#I think it may be the whole seer thing and the fact that she could see the future

[aroaceleovaldez]

in your most recent tyson post, you said something about leo being distinctly autistic-coded and I was wondering if you could elaborate on that? it sounds really interesting (sorry if you've already posted something on this, I couldn't find anything though)

Of course! I do have a specific tag for talking about Leo's autistic-coding/traits - [here], and [one for Nico as well].

The main aspects with Leo being autistic-coded actually have a lot to do with Nico being autistic-coded, because it's the comparisons between the two that most clearly indicate Leo is autistic-coded rather than it just being his ADHD or etc.

So with Nico being autistic-coded, it's very clear in the Titan's Curse that he's intended to be autistic. First, the first series has a repeating pattern of secondary characters being very distinctly neurodivergent-coded in different ways (Annabeth's adhd/dyslexia, Tyson's down syndrome-coding, Nico's autism-coding). With Nico's introduction, he's pretty stereotypically autistic and we're given a lot of descriptors about him that are notably not attributed to him being ADHD, like it would be for other demigod characters. He doesn't register social cues such as people getting annoyed at him, he's asking/making inappropriate or impolite questions/comments, he gets particularly upset about change (such as Bianca joining the Hunt) and generally gets emotional, and one of his most notable traits he's introduced with is the fact that he has a special interest (MythoMagic) - and we're shown that this special interest particularly colors how Nico navigates the world. While ADHD has hyperfixations, we don't really get much acknowledgement of hyperfixations with demigods usually - Annabeth gets a little, but most others don't and it's not nearly as focused-in on as Nico's is.

Then as the series continues we see these traits stick with him and him start to show or voice more traits that similarly indicate he's autistic: He regularly mentions how he doesn't understand living people and prefers the company of the dead (social issues). He has more notable stims than other demigods (twisting his ring, fiddling with bones, etc). He's indicated to have strong sensory preferences (usually wearing mostly black/aversion to bright colors, usually wearing layers/his coat, multiple times he's described as wearing loose/baggy clothing or clothes too big for him). He has specific comfort items (his ring, likely his jacket(s) as well). We later get even more information about his special interests (Mythomagic/mythology/history and an older interest in pirates - the latter he specifically notes likely heavily influenced his feelings towards Percy). He struggles with emotions and facial expressions and tone. He struggles particularly with ostracism and feeling like he doesn't fit in and has something distinctly different about him from the people around him (who notably, all have ADHD, which indicates it isn't the ADHD that's making him feel that way), and other characters regularly describe him as being off-putting because of his strange behaviors - again, different from specific ADHD traits they recognize. And that last point is kind of notable because we have Hazel and Bianca for comparison - we know people are off-put by both Nico and Hazel because of being children of Hades/Pluto and their powers/aura, but other characters get past that general feeling of discomfort way faster with Hazel. And even after characters get past the death stuff with Nico, there's a second thing that they aren't moving past that isn't a factor with Hazel (Nico's autism).

So that brings us to Leo - Leo is paralleled to Nico a lot. And there's some very specific traits about him that we know are autistic-coding because of how they're used with Nico: He similarly struggles with social cues/etc, and in a very similar parallel to Nico describes how he prefers the company of machines to people because machines make more sense to him. He has similar types of clothing/sensory preferences (again some stuff with layers but also - pockets! He likes having pockets and things to put stuff in! He's even introduced as having a jacket with lots of pockets), and he has a distinct special interest (machinery) that we specifically know heavily influences how he views and navigates the world (constantly comparing things to machinery, describing things with machinery metaphors/terminology, etc etc). He even describes his entire general worldview to Hazel and it's a machine metaphor. He also similarly struggles with ostracization like Nico does, the only difference being that Leo specifically puts on a persona to compensate for areas he knows he's lacking in and very explicitly describes it as a means to make people like him, because without it he normally struggles to fit in (He's masking!). We also see notes of characters describing that similar discomfort with Leo's behaviors that they do with Nico, except without the aura of death this time. And when we're in Leo's POVs we see a very stark difference between his masking and his actual personality/behaviors such as his internal dialogues or how he behaves when he's alone. Also, like Nico, he stims more than other demigods, though for Leo it's more attributed to his ADHD. Leo also, more often than most, similarly struggles with tone and reading the room, such as making misplaced jokes/comments or etc.

But yeah! It's really interesting. Also it's just a fun thing that ADHD/dyslexia and autism have comorbidity, so it makes sense that we see demigods who are also autistic. It's also really fun to look at how other characters are coded in the series, what coding looks like in the riordanverse specifically (usually it's tied into the mythological stuff - like Chiron being in a wheelchair but he's actually a centaur, Grover being introduced as having a muscular disease but he's actually a satyr, demigods having adhd/dyslexia, Tyson being coded as having down syndrome but he's a cyclops, etc etc - it's a lot of specific metaphor stuff that I've talked about a bit before), and to look at how characters are compared to one another.

[blacktreacle22]

Elriel design choices?!

!!!!! Spoilers for ACOMAF, ACOWAR and ACOSF

Just some thoughts that may have been voiced already somewhere on here (or on tiktok, or instagram, or reddit (where i have also posted this….):

Just a small context: I am new (NEW) to the fandom (finished the series a couple of days ago, read them in about 2 weeks, now I am listening to them bc I am feral- next stop: ToG and CC!!)

So, when listening I either find myself rewind to listen to specific wording OR find myself wanting to do something else with my phone or just my hands or anything (like a sudoku or something).

Literally a couple of minutes ago, I was like “hmm what do I do, do I just sit in bed and listen? I don’t want to fall asleep and not know where I left the audio off” so I just stared at the picture of the book cover for ACOWAR (I read them on kindle) and as I was staring (really looking this time) i thought: “Is that Truth Teller? I mean, silly me, of course it is, it is the weapon that killed the King of Hybern, the big bad of the trilogy, duh!”

But then, on closer inspection I noticed something in the lower left corner that very much resembles a rose, imo. We already know what the rose is a symbol for, so I will spare you the Elain imbibed with spring-like qualities description. After that, I looked at the intertwined shapes of smoke, mist, tendrils, whatever you wish to call them and realized the one forming the rose is particularly lighter and the ones in the back are particularly darker- just like, you guessed it, shadows and light.

“Oh well, it could just mean that the Shadow D*ddy offered the really important weapon to the person that killed the king, not that big of a deal” (again, I will spare you the she’s-the-only-one-he-has-ever-entrusted-the-weapon-to discourse).

Or, dare I say, it was a really conscious design choice?

(REALLY IMPORTANT MENTION: when i started voicing this post in my head, the ACOTAR cover in my memory, had Tamlin’s beast on it, which I realized is actually Andras but I still made it work, I think)

I thought:

“hmm, interesting that you should have Andras on the first cover, serving as the event that triggered the whole story AND a testament to Tamlin’s power (shapeshifting- dual nature);

“interesting that you should have Rhys’ beast form on the second cover, him being the main love interest (on the book that the mating bond snapped in place and changed the story further) AND a testament to his dual nature (especially him being half-Illryan);

“interesting that you should have a dual symbolism (light and shadows, Az and Elain) both of them having a second nature of sorts, on the third cover, them being the people that basically made the story end;

So, not only are we keeping in line with the “dual nature symbolism” (which will most likely play a big part in Elaine’s book- with her being a seer) but we are also adding a duo on the center stage;

Not only are we referring to pivotal people/moments in the story, but we are putting them together in the spotlight;

If we are also to consider the fact that, in ACOTAR, we are hinted at Feysand (it is true, it happened, it is on page) in ACOMAF at Nessian (happened), I wonder what could possibly be hinted at in the third? Specifically now, that I have seen this book cover more clearly.

++++ the cover of ACOFAS is a flower, which again, great symbolism for… you guessed it, ELAINE. I do agree that it can also suggest spring, but what I think is even more important is that in spring, things are REBORN. So rebirth, a new beginning, a new story to tell, a new cycle of books.

And if you think about it, there is a new story to tell for each sister (even tho we had Feysand for the trilogy, they will still be there, and with Nyx that is a new beginning).

We have ACOSF, with friendship, love and healing.

And we have whatever is in store for us with Elaine’s book (bc I am so tired of bashing on her as a character, like it is going to CLEARLY be her book).

PS: I know it is not necessarily a good worded theory but this is my first ever post on reddit and it is currently 3 in the morning so I do hope I made sense for some people at least 🙏🥲

PPS: I am a hardcore Elriel shipper, THO, if everyone is happy and it is well written, I could eventually (months later, warm up to other ships- I am only here to read and appreciate amazing posts so please no ill-thoughts)❤️

[giggly-moon]

jumping onto the epic the musical oc train with my own babygirl Melia <3

- a seer along with a daughter of apollo, she inherited some of his powers surrounding prophecies, healing, light and music. she joins the crew a little bit after the war and some time after she escaped a shitty abusive arranged marriage (with a little bit of husband murdering), sneaking onto their ship and only revealing herself after they’ve already set out to sea again and now they’re stuck with her

- at first it’s hard for them to believe she’s actually a seer, because she does not at all act like you’d expect a seer to act. she’s too much of a coy, mischievous little troublemaker to be an all-knowing seer, right? nope.

- another thing she’s inherited from her father is that she’s very good with her words and knows how to use them to her advantage. she’s a very good liar and actor and will sweet talk whoever she can to get what she wants, acting all sweet and innocent to hide the fact that she’s actually little gremlin. she’s a tad manipulative but she never does it in a malicious way, it’s all about survival, baby.

- that being said, she also has some pretty bad trust and vulnerability issues. she’s practiced her whole life to hide what she’s really feeling or thinking, masking it with her smug and unbothered attitude. her acting skills are more of a defense mechanism.

- i feel like she and elpenor would have quite a bit in common, since elpenor joined the war at a very young age and melia was married off to some asshole at a very young age as well. so they both kinda feel like their childhoods were stolen from them and they never got to truly experience being a kid.

- the name melia means “honey”, which i initially chose just because i thought it was cute but now i think it could definitely be a reference to the way she acts all sweet and warm, like honey. but it’s also a huge inspiration for her color scheme, how she has a lot of the same colors as her father but her overall color palette would have more darker colors, consisting of colors like browns, oranges, and gold/yellows

- “honey” can also be used as a lil nickname for her

- she’s able to sense things relating to energies and spirits, and can pick up on the god’s powers and influence over things. like being able to immediately sense that odysseus is a warrior of athena. she’s also able to sense when danger is near

- due to her father being a god of music, certain energies that she picks up on can actually sound like music to her. like how in epic everyone has their own instrument or melodic motif, to her everyone’s energy or aura has a unique “song” to it if she pays enough attention to it. and like i said she can sense when danger is near, as in she can literally hear the danger motif in a sense.

- she may be a seer but she’s still pretty inexperienced with interpreting prophecies. smaller ones tend to be more straightforward, but big important ones can be very vague and overwhelming and full of metaphors and whatnot, a lot of her bigger prophecies she receives in her dreams and dreams tend to be rather confusing.

- she has these sun related markings all around her body that normally look like they’re just a somewhat darker shade than her actual skin tone, but when she uses her powers like receiving a big prophecy or healing someone then they all glow a soft golden color

- she’s not much of a fighter, she relies more on her words and her charm rather than physical strength or combat skills, but i feel like she would naturally be very swift and graceful and light on her feet. she’s also a very good dancer

- she and apollo don’t really have the closest relationship, but they do love each other and apollo tries his best to connect with her when he can, but she’s got too many walls built up so he’s often left unsure on how to get through them. she and hermes are pretty close though, he is her uncle after all and they have a very similar penchant for mischief and trickery, so he checks in on her quite often and he even aided her in the task of killing her husband.

