#kushiel’s justice

[tangerinecherrygal]

Wait, there are 6 books in kushiels legacy series?!!!

[hussyknee]

I love the twisting and far-flung plots of Imriel's trilogy and all but good God Sidonie is so underdeveloped and boring. Joscelin and Phadre earned their love story. Imriel and Sidonie just sort of showed up and we had to accept she was the bee's knees. Both of Gilot's poor girlfriends were more three dimensional.

Imriel is so sweet and kind and such a self-absorbed hot-headed broody git and I love him so much. Why is he the most boringly heterosexual character in the whole series. Jacqueline Carey I'm taking away your gay cookies.

[lightsaroundyourvanity]

WHITEOUT BLIZZARD + LIGHTNING STORM!!!! dream friday night conditions.

[sable-in-shadows]

Made the mistake of glancing at the last part of kushiel's dart and now i'm just sobbing into my ramen

Betrayal

You deprive Hyacinthe of happiness?

Jail for author! Jail for one million years!

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Kushiel's Justice | Author: Jacqueline Carey | Publisher: Roc (2007)

[colormepurplex2]

Did It Hurt? | Prologue: The Fall

↳ FallenAngel!Taehyung x LostSoul!f.Reader ⤜ Fallen Angel AU, Strangers to Lovers ⤜ Rating: MA �� ⤜ WC: 880 ⚠️ Violence, injury, judgement and punishment

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Taehyung, Sometime around the end of the 20th century, in the Divine Chamber of Justice, Heaven

“Why are we even bothering with this trial?” Phanuel asks, crossing his arms and giving his Brother a pitying look. “Is it fair to hold ourselves to a higher standard than the ones we protect?”

Amitiel harrumphs softly. “Of course we are to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are Divine Protectors of the Heavens, pointedly above those we protect.”

“I think what Phanuel is trying to say,” comments Mitzrael, “is that there is nothing in the Doctrine about what Brother Taehyung did being unforgivable. If those we protect can be forgiven through Grace, shouldn’t we afford our Brother that same Grace?”

“I say we hand him over to our Fallen Brothers in Hell,” mutters Kushiel, ever the rigid purveyor of punishment.

Gabriel shifts where he sits at the pinnacle of the Judgement dias. “The spilling of one’s Holy Seed is different from that of a mortal’s seed. We all are aware of this. The creation of Nephilim has been strictly forbidden since the fall of Lucifer. Therefore, the act that can potentially create such a monstrosity should be punished to the fullest extent. After all, Taehyung may not have created a Nephilim, but to even act in pleasures of the flesh where that is a possibility is worthy enough of our ire. Imagine the destruction he would have wrought, untold devastation.”

There is a quiet murmur around the chamber, soft echoes of fear and agreement, Sarathiel loudest of them all.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Brother Taehyung?” Zadkiel asks, speaking over the hushed clamor.

Taehyung prostrates himself before his gathered Brothers, pressing his forehead to the smooth surface of the floor, wings splayed out behind him. Holding the position for a few precious moments, he gathers his thoughts before looking up and meeting all their gazes one by one until he’s focused on Gabriel. His Brother might not be the Angel of Judgement, but he’s the Leader of all Angels, which Taehyung knows holds far more sway over all the others than anyone else; he’s a leader for a reason.

“Brothers,” he begins, “I would not ask for forgiveness for such an unforgivable act. As Brother Gabriel has stated, what I did was careless, not just to myself but to all others. I endangered all that we hold Divine and Holy here. I endangered our home. But I would ask for your leniency, your guidance and deliverance. Treat me as one of the flock. Let me seek righteousness and serve a penance for my disgrace. Do not cast me into oblivion. Let me prove myself worthy.”

“We shall take that into consideration.” Sarathiel eyes Taehyung with a cold appraisal. Fear and pain burn hot in Taehyung’s chest. The few stolen moments he sought with–he can’t even think of their name without wanting to wail in mourning–have proven to be what might be his downfall; literally.

The Counsel gathers, cloistering themselves behind a hazy wall of silence. All Taehyung can do is watch them, trying to discern what words lips are forming and what the emotions flashing across his Brothers’ faces mean. Gabriel and Sarathiel seem to be leading the conversation. He can only hope they both remember their love for him in their hearts.

It could be hours, or just minutes, before the shield falls and noise eases back into the chamber, sounding far too loud after the silence. Taehyung thinks he might sickup on the floor if that’s even something Angels can do; he’s seemingly forgotten how to function at all.

