#Ayama and Thorn Wood

[serdaig1e]

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #king of scars #the language of thorns #language of thorns #Ayama and Thorn Wood #The Too-Clever Fox #The Witch of Duva #Little Knife #The Soldier Prince #when water sang fire

[jessread-s]

✩🐚🦊Review:

Bardugo’s spin on classic fairytales are a delight as always.

“The Language of Thorns” includes six short stories that are inspired by myth, folklore, and fairytales. Each are paired with stunning illustrations that really give it a storybook feel.

In her author’s note, she shares that she was inspired to write this collection by “the note of trouble that I think many of us hear in familiar tales, because we know—even as children—that impossible tasks are on odd way to choose a spouse, that predators come in many guises, that a prince’s whims are often cruel.” She takes bits and pieces from old tales and reshapes them with her dark, gripping, and masterful writing to make us, as readers, question the classics we grew up with. New morals are attributed to each story and I was blown away when I was left to ruminate on them every. Single. Time.

You do not have to read any of the Grishaverse books to pick this one up, which makes it perfect for new readers hoping to be introduced to Bardugo’s works and fans, like myself, who keep coming back for more!

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

#the language of thorns #leigh bardugo #the too clever fox #the witch of duva #ayama and the thorn wood #little knife #the soldier prince #when water sang fire #grishaverse #the grisha trilogy #short stories #short story #ya fantasy #ya retelling #book review #booklr #book blog #book blogger #bookish #bibliophile #book rec

[doyouknowthis-grishaverse]

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #my polls #fandom polls #grishaverse polls #language of thorns #ayama and the thorn wood #the too clever fox #the witch of duva #little knife #the soldier prince #when water sang fire #ulla morozova #nikolai lantsov #the darkling #aleksanser morozova #grisha trilogy #fjerda #kerch #ravka #novyi zem #weird how theres no shu or kaelish ones #bit of a shame tbh

[theterrorofbeingseen]

rereading ayama and the thorn wood (from the language of thorns) and the fact that ayama changes the end of the first story to be that the boy who had the night sky inside him drank the sun and his hunger was cured, but the empty place inside him from the night sky always remained. thinking about that story and thinking about darklina and going insane

#darklina #the language of thorns #ayama and the thorn wood #grishaverse

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

In time, she came to the banks of a stream, its surface so bright with starlight it was as if someone had peeled the rind from the moon like a piece of fruit and laid it in a gleaming ribbon upon the forest floor.

Leigh Bardugo // The Language of Thorns // Ayama and the Thorn Wood

#book quotes #leigh bardugo #the language of thorns #ayama and the thorn wood #grishaverse

[fandom-trash-goblin]

IN DEFENSE OF CATELYN STARK

Ayama and the Thorn Wood, The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo// Venetian Ladies Listening to the Serenade, 1909 by Frank Cadogan Cowper // A Game of Thrones, Chapter 31, Tyrion IV.

lyanna stark || elia martell || sansa stark || arya stark || alicent hightower || jaehaera targaryen || cersei lannister || myrcella baratheon || joanna lannister || aemma arryn || catelyn stark || sansa stark (2) || margaery tyrell

for @tell-them-the-north-remembers, for this post (analysing ned loves my hair. gosh it took some time to find but i rembered that i had it in my drafts. for when i'd do catelyn. hope you like it)

#chose the image because you know/ devastated by ned loves my hair. crying sobbing. dying #catelyn stark #tried my best to colour the quotes the same colour as the designs on the grey-blue dress. didn't work out- blame word for it #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #web weave #webweaving #webweave #webweaves: asoiaf #game of thrones #got #catelyn tully #also fuck tyrion my girl is smart okay. #do you guys think about how until edmure's birth catelyn might have been given a heir's education. because i do

[aleksanderscult]

So I read "The Language of Thorns" and this is my ranking of the fairytales inside of it:

1) The Soldier Prince 👑

2) The Witch of Duva (although I wanted to put it on number 1)

