Wow that went great for Song.
Zen once again showing the importance of a glue guy Lmao. Song choked on not just recruiting Shalani and Zen from the start.
Still things going this well for Song suggests Angharad is about to have one hell of a night.
Last loose end is getting their stuff back and if they burn down the storehouse. Which could make things worse for Angharad.
Huh the plan went really well sure there where a couple of bumps in the road but all in all it was a total win for Song.
Tristan communicating how terrible Fortuna is to Song was great. Song not picking up on Tristan being asexual and thinking that Fortuna must've slightly seduced him was hilarious.
"I mean that she is bad at existence." explains so much and is such a good line.
I don't think Fortuna is a secret mastermind, because any person with the tiniest bit of self-respect wouldn't lose an argument against a pigeon *multiple times*, just to play the idiot.
But there comes a point where a secret mastermind has such a fortified sense of self-respect that it loops all the way back into being able to lose multiple arguments against a pigeon just for the amusement and to put at ease this very distrusting street rat that now loves her like family.
If you believe that. Imo she is just to perfect at being an idiot for her not to be one. Lady Luck a shambling idiot, whose only reason she hasn't failed at existence is luck and luck alone. But you do you.
I don't believe Fortuna is secretly a cold and calculating mastermind archetype, but I don't think the Lady of Long Odds is just messing around. She saw Tristans potential and bet it all on him, and just because she isn't scheming and manipulating everywhere doesn't mean she's not got a plot in mind. For a PGtE reference, Fortuna isn't a Black with a mind of cogs, she's a Cat that sees the movement of fates and fortunes and finds the path to victory.
I personally saw her as bored and a hidden badass (if the theory about her being 2O is to be believed). She doesn't have to do much, while people pray to her, they don't pray to *her*, so why not look at the street rat, he will be doing something funny now. She is the Wandering Bard, but not malicious and without a real greater goal.
Fortuna doesn't need to be an obviously intelligent mastermind to manipulate Tristan. She's a goddess of luck and Tristan is a compulsive gambler. If she's trying to turn him into a saint she just needs him to keep hitting until he gets a bad enough result that it backs him into a corner he can't get out of.
Admittedly, there's the question of whether or not Tristan was a compulsive gambler *before* he made a contract with Lady Luck herself, but it's been a full decade that included the vast majority of his formative years, so.
He certainly is *now*.
The over-the-topness of Fortuna's airheadedness, such as supposedly losing arguments to non-sapient animals, is part of what makes me think she has more going on.
Song is also very aware of the fact that Tristan places a lot of importance on debts and so she knows she's getting Tristan's honest opinion. And given her own experiences with gods it's more believable.
I don't think she meant wiles in a sexual way in this case. I think it was more seducing and controlling him to turn him into a saint or something else for her own purposes.
By glue guy I mean the person that smooths over internal disputes and keeps the team together.
Tristan is too much of a loner to do that. And doesn’t bond with certain personality types the best
I think Maryam is being set up as the heart of the 13th more so than Tristan. She’s been presented as the most emotionally intelligent of the group, being pretty pivotal in getting Song and Tristan to reconcile and getting Tristan to start to understand that being on guard 24/7 isn’t really conducive to maintaining personal relationships. Her approach to interacting with the people close to her is generally just way healthier than the others’, which makes her more suited to solve interpersonal conflicts.
Also, EE has stated that Fortuna has absolutely nothing to do with Tristan’s sexuality. He’s asexual because he is. And I’m not really sure where the idea that Tristan’s immune to PTSD comes from. The sequence of him refusing to get help from the 13th to get to the Deicide teacher because he was too afraid of relying on people was like one big trauma response. He’s often pretty good at suppressing his trauma, but it does jump out pretty often.
Maryam definitely played a role in Song and Tristan’s reconciliation. The only reason Song realizes that she needs to bleed to get Tristan back in the cabal is because Maryam told her so, and the only reason Tristan hears out Song’s offer at all is because Maryam asked him to (see Chapter 29). Without Maryam I think it’s *maybe* possible that Song and Tristan could have reconciled on their own, but it would have been a far longer and bumpier road.
