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silverbastardgoldenfool · 3 years ago

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Realm of the Quarantine Reread End-of-Book Questionnaire: Ship of Magic

Warning: this is an extremely long post lol! Maybe save it and come back to it when you’ve got half an hour or so for a cuppa and a leisurely read :)

Any differences between your first/previous reading experience and this one?

This is definitely one of the more obvious differences since I read RotE so wildly out of order the first time. Not only was this the first non-Fitz book I read, but I had stopped between Fool’s Quest and Assassin’s Fate of all places to go back to it. It was torture to leave Fitz and the Fool right before the final book and go all the way back to Ship of Magic knowing I had seven books to get through before I would get back to them. It definitely wasn’t overly long before I started to get invested in the story and characters of Liveship, but it was still a struggle for a while there to stop feeling like I was just trying to race through as quickly as possible to get back to my babies. Of course I did know (thanks to my mum) that the Fool was in this trilogy but you get all of five or so Amber scenes in this whole book so that was probably a bit more frustrating than anything lol.

So with that said, basically I just got to enjoy it from beginning to end this time haha. Even though the plot takes quite a while to kick off properly and the multiple POV means it takes longer to get to know each individual character etc., the sheer amount of foreshadowing, worldbuilding details, character set-up and more just makes this one of the most rewarding rereads ever. My brain was in serial-killer-corkboard mode trying to connect all the dots.

Another notable difference is how I feel about certain characters. Most are probably about the same; I still love all the characters I loved the first time as far as I remember. After like three years of seeing/hearing other people’s opinions on certain characters I was really preparing myself to dislike some of my faves. But SIKE!! I still adore Althea, still can’t help but love Brashen even though he is feral raccoon man, still stan Ronica, still relate way too much to Paragon and of course would fully throw myself overboard for Amber. However there are probably three characters I experience very differently based on later events, and that’s Etta, Kennit and Malta.

Malta is the most unexpected tbh, like I know I grew to like her later on but that was because of how she grew. On my first read, I could barely contain my fury while reading her sections and honestly expected I would feel pretty much the same this time until her development kicked in, but for some reason I’m just not getting mad?? Like if anything I’m finding her kind of hilarious bc her thoughts and behaviour are just SO reprehensible that it borders on cartoonish and it’s just hard to take it seriously I guess? I don’t mean to say that she’s not realistic or that I don’t take her seriously as a character. It’s more like, knowing that rather than her being the ruin of her family and becoming a next gen Kyle she actually does grow and mature and in a lot of ways saves her family, I don’t have that knee-jerk emotional reaction and am able to actually analyse her character more critically. Under that lens she serves as a fascinating manifestation of her culture and family dynamics that I’ve loved digging into. And yes, since I know she grows out of it and never manages to cause TOO much harm, I just can’t help but laugh at the sheer extremity of her shittiness.

As for Etta, I don’t exactly remember how I felt about her at this point on first read, but I do know that my knowledge of how she reacts to Althea’s rape is a huge factor in how I’m viewing her character this time. So it’s bound to be at least a bit different. I don’t even know how I feel about her. I’m deeply conflicted because she herself is a victim/survivor and when she’s rabidly murdering her brutalisers every inch of me is desperate to stan. Also her outfits are cool as fuck and make my bisexual brain very biased!! But… she is so very complicit in Althea’s trauma later. Ugh. But this is why I love her *as a character* even if I can’t love her as a person; she is way too complex to just feel one way about.

And then Kennit, who is also now defined for me, of course, by not only Althea’s rape but everything we find out about him later. I definitely never *liked* him on my first read, but I was always fascinated by him. In that sense, nothing has changed; if anything he is more fascinating than ever once you’re able to observe him through a fully-informed lens. But it also just makes things very uncomfortable and I feel this sense of dread knowing where everything is headed.

So yes, very different reading experience!!

Something you can’t believe you forgot

Literally so much like basically everything lol but one of the things that stood out is that Etta straight up saves Kennit’s life twice in this book alone?? Also Althea tripping on liveship dreams for two weeks while confined to her room on the Vivacia. Oh and also that the Khuprus crest is a rooster wearing a crown! Heaps more forgotten facts will pop up in the notes section tho.

Favourite character introduction moments/scenes

Amberrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! No you don’t understand I was literally thinking about her introduction for days, it was so perfect and reminded me so much of the way Fitz always describes the Fool. “[the windows] were clear as water, and set in elaborately carved and gilded frames. They made the woman in the window look like a framed piece of art.” “She looks as if she’s all carved of wood. Golden maple.” Ugh the vibes!!

Favourite character arcs

Althea: hers is probably the most obvious, I guess? It’s a fairly classic arc; somewhat entitled girl loses everything and has to work hard to earn her place on her own merit. But it’s a classic for a reason! It’s satisfying to watch her prove to herself that she really does have what it takes to be good at the thing she loves doing. We get to see that she is capable of growth and change while still remaining true to the core of who she is. She’s strong as fuck and I admire the hell out of her.