- she does have her softer moments when she’s alone with someone (maybe even multiple people) that she trusts and feels comfortable with, where she lets the mask slip and some of her more genuine feelings start showing through. and when she’s close enough with someone then she’s very physically affectionate

- when it comes to tickling, she is a force to be reckoned with. she may look small and harmless and like she wouldn’t be able to win very many tickle fights, but what she lacks in strength she makes up for in being smart and crafty.

- plus she is an evil teaser, she just searches for whatever type of teases will be the most effective on someone and when she does she is absolutely ruthless.

- she’s also very good at convincing people to help her get revenge on someone (or just wreck someone for no particular reason), either by blackmailing them or pulling out the puppy eyes, especially when it comes to someone who would be rather difficult for her to take down on her own.

- she’s usually down for helping someone else wreck someone as well, granted that it won’t obviously come back to bite her. she just loves the mischief

- one of her favorite things to do is to tickle someone and pretend that it was an accident, she thinks it’s so funny how they get all frustrated trying to call her out on it

- she honestly managed to keep her own ticklishness a secret from the others for an impressive amount of time, mostly because when she first met them she made sure she gave the impression that she was not one to be messed with. but as she warmed up to them and they warmed up to her they quickly found out just how not intimidating she actually is.

- she honestly prefers being on the giving end where she has at least some control over the situation, but as time goes on she starts realizing more and more that being on the receiving end isn’t so bad either. she doesn’t like being vulnerable in front of others, but in this case it’s a kinda good type of vulnerable yknow? so she warms up to it rather quickly

- that doesn’t mean she won’t put up a fight though, cause she absolutely will. she’s still a huge tease whether she’s the lee or the ler, constantly taunting you and trying to make you falter and get any kind of reaction out of you. as always if she can’t gain the upper hand physically then she’ll use her words instead.

- she’s not the easiest to fluster, as she’s taught herself to hide her emotions pretty damn well, but it isn’t impossible to get that shell to crack.

- something new that she discovered about herself is that the markings on her skin that glow when she uses her powers will also glow when she genuinely laughs, which is something that she finds particularly embarrassing. the markings are also extra ticklish, no matter what part of the body they’re on

- she’s very ticklish pretty much everywhere but her worst spots would probably be her ribs, sides and neck

[riddlecrux]

Light seen through the windows: an analysis of windows as a literary tool in Elriel relationship

I would love to preface this meta with my favorite disclaimer that everything that I will be discussing is based on what I have gathered from SJM writing. The quotes used in this post will serve as a starting point for further analysis. Additionally, I will be using things such as symbolism, metaphors, and literary device methods to build up my reasoning and beliefs. On another note, this, as usual, is strictly pro-Elriel meta. If they are not your cup of tea and you wish to comment, please be civil and bring arguments supported by the text.

So many of us like to gaze and stare through the windows daily. Looking at the world behind the glass often is considered a form of tranquility that we feel. Windows are essentially doors that lead us to whatever lies behind them - the last border between being in one place and then in another. It isn't then surprising that windows serve as symbols and metaphors in literature. From the start, whenever I read a passage about windows in ACOWAR I was reminded of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. You may ask why?

Emily Bronte used windows as symbolism in her work. They are very important for her characters and their personal arcs. They are symbols of barriers, misfortunes that characters face. Windows there are metaphors of various obstacles estranging Bronte's characters from achieving their hopes - realizing that the dreams they had will be not fulfilled. As I don't want to get spoilery with Wuthering Heights, I'm going to draw conclusions in a very neat manner. Bronte used windows as a connection to nightmares that one of the main characters was suffering from - it ties to the fact that in his nightmares he sees the person he had loved, haunting him. Because of the relationship with a said woman, the imagery of windows in this particular scene symbolizes death, an obstacle that stands between both of them. Throughout the book, we also get glimpses of how windows might be used as a metaphor for social classes and the contrast between them, and how Heathcliff and Catherine have to go about it. Along with the windows, doors are also used as a symbol of trapping someone in one place, obstructing them from achieving their dream or preventing them from reaching out to their loved one. Not to mention that during a very particular scene with Catherine, she wants the windows open - a symbolism of her wanting to feel free, to connect with something she knows, she longs for. This leads to the conclusion that windows in Bronte's novel are symbols of life and death, they are the in-between - a symbolic barrier.

On the other hand, windows in literature signalize something called "art of watching", and usually it is connected to a female protagonist that observes life, events through the window. Not to mention, the most famous association to windows such as "windows to the soul" - which, of course, is more metaphorical. It allows us, the audience, to connect with the character's inner feelings, struggles, as we are presented with the emotional aspect of said person. They are the bridge between the inside and outside. Windows are also a source of light, which we humans crave. Looking through the window one can absorb the light, which can resonate as a symbol of growth and change. Metaphorically we see the light from the window when we feel a need to light up the darkness inside us. They expose us, our inner feelings, and struggles.

When I read ACOWAR I have noticed that SJM decided to use windows, quite clearly, in the indication of two particular characters. Azriel and Elain. For the first time, when we met Elain again in the third book the window is a big issue.

"The suite was filled with sunlight. Every curtain shoved back as far as it could go, to let in as much sun as possible."

We have a clear description of the sunlit room, curtains shoved to further underline the need for light.

"And seated in a small chair before the sunniest of the windows, her back to us, was Elain."

In the brightest place in the room sits Elain, in front of the window. She is exposed to the sun, to sunlight and is absorbing that light - which is highlighted during this scene (which makes it important to note).

"Her skin was so pale it looked like fresh snow in the harsh light. I realized then that the color of death, of sorrow, was white."

The sunlight exposes Elain, its harsh light makes her pale, almost translucent. Even Feyre realizes the graveness of this picture comparing this white hue to death. As you can see the chain of events in this scene played like that: sunlit room -> curtain swept away -> Elain sitting in front of the window -> sudden comparison to death.

"She had been always so full of light. Perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. To fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. And now nothing remained."

Feyre deducts that the need for light on Elain's part is a desperate call to brighten the darkness inside her - which perfectly aligns with the metaphorical usage of windows. Elain basks in light in a helpless cry for help. The very dark void that appeared within her after being Made eats her away. It sucks her immortal life away - the one which she yet didn't get used to. On the other hand, we as readers are presented with the fact that Elain is trapped. In this Fae life, in this room, in this situation in which she grieves for her past and many what-ifs.

Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion. “Everyone keeps saying that.” Her thumb brushed the ring on her finger. “But it doesn’t fix anything, does it?”

Sitting in front of the window - a sunny one to be precise, which symbolizes life, growth, and change, Elain is presented in a contrast to her surroundings. To show that visible barrier that her person has to overcome. She realizes that her dreams are meant to be unfulfilled, that they are unreachable.

"My stiff, limping steps, at least, had eased into a smoother gait by the time I found Elain in the family library. Still staring at the window, but she was out of her room."

The next time we see Elain she is out of her room - her "cage", but even though she left the boundaries of her entrapment she still chooses to linger around the windows. As Feyre notices, Elain gazes through the window - we are obstructed from Elain's POV and it's hard to imagine what she could be thinking about. Yet the symbolic manner of using the window as some sort of mirror, a passage that happens throughout the series, allows me to think that the metaphorical usage of windows, in this case, isn't a far-fetched idea.

"Elain didn’t turn. She was wearing a pale pink gown that did little to complement her sallow skin, her brown-gold hair hanging in loose, heavy ringlets down her thin back."

SJM uses this sentence to highlight that it isn't just a quick glance out of the window - in fact, it is constant staring through it. It is important for us as readers to note that this thing, window gazing, is an occupation that lasts for long periods of time. It isn't something trivial, it is something that showcases the importance of said windows in Elain's journey.

“What are you looking at?” I asked Elain, keeping my voice soft. Casual. Her face was wan, her lips bloodless. But they moved—barely—as she said, “I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea.”

Feyre decides to ask Elain who is still gazing through the window. Her answer is very ominous and holds a great deal of importance, but also underlines the fact that she is drawn to the window. Not to mention that what she is seeing is the sea - another vastly discussed symbol. In this situation, I believe that the interpretation can lay in a more psychological aspect of the matter rather than a literary one. In the works of very well-known psychiatrist Carl Jung the sea "symbolizes the personal and the collective unconscious in dream interpretation". So from his notes there comes this annotation that caught my attention, "The sea is a favourite place for the birth of visions."

Elain is a seer who constantly gazes through a window which symbolizes the in-between, life and death. These two are connected to one another and SJM used many things to further develop Elain's character as a powerful figure.

"Elain only turned toward the sunny windows again, the light dancing in her hair."

After the whole conversation Elain doesn't move from her spot, quite the contrary she returns to her previous activity. Gazing through the window. Once again we are reminded about the sun and light - which signalizes that Elain tries to undergo through the process of rebirth, but also tries to break free from the unhappiness that came with lost dreams.

"Something in my chest cracked as Nesta’s eyes also went to the windows before Elain. To check, as I did, for whether they could be easily opened."

Here we have an instance of both sisters realizing that Elain spending so much time in front of windows can be dangerous, as in her attempting to jump from them. Once again, the symbolism of death.

"More steps—no doubt closer to where Elain stood at the window."

Elain is still beside the window when Lucien tries to talk to her. Even alone she seeks the place next to the window to stare.

"But sunlight on gold caught his eye—and Elain slowly turned from her vigil at the window."

Elain is still by the window, for the whole scene she is there not moving an inch from it. Furthermore, the word "vigil" is also an interesting choice. There are different meanings of it, but I find these ones very telling and suitable for this instance: a period of sleeplessness; insomnia, a watch kept, or the period of this and a devotional watching, or keeping awake, during the customary hours of sleep. We can speculate about what happened to Elain while she was in the Cauldron, what made her so withdrawn from life and so desperate for the light. I want to believe that we as readers will get our answers in the next book since Elain being a seer with unknown powers makes her a perfect target for Koschei with which she has already had connections.

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly.

Again, during the whole conversation, she doesn't move away from her spot next to the window. Windows for her, start to become a symbolism of change and rebirth - the things she probably wished while being confined to her room.

Elain only stared out the window, unaware—or uncaring.

We have another mention about staring - which further highlights how important windows are as a literary tool for Elain's character. She seeks light, she wants to overcome this barrier that was thrown at her the moment she was Made. She, perhaps, watched through the window to observe the life which was stripped away from her and turned her into this immortal being. Or, maybe she just desperately wanted to brighten up the darkness that gathered inside her because of that whole situation. Another important thing to note is that this scene is a first moment alone with Lucien - her mate, which should have been very painful for her. The conversation also held a lot of weight, yet she valiantly stood by the window as if somewhere behind it she could find an answer.

“So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden —“that is what she needs? Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn’t?”

Here we have an instance of "art of watching" in which Feyre observes Azriel and Elain through the window. By watching them she comes to the conclusion that both of them are better suited and actually can comfort each other in comfortable silence. The window here is used as a barrier to showcase parallels of two couples: happily mated Feysand and unhappily in love with other people Elriel.

"But I looked to Azriel, currently leaning against the wall beside the floor-to-ceiling window, shadows fluttering around him."

And here we are start with Azriel and windows (also in ACOWAR). He is another character that has an extraordinary connection to windows. He is often mentioned next to them and somehow parallels Elain's behavior - staring through windows, being near them.

"I blinked, realizing I’d been lost in the bond, but found Azriel still by the window, (...)."

