#Briar Moss

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

no but that scene where kid Tris bluntly but PRIVATELY reveals to Briar that she KNOWS he can't read- she's known all along-

how he waits for everyone else to start doing their chores for the day before starting on whatever's left, instead of just checking the board where it all gets written up-

she never poked at that

never used it against him. even back when they didn't LIKE each other- him a kid from the streets and her from a merchant family, social oil and water, all their scuffs and tiffs. her temper is hot and her words are sharp

Tris never. not once. mocked him for not being able to read. didn't even mention it

and she noticed. this before the four of them all really grow into being foster siblings, back when they're just four traumatized and thrown away kids plopped down into a cottage with two women who weirdly enough won't stop caring about them-

even back then, prickly Tris paid attention

the offer to teach him comes later- in private- she is NOT embarrassing him in front of anyone else when she talks about it. it's after the four survived almost dying together, a quiet moment alone, when she finally mentions she could help if he wanted

he does. instantly- and it's not hard to see why he's so comfortable with saying yes, now. he wouldn't let on to anyone else, their teachers and guardians, but Tris saw and kept quiet and is asking him

her urge is to share this thing that'd given her so much comfort and strength with someone else who doesn't have that yet. and to do it just for him, no one else to see, just his thing to study with her, something she's happy to make time for

then years later, they are the family bookworms together. sister and brother with more academic interests than their other two siblings. they reconnect so quietly and easily even though they both are maybe the hardest to get along with in general, the sharpest and most likely to snap and lash out. but Tris taught Briar to read without making him feel stupid about it. he grew up and taught HIS student to read, using a lot of the same tricks Tris had used on him

i dunno. it gets to me, is all

#the circle of magic #tris trisanna chandler #briar moss #tamora pierce #...... #i need to reread those again #they just always feel so good

[ace-artemis-fanartist]

Briar Moss.

#briar moss #emelan #emelan series #circle of magic #tamora pierce #book fanart #artists on tumblr #illustration #my art

[quietflorilegium]

"They never tell you some things," Briar said bitterly. "They tell you mages have wonderful power and they learn all kinds of secrets. Nobody ever mentions that some secrets you don't ever want to learn." "All you can do is learn good to balance the bad," Rosethorn told him. "Learn and do all the good within your reach. Then, if you wake in a sweat, you have something to set against the dream."

Tamora Pierce, “Street Magic”

#tamora pierce #street magic #briar moss #rosethorn #secrets #maturity #growing up #heavy things #the circle opens

[lyndentree63]

Forever sad for the people in North America who didn't get the poetic titles for The Circle of Magic Quartet The Magic in the Weaving The Power in the Storm The Fire in the Forging The Healing in the Vine I remember moving to Canada, going to the library and shrieking internally when it was just "Sandry's Book" etc.

#tamora pierce #circle of magic #the circle of magic quartet #sandrilene fa toren #tris chandler #daja kisubo #briar moss #emelan #i mean seriously how could you NOT read a book titled “the magic in the weaving”

[motherofmabari]

#tamora pierce #Tortall #Emelan #The immortals #Winding Circle #the circle of magic #The circle opens #daine sarrasri #veralidaine sarrasri #Briar moss #These two would be best friends I know it

[junipernoon]

I recently binged the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce! I'm pretty happy with my interpretation of the characters (I feel like I could have made Tris fatter, but still better than that one cover, you know LOL), anyway Briar is the most trans, and Sandry is a Wasian.

Let me know how you picture the characters in the notes!

ID in alt

#circle of magic #emelan #tamora pierce #daja kisubo #trisana chandler #sandrilene fa toren #briar moss #booklr #book tumblr #illustration #artist on tumblr #artists on tumblr #fanart #book art #fantasy #ya #ided

[whimsicallywiddershins]

Another reason why the the Circle of Magic is so so good: the teachers and the school setting are done perfectly!

There is none of that Harry Potter bullshit where the teachers and adult figures were neglectful, incompetent or abusive. The teachers in Circle of Magic are amazing. They all have different teaching styles, but they dedicate themselves to their students and do a wonderful job. They make mistakes, but realistic ones and then they fix them.

Not only are they great teachers, but the Winding Circle Temple isn't just a school, it's a home. Hogwarts was a school, and the students lived there, but it never seemed to be a good home. There are very few adults, all intimidating and not very personal. There is unchecked bullying and very little free time. It's just never ending school with some holidays thrown in.

The Winding Circle Temple, on the other hand, feels like a home. First, a temple is such a neat setting for a children's book. They actually talk about midnight service, religious figures and holidays, and philosophy. It's very neat.

The kids have plenty of lessons, but they also have free time, and the teachers are also good caretakers. Lark teaches the kids handstands and tumbling. Frostpine told them stories. Rosethorn taught them how to make sun lotion. Gorse gives them treats whenever they drop by. Lark and Rosethorn take the kids to markets and festivals. Throughout it all, the adults are responsible, teach the kids all sorts of life lessons and skills, and are really amazing adult characters.

This is how a school type book should be written.