3) When Water Sang Fire

4) Ayama and the Thorn Wood (it shares number 3 with "When Water Sang Fire" to be honest)

5) The Too-Clever Fox

6) Little Knife

Favorite characters (not in any particular order here):

- Droessen (I just love fucked up, creepy characters 🤌)

- Nadya

- Magda of the Black Woods

- Ayama

- Ulla

- Koja

- Sofiya (just like I said. My soft spot are fucked up characters)

(didn't mention the Darkling because he's my favorite character in any story he appears)

All in all, a fantastic book with incredible style of writing, creepy and dark stories (my cup of tea), unexpected twists and wonderful illustrations.

Recommend it 💯!!

#the language of thorns #grishaverse #shadow and bone #the soldier prince #the witch of duva #the darkling

[just-1other-nerd]

About "The Language of Thorns":

Our queen Leigh subverts common fairy tale tropes in her own ones, and I love this modern twist, I also recognised which fairy tales hers are based on. So I'll tell you my conclusions.

Btw I'll refer to fairy tales as Märchen from now on because I'm German and it's just the better word ("fairy tale" just doesn't feel like it includes all the tropes, creatures and characters, it feels like the stories only revolve around fairies and I think that doesn't do the genre justice).

Spoilers for the entire Grishaverse ahead.

Ayama and the Thorn Wood: This is basically a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling. The major subversion is that she is never really regarded as a beauty, and in the end, she also chooses to become a monster instead of him becoming human because that doesn't need to be fixed. Also every story she tells him is subverting tropes: the 1st one is about how unlikely a true happy ending is, the 2nd one is about how the things that seem like a threat can actually be a blessing and about how evil often disguises itself, the 3rd one is about how you shouldn't trust a stranger even though what he offers seems better than what you currently have and that you shouldn't be safed by a prince. The first of her stories is confirmed to be inspired by Tarrare's "Polyphagy".

The Too-Clever Fox: This is inspired by all of those fables where a fox is the main character. In those, he is normally a natural trickster and very smart. Oftentimes, it's about foxes utilising their wit to get what they want or escape a trap by using others and their flaws, and they normally succeed. The main subversion is that the too-clever fox isn't clever enough, he is trapped and was tricked, he didn't see that the girl was the hunter all along, he is stripped of his wit and the only way he survives is by the help of his friend Lula. Leigh wanted to show that hunters come in all shapes, they aren't always loud or muscular or male.

The Witch of Duva: This is (confirmed by author's note) based on "Hänsel und Gretel" by the Gebrüder Grimm (brothers Grimm). Btw I immediately knew that Magda was going to appear in this tale because of the opening and because I read "The Lives of Saints" just a few weeks prior. The subversion is obviously that neither the witch is the villain nor is the stepmother. Instead, they even help our main character. The real evil is closer than she ever thought. In the author's note, Leigh even confirmed that she did this because it always didn't sit right with her when Hänsel and Gretel returned home because the father who seemingly had no problem with abandoning them wouldn't protect them in the future.

Little Knife: This is inspired by all those tales where the guy (be it a prince or a commoner with a golden heart) has got to go through 3 trials to win the girl (be it a princess, a nobel woman or a very pretty commoner), the Gebrüder Grimm alone wrote many of those for example "Das tapfere Schneiderlein" (The bold Tailor). Leigh thought that trials are a weird way to find a fiancé. The subversion is that the poor guy with the supposed gold heart is just another man who doesn't love Yeva for herself, doesn't care what she wants and doesn't even deserve her because the river did all the work for him. This results in the river who won all the trials asking Yeva to leave those who are unworthy of her and only see her beauty, to which she agrees. Also they are sapphics and nobody can tell me otherwise.

