#evvy

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Rosethorn, Briar, and Evvy Desperately Need Hugs

So the Circle Reforged books in general tend to be heavier than the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens books, and of those two series, Briar-focused books tend to be heavier than the others. That pattern sticks with Battle Magic, but oh my goodness I love this book with my whole freakin' chest. So let's dispense with the preamble and talk Battle Magic.

*Content Warning: This book focuses on war and soldiers, and there is also torture depicted, so take care of you first, and if this is not something that you can/want to engage with, we will see you another day for another topic with zero judgement.*

*Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens quartets*

We know Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy really well at this point, but the amazing thing about this book is that those relationship dynamics and character needs and wants are challenged in a way that we really have not seen up to this point. There has been combat in other books, and there has been danger, but there is a difference between a pirate raid or a plague or a forest fire or even a murderous Takameri and an empire going to war to conquer another country that happens to house the first Living Circle Temple and there is a sense that the empire would destroy it.

For Rosethorn, there is a massive conflict between duty and desire. Rosethorn just wants to go home, she misses Lark, she misses her girls, and she wants nothing more than to keep her boy and Evvy safe and away from the horrors of war. But her duty is to warn the First Temple, and then Dokyi leverages her duties as a Dedicate to send her off on a mission that has a FANTASTIC chance of more or less eating Rosethorn alive.

We get more time in Rosethorn's head in this than any other book, and it is honestly a fascinating new perspective on my favorite Winding Circle dedicate. Seeing her experience of her body after dying in Briar's Book and being at altitudes and in situations where it is just physically harder for her to exist and still be absolutely ROSETHORN about it. I would never describe Dedicate Rosethorn as having a soft, squishy center, but I'll be damned if compassion isn't woven into every spike and sharp edge the woman has.

I also appreciate Rosethorn's bi representation in the form of her relationship with Parahan. I also appreciate the little bit of perspective we get from Briar about the nature of Rosethorn and Lark's relationship, the fact that it works for them, and that it's not any of Briar's business. That was very deftly handled and very well done.

Now for Briar, the main conflict in this book is him being pulled three ways: His protective streaks for Rosethorn and Evvy and his desire to get involved and be a war mage for the Living Circle to defend the temple and the people the temple protects as well as for Gyongxe. Briar is not new to combat, from his earliest days in a Hajran gang to the pirate raids on Winding Circle and the gang war in Street Magic. What's different is that Briar is considered an adult by every society involved in the Circle Universe, and he is learning that being an adult means balancing oft-contradictory impulses. He cannot shield Rosethorn from thin air, from her duties as a Living Circle dedicate, or from the fact that she can be equally as effective a war mage as she is a green mage. He also cannot protect Evvy from the Empire, as much as he might want to.

This is a rough space to truly learn what it is to be an adult in, and holy cow we see the toll it takes on Briar. It's a really interesting contrast from the gang warfare in his past, and where Tris, Sandry, and Daja were his peers and sisters, Briar's relationships with Rosethorn and Evvy are different and put significantly different pressures on him in this environment. One particularly poignant moment is when he notices that Evvy--who has been using communal baths her entire life--is suddenly absolutely terrified and vulnerable in them because Jia Jui tortured her. That moment really hammered home for Briar that there are consequences for people even if he is pulling unequivocal heroics out of his back pocket every five minutes. Rosethorn knew this going in; Briar needed it driven home.

Another really interesting facet of this book for both Briar and Rosethorn was the fact that a war is a marathon, not a sprint, and where both mages have been able to divide their attention between combat and healing magics, that is not the case in this situation. The consequences of choosing to be either a war mage or a healer mage on any given day make that a complex choice, but it's one that has to be made.

Now, where Rosethorn and Briar are grown-ass adults making adult choices in a terrifying and deeply unfair situation, Evumeimei Dingzai is a literal child and student who ends up being yanked around by circumstance. Tamora Pierce does not shy away from highlighting that in these situations, the people who are often most vulnerable and who have the least agency are the kids, and they--as Evvy does--end up in some truly hideous situations. Evvy survives and heals, but it isn't fast, and it isn't complete at the end of this book, and that I think is critical. One does not just "get over" living through a war in a week. And it's not only the soldiers and people who are actively fighting that live with those consequences.

This books is heartbreakingly even-handed about highlighting that nobody escapes a war truly unscathed. Walking through it with three of my favorite Circle Universe characters was heavy, but so worth it.

#tamora pierce #the circle universe #battle magic #emelan #briar moss #rosethorn #evvy #the circle of magic #the circle opens #the circle reforged #ya fantasy #books & libraries #books and reading #books and novels #book recommendations #books

[tourneys-by-me]

Round Two - Geomancy (earth) 6/8

#element specific character tournament #geomancy #round 2 #tumblr polls #polls #isaac #isaac golden sun #golden sun #golden sun the lost age #golden sun dark dawn #evvy #evvy emelan #evumeimei dingzai #emelan #tamora pierce #circle of magic #circle universe

[serendipminie]

MINIE HOW BIG R YOU ON ANIME CUZ I HAVE ONE I THINK U’LL LIKE

Ooooh I'm listening drop the recs Evyy!

#asks #ask answered #lovely mutuals #writeblr moots #evvy

[degloved]

pov the criminal minds brainrot bestie watches hannibal for u

#evvy #hannibal #criminal minds

[melonymint753]

ok can we talk about Tamora Pierce's... take on not!China:

Yanjing is an old word for Beijing, so it looked like she was seriously going for a Very Chinese vibe, but then Evvy's name (Evumeimei) is all over the place. "vu" isn't a pinyin syllable, and "e" in pinyin sounds like "uh" with less h, so phonetically it's not getting shortened to Evvy, where the E is implied as a "eh" sound. Also very few words start with E so it's even more ???

