushroom horror book What Moves the Dead.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden (13 February)

A ghost story set in WW1 about a woman searching for her missing brother.

The Fox Wife, Yangsze Choo (13 February)

New to me. A detective in 1908 Manchuria investigates a young woman's death in an area full of mythical foxes.

Redsight, Meredith Mooring (27 February)

New to me. Unpowered priestess and Imperial pawn is set on a collision path with a pirate with a grudge for the Imperium (Gay romance).

Sunbringer, Hannah Kaner (12 March)

Sequel about the professional godkiller Kissen.

Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang (12 March)

New to me. A SF novel in translation from Chinese, with three scientists joining forces to deal peacefully with a first contact situation.

The Woods All Black, Lee Mandelo (19 March)

I liked Mandelo's debut novel very much so I'm excited to read this queer horror novella set in 1920s Appalachia.

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis (19 March)

New to me. A series of cozy character vignettes on a space cruise ship after a murder has occurred. One of the four (!) space hotel murder crimes books coming out this year.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang (26 March)

New to me. Reincarnation gay romance set in 4 BCE China, the 1740s, and modern-day LA.

Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky (28 March)

Far future space xenoarchaeology by a man trapped on a prison planet.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell (2 April)

New to me. Bizarre lesbian cannibalism monster romance from the point of view of the monster.

The Familiar, Leigh Bardugo (9 April)

Glad to see Bardugo writing more adult fantasy, and this one is especially exciting because it's a fantasy set in early modern Spain with a Jewish main character. Fun to see a more original historical period.

A Sweet Sting of Salt, Rose Sutherland (9 April)

New to me. Lesbian selkie romance.

Death in the Spires, KJ Charles (11 April)

Charles branching out from romance into historical Oxford murder mystery about a group of friends with dark secrets.

Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot, Alexis Hall (22 April)

The new Hall thinly veiled british baking show romcom. Libby says it's releasing in April but I've heard nothing from the author so I think it may be Alecto'd (shifted to next year)

Necrobane, Daniel M Ford (23 April)

Sequel to the dungeons and dragons-esque low fantasy lesbian necromancy book.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Sylvie Cathrall (25 April)

New to me. Sweet underwater epistolary academic romance.

How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, Django Wexler (21 May)

New to me. A young hero caught in a fantasy time loop gives up and tries being the villain in an attempt to escape.

Goddess of the River, Vaishnavi Patel (21 May)

Another woman-centered retelling of Hindu mythology, this time based on the river goddess Ganga.

Escape Velocity, Victor Manibo (21 May)

New to me. Evil and toxic private school alumni jockey for position in a space hotel event in an attempt to escape a dying Earth.

The Fireborne Blade, Charlotte Bond (28 May)

New to me. Gay dragon slaying knight novella.

Evocation, ST Gibson (28 May)

New to me but looks very cool. Attorney and medium David attempts to escape his deal with the devil with the help of his ex boyfriend and his ex boyfriend's wife (Poly romance).

Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (4 June)

In an SF future, a robot kills its human owners and ventures out into a world where human supremacy is beginning to crumble.

Lady Eve's Last Con, Rebecca Fraimow (4 June)

New to me. A con artist seeks revenge on the man who hurt her sister, who's coincidentally also on a space cruise ship (Sapphic romance subplot).

Triple Sec, TJ Alexander (4 June)

An actual mainstream published poly romance (!!) by trans author Alexander.

Running Close to the Wind, Alexandra Rowland (11 June)

Gay! Pirates! Scheming! Alt fantasy world! Monks! I liked Taste of Gold and Iron a lot and I'm very excited for this one.

The Knife and the Serpent, Tim Pratt (11 June)

New to me. Space opera about an interdimensional organization. Also, there's a sentient starship.

The Witchstone, Henry Neff (18 June)

A childhood favorite of mine's adult debut, featuring a demon who suddenly has to shape up at his curse keeper job after eight hundred years of slacking.

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (18 June)

VERY excited to read more weird queer sff from this author after a fantastic debut. Looks weird. I'm in.