Wintrow: poor Wintrow also loses everything, but he has much less to show for it because he was given no room for self-determination in this new life of his. Just to be clear, I don’t really have strong feelings about Wintrow in terms of liking or disliking him?? But he is a really interesting character and I do sympathise with him cos jesus he has it rough. Again, though, Robin’s masterful character development comes through to take us on this journey with Wintrow where his sense of self becomes so distorted that he feels he barely recognises himself, and yet through all the changes he is still always completely recognisable to the reader as the same person.

Brashen: It’s not a crazy arc, but what I like about it is that it’s believable. It’s a very logical trajectory for an addict and certified former wild child to follow when he loses his mentor, his job and all the security that came along with it. It’s like he reverts pretty much back to the person he was before Ephron took him under his wing; he’s just a scared, aimless kid again, with little more ambition than to just find ways to scrape by and survive. He goes from a merchant ship, to a messy-but-legitimate slaughter ship, to having one foot in the pirate game again by the end of the book. It’s also extra interesting because of the way Althea and Brashen’s arcs overlap; she is able to keep herself on track because she has a goal, while Brashen doesn’t believe he deserves anything and so doesn’t think ahead enough to keep himself out of trouble. Brashen has very strong Fitz energy let’s be real lol

Favourite relationships

AMBER AND PARAGON. I swear to god I lose my shit the second I realise it’s a “them” section because I just love every second of their interactions. I love how much of their individual characters are revealed through their relationship and just how much they care for each other so quickly (even if Paragon loves to convince himself he doesn’t).

I also loved the development of Althea and Brashen’s relationship in this book. They start off from such an interesting place, both feeling like they do and don’t owe the other anything because they have this shared history and shared love of Ephron and Vivacia and the lives they’ve lost, but they were never really friends. It’s such a tenuous connection at first that it’s only sheer chance that keeps them in each other’s orbit. I like how they refuse to bullshit each other, and I think the reasons why they’re drawn to and away from each other are really compelling and well-written. It’s obvious to the reader how they feel, but even though I like them together I’m not exactly frustrated by the fact they don’t get together yet because there are legitimate reasons for them not to (Althea needs to stay focused on her goal, and they both have growing to do). It’s honestly also nice to see for once that the guy in the situation is the one who is expecting them to be together after one night, while the woman is the one who doesn’t have time for a relationship. I was honestly surprised by how much I still love them together. I was always excited for their interactions because I knew something interesting would happen.

Those are the relationships I’m soft for, but in terms of development and complexity every single relationship in this book is simply immaculate.

Favourite setting

Others’ Island is dope as hell. I couldn’t believe the level of detail and the imagination involved, like all the debris that washes up on the beach is so random and yet so elaborately detailed. It kind of sets the stage for this trilogy being a step above Farseer in terms of how prominent the fantastical elements are going to be. Her prose in that chapter especially was exquisite and really brought the whole island to life as well as setting the tone for the trilogy.

Favourite chapter

It’s not just one chapter but the last few chapters; the entire ending of this book goes hard as fuck.

Most loved character

I would die for Althea right here right now. I would call it a tie with Amber but that would be my future book bias since she’s barely in this one lol (but it’s still a tie with Amber).

Most hated character

Do I even need to say it? I want to put Kyle Haven through a paper shredder

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimised by Robin Hobb (most heartbreaking and/or visceral moments)

Ephron’s death scene is actually really intense and sad. It’s really well-written but it just hits different when you already know the characters and when you know that the shit is about to hit the fan HARD

Althea and Vivacia being separated, especially when you’ve just seen them bonding so intensely and you know they’ll never really be reunited.

Not heartbreaking but most definitely visceral: Wintrow getting his finger amputated. Bitch disgusting

The captain of the Reaper refusing to give Althea her ship’s ticket when he discovered she was a woman was genuinely upsetting.

As was her ensuing hopelessness and loneliness, especially when she was watching a group of friends enjoying each other’s company in the tavern and thinking how she had never had any friends and wondering if she ever would

Only to push away Brashen - her only friend - at the first opportunity

Amber giving Paragon the necklace she carved for him

“My curiosity has always been greater than my wisdom. But largest of all is my own loneliness.” hearing Amber just straight up admit how lonely she is…………. I have stopped breathing

Amber telling Paragon that if she was free to live her life as she wished she would live aboard him, plant a ‘bird and butterfly’ garden, live peacefully. “I would say to the world, do what you will, for I am done with you. Destroy yourself or prosper, it is all one to me, as long as you leave us alone.” The Fool has an artist’s soul; they were made for peace and beauty but is bound by fate to bear constant witness (and be victim) to the worst of humanity so that they can correct those flaws and set the world on a better path. I suppose in a way history itself is the Fool’s greatest masterpiece; they dedicate their entire life to chipping away at the imperfections until the vision is realised. But that is their duty, not necessarily their desire. They - like Fitz, really - want nothing more than a quiet life filled with warm companionship and simple pleasures. And it absolutely rips my heart apart to know - and know that they know - they will never be allowed that.