As we can see Azriel lingers next to the window without moving away from it - as the scene progresses we know that the conversation lasts a good ounce of time, yet Azriel stands in his place by the window.

"Azriel didn’t so much as turn from his vigil at the window, though I could have sworn his wings tucked in a bit tighter."

The same wording, the same imagery. Both used for Elain and Azriel. Both of them keeping vigils at the windows, staring through them as if they could find an answer through them.

"The main room of the guardhouse was stuffy and cramped, more so with all of us in there, and though I offered Elain a seat by the sealed window, she remained standing—at the front of our company. Staring at the shut iron door."

This scene is when Elain is about to confront her lover - Greysen. It is underlined that she rejected her usual spot, which is by the window, and preferred to face the door. She was trapped, she knew that a very important discussion will take a place here. She chose to look at the door rather than at the window, which in this matter could symbolize hope for a change - she stared at the door which metaphorically means transition or imprisonment.

"(...) close to Elain’s side as she and my sister silently kept against the wall by the intact bay of windows."

Another instance of Elain and her being content with being next to the windows.

"I’d seen Elain staring out the window earlier—watching Graysen leave with his men without so much as a look back at her."

"Art of Watching", but also the window's symbolism of dreams that were unfulfilled. At that moment, we can assume, that Elain realized that her dreams concerning human life and her future with Greysen would only be unattainable dreams/hopes.

“What now?” Elain mused, at last answering my question from moments ago as her attention drifted to the windows facing the sunny street. That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this … I think the world needs more gardens.

At the end of ACOWAR, we have this powerful moment, in which Elain gazing out of the window sees sunny streets = life. A chance of rebirth, which also beautifully overlaps with the fact that she proposed building a garden! The in-between that she balanced on while gazing through the window for so many times turned from death and misfortunes into life and hopes of the future.

ACOFAS

"Elain politely refused, taking up a spot in one of the wooden chairs set in the bay of windows. Also typical."

From Rhysand's point of view, we can deduct that even they are aware of the fact that Elain and windows are something notable. It is a place where she feels comfortable and probably spends a lot of time.

"Beyond the windows, darkness had indeed fallen. The longest night of the year. I found Elain studying it, beautiful in her amethyst-colored gown. I made to move toward her, but someone beat me to it."

In previous quotes, we could gather information about how Elain craved the light and how desperate she was to lighten up her person. Here, we can see that she also started to embrace the darkness. She is again by the window, observing the darkness as if no one else was around her. And of course, the one person who goes towards her at that moment is Azriel, a personification of darkness in the books.

Azriel strode to the lone window at the end of the room and peered into the garden below. “I’ve never stayed in this room.” His midnight voice filled the space.

Azriel went straight to the window. And not an ordinary one, but the one through which you can see the garden. Life and light. I know many were theorizing if what kept Azriel so occupied by the window was Elain, but I would love to put some of my thoughts in this discourse. Yes, I do think that what caught his attention, or who caught his attention was Elain. However, Elain at that moment represents life and light - the things that are associated with windows. And if you spin it around you have Azriel=darkness, death staring at Elain=light, life. The in-between, the very initial symbolism of window in literature. Not to mention that in this scene we have Azriel watching the light and next we have Elain observing darkness.

“No,” Azriel said, not turning from the window.

Azriel remained at the window. “Will Nesta stay here if she comes?

“I’d still be surprised if they remember once the storm clears,” Azriel said, turning from the garden window at last.

We have a whole scene in which it is so heavily implied that Azriel was constantly staring through the window, not even bothering to move away from it. We also have another highlighted thing which is the fact that it was a garden window.

There was a tiny box left on the table by the window—a box that Mor lifted, squinted at the name tag, and said, “Az, this one’s for you.”

A small thing, yet a very sweet one. The fact that even his present was placed close to the window, which starts to become an Elriel thing.

ACOSF

"She’d barely slept for fear of Elain walking off this veranda, or leaning too far out of one of the countless windows, or simply throwing herself down those ten thousand stairs."

We have a reminder that during her stay at House of Wind, Elain was a symbol of death. She carried it on her while being associated with windows that were used as a source of light that helped her heal.

"Elain stood at the wall of windows, clad in a lilac gown whose close-fitting bodice showed how well her sister had filled out since those initial days in the Night Court."

Even when she visits Nesta, she takes the place by the windows. It is something that is strictly connected to her. As if the windows were part of her now.

Elain’s smile was as bright as the setting sun beyond the windows. “I thought I’d drop by to see how you were doing.”

Light, sun, life = Elain.

“You’ve got good coloring, I mean,” Elain clarified, striding from the windows to cross the room. She stopped a few feet away. As if holding herself back from the embrace she might have given.

SJM still used the passages to underline the passage of time that Elain spent standing next to the window. It is a place in which she feels good and perhaps safe.

"They’d sat in them, before this fire, so many times that it was an unspoken rule that Azriel’s was the one on the left, closer to the window, and Cassian’s the one to the right, closer to the door."

We also get the information that Azriel always was the closest to the window - which is an odd thing to add without a deeper meaning. As if to further build up that connection between him and Elain - that both of them are aware of the fact that they are also the symbolism of the allegory of windows. I believe that SJM really researched that light and darkness trope, with which she built and she is still building up Elriel. The windows are just another tiny nugget that further envelopes both of them as one. Because while Elain transformed from death to life, she still welcomed darkness and embraced it - and Azriel opened to the life and light, seeking it. As I said, windows are a literary tool, which perhaps wasn't the main idea in the SJM text, but the amount of parallels between both of them and even the same wording applied to different scenes tells me that it's yet another connection between them.

[daisymydaisy]

Elain seer predictions

(This post will include all the visions elain had in acowar)

Idk a lot about seer abilities but based on what we saw of elain’s powers, it shows that:

They’re able to see the future: “Twin ravens are coming, one white and one black.”

They’re able to see the unknown (something that already happened): “I saw a box of black stone. I saw a feather of fire land on snow and melt it.”

All the visions elain talked about might help predict next book’s plot (or just small mentions that might take place)

I will add some of my thoughts with each vision (my thoughts are not always right cuz apparently some people don’t get it)

Vision 1: The sea & heartbeats

“I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea.”

“I can hear your heartbeat—if I listen carefully. I can hear her heartbeat, too.”

Now elain said this while looking at the “sea beyond Sidra” so you might think she’s just trying her fae abilities but feyre knew that was not the case in the next line:

“I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea—and the screams of a bird made of fire.”

“Will I hear the earthworms writhing through the soil? Or the stretching of roots? Will the bird of fire come to sit in the trees and watch me?”

We all thought she went mad but well..it was just her seer abilities and that led the IC to find vassa.

Now with elain having visions about vassa and hearing her heartbeats...are they connected somehow? Because yes vassa helped in the war but I don’t think that was the only reason for the visions.

Vision 2: Through the stone

The very uncomfortable conversation between Lucien and elain led to some visions about a possible journey

While reading the quotes below i want you to notice how when elain is facing Lucien, she talks normally about things that already happened, like how he betrayed them, or how she remembers him from feyre’s stories (in case anyone wants to read it: it’s acowar chapter 24 may god be with you)

But when she faces the windows again she starts talking about all the stuff that doesn’t make sense.

“She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly.”

“When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?”

I don’t think she was talking to lucien, especially since in the previous chapters she was talking about heatbeats.

Some elucien stans use the quotes above to support their ship, but knowing that previously elain heard vassa’s heartbeat....plus even lucien doubted elain was addressing him:

“He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.”

She just stared somewhere far through the window and mentioned how she could hear heartbeats through the stone, which reminds me of ACOSF when nesta was in the prison:

“She stared into the darkness above. “I think they used it to … to trap their enemies and their enemies’ children into the stone itself.”

Again she isn’t trying her new fae abilities, she saw something no one can, and we now know that some people are trapped in stone (honestly i was waiting for nesta to free them but i guess sjm is saving it for later)

Vision 3: He saw me

“No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.” A bramble of words. Her voice strained to a whisper. “He did. He saw me. He will not now.”

Whenever i read this I’m like elain, honey—you mean to tell me the man who rejected you? the man who didn’t accept your new self? Something you couldn’t control.....He saw you? How in the living hel-

But then i read this post and it made sense, especially since no one guessed the suriel was talking about a different highlord, so why are we sure that elain was talking about graysen?

Considering elain is a seer, she either saw the future or the unknown. Now who is the only character who saw her?

“It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not … Perhaps he, too, had suffered as Elain had before he understood what gift he possessed.”

This makes me think elain was shown the future, and saw herself with someone who understood her, but something happened he disappeared / died and he no longer sees her.

Vision 4: cassian dying

“He snapped your wings, broke your bones.” “It’ll take more than that to kill me,” “Elain only said to Cassian, “No, it will not.”

“Not twenty feet away, Cassian was on the ground. Wings—snapped in spots. Blood leaking from them. Bone jutted from his thigh. His Siphons were dull. Empty.”

Looking back, elain’s vision came true. That might’ve been the scene she saw and as a result she saved the day by killing the king.

But i added this just in case it wasn’t the scene she was talking about.....and to give you more anxiety :)

Vision 5: koschei

“They sold her—to … to some darkness, to some … sorcerer-lord …” She shook her head. “I can never see him. What he is. There is an onyx box that he possesses, more vital than anything … save for them. The girls. He keeps other girls—others so like her—but she … By day, she is one form, by night, human again.”

“Mor leaned forward. “Do you know why the other queens cursed her—sold her to him?”

“Elain studied the table. “No. No—that is all mist and shadow.”

Well, there are many theories about koschei (don’t know how you guys do it) and I’m not going to come up with more theories about my dude, but based on my quick research that onyx box contains his soul (or not? Please he’s so complicated) and the fact that elain saw it...

Here are also few questions:

Why was vassa sold and cursed? What did the queens gain from that? And why was this truth unknown to elain?

Vision 6: Vassa and Lucien

Right when Lucien said that he’ll bring vassa back, this happened:

“Elain now watched Lucien warily. Blinking every now and then. She revealed no hint of whatever she might be seeing—sensing. None.”

Elain saw something, and it wasn’t him dying because he came back unharmed. So what did she see?

This whole scene screams “goodbye” to me, because after this scene Lucien found his band of exiles. This was their last chance, and elain saw it all.

Even feyre—our baddest bish—saw it:

“A bird of flame … and a lord of fire. I wondered if they’d found each other yet.”

A bonus vlucien moment cuz why not (this scene was the last Lucien scene in acowar):

“Vassa still remained inside, chatting with Lucien animatedly. I supposed that if she only had until dawn before turning back into that firebird, she wanted to make every minute count. Lucien, surprisingly, was chuckling, his shoulders loose and his head angled while he listened.”

Also how did papa Archeron convince koschei to free vassa (temporary)?

Anyway like miss Morrigan said “There is a reason why Elain is seeing these things.”

[turquoisebooks]

Violet Made of Thorns is a truly captivating story about a morally grey witch, precisely a seer who can see people´s past and future threads when she touches them with her hands. As a little girl, she saved the crown prince and clawed herself into the palace, now living in her own seer´s tower and serving the king, at the same time scheming for her own advantage.

