#he was the one who helped kvothe

[happilyfeatherafter]

Happilyfeatherafter’s ficrec Fridays

It's February!! Welcome back to another week of ficrecs. A mix of post-confession therapy, poetry, and glorious AU this week. (I thought I'd not read much because this week has been, quite frankly, a bastard, but apparently this was a lie!)

If you missed last week’s you can find my previous rec lists here for more!

2 February 2024

maybe i like pleasure pain by tothewillofthepeople (@kvothes). After the perfect darkness of the Empty, Cas finds the world a little…overwhelming. Dean tries to help. Post 15x18, Cas is both touch starved and touch sensitive, and the sensory overload of the world can be a bit too much. He craves Dean's touch, but resists asking for it. A really beautifully written, metaphor laden examination of chronic pain, disability, trauma and the physicality of the body and nebulous presence of mind. All wrapped up in an abundance of love and devotion. Absolutely gorgeous.

Prayer to a False God by K_A_Mindin (@katerinaalianovamindin, art by @gaytedlasso for @spnbangbang) It’s been two years stuck in the Empty, where the Shadow showed him his worst mistakes over and over again. Then he's brought back, to Jack and to Dean, and silence continues to rein, the unspoken acknowledgement of the confession lingering in the air...until Cas decides he needs to stop letting silence rule. Alongside the emotional pull of this thread, the D/S dynamics which grant Dean the permission to speak his truths, through prayer, and through physical release, are a joy to behold.

i like your shoelaces (thanks! i stole them from the president) by @you-cant-spell-subtext-without is a brilliantly funny take on Misha's "Dean is a custodian in a fast food restaurant. Castiel is the President of the United States" fic prompt from a convention, told through the narrative hook of a Cinderella story. Delightfully tongue in cheek, and laugh out loud, this is currently a wip but a must read to bring joy to your inbox each update.

FROTUS by kathscradle takes the very same prompt but approaches it in a very well executed slowburn that says ok but seriously what if? My favourite thing about this fic is the importance of family, Cas being the widowed single parent of Jack and Claire, and Dean stepping up in his new role as step-Dad. Add in the slowburn relationship unfolding through long distance hyper-monitored correspondence, and all the national security matters at hand, this longfic gave my The West Wing/Scandal/Destiel brain a great big hug.

birthday candles by rhinestoneangels (almondrose/@pinknatural) is a super cute, ever so charming Dean's birthday ficlet in which Castiel's sister Anna drags him to a birthday party for a friend of hers who he has never met. He googles what to bring to a birthday party and settles on baking cookies...one fire later and fortunately, the firefighter who shows up to save Castiel from himself is very dreamy, and what a coincidence! It's his birthday, too….

I've also fallen down a rabbit warren of destiel and spn poetry, and I really really love this one by @whatladybird and this one by @eyelinerdean, @donestiel's incredible poetry gif edit series and I'm very excited to keep reading more on the @spnpoetryrenaissance blog. Has anyone seen a 2024 prompt list? Asking for reasons.

PS if you'd like to be added to a tag list for my ficrecs going forward please let me know!

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Reading Rothfuss’ second book in The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Wise Man’s Fear.

Elodin!🤩🤩🤩😂

“Fine,” he said. “Prove you’re worth teaching. Shake my assumptions down to their foundation stones.” He patted at his robes dramatically, as if looking for something lost in a pocket. “Much to my dismay, I find myself without a way to get past this door.”

[Kvothe picks the lock and is very pleased with himself.]

[Elodin picks up a bunch of clothes in a lavish bedchamber, drops them in Kvothe’s arms, and then starts burning them in the fireplace one by one.]

I couldn’t help but ask the obvious. “Why are you burning your clothes?”

“Nope. Not even close to the right question.”

…

I suddenly realized what was going on. “Oh, God,” I said. “Whose rooms are these?”

Elodin gave a satisfied nod. “Very good. I would also have accepted Why don’t you have a key for this room? or What are we doing in here?…You know you’re clever. That’s your weakness. You assume you know what you’re getting into, but you don’t.

His utter troll behaviour ‘teaching’ his class is just the icing on the cake after this.

Ambrose’s revenge is cruel and grossly wrong, but it’s also in a way hilariously well targeted. In a person who generally acted predictably, it would stand out instantly that something was wrong; it plays on the fact that Kvothe is Kvothe and practically nothing he could do or say in his beyond-uninhibited state would strike people as being completely unbelievable for him.

[l3st1b0urn3s-707]

I recently read The narrow road between desires and god it was so good!!

If you didn't know this about me, I read The kingkiller chronicle about three years ago and I really like these books. And even if the third book hasn't come out yet, having this novella about Bast (my second favourite character because Auri has a special place in my heart) is a really fun treat.

I've loved Bast since he first appeared in The name of the wind because I really liked his playful personality and how he cared so much about Kvothe. I also really like fae, so that was an extra cool thing about his character.

Now, this book was awesome. I really needed to read something that was still in the fantasy genre but didn't have a lot of action or a really complicated plot. And even if this book had some parts that I didn't understand that well, it was just what I needed. There's something really fun about accompanying Bast in a day in his life. It was also really cool that the specific date when the story happens is the summer solstice, the exact same day when I read it! It's really nice getting to know characters seeing their daily lives, and I think this book helped me understan Bast a little bit better.

And also, there were a lot of fun surprises! I definitely wasn't expecting to see queer characters in this story, specially because there weren't many in the other books (I actually can't think of any right now). As a queer person myself I really liked seeing that the main character plus some other background characters were part of the lgbtq+ community. It's really nice seeing an author's evolution portraying these kinds of topics.

I had a really great time reading this book. I think Bast's interactions with the children were really sweet and interesting, he seems to really care about them, including Rike, even though he was still mad at him. And I also liked his conversations with Kvothe! They also helped understand how their relationship as mentor/ studen goes beyond that, they kinda look like a family. Oh, and the illustrations were some of the most beautifull ones I've ever seen in a book, they also fit so well with the aesthetic of the story.

I'd love to read The Doors of Stone one day, because Rothfuss' narration is trully magical. The kingkiller chronicle is a really good series (even if there are some parts of the story that I don't really like as much), and it would be a shame to never see its ending. I understand that Rothfuss feels overwhelmed because the first books have left very high standards and he's scared the last one won't be as good, but I really think we'll all love it as much as the rest.

In conclusion, Bast is a bisexual icon, books with illustrations are my weaknesses and I still have a massive hyperfixation on tkkc. And more seriously, I really recommend this book to anyone who loves these books as much as I do and hasn't had the opportunity to read it yet!

[timelorddarthswagger]

Someone liked one of my old theories. For NOTW. And initially I was going to scour my drafts for one of the Auri theories I was working on. But it was daunting... So you lot get a summary. We know kvothe has changed his name. And we can suspect that he had some part in instigating a war after he killed a King. We know from the flow of events that Ambrose was moving up the line of succession.