Foul Days, Genoveva Dimova (25 June)

New to me. A witch in a Slavic fantasy inspired world flees her evil ex, the Tsar of Monsters. There's also a plague and a detective.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow, Gabriella Buba (25 June)

New to me. Filipino inspired anticolonialist fantasy novel about a nun who is secretly practicing the religion of her goddess.

The Duke at Hazard, KJ Charles (18 July)

A queer regency with an incognito duke by one of my particular favorite romance authors.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan (30 July)

!!! Very excited to see a new adult fantasy by Brennan. A reader is dragged into a fictional world and finds herself the villain.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, T Kingfisher (20 August)

A retelling of The Goose Girl from reliably good fairy tale stalwart Kingfisher.

Buried Deep and Other Stories, Naomi Novik (17 September)

Collection of Novik's short stories.

Swordcrossed, Freya Marske (8 October)

VERY excited to see a new book by talented writer Marske. A man falls in love with the duelist hired for his arranged wedding. MEANWHILE. details of the fantasy world wool industry.

Feast While You Can, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta (29 October)

New to me. Small town queer cave horror.

The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso (19 November)

Multiple reality murder mystery spy vs spy type antics, with lesbians.

[dwellordream]

"Not even in death would Tain Hu serve Falcrest: not even as a pickled specimen or an entry in a catalogue of mental deformity. Baru would never let them map the rot of her body, never let them say, decomposition began in her liver, which had struggled to contain her sin... No. Let Tain Hu be laid to rest the way Baru's parents taught her. Let the birds scatter her across earth and sky. ...Baru remembered. She remembered all her dead."

Seth Dickinson, The Monster Baru Cormorant

[manusiafajar]

Semua sedang terlelap, sayang.

Hai kids, this is your mom's story.

Ini menyebalkan, ibumu sudah menulis banyak surat untukmu, ada di dalam map coklat itu, bersama tumpukan surat untuk ibu di masa depan. Orang - orang baru tau saja serunya sekarang, atau sekedar membuatnya agar tak terlihat ketinggalan, bahkan hanya untuk jadi gurau mencipta tawa.

Padahal perihal menyambutmu, tidak pernah sebercanda itu.

Sayang, bagaimana kabar tubuh ibu hari ini? Masih sehat dan segar kah?

Maaf ya, bila ibu mulai cepat kelelahan, mulai tidak bisa banyak bergerak. Sebab kau tahu? saat - saat ini ibu sedang menaruhkan sehat tubuh ibu, demi mempersiapkan keilmuan mendesain kehidupan bersamamu, mempersiapkan mendidik peradabanmu.

Ibu janji untuk tetap menjaga sehatnya, secara fisik, jiwa dan hatinya. Itu fokus utama yang ibu prioritaskan bersisian dengan ujian termin pertama ini. ya! kau tahu sayang? ibumu masih di tahun pertamanya menjadi mahasiswi, kamu harus lihat berapa banyak titik merah yang menghiasi wajahnya sebab banyak berpikir dan kegelisahan.

Bagaimana? sekarang wajah ibu bahkan sudah berkerut ya?

Tidak apa, semoga mereka yang akan jadi kesaksian di hadapan Allah kelak, bahwa perjalanan membeli syurga memang tidak pernah mudah. Nanti ibu ceritakan hal yang lebih menyayat dari sekedar titik merah, kau tahu sayang? Sejak sembilan puluh hari berlalu, dan Al - aqsho masih berdarah.

Bagaimana sayang? apakah hari ini kemerdakaan kita raih? apakah kita ikut andil dalam pembebasannya? kau tahu? itu mimpi ibu untuk milikimu, berperan utuh jiwa dan raga untuk menjadi yang terdepan dalam membela syariat-Nya.

Ah, meskipun setelah berkaca, ibu masih meringis penuh ragu. "Pantaskah aku?.."

Semua sedang terlelap sayang, di pagi hari yang penuh keberkahan ini, mereka memilih terlelap bersama sepuluh derajat dinginnya udara, tidak ada yang menolak rayuan selimut, kecuali ibu.