The Soldier Prince: This is 100% based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Nussknacker und Mäusekönig" (Nutcracker and Mouse King), and yes, I googled he is the original author Tschaikowsky only adapted and changed the story. The subversion is that he doesn't want a romance, that's just what everyone expects of him. He wants to live a life of his own, and the Mouse King isn't the antagonist but rather helps the soldier accomplish what he already did. I loved the existencial crisis angel of this Märchen and Leigh said in her author's note that this was added because of her childhood trauma caused by "Velveteen Rabbit" (I don't know what that's about but I still can relate because like the amount of childhood trauma "Pinocchio" - especially the whole island plotline - caused in my case is so huge that I'm actually crying right now).

When Water Sang Fire: The author's note confirmed that it's based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and it is basically an origin story for the sea witch. The protagonist Ulla undergoes a corruption arc (set in motion by her ambition and loyalty towards Signy), instead of how Märchen usually deal with outcast protagonists. Normally, those proof themselves worthy of love, friendship and glory by doing something that was regarded as impossible (once again the trials trope). Leigh wanted to show that princes can be cruel and dayum that betrayal hurt (I audibly gasped in public like 4 times even though I did see it coming). Do you think her brother spread the rumours that led to her becoming Sankta Ursula?

Thanks for reading.

#grishaverse #language of thorns #the language of thorns #leigh bardugo #the lives of saints #fairy tales #fairytale #brothers grimm #gebrüder grimm #märchen #subverting tropes #signy #sankta ursula

[the-starless-reader]

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? (The Golden Apple of Discord, the Judgement of Paris and the most beautiful woman in the world)

The Golden Apple of Discord was dropped by Eris, the goddess of strife. Enraged because she wasn't invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, she fueled a vanity contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The apple was meant for 'the fairest one', and Paris was to choose the winner. He chose Aphrodite, who bribed him by giving him the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen of Sparta. [source]

I saw the ghost of what must have once been a beautiful woman, a beautiful woman who gave birth to a beautiful son. [SaB, Ch. 15]

According to this article, 'the golden apple' was identified as quince. Dictionary of Plant Lore states that quince represents a symbol of happiness and fertility. In 17th century England, it was reckoned that pregnant women who eat quince bear wise children.

Each day, the pregnant queen walked the battlements at the top of the palace, her belly swollen, praying that her child would be wise and strong and handsome, but praying most of all for a kind wind to cool her skin and grant her some relief. [Ayama and the Thorn Wood]

Helen's mother Leda was the queen of Sparta, known for her beautiful black hair and snowy skin. Zeus seduced her disguised as a swan seeking protection from the pursuing eagle. On the same night, she went to lay with her husband, and as a result, she got two eggs from which hatched Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. The Homeric tradition suggests that Helen was immortal. [source]

I had been playing dolls and my sister had whined and howled and stamped her little feet until my mother insisted that I give over my favorite toy, a wooden swan carved by our father in one of the rare moments that he’d paid me any attention. [RaR, Ch. 10]

The etymology of Helen's name is unclear. The most common theories are focused around Helenē, probably fem. of helenos "the bright one." [source]

“Welcome, Lena!” boomed the Ulle as he strode toward them. Eryk barely registered the name his mother had taken. To him, she was always Mama, Madraya. [The Demon in the Wood]

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone meta #grishaverse meta #grishaverse worldbuilding #baghra morozova #greek mythology #grishaverse #leigh bardugo #parallels and references #a searing burst of thought

[sad-sad-detective]

Someone's posting a dewther fic on AO3 but it is just a shameless copypaste of Leigh Bardugo's "Ayama and the Thorn Wood". They don't even try.

#the band ghost #nameless ghouls #ghost fanfiction

[sleepless-crows]

convincing you to read language of thorns by leigh bardugo with quotes except i only read the first story (ayama and the thorn wood):

You know how the stories go. Interesting things only happen to pretty girls

You see, some people are born with a piece of night inside, and that hollow place can never be filled—not with all the good food or sunshine in the world. That emptiness cannot be banished, and so some days we wake with the feeling of the wind blowing through, and we must simply endure it as the boy did.

This goes to show you that sometimes the unseen is not to be feared and that those meant to love us most are not always the ones who do.