The war could be in part to no clear legitimate heir. Let's say the maer is also dead but did his royal duty in producing an heir. If his wife is still alive. That would make her a regent of some kind. But we also have reason to suspect that Auri might be the Princess Aurian. Kvothe possibly going to Auri for help or confiding in her and how she'd said she would protect him. Might put enough of herself back together to become a contender for said throne.

Now given the effect that Kvothe had on Auri. By giving her a new name. He gave her back a piece of her self. Because he knew something of what she went through. In a way he helped open one of the doors of her sleeping mind. Who better to trust to give him back his name then someone he gave a name to? And in the way that auri is influenced by the name she was given. In slow regars of silent things. Auri has a figure or toy of someone from the order aymr. Given that she's seen kvothe with blood down his hands and even in a way knighted kvothe by calling him her ciridi or however it was spelled. If she fixes kvothes name and gives him back to himself. Along with the name that kvothe had built for himself in the same way that Felurian has.

I think Auri will go from named to maker. And kvothe might take on the mantle of one of the Knights of the order. Like one of those self fulfilling prophecy type of situations. In a way it could be forshadowed in the way that Bast spoke to chronicler about the nature of mask. Before kvothe was pretending to be more than he was and though he started to see the merit in his actions as being things worthy of a story. He didn't truly believe it until the encounter with Felurian. A d it makes me think of the nature of his true name. Flame , thunder, broken tree. Kvothe has many instances of fire in his life that could spur the first. The same goes for the second. And in part I thought the broken tree was about his family tree. But Bast mentions that the tree in the Fae can see all of time. And that anyone who meets it is killed on the spot. I have to wonder if that fae creature butterfly effected things to make the meeting with kvothe happen. And what would it gain from setting kvothe after lanrae? Well we know lanrae sought it out for a fruit that could bring back the dead. Kvothe might have done the same.

The cathae showed the causality of its nature by manipulating the branches and vines to kill the butterflies. And some thing had to have trapped the cathae in the tree. The broken tree could be either kvothe freeing the cathae or killing it. Being the fae bargin of a fruit for freedom. Or not providing one in hope of kbothe lashing out in the way he did when Ambrose broke his lute. I could only imagine what he'd do with a shattered mind. Since we know it got into his head before when it spoke of Denna's patron and his mother along with his troupe. And given the plum bobs lasting effects of giving him a short temper and a lack of inhabition when riled up. I won't ve counting out that aspect of it, for bow at any rate. That's a tangled mess of a half crafted theory that's half remembered.

I haven't re-read the books in a while. Recovering from psychic damage that came at the hands of all the bad book adaptations recently.

[leclerced]

do u have any book recs??

i wanna cry because i typed out like such long recs and i have to do it again. i love reading so buckle in. i’m saving the best for last

if you want short sweet summer romances, i like sarah dessen. they’re all kind of interlinked because they’re in the same universe so once you’ve read a few you’ll notice similarities like cities mentioned, vacation beach towns, the social media apps they use. no need to read in any specific order or anything. i love this lullaby and along for the ride most i think. i used to read these as a teen and would read literally one each day.

i love the cruel prince series by holly black, anything by holly black is good if you like fae, but that one especially. it’s about a mortal girl who lives in the fae world and is raised with the royalty because her adoptive father is like a general to the king? she helps overthrow the kingdom and makes one of the princes a king even though he doesn’t want to be king. enemies to lovers. they hate each other until they don’t. there’s a scene where she’s holding him hostage with a knife to his throat and im pretty sure he begs her to kiss him. its super hot.

the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater is incredible. it’s about a psychic’s daughter who doesn’t have powers of her own, she just amplifies energies. every psychic has always told her the same thing; if she kisses her true love, he will die. what happens when she goes searching for a dead king who grants wishes and falls in love with four boys??? has sm longing it makes me SICK i have reread it sm times. also has a sequel trilogy called the dreamer trilogy that made my head SPIN. if you like audio books i wholeheartedly recommend this one because it’s set in virginia and the narrator’s thick accent is incredible imo.

now the best. the king killer chronicles by patrick rothfus is my favorite unfinished series and has been for ten years running just about. i have reread it multiple times a year. i remember reading this for the first time and not being able to get into it because it was so slow, it took me like a hundred pages out of seven hundred or so. there’s now an illustrated version out that is absolutely breathtaking. i met the author and had like three books signed by him. im shaking thinking about it!! i have begged people to read this book more times than i can count. i also recommend these as audio books but there are two different ones and i prefer the ones by nick podehl.

it’s set in a fictional world with a magic system that has a well defined set of rules based on science and only people who study it and train their minds can use it. our protagonist is essentially a savant who can do anything but also an idiot who doesn’t think things through. you’ll see what i mean. i love him. there are a million things i love about this series. the world, the prose, the characters. he travels around the world so you get to see a variety of different cultures the author created inspired by real life. my favorite are the adem, they’re not really brought up until the second book but they are silent mercenaries for hire who have a secret hand language and are the best fighters in the world. speaking and music are barbaric to them, so when our loud mouth musician shows up in their part of the world and wants to know their secrets it causes trouble!

it’s got a frame story that follows an innkeeper in a war torn world, out in the middle of nowhere. it’s the only inn in sight so it’s where townsfolk gather after working a long day, and the first insight you get into the magic of the world is from them as they tell stories over dinner. the innkeeper has an assistant named bast who you’ll learn is a high ranking member of the fae. a scribe shows up and claims that the meager innkeeper is actually the infamous kingkiller, kvothe. after denying it a bit, he concedes and agrees to tell his story but it has to be in three parts over three days. as he tells the story of his life and how he gained such notoriety it’ll cut back to the frame story when townsfolk come in or they take a break for a meal. i cannot summarize it well enough because it is So Much but below is the publisher description.

“The tale of Kvothe, from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages, you will come to know Kvothe as a notorious magician, an accomplished thief, a masterful musician, and an infamous assassin. But this book is so much more, for the story it tells reveals the truth behind Kvothe's legend.”

There is also this line from the novel which he says when he begins his life story and i love how cocky and arrogant he sounds bc tbh hes just baby. “My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the university at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.”

i could write so much about these books. this is me begging someone to read any of them and talk to me about them because i have years worth of thoughts.

[rhetoricandlogic]

‘The Narrow Road Between Desires’: Beautifully poetic, disappointingly familiar

By Gavin Meichelbock

Nov. 21, 2023 12:03 p.m.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting a new installment in the “Kingkiller Chronicle” series and still haven’t gotten it.

The second draft of Patrick Rothfuss’ 2014 short story, “The Lightning Tree,” has been slightly bulked up and released on Nov. 14 under the title “The Narrow Road Between Desires.” the story still follows the character of Bast on a usual day in the town of Newarre in the world of Temerant, as he interacts with the other townsfolk. Outside of the disappointment of this novella not being a new book, when taken on its own merits, it is an amazingly fun and engaging day-in-the-life because of Patrick Rothfuss’s writing.