It’s hard to pinpoint any more individual moments simply because like 90% of this book is depressing and disturbing lol. Althea’s grief and her exhausting vigilance in her efforts to be able to achieve anything as a woman, Brashen’s self-loathing aimlessness, Ronica’s weary determination, Wintrow’s constant degradation and self-policing of his natural human emotions, everything Kyle does, Vivacia’s abandonment, Paragon’s endless torment, Kennit’s inability to stop himself becoming that which he most fears and despises, and his constant cycling between the lowest depths of self-hatred and heady delusions of grandeur. Fun times!

Favourite quotes

“Good luck works best when it is not surprised.” - Kennit POV

“No matter how he seared the faults from himself, another always arose to take its place.” - Kennit POV

“Like many casually cruel men, he had never truly considered why he behaved as he did. It was sufficient for him that he could.” - Wintrow POV

“Althea had never known that misery could achieve perfection.” - Althea POV (obviously lol)

“He was frightening, true, but the most frightening part about him was what others had done to him.” - Althea POV

“Because I can see that you go through life athwart it. You see the flow of events, you are able to tell how you could most easily fit yourself into it. But you dare to oppose it. And why? Simply because you look at it and say, “this fate does not suit me. I will not allow it to befall me.” [...] “Many, of course, will rant and rave against the garment fate has woven for them, but they pick it up and don it all the same, and most wear it to the end of their days. You… you would rather go naked into the storm.” - Amber (to Althea)

“If all were familiar, then we would be swimming back into yesterday.” - serpents lol

“Her hands and feet were like cleverly-trained animals now that contrived to keep her alive despite her own ambivalence.” - Althea POV

“It was an evening to be satisfied, sailing south from winter cold back into warmth, and so her unhappiness pierced her all the more keenly.” - Vivacia POV

“I have always been more curious than wise. Yet any wisdom I have ever gained has come to me from my curiosity. So I have never learned to turn away from it.” - Amber (to Paragon)

“Perhaps men are a trick Sa played on this world. ‘All other things I shall make vast and beautiful and true to themselves,’ perhaps he said. ‘Men alone shall be capable of being petty and vicious and self-destructive. And for my cruellest trick of all, I shall put among them men who are capable of seeing these things in themselves.’” - Vivacia (to Wintrow)

“You and I, we are like buds grafted onto a tree. We can grow true to ourselves, but only so much as our roots will allow us.” - Wintrow (to Vivacia)

“A woman of many talents. And intelligent, too. He’d probably have to kill her soon.” - Kennit POV

“Love, she thought dejectedly, was after all, based on things. Family love, the love in her marriage, even her daughter’s love for her. All based on things and the power to control the things. If you gave up power to people, then they loved you. Funny. Since she had discovered that, she little cared if anyone loved her or not anymore.” - Keffria POV

Details, observations, spoilery notes made with the benefit of the full picture

Okay, so just setting it out here that one of the main things I am tracking on this reread is the theme of… let’s call it patriarchy. So misogyny, gendered oppression, gender roles, sexual politics, rape culture, sexual/gendered violence etc. I feel confident saying that patriarchy - as the umbrella term for all of these things - is one of the foremost themes of this trilogy. The text is densely packed with so much to say on all these issues and even with my actively tracking it I will not be able to even remotely cover everything but just know it will come up A LOT

This will be less prominent but I’ve also been looking at these characters through the lens of the “4 Types of Power.” Power over, power to, power with and power within. So for example Kennit would be power over while Wintrow is power within (inner strength). As usual for Robin Hobb trauma is a huge theme in this trilogy but since it’s within a framework of systemic oppression - from gender inequality to colonial rule to slavery - I think power naturally becomes a theme in itself. Most of the characters have or will experience complete powerlessness at some point, from Paragon being stranded, immobile but sentient on the beach, to Wintrow losing more and more autonomy until he is legally a slave. And they all scramble for ways to retain or regain power. I’m interested in looking at what kind of powerlessness they experience, what kind of power they seek/utilise and what kind of methods they use to access that power. I’m not entirely sure how much this will come up in my general notes - it may be something I mostly hold onto til the end and may even end up as its own post - but I just thought I’d mention it here in case it does come up :)

Alright then, let’s start at the beginning!

Others’ Island has a skill road!

Kennit has "pale blue eyes", "gleaming black" hair, high brow, straight nose, firm jaw, finely-drawn lips, "fashionably pointed" beard and "meticulously waxed" moustache.

The blue eyes are interesting since he is from Bingtown and everyone else there seems to have dark hair and eyes - I’m thinking kind of Mediterranean colouring? - so maybe they come from his mother. If I remember correctly his father took a second wife at sea and that’s Kennit’s mother so I suppose she could be from anywhere. Maybe Chalced?