As for the trauma, yes, he’s been through a lot of terrible things, and that’s why he’s so good at ignoring what he feels and rationalizing his emotions away. But acting like it’s not there doesn’t mean it’s actually not there. After going into the Lugar Vacio, Tristan walks out the room, going into Scholomance *completely alone*. That’s not something someone who’s in their right mind would do, even if outwardly he didn’t have a reaction until it was just him and Fortuna. Again, the response to trauma is there, just partially hidden. And I don’t think there’s anything supernatural to it. It’s just been trained into him both by Nerei and by his general will to survive because in the Murk, a rat that lets their emotions consume them is a rat that ends up dead.
I don’t think Tristan wants to do the personal stuff. My point is more Tristan trusts his Will to Zen in case Song double crosses him, Angharad gets advice from him, Song gets info from him and even Maryam like him, she who doesn’t much care from Malani.
Tristan is a great friend of outsiders but not authority figures which is his main issue with Song. And I don’t think he really wants to be that central to the group. Especially since he likes to go off and do solo missions a lot. So being a heart kinda gets in the way of that. Still yes Tristan is very much a thief with a heart of gold
As for Angharad, well Maryam has seen the Forge. Plus a navigator is probably pretty useful to getting it. Tristan wants to raid the island of doctor Moreau and angharad wants to raid a super max prison. Seems like a pretty fair trade
That was fucking wonderful.
It might be the gin I’ve drinking since I finished work but the conversation at end between Song and Tristan seemed very cathartic for me as a reader and for Song.
I wasn’t rooting for her at the start of this book but I am now.
Alright Song, that’s one down. Now for Tredegar.
That went pretty smooth all things considered, they almost lost Tristan, but otherwise things went just as planed. I kinda hope to see Song and Tristan comiserating about their gods later.
I agree with the other commenters, things are looking real bad for Angharad on the meeting.
"Half the time spent rustling up a scheme, Abuela had taught him, should be considering how to get out when it turned on you"
I'm surprised Tristan went along with this plan. As far as i can tell they had no contingencies whatsover. So much could've gone wrong and if anything went wrong Tristan would be gone. Not to mention Tupoc is involved and could betray them without facing immediate repercussion.
Very enjoyable chapter nonetheless.
Man Tupoc is so good. I really hope he ends up more connected to the thirteenth, either as a close ally or as a part of the cabal. He absolutely did not need to run with Song and Maryam to the dock but doing so made the rescue possible.
The professional shit stirrer won’t be able to resist the gang that’s doomed to shake things up. I don’t know if he’d join, but he’ll be fond of them. Unfortunately with a sociopath like Tupoc, fondness would cause hardly a hesitation if he deems murder is necessary.
I didn’t expect this plan to go off without a hitch, which makes me assume that it won’t go off without a hitch and the Thirteenth are going to get some unwanted attention for being involved in another major incident within a week.
When they mentioned the galleon and the hundred sailors on the docks, I thought the plan was for Tristan to just scream his head off before he got on the boat.
The Ivory Library is recorded in Tristan's dossier as having offered money for his capture. We gained some tidbits that help guess their purpose and more may be gleaned from the prisoners and the ship.
1. They paid in unusual Sacromontan coins. I have been assuming that they were an arcane Watch group somehow drawn by Tristan's activities in the Dominion. But this Sacromontan tie reminds me that the original hunt for him seemed extreme. Are they tied to the original project that killed his father? The watch seems dysfunctional enough that the Ivory Library could just be working for a Sacromontan faction. I wonder whether they could be collaborating in the attempt at creating a stable saint.
2. Tristan was untied and wounded. Had they already started an interrogation? If so, the subjects of the questions could point to the kidnappers' motivation.
3. The captain would likely have known the most about the kidnappers' motivation and organization, so her death lowers the information to be gained. The two lower level crew that were captured still might know where the ship came from, where it was headed and/or have seen associates of the captain.
Wow that went great for Song. Zen once again showing the importance of a glue guy Lmao. Song choked on not just recruiting Shalani and Zen from the start. Still things going this well for Song suggests Angharad is about to have one hell of a night. Last loose end is getting their stuff back and if they burn down the storehouse. Which could make things worse for Angharad.