Rothfuss’ skill with the quill is unparalleled in the realm of modern fantasy. With his master craftsmanship at world building, the town of Newarre isn’t another bustling kingdom where all the major events happen in a world that is waiting for the main character to show up, defeat a darklord and save the world. Newarre is a farming village in the middle of nowhere, and readers can feel it. The villagers aren’t under attack from goblins – they have simple, and in the case of this novella, petty problems.

Throughout the novel, Bast is mostly just helping kids avoid getting in trouble with their parents over childish issues such as accidentally cutting themselves on knives or how to get revenge on their bully. In return for his help, Bast isn’t asking for their money, souls or firstborn sons. He instead gets paid in secrets, cool rocks, by having them bring him 50 of a certain kind of flower or two maple sticky buns. This seemingly mindless nothing of a novella should bore the reader within the first 15 pages, but it doesn’t. Because of the way Rothfuss writes, a little girl asking how to convince her dad to let her get a pet cat is as engaging as a walk through Middle-earth.

Rothfuss’ paragraphs all read like poetry with their beautifully alluring metaphors and similes, calculated rhythm and rhymes and cutting articulation and alliteration. His poetic form of writing makes every line of dialogue sing and every description dance off the page. Evidently, Rothfuss’ way with words fits the story’s main character Bast like skin.

Bast is depicted throughout the series, and especially in this book, as an artist. He moves with the subtle grace of a dancer and the perfect nonchalance of a cat, where every thought is calculated and every word is deliberate. When he talks, he often goes into elongated depictions and explanations where the ends of sentences start to rhyme, creating a meter of their own that carries your eyes down the page as if in a waltz with the words themselves.

Bast is also the only one in the book who talks like this – everyone else isn’t their own little Shakespeare. The other villagers talk very plainly, use slang, incorrect grammar and wear their emotions on their sleeves, unlike Bast. His perfect speech pattern separates him from the rest of the townsfolk. This otherness provides subtle clues that he is more than meets the eye, which is the main problem with this book.

Readers of the “Kingkiller Chronicle” know Bast is a Fae, a magical being from a parallel realm, so Rothruss acting as if the audience doesn’t know this fact is still a very odd choice. There is so much tongue-in-cheek about it that it will give the reader a canker sore. It works when Bast is cleverly dancing in and out of his words during conversation that provides illusions to his secret, but when it is just his inner monologue, there is no reason to be so coy. Because of this, readers don’t learn anything new about the character.

Bast is such an intriguing character in the main storyline because of his having an ulterior motive for his relationship with the series protagonist, Kvothe. The last installment in Kvothe’s story, “The Wise Man’s Fear,” even ends on a cliffhanger revolving around this motive. There are so many interesting fan theories about how Kvothe is Bast’s father or how Bast is actually the man who killed Kvothe’s parents in disguise. “The Narrow Road Between Desires” could have been a much more interesting and rewarding book if it had explored Bast’s relationship with Kvothe and answered some questions that have been left unanswered since 2007. Instead, this book is just Bast sauntering around for 208 pages seducing older women and teaching kids to lie.

While it was great being able to delve back into the world of Temerant after all these years, the novel is only an extended version of a book from almost 10 years ago that expands on nothing. Instead of spending $25 hoping for a new adventure in Temerant, fans should listen to this audio recording of Rothfuss’ “The Lightning Tree” for free on YouTube. The hope of Rothfuss publishing something new is, in itself, a narrow road between desires that has yet again let die hard fans down, leaving only the slow regard of silent things and a dead series of unanswered questions behind.

Clearly, “The Narrow Road Between Desires” is a great book that should not be recommended to anyone who hasn’t already read it.

[ardenrabbit]

Thanks for answering my ask.....if you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Please don't apologize! These are fun :D I hope you can find something you like in my replies! 💜💖💜

I'm realizing that I don't ship a whole lot of things, but I get really invested in a handful. I deeply want more involving women, but I sadly just haven't found a lot in media that I relate to or find compelling?? :( I have more women in relationships in my OCs, but all of the following are m/m.

1. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, from MXTX's Mo Dao Zu Shi, canon: These guys are individually such fundamentally good and selfless people and express it with wildly different impacts to their reputations. Extremely different personalities while alike in all the right ways. The longing. The gentle care and appreciation for one another. Also unfathomably horny. They have a cute house and pet rabbits.

2. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, from MXTX's Tian Guan Ci Fu, canon: So. SOFT. Just. The gentlest and most unrelenting devotion. Eight hundred years of longing. It is unfair to compare any other slow burn to these guys. Hua Cheng is batshit insane but we forgive him for being a stalker and a zealot because he is so unhealthy levels of in love, and I am such a sucker for it. They are unfailingly so kind to one another and it murders me.

3. Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang, from MXTX's Mo Dao Zu Shi, possibly one-sided canon? Def not requited: Okay so this isn't a ship I'd go down with by any means, but I just enjoy how fucked up it is. Xue Yang is a psychopath, liar, and literal serial killer and Xiao Xingchen is a saint who deserved better than what happened. I'm just fascinated by Xue Yang's horrible little brain getting attached to the one person who ever showed him real kindness, and how he was never going to be able to redeem himself or even acknowledge his mistakes in a way that they could ever be together. Xue Yang is a bad person and the narrative neither forbids you from caring about him nor tries to absolve him. Just really well-written tragedy.

4. Keith and Shiro, from Voltron, not canon but we all agree that canon shafted everyone: Okay yeah I still love them. The anti thing was new and spooky to me when I first joined the fan community, so I was a secret sheith fan for a while, but these two are just special to me. They never give up on each other. That's a whole Thing. They actually get each other's dumb adrenaline junkie hobbies and their deep senses of justice, and they complement and support each other in the mature ways they need to grow as people. The stupid, unwavering devotion thing. The Eyes. The soft way they say each other's names??? Kills me. For me, canon feels like it was truly built on the foundation of their relationship.

5. Keith and Lance, from Voltron, not canon but we all agree that canon shafted everyone: I started out only posting Keith/Lance on AO3 because I was new to like, Talking to People and didn't want to get jumped by antis, and klance was the anointed, schoolboard-approved ship at the time. These two are sweet in that competitive boys way, and they gradually grow and become friends who actually support each other. It takes them a minute, and canon doesn't do it justice and then kind of uncomfortably forces it, but they get there.

6. Fenris and Hawke, from Dragon Age, canon depending on playthrough: Wow. Again, the Devotion. Fenris is a character that Hawke can really help heal from his past. They actually make a profound difference in each other's lives. The puppy eyes. Fenris's very real and nuanced trust issues and his efforts to navigate them. Hawke having opportunities to truly Support him. They can have great conversations and affect each other's perspectives on important issues. Love them.