#tamora pierce #circle of magic #my favorite books #book reccs #magic books #ya books #teen books #good books #sandrilene fa toren #briar moss #daja kisubo #trisana chandler #rosethorn #lark #frostpine #nico goldeye

[franticvampirereads]

Another two for one book review! Being snowed/iced in has been good for one thing at least 😅

Daja’s Book:

This was such a good book! And I’m gonna be a broken record here but, it still holds up. It’s one of the best middle grade books that I’ve read. I loved getting more of Daja and seeing how she interacted with her fellow Traders. I loved the growth that she and the rest of the kids had. Both in their magic and in their relationships with their teachers and each other. I just really loved this! It’s getting four and a half stars.

Briar’s Book:

This was the book I was most worried about rereading in this series. Mostly because I thought it would be triggering given that it’s about a pandemic. But it wasn’t. Or at least it wasn’t for me. In fact it was almost comforting in a way? I appreciated Briar’s willingness to jump into caring for the sick, his helplessness and anger when things were out of his control, and his determination to find a cure. This is might be my favorite book in this series. Briar’s Book is getting five stars.

Reading Challenge Prompt Fills:

Alphabet challenge: D

Alphabet challenge: B

#booklr #circle of magic #emelan #briar moss #daja kisubo #book review #reading #books #read #book #bookish #bookworm #lgbtq+ books #queer books #ya fantasy #middle grade books #fantasy books

[checkoutmybookshelf]

The Circle is Reforged

Tamora Pierce's Circle Reforged books are an interesting case, because this is really where she started bouncing around in time in Emelan, and filling in some parts of story that were mentioned, suggested, or explicity referenced but not told. The books themselves were published well and truly out of chronological order, but having read them in publication order as they came out and then in chronological order on reread, I honestly don't think there's a "preferable" strategy. If you've read the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens quartets, you can explore the Circle Reforged in whatever order. However, I think I'm going to cover them in (more or less, no promises) publication order here. So let's talk The Will of the Empress.

*absolutely rampant, unapologietic spoilers for the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens quartets below the break*

This book explore the implications and consequences of Lady Sandreline being both Fa Toren in Emelan and Fa Landreg in Namorn. Our girl is practically royalty in two countries, but after she is orphaned in Hatar's smallpox epidemic, Duke Vedris in Emelan and Lord Ambros Fer Landreg in Namorn largely shield Sandry from her responsibilities as the primary landowner of the Landreg estates--which is entirely reasonable given that she is ten years old at the time.

When we get to the beginning of Will of the Empress, though, Sandry has been functionally running Emelan in the wake of Duke Vedris's heart attack and Ambros has been pointedly sending her account books for her Namornese estates. Sandry has been neglecting the hell out of those, and misses the fact that the Empress of Namorn has been financially squeezing Landreg to try to force Sandry back to Namorn.

Sandry has also been largely completed separated from Briar, Tris, and Daja for almost two full years by the opening of this book, since they went off to travel with their teachers and she stayed. She's had contact with Lark, but even that dropped significantly once Sandry moved into the Duke's Citadel.

Given all of that and two years of personal growth and change, when our four protagonists reunite in the house Daja buys for them, they collectively seize up in self-consciousness and shame and uncertainty. Plus seriously powerful ambient magic. Which literally everyone with eyes (except our protagonists) can see is a bad thing. So to kill two birds with one stone, Duke Vedris asks Briar, Tris, and Daja to go with Sandry to Namorn as basically bodyguards. The background hope is that the four of them get to know each other again and find their equilibrium.

With a lot of yelling and a distinct lack of talking, they set off to Namorn.

Which is when we really get off to the races, because the lack of talking means that Briar hasn't told the girls he's dealing with PTSD from the war in Gyongxe; Daja hasn't said she is dealing with abandoment issues, figuring out her own sexuality, and having helped kill a friend who had killed a lot of people by setting fires; Tris hasn't told anyone that she developed a skill that kills or drives mad 99.99% of all mages who try it and the whole Ghost-is-Jack-the-Ripper thing in Tharios; and Sandry...well, I love our girl, but she's dealing with a combination of inheritance and political machinations, her crippling terror of another family member dying on her watch, and the fact that she actively chose to rip three people to shreds to save Pasco's life. So everybody has big feelings and nobody is dealing with them or communicating effectively. Which, again, is a GREAT combination with the phenomenal cosmic powers.

This is a Sandry-centric book, but as we did with Sandry's Book, we also get a metric ton of the other three as well, because as they did in Sandry's Book, they're coming together as a unit. Trying very, very hard to prevent that are Berenene dor Ocmor, Empress of Namorn and her court mages, Ishabal Ladyhammer and Quenaill Sheildsman. They are trying to either recruit or get rid of four legendarily powerful mages. The recruiting goes...poorly. For a variety of reasons. The getting rid of goes WORSE.

Part of the recruiting scheme for Sandry specifically includes a himbo husband that Berenene can boss around to her heart's content. The approved suitors are Jakuben fer Pennun, who had himbo down pat, and Finlach fer Hurich, who was less himbo and more goldigging asshole with an influential uncle. Finlach ends up leaping SO FAR over the line that Berenene has to slap him down so hard that his entire life is ruined.