#read it #grishaverse #leigh bardugo #grishaverse quotes #language of thorns

[jackwolfes]

six sentence sunday

its five sentences but you're going to have to deal with that

True to his word, Jesper tells Wylan stories.

He tells him about Ayama and the Thorn Wood, like his Ma told him, and about the Fairy Caves of Istamere, like his Da told him, and all the other tall tales he heard on the high seas with an international crew bored and in their cups. Jesper even tries to tell him the story of the Soldier Prince, although Wylan furrows his eyebrows and tells him without very much tact at all that he’s doing it wrong. 

“My mother never told it to me with a drunken orgy,” Wylan says dryly, “on account of the fact it’s a story for children.” “Well,” Jesper replies, “I’m the one telling the story, and I had it told to me with a drunken orgy.”

#wesper #mermaidlan!!!!!!! which by god i will get through if it kills me #fic snippets

[number63liveblogs]

The Lives of Saints part 3

SANKTA MARADI

This is, once again, one of the stories where it’s very easy to see the Grisha work behind everything. Maradi seems to be just a moderately powerful tidemaker, who has a penchant for helping people.

SANKT DEMYAN OF THE RIME

Unlike the story of Sankta Maradi, this one feels like it’s missing something. Like, if what the story tells corresponds at all to the reality, there’s definitely something that has been left out. The pattern of first coming to someone to get them to fix your problems and then immediately pivoting to murder once the solution wasn’t perfect usually needs at least a little more to be happening behind it.

SANKTA MARYA OF THE ROCK

Okay, none of the Grisha powers are explicitly connected to rock, but they could be? So this could be just that the wise old woman knew about Marya’s powers, but on the other hand the last book pretty heavily implied that there are genuine oracles among the Suli, so it could go either way.

SANKT EMERENS

See, the way this story talked about alcohol is how I was expecting Ayama and the Thorn Wood to talk about alcohol, and the way it actually talked about alcohol pulled me out of the story.

SANKT VLADIMIR THE FOOLISH

Again, a clear thing that a tidemaker could do. Granted, according to the story he was able to keep the waters at bay for several days without sleep, but that can be a story that has grown in the telling, and besides he did die of exhaustion afterwards when using their powers is supposed to make Grisha healthier.

SANKT GRIGORI OF THE WOOD

Interesting, Grigori doesn’t get a “new” story, and instead it’s about what we heard in the story proper. Maybe because he had so much focus?

---

I do wonder if the regular people ever, like think about how easy it is to map so many of these stories to Grisha powers. Although to be fair, it’s much easier from the point of view of someone to whom both Grisha powers and these miracles round out to “magic” that doesn’t exist in the real world, so the connection is much easier to see.

#the grishaverse #the lives of saints #liveblog #number 63

[nirikeehan]

The Language of Thorns prompts

Adapted from here & recreating to keep track of prompt fills

i.    AYAMA  AND  THE  THORN  WOOD.

‘ love  speaks  in  flowers.  truth  requires  thorns.  ’

‘  we  should  leave  this  place.  ’

‘  no  doubt  it  will  come  and  devour  us  all.  ’

‘  the  beast  will  laugh  you  right  out  of  the  wild  lands.  ’

‘  you  know  how  the  stories  go.  interesting  things  happen  only  to  pretty  girls.  ’

‘  stupid  girl  !  do  you  wish  to  become  a  monster  ?  ’

‘  strike  me.  cleave  me  in  two.  ’

‘  you’re  as  thorny  as  the  wood.  ’ 

‘  there  is  but  one  rule  in  my  wood.  speak  truth.  ’

‘  perhaps  you  might  show  mercy  freely.  ’

‘  what  nonsense  !  of  course  that’s  not  how  the  story  ends.  ’

‘  some  people  are  born  with  a  piece  of  night  inside,  and  that  hollow  place  can  never  be  filled.  ’

‘  you  know  the  only  bargain  i  will  make.  ’