7. Kvothe and Bast, from Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, unconfirmed as of yet but at least one-sided canon as far as I'm concerned: A pair of fucked-up people. One is an unreliable narrator with possibly a case of megalomania + self-loathing, and the other is an unhinged Fae prince with a hero-worshiping crush on him that is dangerous for everyone else in the vicinity. Bast is scary. I am obsessed with him.

8. Lu Qingyun and Liu Jianghe, from Saved the Public Enemy by Mistake, canon: Please please please read this manhua. It's ongoing and incredible. It has six fics on AO3 and I want to talk to people about it. Dark wuxia story with spooky cultivation, a surly doctor, and an unpredictable genius maniac who isn't really the bad guy. These guys are ridiculous, and it's confirmed that they get together in the future and have a soft, happy ending, but for now their relationship is delightfully strange?? They have deep trust and respect for each other, and it's THERE once you see it, but the narrative does a great job of not showing it too much on the surface. Very cleverly written. I have a feeling that Liu Jianghe has been in love with Lu Qingyun from before the start.

9. Shion and Nezumi, from Atsuko Asano's No. 6, canon: Chaotic revolutionaries in a post-nuclear fallout dystopian utopia. Both simultaneously very intelligent and so stupid. Melodramatic bastards. Shion is the idealist and Nezumi is the one who just wants to burn it all down (he doesn't). They open each other's eyes to a lot of things, emotionally and existentially. My favorite blend of very different people with ultimately similar values, but different ways of going about them. They also can call each other out on their bullshit, which is important.

Having trouble thinking of anyone else 😂 All of these are ones I've cared enough to dabble in fic about, whether I've posted it or not, which I think is a decent metric. I'm nice to myself so I tend to lean toward canon stuff.

Thank you again for asking! Have a great day! 💕💐✨

[charlotterhea]

Time for part 2 of my 'Summer Fic Reading Challenge' resume and when you're interested in what I read lately, you know what to do. ^^

13. New (to you) pairing

Since it probably will be hard to find a new pairing in the HP fandom, I went for a new-to-me pairing, and looking through the latest updates, I decided to give Oliver Wood/Percy Weasley a chance with "Moments Like This" by audrxyweasley. It's a cute little story of the two carefully approaching the topic of their mutual feelings for each other and it had me smiling all through reading it. Perfect story for a warm feeling before bed. ^^ Maybe I should give Percy some more attention in my fics as well...

20. Small fandom (<1000 fics)

For someone who doesn't normally venture into other fandoms, let alone knows enough fandoms to find such a small one, this was one of the hardest prompts to fulfill. But I'm currently reading "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss and enjoy it quite a bit so I thought I'd check the section on AO3 and lo and behold! It had less than 1000 fics! 😩 So I went to the last page to find a fic that wouldn't spoil me too much and decided to read "Cut Flower Sound" by Min Daae (Lise). It is a short story containing three little scenes between Bast and Kvothe and I tremendously enjoyed reading them! They were written so well that it felt like reading missing scenes from the book and now I'm even more curious about finishing it. 😏

15. Superpowers / no powers AU

Being in a fandom that has what our world would call superpowers anyway, I went for a canon divergence AU in which Hermione loses her powers during the war: "The Queen and the Clown" by Emma_Tanaka. And it was such a cute and gentle story of Severus trying to help Hermione get her magic back and Hermione building a Muggle life for herself - and very successfully at that! I enjoyed reading the story very much so if you're in the mood for a light romance, look at this story.

7. Angst

I stumbled upon a story here on Tumblr a few days ago, just a list of the author's stories, and when I opened this link I saw that it fit the angst prompt and I decided to give it a shot. Little did I know how much I'd love this story. 😭 The story I'm about to gush about is "Veiled Devotion" by Sunflower_sapphire and I knew I'd love it as soon as my brain had halfway grasped the first scene. By now you probably all know that I'm a sucker for angst and H/C, it's the main theme of my stories and it's what I love reading the most as well. And this story is a jackpot, istg! It has everything, heartbreak, love, desperation, hope, secrets and a lot of forgotten memories. I loved it. I will reread it at one point, I need to, it's just so good.

1. Soulmates

This trope is kind of growing on me, I have to admit. However, I do prefer the more complicated takes than the shortcut to love and smut versions. ^^ So it probably is not surprising that I went with "Hazy Shades" by apckrfan. Severus who knows who his soulmate is but doesn't dare approach her for years? Yes, please! And I really enjoyed the story and its symbolism. I love their misunderstandings and Severus being the adorable idiot he is when it comes to emotions. And I loved the end. So, if you're in the mood for an angsty soulmate approach, try this story!

[jugofraga]

Earlier today I finished The Name of The Wind! A very fun and pleasant read! I liked the way world building was very integrated into the story and I liked that while Kvothe is almost a perfect hero, he doesn’t get annoying as a protagonist, he struggles, he gets too big a head and digs his own graves! He is a little bit insufferably perfect at times though. My big complaint with him is that i often forgot he is 15. He doesn’t act 15. And while I know that’s part of his amazing-ness, he could have easily been 17-18.

The other characters are also very fun, specially Bast I love you my little asshole fae prince <3 Denna is Ye Old Manic Pixie Dream Girl and I much prefer Auri and her word play, but they’re both cool. This book could use more women in it and it’s stupid watsonian “uhh very little women at the university” doesn’t help with that issue.

I do like Elodin! We all have that one uni professor who’s a little bit off their rocker but this one can also call upon the wind. I’ve started the second book and I hope Wil and Sim get more time in the spotlight, I do also like them!

[kote-the-inn-keeper]

Underrated KKC character of the day: Abenthy 

[sonofrose]

“Pacing”, Character driven story and Change.

Has anyone ever read the Kingkiller Chronicle by one Patrick Rothfuss?

The framing device is that a scribe known as Chronicler, searches and finds Kvothe, the titular Kingkiller, to write down his life story.

I don't really want to tell the whole thing so I'll go to my point.

There comes a moment early in the Kvothe's story where he has to defend himself in a trial, and you can only speak a specific lenguage for it as per law.

The scribe seemed to look foward to that part only for Kvothe to skip it saying something along the lines of "I was on trial, defended myself and was let go."

The scribe was both perplexed and disappointed as he heard Kvothe learned the defense lenguage in days, the law in half that time and that his defense was delivered so eloquently everyone present cried.

Kvothe replied that for him the process was just tedious and anoying, and most importantly, that since this is his story, he decides what he wants to tell.

Why am I mentioning this?

The portion of the amphibia fandom worrying about "pacing" is the scribe to the Amphibicrew's Kvothe.

(Yes this is about the frog show. I have no idea what I'll post about once it ends😋)

While I’m not sure how many people are actually unhappy with Season 3′s current direction I’m sure we’ve all heard the worries.