Am I forgetting some deep reason why the Others are terrified of cats lol or is it just a lil quirk?

Very telling (and very quickly) that Kennit demands adoration but is disgusted by the people who adore him. He wants to be loved but deep down still sees himself as unlovable, and therefore anyone who does love him must either be an idiot or have ulterior motives.

The Others use the Skill road to get in people’s heads and lure them off the path

Brashen is 24 and was 14 when he served on his first ship

Brashen was sexually assaulted by another crew member on his first voyage. I find it significant that not only does sexual violence come up so early but it is an incident of male-on-male pedophilic abuse. A perfect example of how expertly Robin Hobb crafts her stories and characters as this not only establishes that Brashen as a character has had a rough life from a young age but also establishes an important thematic element that won’t pay off for two more books.

Kyle has blonde hair and blue eyes

Typical Kyle has the captain quarters in a mess cos god forbid he clean up after himself if there’s no woman to do it for him

Althea is 19

Grandma Vestrit was the blueprint

The Vestrits lost 3 sons to the blood plague

Brashen has brown eyes

Althea has dark, coarse hair and describes her skin as ‘tanned’. Keffria later describes her own skin as ‘olive’.

Bingtown society almost reminds me of The Handmaid’s Tale; it’s this scary concept of a society where women’s roles/rights backslide instead of progressing towards equality over the years, but it’s laid out in a way that’s totally believable. Since Bingtown was founded by exiles and life was so hard that there was no getting around needing all hands on deck, it makes sense that it would become a status symbol to flaunt that your family is comfortable enough that your women don’t need to work. After long enough it just becomes the norm, especially considering their main trade is with Jamaillia who is more and more under Chalcedean influence.

Ronica is such an ~employer~ lol, expecting Rache to be grateful for her shitty life and ‘opportunities’ just because it could be even worse.

Ronica describes Ephron’s skin as ‘almost the colour of the linen he lay on’ after months away from the sun and sea, so yeah, I definitely don’t think Bingtown folk are naturally pale but not as dark as Buck folk, either.

Ephron wanted to make Brashen captain

Honestly super shitty of Ephron to encourage Althea’s independence and adventurous spirit if he still expected her to ‘settle down’ eventually and be a wife and mother while her husband sailed the Vivacia. Why dangle something in front of her only to tell her she can’t have it?

This is thinking way ahead but like. Characters like Althea make me so conflicted because it’s like, cool, we get a woman who is gender nonconforming... but don’t worry, she’s not queer!! and she’ll still end up hetero married with children!! I wanna make it clear that this is not a criticism of Althea’s character or Hobb’s writing but rather an observation of a larger trend. And I use the word “conflicted” rather than “disappointed” because it is more accurate. I find myself weighing up what we COULD have gotten out of an explicitly queer version of this character, vs. what the author is saying through the story and character as they ARE and how much I love and value that. It’s more a result of the epidemic of queer invisibility in media at large - particularly when it comes to gnc women - as opposed to a failure of any one work. Especially when, like I said, you can see that the character is VERY INTENTIONALLY written to be the way they are because the author has something to say. And I LIKE what she has to say! Upon reread I’m really seeing how Althea provides a very specific purpose of challenging the idea that a woman must have either love and family OR freedom/a non-traditional lifestyle. Not by pushing the ~women can have it all~ narrative but by having her find fulfilment outside the prescribed ideals. She can live the life that feels most natural to her, and she doesn’t have to be lonely in order to do so (insert Jo March ~women~ monologue). I appreciate that, and I like her and Brashen together, so I’m genuinely not complaining about Althea’s story, or her sexuality. Even Jek, who seems like the most obvious candidate for “just let her be queer!!!!” but is instead aggressively hetero can’t really bother me bc her specific brand of heterosexuality is a foil in itself to Althea’s severe repression. It all works; I can’t really even say I want it any other way. It just gets me thinking in the broader context about how rarely we get a gnc woman who doesn’t have to ‘subvert’ that archetype by being straight. Because as valid as it is to use a character like this to challenge traditional gender roles and family dynamics, it would also be perfectly valid if she was in fact queer, if she liked other women or didn’t like anyone at all. But it’s almost like when you have a character whose gender presentation is pushing boundaries, there’s an impulse to use an acceptable sexuality to “normalise” and validate their gender. What better way to show that this woman, who rejects so much of prescribed womanhood, is a real woman than to affirm her desire for men? Again, not even a criticism of Robin Hobb - a lot of the time when Althea is airing out her grievances about being a woman she is talking to Amber/the Fool, a character Hobb uses to challenge gender and sexuality with ever-increasing complexity as the series goes on, as well as eventually giving us queer characters. So although my thoughts on gender and womanhood unsurprisingly do not always align with that of the almost-70-year-old author, I am mostly happy with the way these topics are explored in this series and I’m not going to accuse her of having an overly simplistic take on gender and sexuality. Yes she still could have included queer characters in this trilogy if she’d wanted to, and I’m sad there are no explicitly queer women in the series as a whole, but it’s a bit late for that now lol. We all know I can’t help myself when it comes to queering texts but for the most part I think it is a better use of my energy to analyse the copious good stuff that’s actually there rather than focus on what *I* may perceive to be lacking.

