𝔎𝔞𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔦𝔞 - 𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔢

I remember having this dream

so like, when I was sleeping, I had a dream where I entered a Dead House, I just saw dead people laying and hanging themselves, I saw like so many blood, I even saw cockroaches, spiders, sneks. (sneks are cute fr but one got into a man's pussy. I blushed at that, it made him cu-)

I checked every room and they are all dead, even tho i heard a song called "In the Year 2525" (man that song grooves.)

that song just came out of nowhere, but I know that song comes out in Gentleman Broncos. (my fav movie from Jared Hess i think thats the director.)

Suddenly, the song replayed, it never stopped, then I saw a shadowy figure that came out of nowhere, it was the owner of the Dead House. the shadow seemed kind to me.

AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE OR BELIEVE THIS, THE SHADOW DID A FUCKING GRIDDY ON ME.

I got to get the Shadow away from me lol.

also when I checked the toilet, a human head was in there, IT WAS RADITHA (that oc i made.)

bleugh- the story never ended whenever I sleep or daydream.

But that's my dream.

bye wieners :3

one of my fav drawings. I need the original imag-

“The lesson of history is that no one learns.”

Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates

Rereading Malazan Book of the Fallen for probably the fifth time...

"This city was dead long before the sea dried up," Fiddler said, resuming his climb.

Crokus called up after him, "How do you know?"

"Because everything's water-worn, lad. Waves crumbled this sea wall. Century after century of waves. I grew up in a port city, remember. I've seen what water can do. The Emperor had Malaz Bay dredged before the Imperial piers were built-revealed old sea walls and the like." Reaching the top, he paused to catch his breath. "Showed everyone that Malaz City's older than anybody'd realized."

"And that the sea levels have risen since," Mappo observed.

Fascinating to see how a major plot-point of Witness (the new series) was being casually built up as early as book 2 of MBotF - the melting of the Jaghut ice. And perfect of course, that it is Mappo who brings it up: of the group, he's the only one who would have been in a position to know this.

One thing I truly love about this series is the extent to which the world feels lived in. People have lived in the lands for hundreds of thousands of years, and not as static occupiers, but have endured climate change, environmental collapse, invasions, migrations, cultural movements, and political upheavals. Nobody does longue durée quite like Steven Erickson.

He's also an author who cares about subsistence strategies and the way geography shapes human patterns. The major cities emerge in places where water transport and farmland intersect. Plains nomads have pastoral animals apart from horses, plus working dogs, women play key roles in subsistence, and they have distinct material culture in dress and decoration. (As opposed to certain other authors, cf. Bret Devereaux's Dothraki write up). Environmental changes and human movement force new strategies; pretty much every group in the Malazan world is in some kind of flux or process of change outside of the actual plot, and have diverse responses to these pressures in terms of culture and values.

For all that these books can be very dense, I also appreciate Erikson's loving indulgence toward the reader. Yes, it would be funny if a small spoilt lapdog joined a pack of war dogs: so we will have a series of vignettes describing this in the background of real events. Yes, it is very funny to picture a bunch of capering monkeys mocking the High Priest of Shadow and his broom nonsense, so we will get a series of slapstick set pieces again in the background. Characters like Kruppe and Iskaral Pust get to chew the scenery, etc.

"Children are dying."

Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words[…]”

-Steven Erickson, Deadhouse Gates

Watching Steven Erikson murder my favourite characters two books in a row

Guess that's why it's called Book of the Fallen

Got these today and I’m overwhelmed with nostalgia, I haven’t held a goosebumps VHS since religiously renting them at blockbuster 💘💘💘

"Children are dying." Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words."

Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates, book 2 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen

thought about felisin paran again... *lying facedown on the floor*

[ reading update + book haul ]

Thinking about him again

“My evening star. If the sun burned out tomorrow, your flame would light the world.”

Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates

Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson

Malazan Book of the Fallen Book 2

Read: Aug 2023

So this book was much more...accessible? I think it was just that, having read the first book, I was more used to a) the world of Malazan; and b) Erikson's writing. I also spent a lot of time on wikis looking things up when I read the first one so I came with more knowledge. In any case having more context(?) going in, I enjoyed this book considerably more than I did the first one. I guess it could also be that Erikson had gotten better at writing book to book. I'm sure Erikson did improve actually (I really can't see how you could not writing this much), but how much is hard to judge for me. All this is beside the point I will say. I enjoyed it a lot. And it really made me interested in reading more, so in that aspect it was a grand success.

There are a lot of moving parts in this book and they don't all come together at the end like one would expect. So that might be hard for some people. Personally my least favourite thing in this book is one of the characters. She is, quite frankly, despicable. She's had a very rough go of it, so you can understand why, but truly I couldn't stand it any time she was on the page. For the most part however there are lots of cool and interesting things that happen in here so I had fun reading it.

Info: Bantam Books; 2000

Reading deadhouse gates and I feel like Felisin is kinda getting the short end of the stick here. She's a teenage noble girl, who's sister betrayed her, and she trauma bonds with a handled ex-priest and a thug. She pretty much has like a day of being chained up during a plague holiday, then through a riot with blood and gore and violence abounding. Then they are on a ship and the only way to not get tied up in the bowels where you rot or drown is for her to trade herself and she does so because teen girl trying to survive and the two dudes she trauma bonded with. Get to the mines and she gets picked quickly by a slave who is over the other slaves and she once again uses her body to get safetly and aid for herself and her companions (it's all she has) cue said companions treating her like shit and looking down on her for doing so. Also being with guy hurts like hell, and starts trading her to friends and her life is shit but she still thinks she's accomplishing something...then guy gets her hooked on a drug and tries to dump her once she's inevitably hooked. Her companions even think to potentially abandon her because she "seems to have made herself a paradise" like she had any choice? She was trying to have some control but she was a damn kid with no real support from either of you. Then she gets told by them later that "oh your efforts were pointless we got stuff for ourselves, just fel to bad to tell you you were suffering for nothing". Like no wonder this poor girl becomes so acidic and hate filled.