That there’s too much to cover and that in the coming season 3B things will either feel rushed or we won’t be able to see everything.

And while I undertand that and those are legitimate concerns...

It’s not the real reason they’re upset.

Amphibia is an interesting story, mainly because it is completely character driven.

The point of Amphibia has always been Anne and her journey of self discovery and the relationships in her life.

Many of the plots of the episodes are about the growth and change of its characters: Anne, the Plantars, Wartwood, Sasha, Grime, Marcy, etc.

You can even see it reflected on the antagonists who, in one form or another refuse change or change in bad ways:

Grime and Sasha wanted to keep power and control, and after the fall of toad tower they made a negative change into a power grab rebellion, Sasha even said she did not want to change and her current more heroic goals came when she decided to change herself for the better; Andrias is caught in the past of the Golden Age of Amphibia and never really did anything to help current Amphibia and now is actively destroying it for the sake of past glories; The Core is a collection of the “brightest minds” and was developed after how to conquer death was discovered, in other words it's the embodiment of stagnation.

And Marcy (god bless her poor soul) while she grew and “leveled up” her core issues remained the same (there’s a post about the changes of the calamity trio somewhere but I don’t remember it properly) and as Darcy her chances of changing are stripped away.

And this isn’t bad, many of us enjoy it, so why are some people discontented with this season?

Because another thing that defines Amphibia is that there is always something bigger behind the surface.

It hits us in the face from the moment the title card appears

It was prevalent in season 1 with the politcal intrigue of the valley and the frog riots that culminated in “Reunion”.

It was prevalent in season 2 with Sasha and Grime’s own rebellion and the mysteries of the Temples and the box, and most importantly with the prophecy.

It all finally culminated in “True Colors” where we got our first bigger glance at what that something might be.

And that continues still with the hint of “The Mother of Olms”

But all that doesn’t change the type of storytelling in Amphibia.

It’s still a character driven story, the bigger something will remain in the background as it did in seasons 1 & 2 while the focus will remain on how the characters change and adjust.

So the grievances are not about pacing, or about being worried that the story wont cover everything (It wont btw, Braly admitted that some things will remain unexplored like the Golden Age of Amphibia) or the fandoms recent obsession with angst.

It’s because the story we’re getting is not the story we want to see.

We want to see the prophecy, to see the Calamity Trio work together to fulfill it, to get answers to the mysteries of the Calamity Box and the Gems, to what is The Night.

It was one thing to get little glimpses, but now that we have some idea of what the endgame will be we want the focus to be on that story.

We can come up with all kinds of Watsonian answers for how Season 3 is going, but the Doylist and true answer is just that this is the story the amphibicrew wants to tell and like Kvothe they get to choose how to tell it.

And if you think about it, this way of storytelling is what gave us “Reunion”, “Marcy at the Gates”, the mini arc of the Three Temples, “True Colors” and most recently “Olivia and Yunnan”.

Amphibia is the kind of story where only once you finish it everything makes sense, there is NO filler, and yes, everything is foreshadowing (in the true meaning of the term which is “you will know what it means later”)

You might feel disappointed sometimes, and honestly you have full right to just stop following the story if it’s not the one you want, but I for one want to be patient and see what the finished mosaic will look like.

[bookcub]

Kvothe and Denna, obviously

Katsa and Po

who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter

i guess denna is the werewolf and and kvothe is the hunter but his heart isnt really in it

katsa is a werewolf hunter and po is a werewolf. katsas heart is in it but for all the wrong reasons and po changes her mind

who’s the mermaid and who’s the fisherman

denna is the mermaid because i want the aesthetic of it and kvothe is the fishman. and po is the mermaid because i like to imagine katsa is like, no mermaids dont exist and then falls head over heels for po. also po has a silver and gold tail

who’s the witch and who’s the familiar

kvothe should be a fox and denna is the witch who accidently changed him into one during and experiment and their journey is to try and change hime back

i just really want katsa to be like a big panther or lion as a familiar to menace everyone while po is his friendly, helpful self lol

who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict

kvothe is the barista and denna is . . . not an addict but she tries a different drink every day and always gives a different name and she always takes recommendations for pastries from him

katsa is the barista she would never allow herself to be addicted to caffine. po is there every day and they also take a matial arts class together

who’s the professor and who’s the TA

i want kvothe to lead like a music or theater club and denna is always challenging his ideas and they banter/flirt constantly and everyone ships it

more like a defense/fight class and katsa would teach kids and po would be her assistant and make sure the kids didn't get overwhelmed. they are a good team

who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)

i don't really want to put kvothe as the knight and denna as the princess but like,,,, maybe kvothe is the dragon and denna is the princess content in her tower and loves chatting to the dragon who keeps away unwanted suitors

i realize katsa and po are both technically a prince and princess but katsa is the knight (they are lowkey both knights in a way, arent they?)

who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent

neither kvothe or denna is ready to be a guardian oh my god no please

katsa is the teacher (again of some sort of fight class) and po is the guardian of bitterblue and they fall in loveeee

who’s the writer and who’s the editor

kvothe is the writer and denna tells him when hes being a pretentious asshole in his work

po is the writer and katsa is the editor i guess. for unknown reasons

send me a ship!!

[ellaofoakhill]

Thoughts Provoked on The Kingkiller Chronicle

So I’ve recently started watching Daniel Greene on youtube, in part because I want to brush up on current reads in fantasy, and because he strikes me as pretty insightful and fair-minded when it comes to material he’s reviewing, and the flaws he finds in it.

There is one point he’s brought up, in regards to the Kingkiller Chronicle (The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, and possibly my favourite title for any work of fiction ever, The Slow Regard of Silent Things) by Pat Rothfuss that I have to... maybe not properly disagree with, but at least counter. I’ll also try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

In particular, he says that he doesn’t like Kvothe as a character, on the grounds that his problems arise, and he just... solves them. I may be misunderstanding here, but the impression I’m getting is that, to Daniel (no, we haven’t met or even directly communicated, but calling him Mr. Greene feels all kinds of wrong), the solutions to Kvothe’s problems don’t feel earned.

And to some degree, I see the merit in that logic. Kvothe is insanely talented for his age--for anyone of any age, quite frankly--and his talent, intelligence, and charisma do solve a lot of his problems, and issues that could get many a person thrown in a dungeon and/or killed are resolved with perhaps a few scrapes, and often a bruise to Kvothe’s ego.

Now if you take that by itself, yes, Kvothe can come off as having some fairly substantial Plot Armour. I’m also aware that liking or disliking a character is an entirely subjective experience, and if you simply dislike Kvothe, that’s fair; he can come off as a wise-cracking little turd who can’t keep his mouth shut.