Some may find Violet to be not exactly a pleasant heroine to root for but I could relate to her pretty easily. She´s unapologetically herself… brash, sarcastic, and cunning and I loved her witty and snarky remarks. And Cyrus, oooh, this sometimes absolutely infuriating - at least for Violet - prince charming charmed the hell out of me. I guess I will never learn… always falling for the hot & cold sexy male heroes. The hate-love relationship between them is like the finest wine. Note that I write hate-love like this and not ´hate-to-love´ on purpose because this book takes enemies-to-lovers to a new level as they are both at the same time. There is a lot of sexual tension, angst, and banter. The author, Gina Chen, called this an “I can fix her” versus “I can make him worse” relationship which is absolutely correct. It explains their dynamics so well. The romance is intoxicating in the best way. I´ll be impatiently waiting for another dose now.

Speaking of their dynamic, let´s not forget the fact that Cyrus has to find a wife and Violent does not miss a single opportunity to comment on all the single ladies who are eager to marry a prince and the tabloid flyers such as Gilda´s Gab or Lace´s Things, studying Cyrus´s body to the point of it becoming an anatomy lesson. Honestly, after all the excellent ´hate kissing´ scenes there, who wouldn´t want an anatomy lesson with him, right? This whole marriage hunt brought a bit of a comedy into it and I could not be happier about it. I enjoyed it very much. 

The side characters - princess Camilla and the prince´s and now also Violet´s friend Dante got into my heart as well. Camilla, Cyrus’s lesbian twin sister, was so… wow. This girl knows how to party, apparently loves anything sweet, wears lavish dresses, knows how to handle a fight, and calls people out for their… feelings? Dante does that too. I love characters like that. I guess I need a spin-off with her at the center. 

The plot was intriguing. I could not wait to find out what´s gonna happen next. I loved how the book included fairytale references and how it works will well know fairytale tropes, turning them upside down to create something totally fun and new. I can honestly say that it was keeping me on my toes because I could never be sure if my theories will come true.

Overall, I fell in love with this fairytale-like cunning heroine & charming prince perfection. It´s got everything I could possibly want to completely fall in love with - great heroine, hot & cold prince, court machinations, magic, witches, secrets, prophecies, a curse, danger, magical wood, fairies, the right amount of action, incredible chemistry between characters, a bit of humor. It kept me hooked from the first page to the very end. I could not put it down and devoured the book in 2 days.

I think that fans of The Cruel Prince and Serpent & Dove could love it. It has got the angst and court intrigue of the first and well, Violet´s behavior reminded me of Jude and Lou as well - both being sharp-tongued heroines. In my eyes, it totally lives up to the hype. Also, I have a feeling that Violet Made of Thorns may appeal to those who liked These Hollow Vows because it also works with elements such as a masquerade ball, enchantments (enchanted dresses, shoes…), and fairies (but the fairies here are actually small radiant beings with wings and fairy dust) and that mentioned fairytale tropes, but also to those who do not fancy that book because Violet Made of Thorns does its own very refreshing take on these elements.

At last, I can say that the story is quite wrapped up enough at the end - there is not a cliffhanger that could slowly make you go crazy till the sequel comes out. I wonder where it will go from here and I am excited to see what happens to Cyrus and Violet next. I smell some more witchy-cursey troubles and I can´t wait!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an electronic reading copy in exchange my honest review.

[btsinwonderland]

A Drop of Poison - Ch. 1: The Beginning

A Loki fanfiction!

Next Chapter

Full Chapter List

---------------------------------

It’s your third week back in school and you're slumped over a tower of textbooks as some kind of makeshift pillow. Your head rests on the 394th page of “The Dream Oracle” where you’ve begun to drool. You raise a hand to wipe it away, which takes up nearly as much energy as trying to stay awake.

It was cold in the dark.

Chills ran up your arms, from your fingertips to your neck as you floated through the darkness. It was frightening the first few times you dreamt of it but now it was familiar. The cavern formed slowly as your eyes adjusted to the minimal light emitted by a fire below you. Small sticks and papers created a meager flame which reflected off the black pool of water you looked into. You always wondered who made the fire, but there was never anyone there.

In the centre of the cavern was a small lake, its ripples moved like serpents. On queue, your body flew over to the middle of the lake and dove in. You swam - more like sunk - to the bottom. It may have enveloped you in utter darkness, but you saw the glow. The bluish light of the object drew you in like a moth to a flame and you reached out for it. Once again, you were thrown out of the lake just as you were about to touch it.

You looked around at the empty cavern and noticed the shadows moving. This was new. Usually, you woke up as soon as the lake threw you out.

Near the shore, by a dangerous jut of rock, there was a man. He was tall, with raven black hair and a proud nose. His expression was one of wonder and fear. There was a green light that emerged from his hands and he waved this light in front of him and beside him, almost erratically, as if he was warning someone - or something - to stay away.

“Don’t come near me!” he shouted. It echoed through the cavern.

You came closer and recoiled at what he was speaking to. Every dark shadow was, in fact, a body. The green light that the man emitted showed their decaying, pale faces. These bodies moved towards him. Not a sound, but each expression was contorted painfully. Their bony hands reached out to him, and he threw a green ball of fire at them. Some flew backwards into the lake, but there were so many.

They surrounded him. You saw him put up the fight of his life, and yet they came closer still. Until he had nowhere to run. You reached out to try to help him, but your body was already being pulled away. The last thing you heard was him scream your name, “Freya!”

Hands slapped onto the desk, and your head bounced on the pages.

“My god, have you been sleeping here this whole time?” An annoyingly familiar voice said. “You wouldn’t believe it! They’re finally getting a replacement for Professor Rattowl.”

It took several seconds for you to remember where you were. You lifted your head and look into a pair of inquisitive brown eyes and an aloof expression.

Her hair was braided on the sides and drawn into a high ponytail. Her robes were wrinkled as usual. “Valkyrie, how did you find me in the Hufflepuff common room? I specifically told Thomas to throw you off.” Your voice was thick with sleep.

Valkyrie snorted. “Thomas is a fool for a flirty conversation. You’d think that boy had never had a wank before…”

The memory of the dream hit you, and your heart sank. “Valkyrie, I saw something.”

She glanced at you and then to the wall of the hallway. A long shadow approached swiftly. “Oh shit, the prefect!”

“Quick! Hide!” You said to Valkyrie, pointing her to the coat closet.

A gleaming head of blonde hair turned around the corner and walked towards you. His eyebrows were raised, and he adjusted his rectangular glasses, glaring at you. You tried not to look guilty.

“Eves, what are you doing? This is a quiet area, and I heard voices.” he walked around your desk, looking around suspiciously.

“I must have fallen asleep. I had a poor sleep last night so…”

“Hmmm,” he said, walking near the coat closet.

You held your breath as he reached for the brass door handle. “You know we don’t allow any other houses in our quarters, Eves.”

“Of course.”

He turned to you, reaching away from the handle. “Then you also should know we don’t condone dirtying the sacred pages of our texts,” he said, gesturing at your books with a frown. “Clean this up and head to the Great Hall. Headmistress Frigga has announcements to make.”

He left, adjusting his glasses again but with his shoulders straightened out as if he had done a good job. You wondered if he would pat himself in the back afterwards.

Valkyrie all but crashed out of the closet and mocked Gerald. “Sacred texts! What a prat.”

You chuckled as she took a chair beside you. “Sacred or not, this damned thing cost me twenty galleons!” You wiped the drool away with the sleeve of your robe. The inside was a warm yellow. You glanced at Valkyrie. “How do you keep sneaking into our common room?”

She winked at you with a mischievous smile. “I have my ways, my sweet innocent Hufflepuff darling,” she said, reaching out and patting you on the head. “I wouldn’t dare want to corrupt your purity with treasonous talk.”

You punched her in the arm. “You are a jock in the land of intellectuals,” you said with a smirk, glancing at her red and gold tie.

She linked her arm through yours and dragged you away from the desk. “Alright alright, miss intellectual, now that you’ve stopped drooling, let’s go eat.”

***

The great hall was washed in the warm light of the candles that hung beautifully in the air above you. It was a sight that had never ceased to amaze you, no matter how many times you saw it. The flames flickered in a soft dance. You followed the path of candles over to the head table where all your professors sat.

Professor Odinson was there, with his chiseled youthful face that made all the ladies, Valkyrie in particular, swoon. He was a handsome man, though he did not occupy your thoughts as often as he did for others. Beside him was Professor Sif, laughing humorously at something Professor Odinson said. Then there was Professor Fandral nodding and smiling at Professor Hogun - whom you guessed was discussing the riveting growth cycles of the mandrake.

Headmistress Frigga was in the middle, in her silvery blue robes with sequins sewn into intricate patterns. Her aura was one of a Queen, with a gentle and kind face. On her one side there was an empty seat and on the other side was Heimdall, the divination professor, with whom she was in a deep discussion with. His sunset coloured eyes drifted around the room before settling on you. He always knew. You smiled back and waved at him. He nodded, though his expression was strained, perhaps even troubled.

For a moment you wondered if he knew what you had dreamed. Heimdall was one of the greatest seers of your time, and you happened to be his favourite student. He already knew of your repetitive dreams regarding the cavern, but you needed to tell him about the strange development - and the mysterious man you saw. Most of the time your dreams were fuzzy, but you remembered his face with an aggressive lucidity. Blue eyes that reflected the green magic in his hands before they disappeared into darkness remained on your mind. You took a deep breath and pushed it away.

“Did they already do the first years?” You said aloud to your table.

Mo, a fellow seventh year Hufflepuff, nodded. “Yep, and I guessed about 25/30, not bad, eh?”

You smiled at him and turned around to Valkyrie, who was right behind you, seated at the Gryffindor table. She winked at you when delicious food marvellously populated the table and you all tucked in. She filled her plate and then roughly rocked Mo to the side and sat down beside you.

“What were you saying about Rattowl?” You said, biting into a chicken hand pie. The rich flavour of creamy peas and carrots filled your mouth, and you reveled in it for a brief moment.

Valkyrie had half a mouthful of sausage and chewed loudly. “Well, it’s been what? A month since he croaked?”

A Hufflpuff girl across from you both, Nila, balked at Valkyrie. “How can you say that? He was...killed.” She could barely say the last word.

Valkyrie gave her a look. “What? It don’t make no difference, does it?”

Nila huffed indignantly. Mo interjected. “Well, it’s not every day a professor disappears for three weeks, only to be found ripped apart in the Forbidden Forest.”

You all wrinkled your noses in a few seconds of awkward silence. He was right. It was a bizarre and terrible thing to have happened. You had no love for Professor Rattowl. He was a cranky old man with awful manners, but he did not deserve such a fate.

Valkyrie said, “Well I heard that the Headmistress’s son is going to be the new potions teacher.”

You raised your brows. “Professor Odinson has a brother?”

Valkyrie’s eyes lit up at the mention of him. “If there are two Thor Odinson’s, then I will die this very moment.”

You, Mo, and Nila rolled your eyes at her when the doors crashed open in an echoing sound. All the chatter in the Great Hall was silenced when a lean and tall figure in a black cloak strolled into the room. His languid pace revealed a streak of arrogance - or confidence - as he walked down the hall, towards the head table. He walked between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables and slowly removed his hood.

You audibly gasped when you saw the raven haired man with his high cheekbones and proud nose. His blue eyes snapped towards you, and you felt your face heat up in seconds. He kept his eyes on you briefly before looking back at the head table. You breathed again once he was well past you.

Valkyrie looked at you questioningly. She whispered, “what’s going on?”

You could not take your eyes off of him and whispered back, “later.”

Everybody at the table rose, and Headmistress Frigga spoke with her wand pointed at her neck. “We will never forget our dear Professor Hubert Rattowl and the legacy he leaves here. The tragedy of his passing will remain a bitter memory in the long colourful history of Hogwarts. It has been a terrible time trying to fill this role, and our surprise guest has been gracious enough to accept our invitation. Professor Loki Laufeyson’s entrance may give you a taste into his exciting curriculum as the new Potions Master.” She gave him a warm smile.