Then we come to Pershan fer frickin' Roth. Even if you take the Namornese tradition of kidnapping brides into account, Shan takes the whole thing to another level because his ass makes Sandry feel SAFE and WANTED and VALUED AS A PERSON before turning around and kidnapping her in a trap tailor-made for subduing even a very powerful stitch witch. Literally this man is the worst and he deserved so much worse than he got.

Overall, this book is about reconnection and remembering that some bonds are deeper than two-year world tours. It's also about seeing your siblings as their whole selves and accepting them, warts and all, because they are the people you love and who love you back. This is one of my favorite Circle Universe books, and I think it is objectively the best Sandry book and the best "all four of us are here" book in the Circle universe.

This book also objectively heavier than the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens quartets. It's still technically YA, but it's the 16-19 end of YA more than the 13-15 end, given that it deals with not only PTSD and trauma, but also sexual assault and kidnapping, so take care if you aren't in a headspace for those topics. The book will still be there, and taking care of yourself in your book choices comes first, always.

#tamora pierce #the will of the empress #emelan #circle universe #the circle reforged #the circle opens #circle of magic #sandry #briar moss #daja kisubo #tris #trisana chandler #sandrilene fa toren #ya fantasy #books & libraries #books and reading #books and novels #book recommendations #books

[elwinged]

realising i have types of favourite characters:

person who has suffered immensely and still chooses kindness and light, still believes in the triumph of good over evil: elrond peredhel, obi-wan kenobi, to a certain extent padmé amidala naberrie 

textual ghost whose innocence and childhood bled out: finduilas faelivrin, sabé tsabin, shmi skywalker, to a certain extent findis

dnd player who invested all their points into charisma, be that the flirty or endearing kind: quinlan vos, maedhros one-handed, briar moss, beidou

am i really invested in them as a character or do i just find their vibes immensely tasty?: boba fett, merrin, caranthir, captain rex, commander fox, clone medic kix

i can't lie i just need them to take over my life for me: marshal commander cody, shaak ti, keladry of mindelan, jean gunnhildr

#gtkm #eta.text #star wars #the silmarillion #lotr #genshin impact #tamora pierce #elrond peredhel #obi-wan kenobi #padme amidala #finduilas faelivrin #sabé #shmi skywalker #findis #quinlan vos #maedhros #briar moss #beidou #boba fett #merrin #caranthir #captain rex #commander fox #kix #commander cody #shaak ti #keladry of mindelan #jean gunnhildr #silm #silmarillion

[tourneys-by-me]

Round Two - Phytomancy (plants, vegetation) 1/8

Propaganda under the cut (beware of potential spoilers!!)

Briar:

This boy was growing moss in a jail cell before he knew he had magic. At 11 he was fighting back pirates with quick growing plant bombs and saving his teacher from death through their connection with plants. At 14 he woke trees from planks of wood and destroyed a house because his student was kidnapped. He tried to give himself tattoos with plant-based ink, and ended up with living tattoo that move and bloom under his skin. He doesn't have a connection with just some plants - he can connect with any plant or anything made from plants.

Keyleth:

No propaganda :(

#element specific character tournament #phytomancy #round 2 #tumblr polls #polls #briar moss #roach #roach emelan #emelan #tamora pierce #circle of magic #circle universe #keyleth #keyleth critical role #critical role #vox machina #legend of vox machina

[namedafterflowerstournament]

Botanic Tournament : Prickly / Stingy Bracket !

Semi-Finals

#botanic tournament #tournament polls #prickly stingy bracket #yor briar #spy x family #spy x family yor #yor spy x family #sxf yor #yor sxf #sxf #sxf manga #sxf anime #briar moss #circle of magic #briar circle of magic #circle of magic briar

[quietflorilegium]

“Shared reading made for solid friendships.”

Tamora Pierce, "The Will of the Empress"

#tamora pierce #the will of the empress #will of the empress #trisana chandler #tris #briar moss #reading #bookish friendships #the circle reforged

[i-know-this-man]

#best known bracket #poll #Boromir #Briar Moss

[elvencantation]

every time rosethorn calls briar ‘her boy’ i START CRYING

#dear god help #the found family #help #tamora pierce #emelan #briar moss #rosethorn #battle magic #blue reads #it’s like one of the last parts of magic steps #I think the quote goes something like this #lark speaking to sandry #we are not done my heart’s own #AND I CRY AGAIN #gimme #please #p l e a s e #would both rekindle my love of learning and heal my mountain if mommy issues #if only

[idreamtiflew]

My Midjourney creations of the four ambient mage siblings from Emelan. I know AI Art is controversial... but it's so fun to mess around on Midjourney, and I would never monetize these...

#tamora pierce #circle of magic #briar moss #trisana chandler #sandrilene fa toren #daja kisubo #daja #briar #sandry #tris #circle opens #circle reforged #will of the empress #emelan #winding circle #discipline cottage #mage kids #family #chosen family #school fantasy #green mage #stitch witch #weather mage #smith mage #ambient magic #midjourney #lesbian characters #fantasy #youngadult fantasy #tortall