Kvothe is extremely intelligent, and this intelligence helps him pick up various skills with nigh superhuman speed. And he’s charismatic, which helps him persuade people to, if not help him, at least dislike him less. This intelligence and charisma also give him a strong sense of pride, which makes him (a) think he’s right more often than he is, (b) not listen to people who might actually know more than he does about something, and (c) sass people who can cause him LOTS of grief. I like Kvothe, but he has a mouth on him, and it, along with the quick wit behind it, arguably cause more of his problems than they solve. Kvothe’s strengths--his intelligence and charisma--function as honest character traits, which are very advantageous in many situations, and horribly detrimental in others.

And given the structure of the narrative (mild spoilers), we already know that these qualities don’t save the day. Present-day Kvothe isn’t living like a king having saved the world; he’s an innkeeper in the middle of butt-plug nowhere, hiding out due to reasons I won’t go into here, not least because the final book hasn’t come out yet (Not a dig at Rothfuss; let him take all the time he needs), but it’s pretty clear that his life is going to completely fall apart in the not-too-distant future. And chances are his intellect and charm will be to blame.

TL;DR: Kvothe’s intelligence and charisma both solve and cause lots of his problems. It’s perfectly fair if you don’t like him, but I personally feel that these traits are treated fairly, and make him a deeply nuanced, fascinating character.

[madraleen]

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) - Patrick Rothfuss 3,5 deflated stars

Going-downhill jot-it-down-as-it-happens commentary under the cut.

-Atmosphere 11/10, I’m there, I’m in the inn, and the story-telling feels like a warm hug.

-I can’t wait for Chronicler and Kvothe to meet. Like, yes, babes, stir up each other’s lives, it’s coming.

-”A real story takes time to prepare” - ah yes, that lines up with the third’s book mysterious release date.

-I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that namedrops its title so often.

-Abenthy’s thing on how you learn a thing strikes a chord, I’m like ‘Yes, sir, it’s doable, sir, thank you for reminding me, sir.”

-Haliax?!?! Larne is Haliax?!

-”Your weather is wild and uncivilized” - lmao, best line I’ve read in forever.

-It’s cool - technically, not much is really happening, but the setting and the characters and the voice are so interesting that you can’t help but be engrossed.

-”He’s a little fae around the edges” sounds like the best compliment ever.

-”I could steal from a hundred stories and tell you a lie so familiar you would swallow it whole” - oh my stars, I am in love with this line.

-I’ve low-key come to low-key love the minor characters, Elxa Dal and Elodin and Auri.

-These what-flower-suits-you started out well, but now I feel like I’m reading a buzzfeed quiz in literary language.

-Oh hey, Kvothe’s iconic green cloak (I assume it’s iconic, I’ve seen the art).

-I want more Auri and Mola, I don’t care one bit about Denna.

-Eyyy, pick up the pace with the horse and what Trebon looks like.

-Here’s the thing, Denna irks me, or the way Kvothe talks about her irks me, I’m not sure which, but I really really don’t enjoy the parts she’s in. I don’t like her, I don’t like who Kvothe is around her.

-My desire to read really plummets when Denna is involved.

-Brownie points for dragon creativity?

-I’m so bored with the whole dragon thing. Is it the dragon’s fault, is it Denna’s, who knows.

-We’re off Denna and back at Uni and I’m instantly interested again.

-That did go downhill fast for me, didn’t it. I was mesmerized, and then largely lost interest.

[what-a-treat-nz]

World Book Challenge: China

Officially, the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion. It covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, and is officially divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The areas in dark green are under direct Chinese control; the areas in light green (Tibet and Taiwan) are contested. For the purposes of this challenge, I’m treating China, Tibet and Taiwan as three separate countries. Because I can.

Number of Chinese people in New Zealand: As of the 2013 Census, there were 163,104 people of “Chinese (not further defined)” ethnicity in New Zealand - 10,008 of those were in Wellington City.

Have I been there? Yes! I visited Shanghai with my Dad in December 2011. I bought a really nice coat, had tea that tasted like warm Fanta (it was oddly addictive), and got hugged by Dave Grohl. So, the usual Chinese experiences, really.

I also had Peking Duck for the first time in my life, and holy hell I didn’t know what I was missing. I’ve tried to make up for it by eating copious amounts of it since.

The books

For “China” on my reading challenge, I read three fantasy novels - Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and the final two books of the Poppy War trilogy (The Dragon Republic and The Burning God) by R. F. Kuang, a Chinese-American author.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (魔道祖师 / Mó Dào Zǔ Shī)

(Book 30 of 2021)

Given the fact that I have an entire subsection of my blog about how much I love the live-action TV show based on this book, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that I had Mó Dào Zǔ Shī at the top of my list of Chinese books to read.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī tells the story of Wei Wuxian, a loathed cultivator of dark and demonic arts who resurrects 16 years after his tragic death. His return to the world brings him to reunite with the people in his first life, including his soulmate, the honored Lan Wangji (who mourned him for 16 years, during which he branded himself with the same mark as Wei Wuxian and kept his memory alive and I’m okay, I promise). Wei Wuxian then begins to remember his time before his demise 16 years ago, from his beginnings as a young cultivator to his descent to dark magic. Together, they solve a mystery linked to a dark tragedy from Wei Wuxian’s first life, then live happily ever after.

This novel was originally published on the Chinese web novel site JJWXC from October 31, 2015 - March 1, 2016, with additional side stories that continue to be released sporadically. The revised version of the main story was later published online until September 7, 2016. A paperback version was released on December 12, 2016, with a total of four volumes in traditional Chinese. The first of three planned volumes in simplified Chinese, titled Wuji, was released in 2018, but release of the following installments has stalled after the locking of the novel on JJWXC since January 2019.

Mó Dào Zǔ Shī isn’t officially available in English, and given that it depicts an explicit danmei relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, I don’t think we’ll ever see an official version. Though there are official translations into Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Russian, Japanese, and Burmese, and the tour for the TV traveled to Toronto, Los Angeles and New York, so maybe one day there will be an official translation.

For now though, you can read the entire novel for free at Exiled Rebels Scanlations, where it has been translated in full by a then-highschooler called “K-san”. It’s hard to actually judge the merits of the writing of the original novel, given I was reading an unofficial translation, but that was actually half of the sweetness of it. It was kinda rough - K-san tweaked the terms they used as they gained more confidence with the translation, and I enjoyed reading the translator and editor notes that accompanied most chapters - especially notes such as “we’re translating as fast as we can, stop asking for faster updates!”. It felt really organic and friendly, and the story is good (though much gorier than the TV show and good god boys, learn what lube is, it’ll make your lives better I promise).

I read the book more as a companion to the TV show though, rather than a novel on it’s own merits, so I’m not sure I can judge it as a novel on it’s own merits. Though the book did teach me one very important piece of information: Lan Wangji canonically smells of sandalwood.

Would I read it again? If an official English translation comes out, I’d probably read that. I’m more likely to watch the TV show again, or dive into one of the sesquillion Untamed fanfics on AO3 ( Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn was the most popular ship on AO3 in 2020, with 12,878 new works about these characters being published that year).