He walked over to his seat and placed his hands on the table to look out at the students. There was something both inviting and dangerous about him. You could not look away.

He smiled widely and raised his hands. “Your potions saviour is here!”

The students clapped and eventually broke into applause. The Slytherin table was particularly ecstatic. There was no mistaking what house he belonged to. He looked at every table with a wide grin, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. They rested on you and your heart stopped. They flickered away, and he moved on before sitting down as the Headmistress continued her announcements.

Your hands were still clasped together in mid clap as you looked at the same man that was in your dream. His screams echoed in your mind and you wondered if this was all a nightmare. Regardless, it was going to be an interesting semester.

[echotzzz]

Elain and The mother

This could be a crack theory but regardless i want to share about what i feel about this matter and i’m sorry if it sound really off or unjustifiable. Again this is just a theory and from my own interpretation.

I truly feel that somehow Elain have some sort of connection with the Mother, but not like how Nesta was. We know about the Cauldron where it determines fate from the eddies of its swirling fluid but what about the Mother? Does it truly exist and have her own power or just an idea to the faeries.

So my theory is that what if the Cauldron chose Elain as the representative of the mother. What if she was the one that whispered to Nesta and prevent all of her power taken by the Cauldron.

Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess—perhaps even the Mother herself. Nesta hadn’t let herself dwell on why she’d felt the need to set the rose there. Why she hadn’t just thrown it in a drawer.

I believe the rose will represent Elain’s journey in the next book. But is it coincidence that the rose eventhough hidden in shadows were place beside the mother figurine ? Nesta even feel the need to put the rose in that position.

Is this the foreshadowing sjm used that the shadows would represent Elain’s love life and the mother as the arc for her power?

We don’t know what are the whole scope of power Elain possessed and how powerful she is but the thought that the Cauldron itself BLESSED HER with such gift must have some sort of meaning and reasoning and not just because it found Elain to be lovely. There must be something beyond that.

The voice

If i’m not mistaken, Nesta started to hear this voice after Elain volunteered to search for the dread trove and reacquainted with her power.

For Nesta

The voice was female, gentle. Wise and serene.

The gentle female voice in her head pleaded, Run, run, run.

A soft, familiar voice whispered the words. As they had been whispered to her long ago. As it had warned her in Oorid’s darkness. A lovely, kind female voice, sage and warm, which had been waiting for her all this time.

For Cassian

His stomach twisted. Instinct bellowed at him to wrap himself around her, to comfort and soothe, but another voice, an ancient and wise voice, whispered to keep going. One more mountain, that voice said. Just one more mountain. He trusted that voice. “We’ll camp here tonight.”

After read the description of the voice, i couldn’t help myself to relate it with Elain. Sjm also in this case, purposely gave us a really detailed ass description about the voice.

The voice was described as Female, familiar, gentle, soft, warm, serene (calm), lovely, kind, wise and ancient.

Let’s take a look the way Elain was describe throughout the books

Gentle and sweet

Nesta hadn’t wanted any dealings with the Fae, and Elain was so gentle, so sweet … how could I bring them into this?

Elain, who had been gentle and sweet.

But Elain, the flower-grower, the gentle heart …

Warm

Nesta met her sister’s warm brown eyes.

Serene ( calm)

Elain crossed her arms and said calmly, sadly, “Feyre warned me this might happen.”

“I still wanted to come,” Elain went on with that focused calm, the quiet steel building in her voice. “I wanted to see you, to explain.”

Soft & Lovely

Beautiful—she’d always been the most beautiful of us. Soft and lovely, like a summer dawn.

Kind

Something in my chest broke at Elain’s voice from the hall behind her. At the sweetness and youth and kindness, untouched by Prythian, unaware of what I’d done, become—

To look at the hardness of the world and choose, over and over, to love, to be kind.

Wise and sage

“It’s already ended badly. Now it’s just a matter of deciding how we meet the consequences.” “Wisely said,” Mor offered,

For a moment, I just stared at my sister, the wisdom she’d spoken. Not a whisper of those oracular abilities. Just clear eyes and an open expression.

Ancient

With Cassian the voice was described as ancient and wise. It remind me the time Feyre and Cassian met the bone carver in acowar and he talked about what happened in Hybern

“How lovely she is—new as a fawn and yet ancient as the sea. How she calls to you. A queen, as my sister once was. Terrible and proud; beautiful as a winter sunrise.”

At first i thought the bone carver talk about Nesta but the word lovely,fawn and sunrise(dawn) really associated with Elain

“I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea.”

Elain stood by the rail, the breeze caressing her hair. “She’s not getting any better. She’s not even trying.” She wrapped her arms around herself and stared toward the distant sea.

Could it made sense that Elain as a seer have knowledge that are as ancient as the sea.

The dread trove

“You were Made by the Cauldron. You may track other objects Made by it as well, as Briallyn can. And because you are Made by it, you are immune to the influence and power of the Trove. You might use them, yes, but they cannot be used upon you.” A glance to Elain. “Either of you.”

So, since Elain was also made by the Cauldron she will not be influenced by the power of the trove. But it strike me as odd as why does Elain froze as well when Nesta use the Harp to stop time.

Is it so to give opportunity for Elain to use her power to whisper as the voice to Nesta ?

Do you see how it might be? that soft female voice whispered, What you might do?

The voice talked about the vision of Feyre’s death and what Nesta could do to prevent it. Seer abilities??

Even the things that hurt and hunt you? Only curiosity laced the question. [...] That wise, soft voice whispered, So live, Nesta Archeron.

Pain slowly washed over Elain’s face. And understanding. “Is that what this is all about? Father?”

Other than Cassian, Elain is the only person that knew the thing that haunted and hurt Nesta was her father’s death.

The Cauldron

So, Nesta bargained to give back what was stolen in return to save Feyre’s, Nyx’s and Rhys’ lives. But somehow, someone had prevent the Cauldron to take all of the power

“But a little remains. I think something else—someone else—stopped the Cauldron from taking all of it. And I made some changes of my own.”

This person literally stopped the Cauldron. The Cauldron have every intention to take it all back but stopped because of this someone.

Remember when the Cauldron came for Nesta in Acowar but retrieved as it saw how important Nesta is to Elain and it also purr in her presence as if Elain has a certain influence towards the Cauldron.

What if Elain persuade the Cauldron to not take all of Nesta’s power. Maybe from her seer abilities, she saw that it is vital for Nesta to have some of her power for the upcoming war?

Invisible hand

And a soft, invisible hand brushed her cheek in answer.

The sun was a warm hand on her shoulder, like the one that had prevented the last of her power from vanishing, as if telling her that the apology, the begging for forgiveness … it was no longer needed.

Nesta described the hand as warm coming from the sun. Is it coincidence that Elain also often describe as sunlight🤔

Yes, they’d have to figure out what to do with the entire Dread Trove now that they possessed all three objects. How Nesta had summoned it despite the spells Helion had placed on the other two … He’d think of that another day. Along with the fact that she’d stopped Time with the Harp. And that she seemed to have some sort of connection—or understanding—with the Mother. The Mother.

Notice that Cassian mention all of this to be done in the future. Since Nessian will not be the MC in the next book, it is obvious the next book’s MC will be the one that handle it.

they’d have to figure out what to do with the entire Dread Trove now that they possessed all three objects

The 4th dread trove object is still a mystery and only the one that was Cauldron made can find it and who is the remaining Cauldron made? Elain. It’s obvious enough that the DT will still play a major role in the next book

How Nesta had summoned it despite the spells Helion had placed on the other two

“In the end, Helion created the wards and keyed them to Nesta’s blood.”

“Once we leave this room, no one shall be able to enter it. Even you, if you do not unlock my wards, cannot enter.”

We have no idea how Nesta could actually summoned the objects despite Helion’s spell. And only Rhys and Helion the one who know how to unlock the spell.

I don’t want to be too reaching but what if Elain was the one that unlock it. Nesta’s blood run through Elain’s vein and maybe her seer abilities that provide knowledge as ancient as the sea could be the reason she knew to unlock the spell. ( again this is just my interpretation)

In conclusion

Is it coincidence that Nesta connection with the mother will still be a topic in the next book and at the same time there are foreshadowing mention the wooden rose was put beside the mother figurine?

Is it coincidence that Sjm never mention about whether Elain do reacquainted back with her power? Amren whom really eager for Elain to start finding the trove could have train Elain herself especially when she frequently mentioned how Elain should not be underestimated.

Is it coincidence that Elain is mentioned to even beat Azriel in secrecy that Cassian sometimes suspected Elain early dismissal was not to tend some elderly fae garden but what if she’s on the roll to train for her power. When sjm mention ‘secret’ it was not only to reflect the forbidden love but also Elain true power.

Is it coincidence that we only knew the surface of the seer abilities and somehow sjm haven’t elaborate it much further. As an Elain stan, i admitted that i actually know little of her as sjm never provide Elain with her own pov. Its like if we enter Elain’s head, there will be a major spoiler considering she will be the next MC.

If this theory turn out to be true, do you think that the Cauldron use Elain as his messenger or a puppet by giving her vision and image? Remember when the IC were lost and suddenly Elain were given image about Vassa. When Elain could search for the Suriel with only one try.

Why was Elain captured by the Cauldron when it clearly mentioned that the Cauldron will never harm her. It was as if in order for something to happen, Elain must be captured. What was the outcome:

Trigger Feyre to fly where she only have been training for a short time.

A human girl name Briar were saved. Will she be important in the series as her character were given a name?

To alert that Tamlin was in fact on the good side

When Elain was captured, she was lured by the image of Greysen offering her safety and protection but who was the one that rescued her?Azriel. Like she was expecting Greysen to come but instead it was Azriel. Was the Cauldron use this to show Elain who will matter to her the most?

“Nothing is a fluke. The Cauldron’s power flows through Nesta, and could use her as a puppet without her knowledge. It wanted those weapons Made, and thus they were Made.

And do not forget that Nesta herself—and Elain, with whatever powers she has—is here. Feyre is here. All three sisters blessed by fate and gifted with powers to match your own.

[lightrises]

"Only in allowing her to pass..." — Hornet, The Radiance, and the means by which Hallownest turned its victims against each other

A quick note: I read Hollow Knight as an anti-colonialist text. As such I'll be touching on topics related to colonialism as it's depicted in the world of the game, and said analysis will reflect both a sympathetic take on The Radiance and a critique of The Pale King that won't pull its punches. If this sounds up your alley, hello and thank you for the read! Let us be sad about these bugs together.

———

So!! A while back I realized something about pre-canon that felt rather... "curious" is one way to put it, I think. To wit: for all the effort and scheming and determination The Pale King poured into trying to get rid of The Radiance, neither of his plans involved directly killing her.

Was that his long game? Well, sure, that seems clear enough. His tack changed from luring the moths away from their god and creator to a more literal form of incarceration once the infection became a factor, but at its core the end goal never really changed—The Pale King very sincerely wished to destroy Radiance via obsolescence. The Seer lends us foreshadowing to confirm as much:

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from Hollow Knight, showing the Seer and Ghost in the Seer's alcove at the Resting Grounds. Across both screenshots, the Seer tells Ghost the following: "None of us can live forever, and so we ask those who survive to remember us. Hold something in your mind and it lives on with you, but forget it and you seal it away forever. That is the only death that matters." End description.]