It’s sooooo interesting (and sad, and baseless) that Althea’s family view her as selfish and don’t seem to trust that if she had the Vivacia she would use her to look after the family. Pretty much just the fact that she doesn’t show interest in being a wife and mother (at the ripe old age of 19) causes people to think that she doesn’t care for anyone but herself, which is such a false correlation. As a woman who is unattached and child-free by choice, I’ve experienced very similar reactions to my choices and it’s always so strange the value judgements people make based on these factors that have nothing to do with a person’s character.

"He had taken it into his head that one could not traffic in magic, even peripherally, without paying a price." Robin Hobb LOVES this concept and good for her honestly, just wish I could figure out what it signifies lol. Perhaps simply a healthy scepticism of power.

“Ronica thought it was something most slaves brought on themselves.” Ronica plEASE I’m trying to stan u

It’s no wonder that Kennit sets himself such ‘unattainable’ goals. I think a part of him doesn’t actually want to achieve them because then all he will be left with is the reality of himself, unchanged. As evidenced by the fact that when he became captain of the Marietta and completed a first triumphant voyage he didn’t celebrate but instead fell into a months-long depression.

Really interesting that when he broke said depression with a bout of killing it was the first time he had actually enjoyed killing.

Everything about the first Kennit/Etta scene is… Deeply disturbing.

Kennit is a pirate who doesn't want to be a pirate (James Flint vibes). What he seeks is power, respect and legitimacy and piracy is merely his means of gaining it. His plan is the antithesis of what piracy is about. But he doesn't want to be an outsider, living on the fringes, he wants to be a ruler. He wants to be celebrated and adored.

“Hopelessly, he tried to discover who was at fault for his situation. It did not please him to decide that the fault, as always, was his own.” Kennit has so much more self-hatred than I remember. It kind of shows how like, forging may numb the pain but it doesn’t break the patterns created by the trauma that you’re blocking out. Instead you actually get stuck inside those patterns because you’ve lost the ability to process the pain and move forward. So Kennit’s brain remembers the impulse for self-hatred, but now it simply appears to come from a different place, eg: failing to live up to his unattainable vision of who he ‘should’ be. “Pain and perfection. It was the only path to redemption he knew.”

Kennit gives Etta the ruby earring that he found in one of the dead cat’s ears on Others’ Island.

I like that from early on we see that Brashen looks out for Althea, but it’s not in like a pushy or condescending way, he’s just genuinely concerned when he sees the state she’s in after vibing with Vivacia for two weeks instead of eating or washing.

It’s such a weak excuse to say that you had to give the ship to Keffria/Kyle because she has children to provide for… Bro Althea would have made sure her family were taken care of, not to mention what is stopping Kyle from getting any other job and then they could have had multiple incomes??

Selden is 7, Malta is 12 and Wintrow is 13

I love how much Althea and Ronica’s internal monologues mirror each other - yet they would claim they couldn’t be more different.

Malta is taller than Wintrow.

“Our grandfather is dying.” “He’s being doing it all summer.” MALTA ksjdfnkjn

lol Brashen thinking about how althea is so selfish because she's only thinking about herself and not how her father's death affects the crew. Bro shut up her dad is dying. It's okay for her to be selfish rn

Luckily he redeems himself once he sees Ephron and the reality of his death hits him, and when he stands up for Althea, saying she should be the one to quicken the Vivacia. Rights reinstated.

Althea literally likens the quickening of the Vivacia to the birth of one’s child……… Robin how dare you separate them

Althea misses her father’s burial :(

Wintrow really ain’t wrong about Liveships being “not of Sa” lol, the whole thing is most definitely unnatural and fills me with dread

Althea was actually willing to work under Kyle if it meant not being parted from Vivacia

The way Robin Hobb writes young characters is so so on point and fascinating to me. The story seems to come up again and again of a young kid being thrust into a very adult or harsh or inappropriate situation but she always shows that kids still think like kids no matter how "mature" they seem or how many responsibilities they have. She never idealises the trials of childhood or adolescence, doesn't make out that going through traumatic shit as a young person makes you grow or toughen up. She shows how those things can actually destroy a person and shows that sometimes shitty things just happen and we don't always come out the other side better for it. Not to say none of these characters are able to recover and prosper later on in life, but she still lets their experiences affect them in a way that is true to their age.

Althea yeeting her high heels into the street is truly iconic behaviour.

“Now that my father’s dead, no one will ever be proud of me again.” Althea don’t fuckin do this to me beech

When the book starts, Amber has been in town for two years.