The Dragon Republic and The Burning God

(Books 34 and 35 of 2021)

I read The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic back in September 2019 (when I wasn’t counting how many books I was reading, but I did have a record of them), and I decided to re-read The Dragon Republic because I couldn’t exactly remember where the story was up to.

And it’s a good thing I did, as something I thought happened at the end of The Dragon Republic actually happened at the end of The Poppy War, so oops?

The Poppy War trilogy is a grimdark fantasy novel set in fantasy China, with a Chinese protagonist and written by a Chinese-American author. It’s spectacular. The trilogy draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, though it’s atmosphere is more inspired by the Song dynasty. The conflict in the first book is based on the Second Sino-Japanese War (though this time, it’s the Chinese empire against the Japanese empire), in the second on the start of the Chinese civil war (Chinese empire against nascent Republican movement), and in the third on the end of Chinese civil war (Republicans versus not-Republicans).

It’s a massive trilogy. It’s incredibly complex, with a huge scale and massive numbers of characters, though the fact it’s all seen through Rin’s eyes (with the occasional first and last chapter from the point of view of other characters) helps.

The story follows that of Fang Runin, better known as Rin, a poor war orphan in southern Nikara who trains in secret to test into the elite Sinegard Academy. Throughout the trilogy she deals with racism, sexism, elitism...most of the isms, really. Author R.F. Kuang said that Rin's life is meant to parallel the trajectory of Mao Zedong, and I had fun trying to match events in Chinese history to the events in the book (the easiest ones to spot are the Rape of Nanjing, the nuclear bombing of Japan and the Long March).

I don’t remember Mao Zedong having the power to call on a fire god, however. It’s probably a good thing that’s not something that happened in real life China, as Mao’s policies killed enough people without him literally being able to spit fire.

I described the first book as “If Kvothe from The Name of the Wind was female, Chinese, and allowed to say fuck.” Those two books felt really similar to me - they’re very much your “outsider is accepted to elite academy, winds up pissing off most of their classmates and chooses an obscure major to specialise in before being thrown into a conflict they are key to winning.” But honestly, I preferred the Poppy War trilogy, even if the final book did get super dark.

Rin is a really refreshing character, and the world seen through her eyes is a very different place to one I’m used to reading about. Kuang said that she "chose to write a fantasy reinterpretation of China's twentieth century, because that was the kind of story I wasn't finding on bookshelves", and I’m so glad she did. The world needs more books like this. I’m as pasty and as white as they come, and I loved reading a book where the heroine was authentically Chinese. This isn’t a pakeha author trying to fit themselves into someone else’s shoes - this is someone with a deep understanding of Chinese military history and collective trauma using that understanding and pain to build a new fantasy world.

I loved it, and if you can stomach war scenes, I recommend this trilogy.

Will I read the Poppy War trilogy again? I might do. It’s a bit darker and more desperate than I usually read - particularly The Burning God - but I did enjoy them. So that’s a firm “never say never”.

Bonus book! 

These Violent Delights

I read NZ-Chinese author Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights earlier this year (book number 20 of 2021), before I set myself this challenge, so it doesn’t technically count as an entry for “China” in my book challenge. But it is amazing, and I love it, so I wanted to give it a quick shout out here (because if we’re talking fantasy reimaginings of Chinese 20th century history by Chinese diaspora authors...).

These Violent Delights relocates the story of Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai, casting the two leads as the heirs to rival gangs. It’s brilliant, it’s beautiful, there were sentences that made me stop and gasp for the sheer delight of having read them, and there’s a monster made of bugs driving the citizens of Shanghai insane. The way Gong has woven the characters from the play into their 1920s counterparts is delightful (I say this as someone who’s never actually read the play, though I think I saw the Leonardo DiCaprio movie because it was difficult to be a tween in the late 90s and not be exposed to his films).

15/10, would definitely read it again, it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks for a very, very good reason. Stop reading this blog and go get a copy. Now.

The feast

I admit, using China as my first country may have been a bit of a cop out, given my familiarity with Chinese food - though, living in a Western country, I’ve probably eaten more Westernised Chinese food than authentic Chinese food.

Which is why I was chuffed to learn that spring rolls are, actually, authentic Chinese food. I always thought they were a Westernisation, like sweet and sour pork or fortune cookies.

For my Chinese feast, I turned to The Woks of Life, a delightful Chinese cooking blog that I can’t open without being inspired to cook like 9 million things.

When I started this project, I originally was only going to cook one dish from each country. I figured I’d go easy on myself for China, and make 花生酥 (hua sheng su), a traditional sesame peanut brittle.

It’s something I’ve made before - I make little bags of it for my colleagues each lunar new year.

I don’t follow the Woks of Life recipe exactly - for example, I’ve never once roasted and shelled my own peanuts. I tend to use a mix of blanched and pre-roasted peanuts in my 花生酥, and I think it comes out okay. Next time I’m going to increase the amount of sugar I use - I find that 270g of rock sugar is not quite enough to cover the peanuts totally. Which is a pain. Next time I think I’ll use 300g, and turn the heating on in my kitchen so it’s warmer, to stop the brittle from hardening before I can properly get it into the tray to cool.

But then I changed my mind, and decided to throw a full on feast.

For the feast I threw, I made two more dishes from the Woks of Life - Easy Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancakes, and 年糕 (nian gao), or stir-fried rice cakes (though I did them with chicken, not pork, as that’s what I had in my freezer). I also cooked up some spring rolls, as I had them leftover in my freezer from my housewarming (for which I over catered, because I cannot do anything but over cater any event I throw). I should have marinated the duck longer. That one was on me.

I also made some 核桃酥 (he tao su), walnut cookies, which were delicious and I definitely want to make again. I think I’ll add some hazelnuts in as well for additional crunch, and make them slightly smaller - they were 12 very big cookies.

But delicious cookies.

Kisu was most distressed that we did not feed her anything from this feast.

The Playlist

I ended up finding this “Chinese Indie & Rock” playlist on Spotify, which I really enjoyed. I could understand none of the songs, but I enjoyed the heck out of a lot of them. I’ll probably keep listening to this playlist - they were definitely my sort of jams.