(Which, by the way and given the context, talk about an extremely unsubtle allusion to cultural genocide huh!!! Whew.)

In any case, we're left with a whole bunch of machinations which build up to... well, two very roundabout attempts at committing deicide. That's kind of weird, all things considered! Why not just do the deed in one fell swoop and get it over with?

This could be for any number of reasons. Maybe the king was devoid of the means to instantly kill another higher being. Maybe his personal sense of scruples stopped him short of signing off on MURDER murder (although, y'know, the aforementioned genocide + eternal imprisonment = still cool and copasectic apparently!). Maybe the long drawn-out cruelty was the point. Maybe the idea of playing fuckign 4D chess with the circumstances was too delicious for him to pass up—that man did love to tinker and stick his claws where they sure as hell didn't belong—or maybe it was a little bit of All The Things. Who knows!!

But interrogating The Pale King's methodology on this count isn't what I'm here for, at least not really. The main reason I raise this question at all is that in her own way, Hornet did too.

"I'd urge you to take that harder path... "

See, going by The Pale King's actions and what The White Lady explicitly says, they both foresaw two outcomes wrt the infection: it can be allowed to spread, or it can be contained. At Teacher's Archives, Quirrel acknowledges the fact that Ghost is expected to do... something about this, but he doesn't elaborate on what HE thinks that's supposed to be apart from the obvious "Gotta bust into Black Egg Temple first". Hornet is the one person who presents to us—to Ghost—what's framed as a third option: confront and destroy the infection at its source.

And she doesn't bring it up like it's just another tactic for Ghost to consider, prim and indifferent to what they would do. She nudges them towards it, actively, up to the point where she throws herself into the fray against Hollow at a juncture that's uniquely dangerous to her and her alone just to make that option feasible.

Even when she's couching it in disclaimers that this is still Ghost's decision to make (and let's be fair, she's extremely not wrong about that lol), no one can pretend Hornet is unbiased. It's obvious in that buttoned-down Hornet kind of way that she is way the hell done with the increasingly tenuous stalemate that's kept Hallownest's desiccated corpse from collapsing in on itself. Personally it's hard for me not to read some Toriel Undertale-esque "My father was too entrenched in his own foolishness to pursue any course of action that would have DEFINITIVELY ended this" shade into her stance here, regardless of whether that's strictly true in canon.

And that bit—Hornet's hopes for an end to Hallownest's stasis, moreover her grim calculation of what needs to be done to get there—that's the bit I find super interesting but likewise tragic and depressing as shit, on multiple levels. In no small part because a) canon itself gestures towards Hornet feeling conflicted about the very plan she's pushing, and moreover b) she has at least two (2) damn good reasons to feel that way.

So, what do I mean by that? Let's look here first:

[Image description: A screenshot from Hollow Knight, of Hornet and Ghost inside the Temple of the Black Egg, standing in front of the unsealed egg itself. Hornet has been struck by the Dream Nail and her dialogue is displayed as follows: "... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?" End description.]

As the curtain is about to drop on things one way or another, Hornet thinks,

... Could it achieve that impossible thing? Should it?

Now, looking at that last bit it's easy to go "Oh no, Hornet's worried that Ghost won't survive killing The Radiance!" And I do think that's part of it: Hornet is, categorically, not her father. By endgame it's clear she's not content to view her Void-borne siblings as tools to be used then disposed of. She's also well aware that as a healthy autonomous Vessel amongst the countless dead, Ghost is the only person left alive who has a fighting chance against The Radiance. Knowing someone is the only qualified candidate for the job doesn't make encouraging them to embrace a probable death sentence any less of a bitter pill to swallow, though. And odds are on that this sentiment extends to Hollow too, who IS going to die no matter what happens here. To put it bluntly, it's more than reasonable to conclude that Hornet hates the absolute fuck out of this.

But I don't think that's all there is to it either. Remember what I said earlier about The Pale King's bids for genocide? Well, it's not like the man deigned to limit his efforts to just the moth tribe.

"We do not choose our mothers... "

On top of everything else—an infected Hallownest being all she's ever known, the fact that she only exists because of the infection, the list goes on—Hornet has spent her life wedged into a position that's been uncomfortable and terminally unglamorous at best: she is both a daughter of her father's kingdom and of Deepnest.

Deepnest, which like the moths and many others was here long before the wyrm and his lady wife swanned onto the scene and the God Become Bug laid claim to everything the Light touched plus a considerable amount of change. THAT Deepnest, which has fought claw and thread to retain its sovereignty against same-said settler king, and for which Herrah not only surrendered her life but also agreed to bed her worst enemy, all in hopes of securing a viable future for her people (put a pin in that last part by the way, I'll come back to it soon).

Two Worlds, One Family (Ft. An Indigenous Woman Trying Her Damndest To Work With What She's Got Versus An Imperialist Who Only Signed Up For This Because He Needed The Political Favor THAT Badly, So It's The Height Of Dysfunctional Actually). Fun times!!!!

The baggage this entails for Hornet is gnarly enough without implications made by The White Lady and the pre-canon timeline of events and even Team Cherry's dev notes that the king may well have looked at baby Hornet, gone "YOINK", then ensured she spent the lion's share of her childhood reared within the pearly auspices of his Pale Court*. That would be rather advantageous for Him Specifically after all, the potential to mold a born foe into a future ally and even have her trained in combat under the same tutelage as her doomed sibling. And far be it from him to stop a grown Hornet—his own flesh and blood too!—from making Deepnest her forever home if she so pleased. He totally wouldn't be reneging on his "fair bargain made" by doing this one simple thing until Hornet came of age, not t e c h nic c a l l y.

If that is indeed the case, there's a non-zero chance Hornet's formative years were a hot mess of cultural alienation and being a good deal more privy than most to just how much of a bastard her father could be. There's an equally non-zero chance that at some point she stood or sat within earshot as The Pale King finally, finally dropped all pretense and euphemism to name the Light for precisely what (for who) it was.

See, in conjunction with the question that started this whole dang train of thought I've been asking this one too: Does Hornet know? When she speaks of confronting "the heart of [the] infection" does she know she's talking about not just a literal person but someone very specific? The Radiance, who god though she may be shares skin in the game alongside Hornet as a native woman screwed over by the same settler king, likewise deprived of her kin and saddled with a life gone horrendously pear-shaped?

I'll assume for the sake of exploring the possibility and because I think it's a likely one anyway that yes, Hornet does know. She knows, and despite everything can't help empathizing. She might even look at Radiance and see bits and pieces both reflected and slightly inversed in her own mother: Radiance was forced to the sidelines while her people—her children, the brood she was meant to lead and care for—died out under The Pale King's rule, and it's no stretch to assume she's at least as upset about that as she has been about everything else; Herrah too took drastic measures for her people's sake, trying to head off annihilation by relegating herself to the sidelines in an act that was as much calculated risk as an attempt to find wiggle room and leverage in the face of a nasty proposition.

A calculated risk that, if things continue as they are, might well amount to nothing as the rest of Deepnest gets eaten alive by the infection. It survived The Pale King's advances for so so long, only to fall here. Herrah's sacrifice would be for naught; the other tribes—themselves the king's victims—would keep succumbing to the infection too.

And this is where things fall apart.

"... or the circumstance into which we are born."

Let's be clear: I think Hornet is wise enough to know what's what here, that all the carnage and suffering falls on her father's head for starting this slow-motion trainwreck in the first place. Hallownest wasn't always Hallownest. This domain was Radiance's home first, along with many others. It was the worm-turned-king who rolled up on the scene unsolicited and decided this was a ""'problem""" that had to be """solved""".

But the fact of the matter is that he's gone and The Radiance is here, raging, seemingly inconsolable. Above and beyond being Deepnest's rightful heir, Hornet isn't in a position to countenance more splash damage even if the grief and fury fueling it makes perfect sense. She can understand without ever bringing herself to love Radiance, and she can bend her knee to practicality even if she hates the everloving shit out of it because the fact that it "has" to end this way isn't fair.

This lends itself to one last awful conclusion: that Hornet has probably considered and (rightly or wrongly) discarded the possibility that Radiance can be saved, at least not without dragging more collateral along for the ride. If even her mother and every other enemy to the king seemed to dismiss talking Radiance down as an option way back when... well. Why should Hornet hope for any better after things have escalated so far?

Again, it's practical. A practical net good is what Hornet strives for. And again, it fucking sucks.

For extra tragedy points, this makes Hornet's extended crypticness around Ghost followed by her last minute casting about for a reason to tell them "Wait, don't; not just yet" that she never voices even more of a gut punch. She can't bring herself to burden Ghost with the context that haunts her so, least of all when it might weaken their resolve to go through with what (she thinks) needs doing.

It's the "same song, different verse" which led to the mantis tribe and Deepnest being pitted against each other: Hallownest rigged the game so that two women who could have been powerful allies—who have a mutual vested interest in driving out settler rule—wound up poised as enemies instead. And how awful is that? The king for all his being extremely fucking dead still gets the last laugh, because outside of a miracle the game never manifests Hornet can salvage what her mother started and look forward to a future where Deepnest pulls itself back from the brink if and only if The Radiance dies.

Resolution comes at the price of a completed genocide. Add two more dead siblings to the unconscionable pile thereof, while we're at it. That's what it boils down to whether or not Hornet can bear to articulate it as such, and there's no grace or even a properly bittersweet ending to wring from this clusterfuck. And that is rough.

———

* This has been better explained elsewhere, but a quick rundown: The White Lady tells Ghost that Hornet and Herrah "were permitted little time together." On its surface this can be taken to mean that Hornet was still very young when Herrah was shipped off to Eternal Dreamland—except this doesn't jive with the fact that we meet Hornet as an adult. If the stasis kicked in once the Dreamers went to their rest, which in turn halted the aging process for every living bug in Hallownest, AND before all this Hornet experienced little by the way of quality time with her birth mother... I think you can see where I'm going with this.

To top it off we've got Team Cherry weighing in ominously from their dev notes on Herrah: "As part of the agreement for her alliance and her role as a dreamer, King gave her a child (Hornet). Was she allowed to keep this child or was she taken away?" This isn't confirmation by itself of course, but given additional canon details (see above): Can I get a "yikes" in the chat fellas.