“It’s as much the wood she chooses as the SKILL with which she does it.” I see you beech (no idea if this was actually intentional lol but I have decided it is)

Brashen teaching Paragon to weave is cute. They are friend

It’s absolutely heartbreaking how grateful Paragon is for just the very presence of another person, even though Brashen is basically just using him for a place to sleep.

pissing myself that Kennit is like "wow who knew Sorcor would be so passionate about slavery" Kennit he was a slave???

Sorcor is so much smarter than he seems. He's the one to suggest (insist on) chasing down slavers and freeing slaves. He says this will help win pirates over to their cause and he's 100% right. This, more than the capture of a liveship, is what works most in favour of Kennit's reputation. Again, Kennit’s ‘luck’ that the idea he disdains is the one that actually gets him what he wants.

A boy’s labour ‘belonging’ to his father by law til the age of 15 in Bingtown is one of the more fucked up ideas I ever done did hear

Under 15’s Labour Union NOW

Kyle's gaslighting "oh how am I the bad guy here" bullshit is so akskdjsjakks

Makes me insane that Ronica is like “well I would have changed my mind and let you have the Vivacia if you hadn’t just proven that you’re actually not ready for the responsibility!” because Althea went out drinking???? The night after her father died???? What does that even have to do with anything?? Come on ronnie

Okay does Althea not have a lil crush on Amber??? I don’t want them together for obvious reasons but aint nothing wrong with a lil bisexual awakening for my friend Althea

It is literally the Fool’s job to be everybody’s gay awakening. I don’t make the rules.

Amber has one serpent earring and one dragon earring??? Bad bitch said I am going to wear my foreshadowing

What I appreciate about Ronica is that she fucks up but when she does she owns up to it real quick and gets to work on trying to salvage what she can

Love how a normal convo between Brashen and Paragon ends with Paragon just casually telling Brashen to kill himself. I love friendship.

Amber is described as honey-coloured

Amber was literally at the docks to find her nine-fingered slave boy but came face to face with Althea instead.

“Some are supposed to fight fate and win.” FELLAS WE GOT A FITZ REFERENCE

I wonder how much forethought there was from Robin in giving the Fool his wood-related Skill in AQ considering this entire trilogy is about wood lol. Did she contrive that to happen because she knew what the next trilogy was about and that the Fool would be in it? Did the Fool’s powers give her the idea for Liveship? Or did it all just kind of fall together? Either way, it works perfectly.

I love that Amber just straight up tells Althea she wants to be her friend. Could not be me but by Sa I respect it

Jamaillia also used to have more gender equality.

Kyle’s mother was from Chalced and his parents took on more traditional Chalcedean roles

Ronica goes to see Vivacia when Althea asks her to. Good boy.

Vivacia’s story of Althea pushing Torg off the dock when he tried to lay hands on her. We have no choice but to stan.

Is there any significance to Kennit’s raven flag? Why a raven?

“Luck such as yours has no patience with fear." What kind of luck is Kennit's exactly? Is it fate pulling him back towards Paragon like a magnet, where the rest of his soul lies? And why would that require him to be fearless? Because to fear would be to think/feel too deeply? Because he must endure loss of limb and ultimately death to get there? Everything with Kennit’s luck and his wizardwood charm makes my head spin.

Askew, the island founded by runaway slaves, is run by a woman.

The fact that Kyle actually has the power to stop Keffria seeing her own son before they set sail is ridiculous.

"Kyle was his father. Surely he would let no harm come to him.” Sure sweaty

I really do feel sorry for Keffria. She just wanted security and stability and ended up with an abusive cunt instead. Not hard to make that mistake when gender roles in your society are already inherently toxic and power imbalanced.

"If [Malta’s] a little girl, she's a well-fleshed one." Kyle you HAVE to die. I am going to kill you.

Why doesn’t it surprise me that Kyle pulls the old “why would I let my slaves get hurt/die when that’s damaging my cargo? It’s in my best interest to keep them in good condition.” Yuck!!!

Wintrow sputtering like C3PO every time someone has a remotely less than pure thought is so funny. Mild is not actually going to murder torg, bro, just chill out.

Makes sense tho cos ya know, he’s literally been sheltered from real life and raised by fricken monks lol

the sailor who pretended to throw away his Vivacia earring when Kyle fired him, then gave it back to Vivacia :')

Althea asking Wintrow if he will be a witness to Kyle's oath is their only real interaction before they meet again at the end. Wild.

Caolwn was born in Bingtown

Keffria realising that what she thought was a slow, sweet courtship was just Kyle wearing down her defences is so sad and gross.

EVEN WORSE is that he’s using their courtship as an example of what he DOESN’T want Malta to be like. Sir are u fucking okay???

Althea calls Amber her friendddddd

Amber tells Althea she was an actor who played both genders… But did she lie tho??

Genuinely tho how does Amber have such specific knowledge about how a woman disguises herself as a man……… much 2 think about

The description of Brashen realising that Athel was Althea is genuinely hilarious and delightful.