‘  sometimes  the  unseen  is  not  to  be  feared  and  those  that  are  meant  to  love  us  most  are  not  always  the  ones  that  do.  ’

‘  bad  fates  do  not  always  follow  those  that  deserve  them.  ’

‘  no  prince  is  worth  your  life.  ’

‘  are  you  so  eager  to  be  eaten  ?  ’

‘  they  have  told  me  to  return  with  your  heart.  ’

‘  you  think  to  love  a  monster  ?  ’

‘  a  man  like  you  is  owed  no  words.  ’

ii.    THE  TOO  CLEVER  FOX.

‘  you  are  doomed  to  a  miserable  life.  ’

‘  better  to  be  hungry  now  than  to  be  sorry  later.  ’

‘  what  will  everyone  say  when  they  see  such  a  face  ?  ’

‘  we  have  not  gone  so  soft  as  that.  ’

‘  you  think  that  we  will  let  you  live  on  foolish  promises  ?  ’

‘  you  have  bested  me.  that  much  is  clear.  ’

‘  will  you  not  free  me  ?  ’

‘  you  will  have  a  fine  time  of  it,  i  can  tell  you.  ’

‘  i  can  bear  ugliness.  i  find  the  one  thing  i  cannot  live  with  is  death.  ’

‘  if  you  will  only  cease  your  talking,  i  will  gladly  go.  ’

‘  where  he  went,  he  bled  the  woods  dry.  ’

‘  what’s  a  bit  more  blood  ?  ’

‘  you  should  leave  this  place.  you  are  not  safe  here.  ’

‘  with  such  big  eyes,  i  think  you  see  too  much.  ’

‘  will  you  not  tell  me  what  troubles  you  ?  ’

‘  why  do  you  stay  with  him  ?  you’re  pretty  enough  to  catch  a  husband.  ’

‘  just  because  you  escape  one  trap,  doesn’t  mean  you  will  escape  the  next.  ’

‘  first  i  must  find  my  courage.  ’

‘  few  can  resist  the  sight  of  a  pretty  girl  crying.  ’

‘  the  trap  is  loneliness,  and  no  one  escapes  it.  not  even  me.  ’

‘  in  the  wood,  even  songbirds  must  be  survivors.  ’

iii.    THE  WITCH  OF  DUVA.

‘  there  was  a  time  when  the  wood  ate  girls.  ’

‘  be  back  before  dark.  the  trees  are  hungry  tonight.  ’

‘  who  can  say  what  shapes  an  appetite  ?  ’

‘  this  is  my  home,  you  can’t  just  send  me  away.  ’ 

‘  i  will  warn  you  just  this  once.  go.  ’ 

‘  you  cannot  come  and  go  from  this  place  like  you’re  fetching  water  from  a  well.  ’  

‘  hope  made  me  stubborn.  ’

‘  stay  there  and  keep  quiet.  i  don’t  need  rumors  that  i’ve  been  taking  girls.  ’

‘  i  will  not  have  you  bring  a  monster  to  my  door.  ’

‘  you  know  that  you  are  welcome  to  remain  here  with  me.  ’

‘  believe  me.  say  you  believe  me.  ’

‘  dark  things  have  a  way  of  slipping  through  narrow  spaces.  ’

iv.    LITTLE  KNIFE.

‘  it  is  dangerous  to  travel  the  northern  road  with  a  troubled  heart.  ’

‘  if  you  are  lost  in  your  own  thoughts,  you  may  find  yourself  stepping  off  the  path  and  into  the  dark  woods.  ’

‘  why  must  i  be  the  one  to  hide  ?  ’

‘  do  you  think  i  am  so  foolish  or  so  cruel  ?  ’

‘  water  only  wants  direction.  it  wants  to  be  told  what  to  do.  ’

‘  always  you  have  done  my  bidding,  but  what  good  are  you  to  me  now  ?  ’

‘  soon  i  will  be  very  rich,  but  will  i  have  a  good  man  ?  ’

‘  remember  that  to  use  a  thing  is  not  to  own  it.  ’

‘  should  you  ever  take  a  bride,  listen  closely  to  her  questions.  ’

v.    THE  SOLDIER  PRINCE.