The Angel of Justice, his Brother, Raquel, steps forward and gives Taehyung a sad, soft smile before beginning, “It is with heavy hearts that we, the Council of Grace and Purity, hereby sentence you, Brother Taehyung, to one hundred years of exile for breaking your Oath of Holy Divinity by seeking pleasures of the flesh and spilling Holy Seed. At the end of your one hundred years, if and only if you have found a soul seeking absolution and deliver them unto a path of justice and redemption, will you be granted back within the sanctity of this Kingdom and your wings restored. If you fail in your penance, you will feel the wrath of Divine Smite. May the Lord have mercy on your everlasting soul.”

Always so regal and poised, Michael steps forward, the tip of his great sword trailing just a breath above the floor. Taehyung couldn’t bear to look his brother in the eye for fear of seeing the disappointment there.

“Let it be known,” Michael whispers over Taehyung’s bowed head, “I take no pleasure in this, Brother.” With one felling sweep of Michael’s blade, Taehyung is rendered incomplete, severed from his proper form. White feathers fill the air, softening the cry that rips itself from Taehyung’s throat.

His Brothers watch as he plummets from the Heavens, entering a fiery free fall into an existence none of them envy. If only he had the Grace to keep his hands to himself. Though not all Angels are meant for the Heavens, that much is clear. They can only hope Taehyung finds his way once again, or Lucifer damn him, they’ll lose another to the darkness.

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◅ Back to Main Master List ©️ 2024-01-26 ColorMePurplex2

[olderthannetfic]

I occasionally watch Unresolved Textual Tension mainly because they are in the 30s, which is rare for BookTube, and Maria is unapologetic about being a monsterfucker and will roast anything that's hyped as that but lacks actual monsterfucking.

I think that part of why some people dislike them is because they'll roast ANY book they dislike, regardless of whether it has good rep or not, and this goes against the ethos of BookTube and Booktok. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable making videos about why a book that's trying for good rep is mediocre because that helps nobody politically and maybe indirectly harms the prospects of future publications - conservatives love to see diverse books fail - but that's just me. Book reviewers are allowed to be honest about their tastes.

So far, UTT has hated two books I've liked - Song of Achilles and The Traitor Baru Cormorant - and they've mostly liked the books/series I've liked, including Black Sun, Ancillary Justice, the Kushiel series, Uprooted, The Locked Tomb, Hyperion Cantos, and The Grace of Kings. Normie YA/NA romantasy like ACOTAR and psychopathic NLOG revenge fantasy like Iron Widow will be roasted on their channel. That's probably going to alienate readers for whom those things are wish fulfillment, and that's understandable.

--

I'm howling at the term "Normie YA/NA romantasy".

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

April Monthly Recap

(So it turns out I wrote this and completely forgot to post it...whoops!) April was pretty successful - I read a lot of books I enjoyed, and I completed my calling in the Magical Readathon. My favorites this month were all sequels, in either the Kushiel's Dart universe or in the Toby Daye universe. (My month was 63% sequels!) My least favorite was Air Awakens, which I DNF'd pretty early on.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters: 4.75/5

Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden: 4.5/5

The Marquis Who Mustn't by Courtney Milan: 4.5/5

Read It and Weep by Jenn McKinlay: 3.75/5

Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey: 5/5

Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey: 5/5

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss: 2/5, dnf

Air Awakens by Elise Kova: 1.5/5, dnf

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair: 3/5

Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

A Red-Rose Chain by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany: 2.5/5, book club

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire: 4.25/5

Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire: 4.75/5

A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire: 4.75/5

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older: 4/5

When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire: 5/5

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen: 4/5

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella: 3/5

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming: 2.5/5

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola: 4.25/5

Goals below the cut:

Complete series: +1 for the year! (started 2, caught up on 3)

Catch up on backlists: 22 (+1, although if I added Seanan McGuire to the list which I very well might do then it'll be +11 more lol)

Read FIYAH/Nebula/Hugo finalists & awards: 3 book (+2)

Read down TBR: (hard to tell what it was at the beginning of the year, but in August it was 1332) at end of April it's 1460 (still getting bigger...)

Read old top-of-TBR list: 1 (+1)

[kptssecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @artpo!

Hope you like this @artpo!!!

*****

love as thou wilt

Legend says Terre d'Ange was founded by the god Elua, whose sole commandment to his people was to love as thou wilt. He and his divine companions made good on that precept, bestowing so much love to the humans under their care that the people of Terre d'Ange carried a spark of the divine within them. For those with Anael's gifts, that meant a deft hand with growing things. For Shemhazai's scions, that meant sailing as easily as breathing.

The Theerapanyakul family was blessed by Kushiel, god of justice and divine punishment. Dominance was their birthright and their lifeblood. Korn Theerapanyakul told his sons that Kushiel blessed them so that they could rule Terre d'Ange in the manner it deserved. Only they could be trusted to mete righteous suffering unto the wicked, and safeguard the innocent.