The differences in how Althea thinks she’s faring on the reaper vs. how Brashen thinks she’s doing are so smart and so telling. Althea thinks she’s finally seeing what a crap sailor she really is while Brashen is admiring how well she’s proving herself.

Wintrow’s robot vibes continue as he has to literally spell out for himself the logic behind a joke

And then immediately feels guilty for laughing at it

So clever the couple of times Robin flows smoothly between POV’s with no section break. Once between Wintrow and Vivacia to show how connected they are and once between Althea and Brashen during their sex scene.

When Kennit sees that Etta has been raped and beaten in their usual room and his only thought is that the room has been ruined for him now. That’s gonna be a yikes from me, dude.

Followed by Etta saving the bastard’s life.

omfggggg Kyle going out of his way to undermine Keffria by leaving money and permission for Malta's dress. He has done and will do so much worse but aahahahhshsiskdk

Like of course she has no respect for her mother and feels entitled to do whatever she wants. Why would she believe anyone has any authority over her in her father’s absence when he has made himself the sole authority in the family.

I love how when Malta interacts with strangers and is trying to be all grown up and authoritative they just laugh at her.

Malta is so perfectly written in her deep fascination and draw to men/sex while having zero concept of the reality of these matters and feeling repelled the second things get too real.

What Malta really wants is not sex or love or men or marriage; she wants what those things represent which is life, an acceptable avenue for experience and socialisation. She literally cites the fact that women are chained down with husband and babies before long as her motivation to live as much as she can in the meantime.

Love how Malta doesn't even consider for a moment how inappropriate people will think it is for her to show up to the ball ALONE presenting as a courtable woman while the rest of her family are home GRIEVING.

Davad is a shitcunt but he 100% did her a solid getting her the hell out of there.

Malta is 13 (by the ball)

Easy to forget how much Vivacia yearns for Althea as well in this book since she becomes Bolt later, but she misses her so much :(

Wintrow perfectly sets the stage for her later becoming Bolt bc he forces her to question her very existence in a way she never would have if bonded to Althea. "He made her think of things no other Vestrit had considered while on her decks." No wonder her identity is so easily fractured.

Kinda girlboss of Wintrow to challenge his father to be the one to cut off his finger; to dare him to look directly at what he has inflicted on his son and accept responsibility for it.

Which of course Kyle refuses.

And can’t even watch the whole thing.

Kinda girlboss of Wintrow to offer his father his severed finger.

Wintrow loses the index finger of his right hand.

Vivacia eating Wintrow’s finger serving some Hannibal realness

Ahhh it’s so the little things with Amber, like her asking permission to come closer to Paragon. She has the biggest heart. I perish.

“I have always been more curious than wise.” Please DO NOT. I did not ask for an “I have never been wise” through-line, okay? I can’t handle it

Brashen hasn’t had cindin in years. Makes sense that he returns to it when he is grieving and lost.

I’m personally offended that Ephron said the Six Duchies are more barbaric than Chalced

Call me problematic but I think Brashen and Althea’s first time is complicated but sweet. They were both drugged up, Althea initiated it, Brashen gave her plenty of opportunities to stop, and both of those touch-starved bastards enjoyed themselves.

Unfortunately relatable how Althea lets go for a few minutes and finds some relief and companionship only to immediately spoil the moment for herself by spilling out all her sexual trauma. Can’t just let herself just feel good for a moment.

Brashen gets points for vowing to kill Althea’s rapist

Ronica be like yes I will treat Rache with kindness but by god I will resent every minute of it

Keffria has been married 15 years

Cerwin is around 18/19

Keffria fully holds Cerwin over the fire when he comes for his little ‘visit’ and it’s beautiful to behold

I feel like Kyle interfering with Keffria’s girl-child - the one area she would have felt belonged to her - was probably one of the only things that could have awoken Keffria (though it still happens slowly) to Kyle’s true nature and her own power to contend with it

Robin Hobb reallllllly loves exploring indefinable bonds. The wit, the skill, Liveship bonds, dragon bonds. There are a lot of parallels between Wintrow/Vivacia and Fitz/Fool and even Fitz/Nighteyes. Most of them involuntary, most of them as painful as they are comforting. Idk what it all means but I’m here for it.

Tfw your dad gives you a hard time cos you didn’t fight a bear.

There's a channel called Wrong Again Channel. Iconic

I literally can’t process the fact that it’s called the Rain River and not the Rain Wild River

What is the nature of Kennit’s charm exactly? Is it prescient? Since Others and Liveships are both creatures that “should” have been dragons, do liveships share the Others’ gift of premonition? Vivacia has a “bad feeling” about Wintrow going ashore to Jamaillia which she calls a premonition. So does quickened wizardwood have the ability to see the future in some sense? And if so, what future does the charm see? Which part of that future is he trying to bring into reality? Is it that he knows Kennit’s role in returning dragons to the world? If he doesn’t capture Vivacia, Wintrow would never meet She Who Remembers, Vivacia would never become Bolt etc. Is it simply invested in bringing dragons back, stopping the cycle that brought him into being in the first place? He certainly seems to dislike Kennit on a personal level and makes no effort (that I remember) to keep him alive once he’s served his purpose. And when it comes to Etta, does he really have feelings for her or is he again just making sure that she remains loyal to Kennit so that she can continue to save his life and play her role in making things happen?