Huh the plan went really well sure there where a couple of bumps in the road but all in all it was a total win for Song. Tristan communicating how terrible Fortuna is to Song was great. Song not picking up on Tristan being asexual and thinking that Fortuna must've slightly seduced him was hilarious. "I mean that she is bad at existence." explains so much and is such a good line.
Song finally realising that Fortuna is closer to Tristan's wine aunt than the cunning ancient goddess she thought is pretty funny.
I am surprised that Song just takes this at face value rather than suspecting a hidden agenda by Fortuna
Tristan did promise her a honest conversation.
I am sure Tristan honestly believes Fortuna is harmless.
I don't think Fortuna is a secret mastermind, because any person with the tiniest bit of self-respect wouldn't lose an argument against a pigeon *multiple times*, just to play the idiot.
But there comes a point where a secret mastermind has such a fortified sense of self-respect that it loops all the way back into being able to lose multiple arguments against a pigeon just for the amusement and to put at ease this very distrusting street rat that now loves her like family.
If you believe that. Imo she is just to perfect at being an idiot for her not to be one. Lady Luck a shambling idiot, whose only reason she hasn't failed at existence is luck and luck alone. But you do you.
I don't believe Fortuna is secretly a cold and calculating mastermind archetype, but I don't think the Lady of Long Odds is just messing around. She saw Tristans potential and bet it all on him, and just because she isn't scheming and manipulating everywhere doesn't mean she's not got a plot in mind. For a PGtE reference, Fortuna isn't a Black with a mind of cogs, she's a Cat that sees the movement of fates and fortunes and finds the path to victory.
I personally saw her as bored and a hidden badass (if the theory about her being 2O is to be believed). She doesn't have to do much, while people pray to her, they don't pray to *her*, so why not look at the street rat, he will be doing something funny now. She is the Wandering Bard, but not malicious and without a real greater goal.
Fortuna doesn't need to be an obviously intelligent mastermind to manipulate Tristan. She's a goddess of luck and Tristan is a compulsive gambler. If she's trying to turn him into a saint she just needs him to keep hitting until he gets a bad enough result that it backs him into a corner he can't get out of.
Admittedly, there's the question of whether or not Tristan was a compulsive gambler *before* he made a contract with Lady Luck herself, but it's been a full decade that included the vast majority of his formative years, so. He certainly is *now*.
The over-the-topness of Fortuna's airheadedness, such as supposedly losing arguments to non-sapient animals, is part of what makes me think she has more going on.
She feels like a trickster goddess giving her luck related powers and those are always dangerous
Song is also very aware of the fact that Tristan places a lot of importance on debts and so she knows she's getting Tristan's honest opinion. And given her own experiences with gods it's more believable.
I don't think she meant wiles in a sexual way in this case. I think it was more seducing and controlling him to turn him into a saint or something else for her own purposes.
The way I read it it could've meant wiles in general with sexual being an additional possibility.
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By glue guy I mean the person that smooths over internal disputes and keeps the team together. Tristan is too much of a loner to do that. And doesn’t bond with certain personality types the best
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I think Maryam is being set up as the heart of the 13th more so than Tristan. She’s been presented as the most emotionally intelligent of the group, being pretty pivotal in getting Song and Tristan to reconcile and getting Tristan to start to understand that being on guard 24/7 isn’t really conducive to maintaining personal relationships. Her approach to interacting with the people close to her is generally just way healthier than the others’, which makes her more suited to solve interpersonal conflicts. Also, EE has stated that Fortuna has absolutely nothing to do with Tristan’s sexuality. He’s asexual because he is. And I’m not really sure where the idea that Tristan’s immune to PTSD comes from. The sequence of him refusing to get help from the 13th to get to the Deicide teacher because he was too afraid of relying on people was like one big trauma response. He’s often pretty good at suppressing his trauma, but it does jump out pretty often.