Padahal semalam, mereka pun tidur jauh sebelum ibu terlelap, hanya empat jam tubuh ibumu tergulung selimut, tidak apa ya, sementara. Nanti kita tidur sepuasnya di istana dalam syurga.

Tugas murojaah beberapa juz, dzikir pagi, alkahfi, semua tuntas sebelum kembali menunduk pada tumpukan buku dan berbagai macam warna pena, semoga kebiasaan - kebiasaan ini lestari menghiasi harimu juga, melakukannya penuh cinta tanpa paksa.

Cukup dulu ya sayang, ibu mau sarapan!

(Btw, Hari ini ibu memasak apa untukmu? Bilang enak ya meskipun biasa saja! wkwk)

[vanilachocolate]

Sabtu ...

Pas tadi nyamperin tempat uni, bener-bener berkali-kali dalam hati tuh bersyukur.

"Untung suamiku mas, jadi mau aja disuruh nemenin"

"Untung pake motor mas, jadi sanggup nanjak. Coba pake motorku, pergi sendiri. Waah, ngga kebayang takutnya pas nanjak dan pulang. Karena naik turunnya lumayan, dan motorku yg sudah tua itu tentu tidak sanggup nanjak dan bakal takut turun."

(Hughug mas @properparadox banyak-banyak).

Sebelum pergi, udah diwanti-wanti sih padahal kalau jalannya kecil. Terus kan kita cek di maps yaa "aah kecil begini doang mah aman." Untung ngga pergi sendiri karena ternyata jalan jauh sebelum sampe tempatnya itu medannya yg menyeramkan menurutku.

Sebelum pergi tuh udah menyampaikan kekhawatiran ke mas. Nanti kalau sampe sana diracun gimana, nanti kalau kita berdua ngga bisa pulang dari sana gimana. Terus aku udah mikir kalau sampe tkp mau shareloc ke kang @rubahlicik sambil bilang "kang, kalau kita ga pindah-pindah mapsnya tolong kirim anak tumblr bandung buat nyari kita ya." Hahaha

Pas udah sampe ditempat pertama, alhamdulillahnya ketemu tukang. Dan kita dapet pertolonganlah. Info-info dari tukang dan tetangga. Walau yaa, tidak bertemu. Tapi akhirnya dapet nomer suaminya karena ditolong sama ponakan yg punya kontrakan. Kita tungguin kabarnya dari kang rubah sajaaa, yaa. Terus karena udah mikir yg ngga-ngga, baru masuk gangnya aja aku udah deg-degan.

Terus pergi ketempat kedua. Memastikan info yg aku dapet dari kang rubah dan yaa seperti tebakan. Dan mengecewakan tentunya. Tanya-tanya ke warga sekitar sampe pak RT dan yaa ngga tau. Terus terakhir kali, sebelum balik akhirnya ketemu satpam yg udah kerja disitu dari 2015. "Dari saya kerja sampai sekarang, ngga ada nama itu yg kerja disini."

Sambil nungguin satpam tadi kita sempat makan baso cuanki. Sungguh ya, aku ingin mam baso cuanki malam-malam pinggir jalan tuh belum keturutan. Kenanya siang mulu.

Balik-balik terus masaaaak. Bikin salad roll ala-ala, yg ternyata tidak cukup mudah cuma nggulung doang. Karena pas udah digulung saladnya pada nempel. Hih. Terus bikin sop ayam, dg resep nyontek chef devina yg pake ikan dori.