Etta serving looks every damn DAY

Etta chops Kennit’s leg off to save him from the serpent

“Malta was sick of them both being so crabby. It seemed to her that all they focused on was the sad side of life, the worrying parts.” This is such a kid thing to think. But also hope Malta never meets someone with depression lol.

“We could go north...” we… Brashen is so soft for Althea ugh

“It was embarrassing that she had enjoyed what they had done, and all the more so because he knew she had enjoyed it.” if this ain’t a sexually repressed woman mood

It’s obviously not cool how Brashen insults Althea when she rejects him, but I can’t help but think how he has spent the last ten years of his life in the same place she is currently in; desperately trying to prove he could make it on his own and in the process denying that he needed anybody else, fortifying himself as a one man operation. So it makes sense why he lashes out like that, like he’s trying to undo all that vulnerability and build those walls back up, make it seem like he never cared in the first place.

Rache is paid a wage

Althea’s sentiment that it’s humiliating to be seen to enjoy sex is echoed in the dream Malta shares with Reyn, where we see that her romantic fantasy is one of abduction and powerlessness. This subject of repressed female sexuality and how it manifests and intersects with rape culture is one that - as far as Mad Ship - continues to be explored.

Wintrow refusing to have someone send word to Kyle to get him out of captivity because he believes he can think his way out of this situation is telling not only of Wintrow’s character but the general attitude that slavery is something that people bring on themselves. Since Wintrow sees himself as ‘above’ slavery he is convinced that he will find a way out of it.

Wintrow dreams of dragons and serpents during his captivity

Wintrow is now 14

Kennit and Paragon share the same paranoia

Kennit’s Charm speaks to Etta in front of Kennit (I only remembered it doing so while he was sleeping).

I love how Wintrow’s whole slavery arc serves as a foil to so many of the characters’ belief that even if slavery is wrong, the people who end up as slaves are still somehow lesser or deserving of their fates. But wintrow doesn’t “earn” his slavery, he is pushed into it by a string of bad luck and the horrific injustice of the practice itself. As long as there are slave-owners, slaves will continue to be created; the conditions that create slaves will continue to be perpetuated.

Brashen “you don’t know if you want to hire me but want me to be fully available at the drop of a hat if you decide you do?” communist king, start a union babe

very Fitz-like of Brashen to think “she knows me so well she wants nothing to do with me” like bruh he hates himself so bad

“by the luck in my name” kennit ludLUCK!!!!!!!!! Yes this is me realising the connection between Kennit’s luck and Kennit’s name for the first time lol don’t look at me

“They ignored her just as they ignored the pleas of the slaves.” Yeah, another good reason not to turn a liveship into a slaver: it won’t take long for them to realise they are no more than a slave themself.

Wintrow shares Vivacia’s awareness of the slaves’ suffering

Reyn is 19

Kyle regrets giving Wintrow the slave tattoo GEE I WONDER WHY. What a wonderful time you’d have had explaining that one to your wife.

"they'd already had to put three deaders over the side" rot in hell kyle

Vivacia misses Brashen :(

Literally cannot believe the audacity of Wintrow telling Vivacia that she wouldn’t understand what it’s like to have no control over where you go and what you do… WINTROW. What is wrong with you

“You need to start being yourself and discover your own ambitions and desires and thoughts.” I’m sorry?? bro she’s a SHIP. She can have all the ambitions she likes but she has zero autonomy to achieve them. WINTROW. What is wrong with you

I love that the liveships have their own little community amongst themselves, and that they made a pact to never let what happened to Paragon happen to another liveship.

It stings bad that Althea could have gone to the liveships for help with Vivacia. Ah. How differently things could have gone.

Ophelia is a girlboss

I can’t feel too bad about Gantry’s death. No one forced him to stay aboard when he knew it was going to be a slaver. He knew it was wrong and he did it anyway.

Honestly warmed my heart what the Teniras do for Althea. Letting her serve under her own name/identity is one thing, but making her mate?? They did not have to go that hard but they did. Tomie Tenira the man the moment the legend

When Kennit meets Wintrow, the Charm says the same thing Igrot said when he met Kennit: “A likely urchin, maybe something could be made of him.” Let the unholy discomfort begin.

Even Wintrow feels the deja vu of the moment.

Wintrow really made his own bed with his constant insistence that he didn’t WANT to be bonded to Vivacia. No shit she goes nuts for Kennit when he makes it clear just how much he WANTS her.

The last like 100 pages fuckin SLAP

#rote #realm of the elderlings #realm of the quarantine #liveship traders #ship of magic #... sorry lol

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