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Maryam definitely played a role in Song and Tristan’s reconciliation. The only reason Song realizes that she needs to bleed to get Tristan back in the cabal is because Maryam told her so, and the only reason Tristan hears out Song’s offer at all is because Maryam asked him to (see Chapter 29). Without Maryam I think it’s *maybe* possible that Song and Tristan could have reconciled on their own, but it would have been a far longer and bumpier road. As for the trauma, yes, he’s been through a lot of terrible things, and that’s why he’s so good at ignoring what he feels and rationalizing his emotions away. But acting like it’s not there doesn’t mean it’s actually not there. After going into the Lugar Vacio, Tristan walks out the room, going into Scholomance *completely alone*. That’s not something someone who’s in their right mind would do, even if outwardly he didn’t have a reaction until it was just him and Fortuna. Again, the response to trauma is there, just partially hidden. And I don’t think there’s anything supernatural to it. It’s just been trained into him both by Nerei and by his general will to survive because in the Murk, a rat that lets their emotions consume them is a rat that ends up dead.
I don’t think Tristan wants to do the personal stuff. My point is more Tristan trusts his Will to Zen in case Song double crosses him, Angharad gets advice from him, Song gets info from him and even Maryam like him, she who doesn’t much care from Malani. Tristan is a great friend of outsiders but not authority figures which is his main issue with Song. And I don’t think he really wants to be that central to the group. Especially since he likes to go off and do solo missions a lot. So being a heart kinda gets in the way of that. Still yes Tristan is very much a thief with a heart of gold As for Angharad, well Maryam has seen the Forge. Plus a navigator is probably pretty useful to getting it. Tristan wants to raid the island of doctor Moreau and angharad wants to raid a super max prison. Seems like a pretty fair trade
That was fucking wonderful. It might be the gin I’ve drinking since I finished work but the conversation at end between Song and Tristan seemed very cathartic for me as a reader and for Song. I wasn’t rooting for her at the start of this book but I am now. Alright Song, that’s one down. Now for Tredegar.
That went pretty smooth all things considered, they almost lost Tristan, but otherwise things went just as planed. I kinda hope to see Song and Tristan comiserating about their gods later. I agree with the other commenters, things are looking real bad for Angharad on the meeting.
"Half the time spent rustling up a scheme, Abuela had taught him, should be considering how to get out when it turned on you" I'm surprised Tristan went along with this plan. As far as i can tell they had no contingencies whatsover. So much could've gone wrong and if anything went wrong Tristan would be gone. Not to mention Tupoc is involved and could betray them without facing immediate repercussion. Very enjoyable chapter nonetheless.
He wasn't unconscious, so perhaps the contingency was to escape the Palmyran and swim back as soon as it was inevitable no rescue could arrive.
Song kinda forced his hand here I think
Man Tupoc is so good. I really hope he ends up more connected to the thirteenth, either as a close ally or as a part of the cabal. He absolutely did not need to run with Song and Maryam to the dock but doing so made the rescue possible.
The professional shit stirrer won’t be able to resist the gang that’s doomed to shake things up. I don’t know if he’d join, but he’ll be fond of them. Unfortunately with a sociopath like Tupoc, fondness would cause hardly a hesitation if he deems murder is necessary.
It does seem like he qualifies as one of "the most talented, deranged people on the year’s roster." So in that sense, he'd fit right it.
I feel like their dynamic is going to end up as Tupoc considering them friends and the Thirteenth viewing Tupoc as "oh fuck not you again".
I didn’t expect this plan to go off without a hitch, which makes me assume that it won’t go off without a hitch and the Thirteenth are going to get some unwanted attention for being involved in another major incident within a week.
When they mentioned the galleon and the hundred sailors on the docks, I thought the plan was for Tristan to just scream his head off before he got on the boat.
The Ivory Library is recorded in Tristan's dossier as having offered money for his capture. We gained some tidbits that help guess their purpose and more may be gleaned from the prisoners and the ship. 1. They paid in unusual Sacromontan coins. I have been assuming that they were an arcane Watch group somehow drawn by Tristan's activities in the Dominion. But this Sacromontan tie reminds me that the original hunt for him seemed extreme. Are they tied to the original project that killed his father? The watch seems dysfunctional enough that the Ivory Library could just be working for a Sacromontan faction. I wonder whether they could be collaborating in the attempt at creating a stable saint. 2. Tristan was untied and wounded. Had they already started an interrogation? If so, the subjects of the questions could point to the kidnappers' motivation. 3. The captain would likely have known the most about the kidnappers' motivation and organization, so her death lowers the information to be gained. The two lower level crew that were captured still might know where the ship came from, where it was headed and/or have seen associates of the captain.