Terus tadi ngobrolin lagi tadi sama mas. Pas tadi berangkat sempet diajakin beli minum dulu kaan. Kopi dan air putih yg kita beli. Aku pikir karena mas haus. Ternyata karena dia juga khawatir takut ketakutanku beneran terjadi. Jadi si air bisa jadi alasan buat kita ngga menerima suguhan 😅🤣

[july-19th-club]

ok wwaitwaitwaitwait i got some duke math to do.

ok so who do we have left who's still on the board. first i think i need to check off who's already GONE:

radazchic: the fop, who dies first in his own ill-planned rebellion attempt (possibly cementing baru's idea for how to pass the test?)

nayaaru, autr, and sahuale all die in the same assassination, agreed upon by all the remaining dukes and instigated by baru

unuxekome goes down in naval battle (instigated by baru, playing to both his need for glory and his desire to impress her)

that leaves eight, who can be dispatched in the following ways:

erebog, currently having revolt problems, could be killed or otherwise made irrelevant if crushed by angry autr/sahuale remnants)

lachta, if you're counting xate olake as a duke, could be killed in close quarters or via purity, if purity comes back as is currently eliminating baru's competition in the test back in treatymont before she gets her own plans far enough to kill baru's

lyxaxu and oathsfire, both of whom will be in the battle at sieroch - good time to get rid of them, although it seems more likely that oathsfire will be the one to die on the field & lyxaxu some other way later on, post-battle

ihuake, same deal, i'm fairly sure she'll be at sieroch, although an easier way to get her would be in her camp, as she's not really a fighter so much as a behind-the-lines type of leader . maybe she goes after they win, possibly by some angry nayaaru remnant? (planned of course)

pinjagata who i keep forgetting about because baru spends the least amount of time with him or thinking about him: definitely out of the picture during sieroch if not very shortly afterward

and last but not least TAIN HU, which is personal

and that's how the world's worst little accountant ever assassinates an entire country's leadership by helping them win a rebellion against her real goal. what gets me most about this whole thing is: once she's in the secret council, surely they will all be thinking she'd do the same to them. she did it once, what's to stop her from taking out the entire underpinning of falcresti government, and what's to stop them from noticing, other than their own sense of inherent superiority (which members of the secret group probably don't share, since they tend to be intelligent sorts who don't go for societal illusions)? babygirl you got your work cut out for you

[brightchrysaor]

A couple years ago I saw a tweet that said like “Edelgard would really like Baru Cormorant, but idk how Baru would feel about Edelgard” and as a massive Edelgard fan that motivated me to read The Masquerade, and thus got me back into reading. All that to say I really liked your post :)

I'm so glad! If you like Edelgard and Baru, may I suggest the Queen's Thief series by Meghan Whalen Turner? Attolia Irene is def someone Edelgard and probably also Baru would have used as inspiration.

In terms of their actual feelings for each other (sorry, you pressed the overthinking things button and I have many thoughts): All three of these women are deeply driven by their surrounding politics, so how they meet and how you're fitting the Masquerade, Fodlan, and the Hephestian Peninsula on the same map is going to significantly affect how they think about and treat each other. (Tho Edelgard and Baru would def find each other hot, I don't make the rules.) Is the Masquerade in competition with, or attempting to take over, Adrestia? Edelgard canonically would not indulge with Baru if that were the case, because my girl compartmentalizes so hard. Is this a Thick as Thieves-style sprint for safety? Then yeah they would probably be somewhat affectionate! (As much as my darling traumatized girls could, anyway) They have so many issues and I love them

[ladzwriting]

Instead of a trope map, here's a comp map

If you're looking for dark fantasy, spicy books, gothic horror, political fantasy, and some background on what rotted my brain to the slush that made THE FEALTY OF MONSTERS, here's a collection for you

THE FEALTY OF MONSTERS is a queer gothic horror political fantasy with vampires, body horror, magic, and the bloody politics that drove the Russian Revolution

Clockwise from the top: 👑 Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs by Douglas Smith 🦟 Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector 👑 Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake 🦟 The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid 👑 Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey 🦟 Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi (illus. by Yoshitaka Amano) 👑 The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Preorder here

[barunicle]

The latest of my Baru/Bionicle works is Iscend Comprine in Gali's mask! Of all the mask choices so far Iscend most strongly resembles her counter part with them both making a sudden frightening decision to wipe an entire island off the map with tidal wave . I also gave her a Metal Gear style sneaking suit because I think she would love one.