Queen's Thief - Blog Posts
I'm not saying it means anything, but I am saying that everyone I've spoken to that likes one of these things likes at least 1-2 of the others.
And Costis heard, as clearly as he'd heard the king speaking, another voice. It said, "Go to bed." Eugenides the man and Eugenides the God, an illustration of one of my favourite scenes from The King of Attolia! This was my gift for @etoilegarden for the @hamiathesgiftexchange!
planned to post all my Queen's Thief art after I finished the series but I got impatient. More under cut
Hamiathes's Gift Exchange 2025: Schedule Announcement!
The schedule is here, and well ahead of time this year! We're kicking off in about three months, and the schedule will be relatively close to last year's. This exchange is open to anyone with an AO3 account who wants to write a fic or make a piece of QT art. For more details on length, size, and logistics of the exchange, check out the FAQ linked at the bottom of this post.
2025 Schedule
Character/relationship/worldbuilding nominations: Thursday, July 17 - Thursday, July 24
Signups: Friday, July 25 - Sunday, August 3
Assignments sent out: Tuesday, August 5
Fanworks due: Friday, September 12
Fanworks revealed: Friday, September 18
Artists/authors revealed: Friday, September 26
All deadlines are at 8pm EDT
Note: If you don't have an AO3 account, you can request an invite here. There is currently a 3 week waiting list to get an invite, so please make sure you request one soon if you're considering participating!
If you have any questions about how the exchange works you can find last year's FAQ here. Check out past HGE works here! If you want a reminder when signups open, dm me!
The Queen's Thief for the ask game!!
Oo, that's a good one!
send me a fandom and I’ll tell you…
the first character I ever fell in love with: I think it's gotta be Gen. His unreliable, irreverent, and endearing narration in TT is hard to pass up.
a character that I used to love/like, but now do not: I'm not sure if I have one of these beyond the villains who reveal themselves midway.
a ship that I used to love/like, but now do not: I feel like my ship opinions have stayed pretty consistent, actually
my ultimate favorite character™: This is hard because I love all of them! I'm torn between Gen and Costis I think (but cutting Irene hurts). Gen makes this series what it is, but Costis's love and loyalty are awesome (and I may relate with his attempts to be the responsible one a little too much, lol).
prettiest character: Irene
my most hated character: Nahuseresh
my OTP: Irenides :)
my NOTP: Relius and Teleus. I love them as friends, but not as lovers.
favorite episode: I'm going to interpret this as favorite incident, which is probably the section in QoA that goes from Irene putting on the earrings to "Diplomacy, in my own name." It was so cool to figure out the first time, and it's still so fun to reread.
saddest death: Probably Pol? There aren't a ton of major character deaths really, which is actually a bit surprising.
favorite season: My favorite book is either Queen of Attolia or King of Attolia.
least favorite season: I don't really find Thick as Thieves very compelling.
character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but I hate: No one's really coming to mind.
my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: He's not a piece of trash, but I love the Magus even when he's scheming and loyal to Sounis.
my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: I feel like Sophos is the obvious answer for this, but Helen a bit too.
my ‘they’re kind of cute, and I lowkey ship them, but I’m not too invested’ ship: Eugenides the god and Alyta.
it's funny how often, in the queen's thief books, the sad and shocking twist is that the love was there all along. there's the big obvious one, of course, but it comes up again and again: Dite with his hopeless crush, Sejanus with his mocking cruelties, Relius with his abject devotion and Teleus with his stalwart loyalty, Attolia's ladies closing ranks around her, Sophos telling all his tale and bashfully leaving out how often and how wistfully he thought of Eddis. in other cases it grows silently and catches our narrator by surprise: Costis down the well, Pol on the cliffside.
and it doesn't save everyone. love is not always a gentle thing, and it's not always enough. the minister of war nearly strangled his son to death. Sejanus committed treason. Eddis went to war. but it's always there, unobtrusive as a shadow, pervasive as the sunlight.
I think sometimes of a quote from mwt saying she front-loads the trauma: the worst thing that is going to happen to the characters, emotionally, generally happens in the first few chapters. their world ends, their life shatters, they lose everything, they are alone and afraid with no allies and no hope. and then we rebuild. over the course of slow, painstaking pages, they regain their footing in the world, carve out a new self, discover a new perspective and a new strength. further ills befall, of course, and at the great climax everything seems bleak and dire once again, but it's still not the worst thing to happen to them. they face the dire moment bravely, afraid but not alone, certain now in who they are and how they will face the end if it comes.
I'm still mulling this over, I don't have a tidy knot to tie between these points, but they feel connected. something about the compassion woven through these stories, both for the characters and for the readers. something about how they're tales of intrigue and adventure, yes, but they're also stories about building something good, and about seeing the best in people even when their worst is horrific, and about love as an act of courage in a cruel world. love as an act of faith. love as the last thing left that might be able to save you.
Presenting their majesties Attolis Eugenides and Attolia Irene, featuring Gen's hook, Irene's earrings, and color coordinated outfits.