#the return of the thief

[asmywhimseytakesme]

Awhile back I was blocked by someone who said that my depiction of Pheris in my Return of the Thief illustrations was ableist because I made him too young. This person claimed I was assuming he is younger and therefore less capable because of his disability, and that in the book he was clearly older than I depicted him, and therefore my depiction is ableist.

It’s totally cool for people to block me for whatever reason they believe warrants it, and to interpret a book differently where no absolute answer is given in the text. I do of course try not to be ableist in my depictions, especially for a character whose disability is such a large part of their story, so it did bother me… I did feel that Pheris was quite young in the book as I read it, however there was nothing to point to to say who was “right”.

I had forgotten this happened until yesterday when I started re-listening to the Return of the Thief audiobook after having a long break from the series.

It is very tricky when the author specifically avoids giving an actual figure for someone’s age, and I think that whatever age YOU think Pheris is is valid and I’m not trying to say you have to imagine a child where previously you didn’t. But I did find myself noting MANY hints that can support my reading of Pheris as being a fairly young/small child at the beginning of the book. Many of these are VERY open to interpretation, I just think they suggest together that you CAN assume from the text that Pheris is young/a child at this point in the story (regardless of his disability)—that is all.

I’m currently 16% through, so these examples come from only that section of the book.

Melisande calling him her “Little Pheris” (could just be an endearment but still worth noting)

The simple fact that Pheris was chosen to be raised in the palace because he is “young enough” to be raised away from the malignant tendencies of the Erondites clan. To me, this suggests pre-teen.

The fact that Pheris can crawl under the banquet table and MOVE AROUND without bumping people or being noticed.

In fact, he is constantly squeezing himself into very small spaces—under a couch when the king rushes into a side room to be sick, under a chair when avoiding the attention of attendants, between the hedges of the queens garden. Personally, I see a teenager having a much harder time doing this simply due to size.

Also during the incident where the king rushes into the side room, Pheris observes that he can see “nothing but the backside of the man ahead of me.” This suggests to me that Pheris standing is about butt-height to an adult. (I suppose you could interpret “backside” as referring simply to the back of a person… I generally read it as somebody’s butt though.)

When the king chooses Pheris as a companion to go with him into the temple, he observes that Pheris is “hardly even half of one.” I don’t read this as the king, a disabled man himself, suggesting that Pheris is half a person because of his disability. I think it merely suggests that Pheris is half as tall as most adults…a child.

That’s as far as I’ve gotten in my reading and I don’t know that I’ll keep noting these references to Pheris age/size. I’m not saying that the only way to interpret these passages is the way I do. I just feel like the text could be read to suggest that Pheris is a child and that this isn’t due to assuming him less capable and therefore young because of his disability.

Read it how you want though! I absolutely love that these books are open to interpretation and respect that readers will pay attention to the text and make their own inferences.

#queens thief #the queens thief #the return of the thief #megan whalen turner #pheris

[tenebrius-excellium]

I CANNOT ORDER THE RETURN OF THE THIEF IN MY COUNTRY ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEEEEEEE

#tqt #the queen's thief #wherethekiteflies #the return of the thief #the queen's thief fandom #tqt fandom

[amuseoffyre]

“Wake up”

Well here’s a parallel I didn’t need before I even had my morning cup of tea.

#the queen's thief #attolia #the return of the thief #the queen of attolia

[athena-theunicorn]

I saw a post abt this the other day but it's been eating me up inside so I gotta get it in writing. Plus it was in meme format when I saw it so I wanna make sure the gravity of this particular thing is out there somewhere bc I said so.

Annabeth was under the impression for most of her life that she had to earn love and respect from those around her. First from her father after he remarried, and she had to earn his attention back from his wife and kids. Then once she got to camp, she had to earn the admiration of the other campers, her siblings, Chiron and Mr. D, and basically everyone but Luke (because she earned his and Thalia's respect by simply surviving so long after running away). AND THEN she had to earn Athena's respect. That was the ultimate reward in her opinion, because that's kinda what I imagine they teach at camp: "You have to earn the respect of the gods to get them to look at you, let alone respect or, heaven forbid, love you." It's fucked up but its true. It's one of the first things Luke tells Percy upon his arrival. It's how you get claimed, earn a quest, and get all these things that Camp deems so important.