And then her "first name" is 4 syllables long and last name is 2: 4 is Way too long for a Chinese first name (1-2 is the norm, 3 is very Very fancy, I've seen it once in my whole life, on a Very flamboyant guy, so it checks out). I don't know about ethnic minorities, but ones I've seen all have 4 characters max. 4 characters for their full name, that is.

And Evvy really isn't minority-coded, since her last name (Dingzai) is also Very Pinyin. Speaking of that, Chinese last names with 2 characters is pretty rare (vast majority have 1), and hers is not one that I've seen. And Chinese names are said family name first, but ok fine Evvy is a runaway, so she learned to say her name the White Way TM, whatever. I mean, Ding is a perfectly extant family name, and Pierce could have just, done that? Instead of over-exotifying Evvy's name?

anyway TLDR, idk what Tamora Pierce was trying with Evvy, bc she seemed to want an accurate China in her worldbldg, but gave the Chinese-coded character a half-nonsensical name, which bothers me bc I can't imagine which characters to actually use (丁载 伊？美美)?? And I think it's a problem when a native Chinese speaker can't figure out how to fit characters to your made up Chinese-coded name?

like quick fixes:

丁艾美 (Ding Aimei, bc "eh" doesnt exist in Chinese)

丁依美/丁伊美 (Ding Yimei)

or even 丁美美 (Ding Meimei) - a little stereotypical, in a sense that it's not fancy, but def works. Like Mary or Beth in English. Maybe.

If you Really want that 复姓 (2-character last name) fancy vibe, sure, add that Zai back. Or better still, give her an existing one.

Oh and most cases here, I think her shortened nickname would be Meimei, bc nicknames tend to be built on the last character in the name.

Whoops, still ranted, oh well.

#Tamora Pierce #Evvy #Worldbuilding

[evvywevvy]

my hair is HUGE

#evvy

[malpracticinghomosexual]

જ⁀➴

#been rewatching the xfiles #and having thoughts ans feelings about Them #it’s not really clear in this piece but just know that fox mulder is a butch lesbian To Me #i also messed around with some new brushes and i really like them ^-^ #i saw this reference pic and immediately thought abt like 4 dif parings but these two are giving me brain worms #evvy does art #the x files #x files #mulder and scully #fox mulder #dana scully #sculder #agent mulder #agent scully #the x files fanart #fox mulder fanart #dana scully fanart #x files fanart #mulder and scully fanart #sculder fanart #artists on tumblr #digital illustration #illustration #drawing #procreate #msr #msr fanart

[unievvy]

a lil timeline of my agents throughout the games!

my babbies... all grown up.. *sniff*...

#splatoon 3 #side order #agent 8 #agent 3 #captain 3 #agent 4 #evvy art #i have no idea if 4 shows up in side order-- we'll find out eventually ig.....

[artby-evvy]

so i’ve been playing stardew…

#just some sdv doodles #artists on tumblr #digital illustration #drawing #illustration #art by evvy #digital art #sdv #sdv fanart #stardew valley #stardew fanart #stardew valley fanart #sdv elliott #sdv shane #sdv alex #sdv sebastian #sdv sam #sdv harvey #sdv haley #sdv emily #sdv leah #sdv penny #sdv maru #sdv abigail

[imslowlydisintegrating]

yeah sorry man i know you were trying to using computers as a metaphor in your new album. yeah im sorry man but janelle monae automatically did it better. yeah

#evvy still uses wired headphones #janelle monae #QUEEN OF MACHINE SYMBOLISM I LOVE THEM SM

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Briar, Tris, Evvy, and Rosethorn unquestionably have the best understanding of the consequences of being mages in impossible situations. Tris, who had a body count in the triple digits at age 10; Briar and Evvy, both street rats whose very humanity was questioned by everyone until their teachers found them; Rosethorn, who raises baby birds and lovingly tends her garden to balance the horrors of healing, magical epidemiology, and an abusive childhood. Magic is wonderous, but every wonder casts a shadow.

#tamora pierce #street magic #emelan #circle universe #the circle of magic #the circle opens #briar moss #rosethorn #evvy #evumeimei dingzai #ya fantasy #book quotes #books #books & libraries #books and reading #books and novels #book recommendations

[starafire13artblog]

let’s take ibuprofen together 💖

#evvie #original character #slime girl #monster girl #original art

[bassguitarinablackt-shirt]

anyone else platonically in love with people

#me when. thalia and darcy and evvy and piper #alot more but im mainly thinking abt them right now

[degloved]

what if i made us soup

i would eat it sm and id go mmmm good soup

#and then we watch glee #evvy

[r0zeclawz]

gothed hotted cat moment

#doodled my headmate :) #my art #evvie #furry #fursona

[player1064]

Was gonna go to bed early tonight bc I didn't sleep last night but uh needless to say that plan was not successful.... have a supercut of Gary embracing men

#plus my favourite quotes ABOUT him embracing men #right what do i tag #beville #gary neville #paul scholes #ole gunnar solskjaer #manchester united #ruud van nistelrooy #carraville #(bc of the very final clip) #nevilrooy #(not a real ship name for anyone except me and p-evvy) #wayne rooney #cristiano ronaldo #Youtube