[glittercracker]

Kingkiller Crap

So, I’ve never really posted much here that involves my own thoughts. There are a number of reasons why, but whatever. I feel the need NOW to post some thoughts, and having no working independent blog (yet!) I suppose this is the place to dump them. PSA: none of this is about anime. None of this is frivolous or fun. TW for sexual abuse. You have been warned! So. I’ve been rereading the Kingkiller Chronicles. aka “Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear” and “That Other One That Shall Not Be Named.” This reread was, at the beginning, almost an afterthought. A way to keep my 13 yo happy on a 7 hour car ride. Except, he could not have cared less, and I got sucked back into the story (and okay, if that is how all our audiobook car rides go, meh? At least it keeps me sharp!) I raced through book one, and bought book 2 on audible with an eye to my upcoming surgery and recooperation. Book one was problematic in the places I remembered, but also as generally engaging as I remembered. And then book 2 happened, and surgery happened, and I have had weeks to lie in bed listening to this bloody interminable sequel, and I find myself lost in a morass of, “WTF was I ever THINKING?” Namely, how did I ever love this book enough to pine for the next? It’s been hard to put a finger on exactly what is making this time through book 2 both a slog and also vaguely, creepily uncomfortable, but if you’re interested, my rather stream-of-consciousness ramble of thoughts ensues. First, the male gaze that rears its head at times in book 1 predominates here. But while I don’t love the way Kvothe describes women, I also have 2 degrees in literature, and I’m beyond that being a reason not to read an otherwise engaging book. Second, Kvothe is a Gary Stu, for all of Rothfuss’s protestations to the contrary. Again, so far, so much traditional high fantasy. But while, say, Aragorn is content to just quietly be Awesome At Everything, Kvothe is a braggy little shit of a Gary Stu: the person you hated for announcing their perfect scores in that hs class you could never quite master. I could fill several pages with examples, but for some reason what really made me want to kick him in the head was not Felurian’s disbelief of his virginity (though really, jfc, REALLY?) Nope, it was the end of his time w the Ademrae (sp may be off, remember, I’m listening not reading!) when he crows about having learned the history of his sword 2 days earlier than expected. Why does this stick out? Oh, idk. Maybe bc he sucks so hard he can’t even get past the first obstacle in his practical final exam? Yet he still has to tell us how fucking awesome he is for remembering 6000 names of previous owners.

I know, I’m supposed to forgive his teenage idiocy. The internet sympathists (no pun intended!) keep telling me this. And I suppose that I would, IF this were a simple first-person narrative - but it isn’t. Let’s repeat that, and really think about it. This story is being narrated by an older and presumably wiser Kvothe who has lost everything - whose abilities have been expunged to the extent that he can’t open his own chest of Cool Stuff. He shows humility in his actions, mostly. And yet when discussing his 16 yo self, the humility evaporates, and he speaks with no kind of perspective or lens of accrued wisdom. He still compares women to instruments waiting for the “right” player (i.e. him) and defends this choice of words by saying, essentially, “You aren’t a musician, you don’t know!”

Interesting assumption for an innkeeper in a medieval-esque world. Interesting assumption if this is in fact authorial interjection, too, because I suspect the majority of this book’s audience *are* musicians to at least an extent, and I also suspect that the majority of us (yes, us - I own several beloved instruments, including a harp custom made for me as a wedding present from my husband) would not equate a human lover to even the most beloved of instruments.

But all of this is well-trodden critical ground. As far as I can tell, though, my third issue isn’t: although it’s perhaps the most glaringly tone-deaf example of all of Rothfuss’s excruciatingly tone-deaf portrayal of his world’s women. Namely, the two girls kidnapped and gang-raped by the fake Ruh.

Almost all of the criticism I’ve read on this section of TWMF concentrates on Kvothe’s treatment of the girls’ abusers. What’s interesting is that no one ever seems to write about Kvothe’s treatment of the girls themselves. Yes, he treats them kindly. He tends their wounds, he feeds them, he tries (and succeeds, of course) to draw Ellie out of her shocked stupor. 

Yet what he never once does, from the moment he takes control of the situation, is ask their opinions on any of this, including what their next step should be. He just decides to bring them back to their families - families who, in this type of society, might well disown them for being “ruined”. And the girls themselves, namely the intelligent and savvy Krin, seem to go blindly along with what he says. Why? Would Krin at least not question this, or object to his making decisions for her, when a group of men had so recently and brutally taken away all of her agency? Would she not question whether being brought back to her family is the best thing for the catatonic Ellie?

Okay, apparently not. So they return to their apparently very forgiving town. Kvothe stands up for the girls against the village shithead: thank you, Kvothe, bc I’m sure Krin could not have said those words herself. He assures the reader that they are with people who will love and care for them despite what has happened to them: thank you, Kvothe, though it’s stretching my credulity a bit that you would assume that no one will take issue with their deflowering. But then he “gifts” the girls the spoils of his slaughter: the horses, the valuables, the wagons. And I was about to give him a (grudging) pass for being decent about this, EXCEPT: he goes on to say that these goods are meant for the girls’ dowries. Specifically, to make them worth enough financially for potential husbands to overlook their loss of virginity. He even tells Krin not to settle for a less-than-lucrative marriage.

And suddenly, I was outraged. Why? Because a man who had witnessed the full extend of these women’s abuse brought them back to a backwater town believing that he was being magnanimous both in doing so, and in giving up whatever share he might have taken of the spoils of the debacle to make them financially lucrative marriage prospects. Because he never asked these traumatized girls if they might rather cut and run with the money than use it to make some man overlook their abuse in order to make them his property. He never even questions the idea that they will be grateful to submit to marriage contracts that will no doubt require them to have sex with their husbands, even though these women have been abused to the extent that they cannot sit a horse for *two days* after being rescued. And the worst part is that 20-something frame-story Kvothe doesn’t question this either; he just goes on to gloat about people singing songs about his daring rescue. Maybe I was just ready for a straw to break my benefit of the doubt. Or maybe this really is as outrageous as it feels. Either way, I can’t help being angry at Rothfuss. As a writer, I am very well aware that character and author are not the same thing; that authorial intent is not the same as authorial beliefs. But there are moments in some books when I have to wonder if that line is blurring, and this is one of them. Kvothe has literally JUST left a female-dominated country full of independent women happily doing their own thing. He has given these girls the means to find themselves a situation that will never require them to be beholden to a man again - even houses ffs, in the shape of those 2 wagons, should they want them. There are so many options beyond marriage: I can’t, for instance, think of a medieval society that didn’t have its version of a convent. Or, for Krin at least, why not the University? For that matter, why not marry her himself, and then set her free to do as she likes under the awning of a respectable marriage? 

Instead he returns them to their fathers, and likewise gives their fathers the means to marry them off with no argument. Who, after all, holds the reins of the horses at the end? Why does Kvothe assume that these families will actually use the wealth even in the dubious way that he recommends?

And in this, I think, I am justified in giving Rothfuss the stink-eye. This is one more instance for Kvothe to play the hero with no real attention given to the consequences. Kvothe himself, I think, would be appalled. He has suffered so much deprivation in his life, so often been marginalized, scapegoated, powerless, how on earth could he so easily consign others to that fate? How could he think, loving Denna as he does, having heard her words to the beaten girl in Severin, that buying these girls husbands who will “overlook” their abuse for the sake of wealth is anything but a wretched life sentence for them?

Sigh. There was a time when I desperate awaited book three. Now, given the other women’s lives at stake in this series, I’m not so sure I want to know.