And then Annabeth meets Percy.

Percy, who, despite having his own traumas and tough road to hoe, still knows the feeling of an unconditionally loving home and person. He never had to earn Sally's love. She loved him despite him getting kicked out of school every year, despite him being stubborn and kinda an ass sometimes. She loved him despite his own view of himself. She shoved all that aside and loved her son because THATS HOW PARENTING WORKS.

And then you shove these two little kids together who've had wildly different backgrounds and I bet you'd get some interesting conversations (although they aren't shown a lot in the book or the show). Like Annabeth having to explain all the shit she's done to get her mother's attention and Percy being like "well damn."

And then he starts to notice that she applies this to other relationships too. She starts doing certain things that Percy notices as trying to gain his respect and it gets worse as they get closer and he finally has to be like "hey, you know I like you, right? like you don't have to prove yourself to me" and Annabeth has whiplash because she's never not had to earn love.

It just makes their relationship so much better to me.

#the brainrot is returning #can you tell? #percabeth #percy x annabeth #percy and annabeth #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #percy jackson series #percy jackson show #percy jackson tv show #percy pjo #percy series #annabeth #the lightning thief #riordanverse #rick riordan #riordan universe #pjo show #pjo #pjo fandom #pjo headcanon #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo tv #pjo tv series #pjo tv show #pjoverse #grover underwood #annabeth chase #percy jackson spoilers

[exercise-of-trust]

is it still an incorrect quotes if it's by the author? anyway this post has been living rent free in my head for three years and it's high time i exorcised it with a sketchy lil comic.

#the queen's thief #eddis helen #eugenides #attolia irene #subcreation #stop whining : go to bed #my laptop returns from the wars and what's the first thing i do? project with barely any rendering! honestly man why bother

[klexos]

I inherited this country when I was only a child, Nahuseresh. I have held it. I have fought down rebellious barons. I've fought Sounis to keep the land on this side of the mountains. I have killed men and watched them hang. I've seen them tortured to keep this country safe and mine. How did you think I did this if I was a fool with cow eyes for any handsome man with gold in his purse?

― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

Finally finished this piece! It's good to be back on this website:)

#queen of attolia #queens thief #the queen's thief #hello tumblr fandom I have returned #it has been a while #i know the flowers at the bottom don't make sense just roll with it ok? #irene attolia #my art

[madivandoren]

Redraw of an old fan art of The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. It’s crazy how much my art has changed!

Also, if you have a fondness for conniving little scamps, go check it out!

#my art #the queen's thief #tqt #the thief #queen of attolia #king of attolia #conspiracy of kings #thick as thieves #return of the thief

[vegetable-soup-wizard]

Since I can’t help myself-

The Queens Thief books as John Mulaney quotes:

The thief

The Queen of Attolia

The King of Attolia

A Conspiracy of Kings

Thick as Thieves

Return of the Thief

#tqt #qt books #the queens thief #the queen of attolia #the king of attolia #the thief #mwt #megan whalen turner #a conspiracy of kings #thick as thieves #return of the thief #attolis eugenides #gen #attolia irene #costis ormentiedes #sophos #sounis #Eddis

[grandtyphoonpoetry]

He's a thief. He's a prince. He speaks to the Gods. He's barely more than a child. He's killed a man. He misses his cousin. He's a manipulator. He stole a stone of immortality from the people who were trying to steal it. He didn't die all the way. He never wanted to fight. He just wants to lay in his library and read. He had his hand cut off. He's a politician. He's a drunk. He's never more trouble than he is worth. He loves her and he's telling the truth. He's a menace. He's a king. He can steal anything. He's a liar. He's conquered two countries. He's terrifying. He's shorter than all his friends. He's a father. He's always underestimated.

#i didn't say his name but he popped into your head didn't he #eugenides #legend #the queens thief #the thief #the queen of attolia #the king of attolia #a conspiracy of kings #thick as thieves #return of the thief

[iosagol]

Got Return of the Thief for Christmas, immediately cracked it open to that lovely blank page between the intro and the first book of Pheris and did this on that page

#return of the thief #the king of attolia #the queen's thief #queen's thief #meghan whalen turner #eugenides #irene #sophos #Helen #Costis #Kamet #watercolor #DONT offend the gods Aight #my art <3

[nice-profession-mechanic]

There's something about combat mechanics accidentally triggering in social situations that's just cute.