Read on AO3

[vifetoile]

Currently rereading (and enjoying)

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey

[sequoiaeditorial]

Sequoia Editorial - What would you do if your worst enemy held your fate in their hands? And what if the only way to seek justice was to confront the darkness within yourself? In Kushiel's Justice, the captivating second installment of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series, these questions become the driving force behind a thrilling tale of vengeance, redemption, and the intricacies of power. Get ready to embark on a journey that will leave you breathless and questioning the true nature of justice.

[mrbexwrites]

Happy STS! What is the best novel you've ever read? What did you like about it, from a storytelling perspective? Has it influenced or informed your own approach?

Hi there!

Belated happy STS and thanks for the ask!

Whilst not a single book, my favourites that I read over and over again is the Watch books within the Discworld Series. In addition to the humor, Terry Pratchett has fantastic social commentary, wry asides/footnotes, and characters who just feel so real.

I don't think I'm anywhere close to matching Pterry's style and observations about society, but I think I share his social justice awareness when it comes to punching up, and rooting for the wee person. And I hope that my characters feel somewhere near his in their 'realness'!

That said, I think my own writing style is probably closest to Jacqueline Carey. My older stories (high fantasy book series that I sort of abandoned 1/3rd of the way through the final book <.<) is heavily influenced by her Kushiel Series, but also Elizabeth Hayden's Rhapsody trilogy (the first one...not so much the second series- we don't talk about those books!)

Memento Mori I feel, is stylistically, close to the Agent of Hell trilogy, or the Saints Astray duology by Carey; fun, easy to read, pop culture fluff, which is my guilty pleasure.

(I've read a lot of the classics, and 'highbrow' novels, but due to a telling off from an English teacher about my own personal reading choices starting off with Goosebumps, Animorphs, Point Horror- my childhood gateway books into other fantasy/sci-fi authors, I've always felt weird about admitting that I can enjoy 'cheesy' books as well. Like, reading is supposed to be fun! I have a weird hangover about admitting to reading some of the stuff that I've read, mainly due to other people's judgement about not reading 'proper' books. And that attitude is why a lot of people don't like reading!! But I digress from your ask- sorry! I have a lot of pent up issues, clearly!!)

I think I've learnt a lot from the authors that I have read- I try to pick up what I like about others' writing styles. And whilst I don't emulate them, I will often adapt some of their techniques into my own writing. (Conversely, I see what doesn't work, and avoid it- everyone has something to teach you!)

I try to read widely and don't stick to just one genre- but I do love me sci-fi, fantasy and crime novels. I like the 'what-ifs' about them;

"What if we had magic?", "What if we had this technology", "What if this person did it?" I eat those tropes up like a greedy little hobgoblin and then regurgitate them back into my own works!

And with that *ahem* lovely mental image, I'll stop rambling now!

Thanks again for the ask! Have a great day :D

[hussyknee]

Kushiel's Justice summary: Would you kill baby Hitler? The Maghuin Dhonn say yes.

[pencilpavlova]

Artfight revenge for @cerimond / @kushiel of their stygian Lypi!

Unicorn critters that are more deer than horse are a neat character design, so I wanted to draw Lypi! Hope I did em justice uvu-b (giving myself the Artfight polish bonus for Those Heckin Books)

You can see Ceri's excellent attack on Unarla Here!

Only the character's owner can use this piece!

[dangermousie]

Imriel referring to Phèdre and Joscelin as P&J in his letter to Sidonie cracks me up way way way more than it should.

I guess they don’t have portmanteau ship names in fantasy land :)

PS I have decided that Alba aka fantasy Celtic Britain, is the most boring of all Kushiel lands (ok, obviously it’s not as bad as Drujan but it was supposed to be hell on earth and it was not boring, whatever else it was.) If I had to live there, I’d eat my own face out of boredom and lack of books and absence of historic pretty buildings.

PPS A lot of people seem to not get Imriel x Sidonie but I ship it like a mad thing. Though if I were Imriel, I’d even promise to give up true love just to get the hell away from Alba.

PPPS I think I am supposed to feel bad poor sweet pregnant Dorelei got mauled by a magic bear, but all I can do is feel glee that this means Imriel can finally leave the Island of Boredom to go on a revenge quest elsewhere. It didn’t help that Dorelei was one of those situations where she’d be lovely to know in RL but so utterly dull and boring as a character. I think Carey is a wonderful stylist with a great sense of plot, and is very good at writing conflicted, intense characters but writing wholesome vanilla goodness and making it interesting is not her bailiwick.

[jesatria]

LONGEST NIGHTS IN THE SERIES- Sidonie dresses as the Sun Princess