[forgottensaoirse]

BAHAHAHAHA now picturing sweet lil peadar tagging along v respectfully behind, softly reminding aunt fiona its clea's nap time and saoirse wiLL be upset (he's not wrong! ;D and fiona, lady and aunt or no, wiLL hear abt it alkjsdflksjdf)

kldjfalksdjflkjsdfljk hahaha omg hilaaaarious!!!!! ok so this is giving me two separate ideas??? bc now???? im kinda like????? well...IDEA THE FIRST: what if saoirse did in fact asp notice fiona occasionally hanging around (perhaps thanks to the whole half-seer thing) and one day took a big risk (which wasn't actually ~that big since she's known the twins her whole life) and lowkey ~led them to the rebels (all while pretending not to notice bc she thought they'd be a swell addition but ronan was against it since they're literally captives cast out of their own home etc) and now she's like 'oh no! what a terrible accident! shoot! oh well ig ur in it now' lkajsdfkljdskjf this might be a terrible idea bahahaha i just feel like saoirse, of all my frosts, ~is the most careful of what's around etc! however, IDEA THE SECOND there ~is in fact a good frost to follow unawares from lorcan to the resistance camp tho and that would be cillian! he def does come up to lorcan to visit saoirse sometimes and yeah he could def be distractedly thinking abt smth and just...not clock that there're two ppl (one of whom is whining) behind him he def wasn't daydreaming abt how pretty cassandra looked the way she was smiling at him the other night noooo why do you ask he WASNT ;D aldskfjkldsjfdsf idk!! im also just gonna @forgottenfinnegan @forgottencillian

saoirse is...she likes to pretend that she's ~above all that chaos~ but really she thrives on it and she's deffff be the type to be like *huff* 'of COURSE i won't help you terrorize cormac!' and then five second later (esp when she sees him annoying the malconaires or smth) primly suggesting 'however...if i ~were to help, id certainly suggest [insert smth devestatingly insidious and v well thought out that i haven't come up w atm here]' hahahah

like, she's that trope to a TEE where the person can't be seen to openly help the hero, but they're on their side secretly, so they look away in a really obv way while saying 'if you were to see the plans that're right there on that desk by the coffee mug while im not paying attention well how could i stop you' lkjasdfkljdjsf (except in this case its abt chaos and the thing that's stopping her is just her own pride/sense of decorum/primness/general annoyance at her brothers and not wishing to prove them right that deep down she's just like them laksjdf alkdsjfkldsjfjd but she's ~not like them: she's lowkey ~worse bc she takes time to observe and consider the problem more carefully and come up w faaaar more elaborate schemes, rather than just slapping smth together and leaping at the problem like they do, each in their own unique way a;lksdjflksdjfkj)

she ~is a lil bit of a perfectionist/stubborn/control freak tho sometimes so if she sees her suggestions being mishandled or "mishandled" (cillian uses this trick alllll the time ngl ;D) as the case may be ;D she will get frustrated and say 'stop let me do that' and before she knows it she's fully pranking cormac herself right beside fiona (esp bc deep down she really ~does wanna join in, she just wont let herself laksdjfklsdjf) hahahaha

OOC | Saoirse & Fiona

so these two have multiple connections! not only do they live together but saoirse is nurse to her nieces and nephews, and they're part of the revolution together!!!!! so i think its v safe to say that they interact frequently hahaha and we also know that saoirse is verY accustomed to chaotic personalities heehee so honestly fiona's antics are noT shocking to saoirse she's like 'isn't that just what ppl do????' as she emerges from the sea looking like a sea monster to prank her brother alskdjfkljsdfjkad any time she's feeling homesick for cillian, she's just like 'i wonder what fiona is up to' jk jk but either way i think saoirse would really enjoy fiona bc for all that she complains abt all the chaos in her life she also kinda thrives on it alksjdfjksdjfdsf and she misses it, so yeah!!!! despite what she might say, i def think she'd be a big fan of fiona!! <33333333

[bookofmirth]

What are your thoughts on why Azriel’s shadows disappear around Elain? Cause I see a lot of people claiming it’s romantic that he doesn’t need them with her while others say it hints at something more sinister like Dark!Elain. I can’t see either one tbh cause his shadows are a part of him. He’s had them to protect and guide him so why would they disappear around Elain if she was a threat? And why do they swoon and dance with Gwyn if Az and Elain are possibly romantic? My thought was maybe it’s because Elain and sunshine may be closer than we think which makes shadows disappear, but idk. Like maybe her seer power was tapping into her mate’s power without realizing it cause they’re bound? Is this one of those things where we’re reading too much into it when it’s just SJM just being herself and nothing is that deep? Help me Obi Les Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

I love youuuu I lol’d at the end of this. It got pretty long so part of it is under the cut.

Okay so this is going to be my whole half-assed attempt at talking about his shadows. I’m not going to get too deep with it because we have 3.5 books of his shadows doing their thing and that is TOO MUCH for me to sort through. However, I do have an idea.

(as usual, idfk what other people are saying about this, I’m just basing these ideas off of my reading and my previous thoughts about the characters.)

The first thing that came to mind is that Azriel’s shadows know not only what he needs, but what the people around him need. I know that sjm said that we won’t find out if they are sentient until we get his book story, but I think they are a bit of both - an extension of him, not totally in his control but privy to his needs and thoughts in a way nothing and no one else is. 

In acomaf, Azriel tried right away to make human Elain comfortable, for pragmatic reasons - they needed to use her house, and Nesta would be convinced if Elain could be convinced. “Elain can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles”, Feyre tells Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel right before they all meet for dinner. Enter handsome, non-threatening Azriel, the nice little bat boy who would never hurt a fly (which we know is a lie, but Elain doesn’t need to know that, ever). He creates a persona for her that he know will be convincing. Elain is convinced. She talks to Nesta. They all get the mortal queen meeting Chez Archeron.

Tl;dr for this whole post if no one wants to click is that Azriel can be himself around Gwyn, to the point of sharing personal secrets. He can’t be himself around Elain, and his shadows are a part of him. But read on for more explanation.

During this meeting, Feyre also notes, and is grateful, that Az’s shadows are nowhere to be found. This would fit the idea of them being an extension of him and knowing what he and the people around him need. Fae shadows? Will be creepy to humans. Best put them away.

Okay, just glancing through acomaf I noticed that Elain is getting married to Graysen five months after Feyre returns. That means that she met Az, and then four months later slept with Graysen, and then months after that was still mourning him. Just saying.

So based on that reading, and the way that Azriel generally fades into the background until he is needed to put on one of his “personas”, the shadows play a big role in which “Azriel” people get to see. Azriel met Elain with his shadows hidden because he needed to appear non-threatening. As best they can, they continue to stay away from her when Az is around. 

In acosf I know that people are hung up on the fact that the shadows seem to want to protect Elain when she and Nesta are fighting. Now we know that Nesta would never truly, mortally hurt Elain. No matter how mad they are at each other, there was no real danger there. It was either a gross overreaction, or Az is actually overstepping his bounds. He acts the same way around Mor, too.

So people have noted that generally, the shadows disappear around Elain, yes? Elain, light personified, who basks in the sun, whose main personality trait is “likes outside and gardens”, wouldn’t be comfortable if Azriel’s shadows were around constantly. It’s kinda what you said, anon, I think it’s to do with Elain thriving in light, and Azriel’s shadows, which are a huge part of him, threatening that light.

Az and the shadows are aware of that. She’s still the sister of his High Lord and High Lady. She deserves respect. She deserves to be at ease, especially given what she has gone through. It’s a perfectly normal thing for us to have a persona around one person, but then to be open and free and our full selves with other people. I notice this difference in myself even among my friends.

While I don’t think this means that anyone, Gwyn or Elain, are evil, I think that Az cannot be his full self around Elain. He told Gwyn, “I AM a shadowsinger”, which means that there is a whole piece of him that does not feel comfortable in Elain’s presence because it would make her uncomfortable. I don’t think that it’s fear, or her being secretly evil, or anything beyond the shadows’ (and by extension Azriel’s) acknowledgement of the fact that he has a persona or role to play with Elain, and he must maintain that.

Re: Elain - Azriel can’t be himself around her. She doesn’t know the full extent of his job or the torture, and he tries to make his shadows less threatening, too.

Now, Gywn! Our little Carynthian Valkyrie. 

I’ve seen an idea that Azriel’s shadows dance to her lure???? Like????? His shadows have done nothing except protect him, and so if there was anything wrong with Gwyn, the shadows would have warned him. 

I see the way that the shadows react around Gwyn as indicating basically the opposite of what it indicates for Elain. Azriel is comfortable around her to the point where his shadows don’t feel the need to observe, to be defensive. They are playful, which is something that we never seen from Azriel himself, and so I am now headcanoning that eventually their playfulness will rub off on him?

And then in this scene Az reveals something intensely private about himself. This is about 130 pages before the end of the book and there is never a change in behavior from him or the shadows. (Sidenote, Elain asking Az if he can fly is NOT the same, I love her but what a stupid fucking question, he has giant ass wings. And that’s not something about himself that he would try to guard from the rest of the world, it’s pretty obvious.)

So anyway, I hope that all makes sense. I’ve never really put thought into his shadows before and I based this on what the book says, rather than trying to created some extended interpretation that relies on interpretations of interpretations of theories etc etc. I might add onto it as I think of more things! I could go more into the whole Az persona thing if people want. I’m kinda enjoying this whole being able to share my thoughts about him! Since for the past four years I knew I’d get hate for it. 

[cass-rambles]

okay. so. marktwt. I'd like to finally openly discuss who is the "villain" in the lore? is it actor? darkiplier? what started this all? what happened to mark exactly? (I'd like to add that my theory/part of convo may not be overly neutral and i do have my own headcanons and all that crap and that it's mostly theorizing, so please don't start any arguments, i'm ALL OPEN AND HAPPY to hear your ideas/theories :D )

firstly, perhaps let's start where all of this shitty time loop thing began.

with “who killed markiplier?”

as we all know, Mark at the beginning wasn't exactly the "Actor", a name we say as we think of a monster now and the very first thing we know about him from the start is this : he's Celine’s husband, he's arrogant yet seemingly polite as most of us notice when he welcomes us to his manor and by his short character introduction. there is no thing at the very first " he's pulling the strings" manipulator shit and yadda yadda, we see him dead and boom! murder mystery.

i'm gonna dig into the motives, characters and some things i assumed by myself so bear with any mistakes.

We know that Mark planned to frame the Colonel Why?

because Celine left Mark for the other.

as of my own opinion, i believe they were happy at first. but there's tons of implications that Mark hasn't kept in touch with the others. they're happy at the start but Mark withdraws from his friends and seemingly is unhealthy focusing on Celine. (although that part is more of theorizing)

I assumed that it was one of the major problems in their relationship. Mark loved Celine, obviously, but it grew unhealthy as he ignored his friends and Celine grew unhappy with her sheltered life. I imagine that they began to fight, (I think that Mark didn't EVER raise a hand at Celine, but that their fights were very aggressive to the point they threw things at each other, though never ultimately hurt one another physically)

That's where the Colonel came on the stage. Perhaps he had feelings for Celine before she had even gotten married or romantically attached to Mark, but didn't make any moves on her because of his friendship with Damien and the fact he traveled a lot/went to war at some point.

My theory/idea is that when Damien was given the position of the town's Mayor, he focused primarily on work and haven't noticed that Celine was THAT unhappy and assumed it was marriage problems between her and Mark. So when Damien didn't notice the huge conflict, Colonel took the front wheel and took matters into his own hands. He encouraged Celine to leave Mark and she started a relationship with William.

If we go by what the wiki of "who killed markiplier?" says, then that is half of the story that started the whole mess. Mark let Celine got, struggled with depression until he had -offed himself. Except he hadn't died. He ended up in the "Upside-down" where an entity began to whisper to him. It convinced him to take "rightful revenge" on the Colonel and Mark starts to think of it as his own idea, losing himself. You can all read it and if you add a few details that you can easily assume, then the story makes sense.

There is an entity stuck in the Manor, in the Upside-down, and when Mark/Actor takes his own life, it takes the chance to get out by manipulating him. I'll quote the wiki so you understand better:

“but Celine bursts through the front door before it gets any worse. This throws a wrench in Mark's "plan" as he never expected Celine to return and is worried by her appearance since she is a seer and is tapped in with the Arcane Arts (where Mark got enough knowledge to use the Upside-Down for his advantage) but the entity sees a huge opportunity with Celine as its original plan was to steal Mark's body and leave him trapped instead so it could escape the house, but wants Celine instead since she is a far more powerful host and convinces Mark with an alternative that he thinks he came up with: steal Damien's body instead and the entity will steal Celine's body and then trap Damien and Celine in Mark's destroyed body, which was now somehow inside the Upside-Down.”