‘  this  is  the  problem  with  even  lesser  demons.  they  come  to  your  door  in  velvet  coats  and  polished  shoes.  ’

‘  you  will  find  great  love  and  more  gold  than  you  could  wish  for.  ’

‘  he’s  a  charming  fellow,  but  most  unusual,  and  peculiarities  seem  to  follow  him.  ’  

’  it  seemed  harmless  at  the  time.  ’

‘  i  have  not  come  to  fight,  only  to  talk.  ’

‘  wanting  is  why  people  get  up  in  the  morning.  it  gives  them  something  to  dream  of  at  night.  ’

‘  i  am  perfectly  real.  ’

‘  she  loves  you,  though,  and  that  will  make  it  harder.  ’

‘  best  not  to  ask.  i  think  the  answer  would  please  no  one.  ’

‘  we  can  stay  forever  in  the  land  of  dreams.  ’

‘  i  sent  you  to  die  a  hundred  times.  ’

‘  i  eat  the  wonder  in  their  eyes.  ’

‘  you  were  an  idea  in  my  head.  you  were  nothing,  and  to  nothing  you  will  return  when  i  think  of  you  no  more.  ’

‘  you  wanted  only  that  i  might  live.  you  would  sacrifice  your  own  life  to  make  it  so.  ’

vi.    WHEN  WATER  SANG  FIRE.

‘  you  wish  to  strike  a  bargain.  ’

‘  make  me  someone  new.  ’

‘  this  is  the  problem  with  making  a  thing  forbidden.  it  does  nothing  but  build  an  ache  in  the  heart.  ’

‘  easy  magic  is  pretty.  great  magic  requires  that  you  trouble  the  waters.  ’

‘  no  one  expects  me  to  accomplish  anything.  ’

‘  i  can  smell  your  ambition  like  blood  in  the  water.’  

‘  i  know  that  you  should  keep  it  like  a  secret,  not  shout  it  like  a  curse.  ’

‘  you  are  worth  more  than  that.  you  should  not  have  to  earn  him.  ’

‘  hope  rises  like  water  trapped  beneath  a  dam,  higher  and  higher,  in  increments  that  mean  nothing  until  you  face  the  flood.  ’

‘  there  is  no  pain  like  the  pain  of  transformation.  ’

‘  take  your  pleasures  as  you  will.  ’

‘  come,  and  i’ll  tell  you  all  you  wish  to  know.  ’

‘  he  made  me  dream  of  things  i  cannot  have.  ’

‘  i  do  not  care  for  dancing.  ’

‘  look  into  the  mirror,  and  try  to  deny  it.  ’

‘  you  have  never  been  like  the  others,  and  you  never  will  be.  ’

‘  we  were  not  made  to  please  princes.  ’

‘  i  am  not  quite  mortal  either,  and  i  have  many  lives  to  live.  ’

‘  i  wouldn’t  care  if  you  were  part  human  or  part  frog.  ’

‘  my  voice  is  not  enough.  ’

‘  you  know  i  was  never  strong.  ’

#writing prompts

[heavenwontbethe-same]

The Language of Thorns (2017)

This is the problem with making a thing forbidden. It does nothing but build an ache in the heart

#sunny's edit #sunny makes moodboard #grishaverse #leigh bardugo #the grishaverse #the language of thorns #ayama and the thorn wood #the too clever fox #the witch of duva #little knife #the soldier prince #when water sang fire #userrsun #userrzoya #litedit #yalitedit #tlotedit #fantasyedit

[the-final-sentence]

They pray for sons with red eyes and daughters with horns.

Leigh Bardugo, from “Ayama and the Thorn Wood”

#Ayama and the Thorn Wood #Leigh Bardugo