Necromancers going into death shroud when startled

Mesmers accidentally making clones who mime chores they're thinking about doing

Elementalists shifting attunement with the flow of a conversation

Thieves giving deadeye's mark with a glower when they look at their unwashed leathers

Guardians causing other library patrons to gain aegis when their book gets to a particularly gripping point

Revenants mixing up which voice is the imaginary one and accidentally ignoring close friends when they make comments while out and about

Engineers' tool belt utilities all firing when they need to dig real deep into a pocket

Warriors reducing a kitchen to shrapnel when they accidentally full counter after messing up a soufle for the 9th time

Rangers accidentally taming other people's children and trying to gently break the news they won't be going adventuring together

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #i still think any class that can shadowstep does so all the time when leasurely strolling #the thief's shadowstep//return has to be so useful when window shopping

[duusheen]

Hope went back home to pay the rent before traveling to her parents' house and was planning to simply put the money in the mailbox, but Sterling was there and she said, "Why not?". The problem is Sterling has a special ability to get on Hope's nerves, and as expected, they started arguing. But this time the argument lasted really short, and Hope started to think that maybe, just maybe, she could get along with Sterling at some point and be friends. Not today tho.

The real reason why Sterling was being nice 🤸🏽‍♀️

#ts4 gameplay #ts4 challenge #ts4 legacy challenge #ts4 screenshots #he asked her like 2k for the rent btw 😂 #dude you're loaded you should let Hope live there for free #you're a thief 😤 #oh and they were flirting in that last pic 😠 #I mean he can't help it #and I thought Hope would reject him because she was sad about Danny but she literally said 😳 and returned the compliment 😂😂 #she was like i'm so sad but i'm just a girl and i have eyes and you're hOT 😘 #pollock legacy #gen5 #hope pollock #sterling atcliffe by rainymoodlet

[the-forest-library]

Well, I was going to wait to buy the beautiful British versions of these books, but they all aren’t going to be out until late 2024, and Book Outlet had five of them for $4 or less so here we are

#the queen's thief #megan whalen turner #the thief #the queen of attolia #the king of attolia #a conspiracy of kings #thick as thieves #return of the thief #book covers #books #booklr #reading #bookish #bibliophile #eugenides #irene attolia #book haul

[emilybeemartin]

Me, watching the Eagle: COS-TIS COS-TIS COS-TIS COS-TIS

100% who I referenced for RotT pieces. Also damn Mark Strong was in every aughts historical epic, wasn't he?

Film exec: Is this script set before 1850?

Casting: Yes sir

Film exec: Swords?

Casting: Yup

Film exec: So we need Mark Strong

Casting: Correct

Intern: Why do we need Mark Strong?

Film exec:

Casting:

Film exec:

Casting:

Intern, scribbling hurriedly: need... Mark... Strong...

#return of the thief #queen's thief #costis #megan whalen turner #the eagle #marcus flavius aquila #channing tatum #the eagle of the ninth #mark strong #rosemary sutcliff

[saessenach]

I need my golden crown of sorrows, my bloody sword to swing,

I need my empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology

I am no mother,

I am no bride ,

I am King.

Attolia Irene in a set of three drawings for @hippolytas, for Hamiathes' Gift Exchange 2022

don't forget to click for the details

#tqt #my art #attolia irene #queen's thief #megan whalen turner #queen of attolia #king of attolia #return of the thief #eugenides x irene #irenides #otp: thief and murderess #phresine #hector and eugenia #is there a tag limit on this #digital art #fanart #artists on tumblr #i just love them a lot #irene love of my actual life ksksksks #i know it's been a hot second but i just realised ihadnt #posted these #so here goes!! #maggie i am so lucky i had u kskskskkss

[crocordile]

This is not exactly what was requested, but te prompt got me wondering what kind of person Dite would fall in love with after mending his broken heart, and this is all I could think of...

This was drawn as a treat for @allcanonisrelative for the @hamiathesgiftexchange!

#queen's thief #hamiathes's gift exchange #king of attolia #return of the thief #elizabeth beware #btw canon-is-relative I have greatly enjoyed some of your wincest fic in the past and was delighted to see us sharing another fandom <3 #queue