#the masquerade spoilers

[nepenthean-sleep]

so i finished the monster baru cormorant last night

[handthattakes]

Duchess in chains

[7sage9]

Had a realization about the way that Baru and Yawa go through a similar arc in Tyrant. We see clearly how Baru realizes her plan to destroy Falcrest via plague and war is completely antithetical to her true goals and strengths, but, in deciding not to lobotomize Baru, Yawa also chooses not to achieve her own goals -- the freeing of Aurdwynn from a eugenic regime -- via the methods of that very regime. She could never have truly achieved her goals by using the same treatment (the lobotomy) as Falcrest does on those it deems outside the "normal" on a woman who is very much outside that norm, then commodifying her in order to enforce a marriage. As Baru returns to her true self by defeating Falcrest with trade, Yawa does the same by letting her belief in the ilykari (in Baru's eryre) guide her method of rebellion.

[snugstones]

I finished the traitor baru cormorant and I am not okay.

[egophiliac]

should've just let Vil be the one to fly, it would've gone SO much easier. 😔

also HEY how are everyone else's pulls going, because I have had the most RIDICULOUS luck, seriously, halloween magic is 100% real

[cillacantstudysosheshere]

Husk's expression here makes me want to jump off a building THEY ARE SO CUTE I WANNA DIE

[petitprincess1]

"I know what it's like to regret the choices made and...know when you can't take it back."

VIVZIEPOP! COME DOWN HERE! WE NEED TO TALK, MEDRANO!

[terristre]

AZUL-SHI HAVE YOU EVER READ HOMESTUCK

[athetos]

Rereading Traitor and I found a very interesting quote from Svirakir on page 146:

“If a storm comes down on the Empire, some of them will cast their lot with us, and some with the enemy. If the enemy is a united Stakhieczi invasion, or a renascent Tu Maia empire out of the west, or the menace from across the Mother of Storms - well, we cannot risk division in a moment of crisis.”

This has me thinking - is this an intentional hit? Could Renascent be connected to the Maia? They were an ancient, powerful empire that ruled half the known world, according to Tain Hu, and were responsible for many of the inventions used throughout the series. Being connected to them could be seen as being long-lived or perhaps even immortal.

I feel this has to be deliberate, but I’m struggling to fit this piece in with all the other pieces we have so far. Could Renascent be an immortata with the supposed souls of ancient Maians inside of her? Or is the cancrioth connection completely false entirely? Was Renascent interested in the Cancrioth because she wanted to know if others had found another possible way to achieve immortality? Or just to see if any of them were still alive after so many years? Seth said that, depending on your definition of “meet”, we have technically met Renascent twice. So exactly who is she??

I’ve been trying to figure out who or what Renascent is, and something occurred to me. The way that Hesychast referred to her, implying she may no longer be human, and has been around for a long time, sounds a lot like she is an immortata. I mean, it would make a certain amount of sense, wouldn’t it? Renascent literally means “rising again”, or “rebirth.” She’d be effectively immortal, her ‘soul’ being transplanted into a new host via tumor every time she died. And for someone to have such high power in Falcrest, of course someone who has lifetimes of experience watching the empire grow would be at the highest point of the Throne.

If this is true, is Renascent one of the Cancrioth we met? I personally don’t think so, as I believe she’s been watching safe in Falcrest the entire time, and none of them gave me “cryptarch with a million schemes up their sleeves” vibes. I think the Brain would probably be the most likely if I had to choose, but why in the world would she offer Baru a plague that could decimate Falcrest? Unless she was gambling on the belief that Baru would reject her offer? And if she knew everything about Baru at that point, she’d have more than enough power to dispose of her, or see how ‘compromised’ she was and pick Hesychast to win the war of minds. Lastly, I doubt Renascent is someone who isn’t a Falcrest native, especially if she controls more than just the one cell of cryptarchs we see.

But you know what would make more sense? If Renascent was a different recipient of the brain tumor. Maybe there was more than one line of Incrisiath (I hope I spelled that right). Maybe the tumor was spliced in two, and one half put in one person, and the other half in a different one. She would share some of the ‘souls’ that the Brain has, but also others, that came after the split. And what really makes this plausible in my mind is that Incrisiath sounds an awful lot like “incrastic.” Maybe she even coined the term. And maybe, just maybe, the Brain knows that she has a ‘sister’ in Falcrest, and it influenced her decisions. Who knows, maybe the person who wins Renascent’s favor will be her next host…?

This theory certainly isn’t foolproof, but I think there’s enough in the text for you all to hopefully see where I’m coming from. Either way, we definitely aren’t done learning more about the Cancrioth in the next book.

[tranquil-slaughterhouse]

[renegadesstuff]

IT'S OFFICIAL, SEASON 4's LEAD IS ✨️ BENEDICT ✨️

[spadesncrows]

in response to glomas making a rerun in en, i decided to draw one of my favorite out of context moments from the event <33

Edit: accidentally forgot his spade LMAOO

+ the og screenshot under the cut :3

[squishydem0ns]

In case anyone else also needs to stare at these pictures for the next week *cries in found family*

[ancientannoyance]

And Baru cast the first dart at hand, the words that set the coopers and the fishmongers and the bannermen of Lyxaxu and Oathsfire and Unuxekome roaring: “Show them who should rule Aurdwynn, and why.” Vultjag! the poorer parts of the crowd screamed, a raw astonished sound. Vultjag!

[snugstones]

I’m still in the middle of reading the traitor baru cormorant but I skimmed over the first few chapters and noticed that a soldier/guard in the first chapter mentioned that her aunt killed Duke Lachta. The person who killed him is Xate Yawa, so that’s her aunt. But she is also Tain Hu’s aunt. I doubt that the woman in chapter one is Tain Hu though, she seems much older and I have a feeling Baru would have recognized Tain Hu if they met before. So Tain Hu might have a cousin? Was the soldier Baru met the daughter of Xate Olake?

[egophiliac]

bring your son to work day