It also is a reasonable explanation on how Darkiplier was created, although the District Attorney let the two siblings take their body (and somehow got trapped in the mirror)

Now, the thing we all are wondering is: who is the villain? who is at fault for all the tragedy? who is guilty the most?

some of you will say Actor, others obviously the entity, and less so, a bare few of you, Darkiplier.

In my opinion, everyone is at fault.

Mark was manipulated, possibly having derealization episodes in the void and who knows what, perhaps have been gaslight, but it is true that he shouldn't have treated Celine the way he did. He shouldn't have cut off his friends and his love was a bit too strong and it was unhealthy for each of them.

Celine. She didn't deserve the shit she got from Mark, but god, taking off with your (ex-)husband's bestfriend??? Not cool. I'm also genuinely upset that Celine didn't give a flying fuck about DA.

“causing the entity to be fed up and teleport you all to the table where Celine decides to use you as bait to commune with Mark because she believes you are expendable and lies saying you have a "big role" in this so she can get what she wants”

Colonel. I genuinely really like the guy, he's got PTSD and the entity had messed with him too, but I wouldn't say that telling the woman that running away with him and encouraging Celine to run away BEFORE even trying to fix things with Mark, is not something I can tolerate or let go off.

Damien. Sweet workaholic Damien. I've banged my head several times on the table because I'M CONFLICTED. Technically I'm pissed because how come Colonel was the one to help Celine and NOT HER OWN BROTHER? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN DUDE? But then again, he's honest, he's a good person and has a lot of responsibilities put on him which explains (NOT EXCUSES) his blindness towards the failing marriage of Celine and Mark.

For most of it however I blame the entity. Or entities. I've read the wiki several times and watched the series, but I'm still unsure of what exactly does the entity/entities, their abilities etc etc. We know they can warp time, make loops, create major and vivid hallucinations, manipulate, shape into somebody you know and are connected to the Upside-down, but it still os rather unclear of what exactly is their goal.

Yes yes, cause chaos, misery, we all know that type, but it's obviously more than that. Although I myself have no clue what.

Nonetheless, I think that everyone took their own part of the fault for the tragedy and setting off the butterfly effect. Actor isn't all at fault and it seems that in ISWM he himself doesn't appear at all. We all expected Darkiplier, but now it is more evident that some mind of dark, vicious entity is in charge of things and not him.

ANYWAYS- I'm done with my convo and I'd love to hear your guys thoughts 🧐 /gen

[admiringlove]

II: sneak; returning it like a detective.

— you try to return the book like a normal person would do, and a small nightly meeting with miya atsumu makes your heart bloom.

+pairing: miya atsumu x reader.

+genre: crossover(hq x hp); fluff; angst; frenemies to lovers.

+word count: 1.9k

+warnings: literally none. if you count idiot mcs then yes, that’s the warning. 

+usual customers(taglist): @babyworld @renee1414 @anotherhydrangea @seita @tobiosnoelle @weebslxt @tsukkiwaifu16 @loveusandoor @kozumebri @sarawrz @crackheadsara @kyuudere @cultsax @supernovaa-a @akaashikeijisan @b3llo-there @sugasloverr @kagebunshiin @tetsurolls @velvetfireworks @kritiiiii @1wai @seijohlogy​ @sweetrosemilktea @bellesowl @ems1des​ @akaashi-todorki @tanaka-ryu​

+author’s notes: send an ask to be added to the taglist!! these chapters may be short but that just means there will be more of them ;) 

+navigation: previous, masterlist, next.

You figure that you could return the book safely to Atsumu's room tonight; before the two of you meet up at the Black Lake, you were going to sneak to the boys' dormitory and place the book under his bed.

You were beleaguered. The paranoid feeling ate away at you as you pulled on a woolen jumper—along with your green scarf, the invisibility cloak Atsumu had gifted you long ago, and boots when Kiyoko suddenly got up from her slumber.

"You've been paranoid all day," the girl reached for her glasses, speaking in an ingenue tone. Your eyes widened at her sudden voice as you turned to face her. You were just about to leave your room to head down the stairs when she spoke up.

"Erm... y-you noticed?" you asked in lassitude. She chuckled as she ran a hand through her hair, pushing the duvet down by her feet as she sat crisscrossed on her bed.

"You've been anxious. I saw you looking at the door again and again in Potions when you got partnered with Miya. You barely paid attention to what I was saying at dinner, and when we got back, you were pacing back and forth in the bathroom. Thank Salazar the other girls were downstairs talking to people," her mellifluous voice soothing your anxiety a bit, as you sighed out loud.

"I guess..." you mused, "—it's 'Tsumu."

"Figures," she giggled a bit, pushing her glasses up as she runs a hand through her hair once again, waiting for you to explain.

"H-he's in love with this... girl. I read through his diary last night. I found it yesterday," you mumble in rue, as your voice cracks just a smidge—telling Kiyoko everything she needed to know. She nods in realization, "I'm guessing you only realized it now?"

"It's stupid of me, isn't it? I can't wrap my head around the fact that he's been in love with another girl this whole time, and I-I've just... not realized it," you hummed in distress as you avoided eye-contact with the raven-haired girl in front of you, her cerulean eyes giving you a gaze which you didn't really understand.

"Hm, so you're returning the book tonight?" she asked. You nodded and continued, "Yes, and er... Atsumu asked me to meet him by the Black Lake. He should already be there by now, so I can just sneak into his room and leave the book there."

"I won't keep you waiting then," she gave you a half-smile, an indication that she'd talk to you about the matter at hand later. She didn't want t Yo pry, and you were grateful for that fact as you quietly tip-toed to Atsumu's room.

Muttering the unlocking charm, "Alohomora," you entered Miya Atsumu's dormitory, to find multiple boys sleeping there—Suna, Aran, Osamu, Sakusa—You quietly moved under your cloak, and crouched down low, pushing the book under Atsumu's bed and getting up as soon as possible. You walked out of his room—the cloak still atop your head—as you stopped dead in your tracks.

Miya Atsumu was standing at the bottom of the staircase, and with each step, he was coming closer to you. You quietly tip-toed towards another door, standing eerily still as you swished your wand at the piss-haired boy's dorm, "Colloportus."

He fumbled with his pockets for a second, then mumbling a "shit" in realization as he pulled his wand out of his boot. He went in.

You take this as your chance of fleeing the scene; you really didn't want to get caught by Miya Atsumu outside his room, nor did you didn't think you wanted to explain to him what you were doing there. You made your way towards the Black Lake, turning left from the Forbidden Forest.

You could've sworn you saw a fox in the distance—a yellow fox just staring at you from a mile away. You shook the feeling away because when you walked towards the deck at the Black Lake, Atsumu was already there(he was panting heavily, which meant he had run all the way here).

"There ya are!" Atsumu raised his eyebrows, his hands on his thighs as he bent down, trying to catch his breath. You chuckled as you ruffled his hair, "Here I am."

"Here," he handed you a small bag. You smiled at how considerate his expression seemed and took the bag from his hands hesitantly. He gestured for you to open it as the two of you sat crisscross under a tree.

"Is that..Miya! You went all the way to Hogsmeade even though it's our first day at school? How did you even—" You gasped, "It's No-Melt Ice-Cream! Ooh, and Treacle Fudge!"

Your worries seemed to fade away for the night as the boy in front of you gazed at you with the softest expression as you dug into the ice-cream and divided the Treacle Fudge neatly into two—one for him, and one for you. Sighing, you slowly laid on your back, looking at the boy next to you with a giggle escaping your plump lips.

"What?"

"I could've sworn I saw a fox back there. It was the same as your piss-hair!" you laughed, clutching to your stomach. His carob eyes softened as they glazed over your petite figure, widening a bit when he heard you speak those words. He tried his best to hide his expression, but you noticed it anyway. Though you didn’t want to pry, the teasing would have to wait for the morning as his chatoyant gaze on the dots in the sky was too pleasant to miss.

"A... fox?" he spoke quietly, "Really?"

You hummed in agreement as he laid down next to you, turning his head softly. Even in the night, his eyes lit the way, as if he was a seer. You wanted this moment to last, but you knew you couldn't be selfish. After all, he loved someone dearly.

He loved someone that wasn't you.

"Hey, you remember we were brewing Amortentia today, right?" you asked, poking his shoulder slightly. He mumbled a small "yes" and you continued, "There was a really pretty girl there. She was a Ravenclaw, and she had red hair, do you know her name?"

"Why in Salazar's name are ya asking for a girl's name? Are ya attracted to her?" he joked, as you shoved his shoulder. You shyly brushed your hair away from your face, looking up at the full moon. It was now that you realized; there was no backing out now.

"No, you idiot. I was thinking of setting her up with you so you'd stop irritating me every minute of every damned day," you groaned. He stopped and blinked for a second, his lissome expression turning dissemble as you looked at him with inquisitive eyes to hear his response.

"I wouldn't think I'm fit for a relationship," he says, looking at the vast hues of azure and ink sprayed with tiny white dots in the expanse. He sighed—his heavy heart made it seem like he was dangling from a tower, ready to drop any second. He couldn't hold his feelings in any longer.

What was he supposed to do, anyway? You were trying to set him up with a girl when he was clearly in love with someone. And his insecurities would get the best of him. It felt like no matter how fast he ran, no matter what spell he cast to keep himself safe from them, they caught up every time.

He could feel a lump form in his throat as you looked at him innocently, your lips parted just a tad bit, and raising an eyebrow as to why such a bitter response had left his mouth.

He inhaled, "I'm too carefree. I think the other person wouldn't like me after a certain amount of time because my personality is just... y'know? And plus, I'm mean to basically everyo—"

You took his hand in yours, intertwining your delicate fingers with his as if he were a gossamer. It felt like untying a knot; only, this time it felt like your life depended upon the tangled thread. Your love was only incipient; his had already lasted for a couple of years, and you didn't want for the boy you loved to sacrifice his happiness for yours.

"Are you?" you asked, your voice barely audible, "Are you really mean?"

"I-I would like to think so, yeah," he nodded.

"What if I say I don't think so? You brought me snacks because I was sad, that too from Hogsmeade, even though it's the first day of school. You apologize to me every time you cross a line. You make sure I'm not fazed by whatever shit you pull. How is any of this not compassionate? Honestly, you think too lowly of yourself," You smiled, ruffling his hair as he looked at you with his eyes slightly wide, and his expression displaying shock.

He definitely hadn't expected such words from you, of all people. He felt like a ghost in a world of paper-dolls—sticking out like a sore thumb, but being happy because he's the only one who gets to experience the true comfort of the dark.

"Y-yer saying way too many nice things in one night, [Y/N]," he looked away, bringing a hand up to his face to hide the bush of roses underneath his cheeks.

"Maybe you deserve it, Miya."

You didn't expect the night to go that well. Your heart was efflorescent; it felt like a small bud was slowly blooming into a fully-grown flower in your palms.

"I take it the meeting with Miya went well?" Kiyoko asked, a small smile on her lips as you walked with her to DADA class. You nodded, a slight blush on your cheeks as you passed a couple of friends, "It's a shame, though. He's in love with someone else."

"How do you know if you've only read the first page of his diary?" she deadpanned, "Maybe the person he loves is you. You didn't see the other pages, right?"

"Well, that's because I value privacy!" you bemoaned, seating yourself as you huffed in annoyance, "And it's mean if I just uncover his secrets."

"Oh come on, you would've never thought you're subconsciously in love with a boy if you never found out he actually loved someone," she narrowed her eyes at you questioningly, knowing that she's correct. You sighed in defeat, letting your shoulders fall as you paid attention in class.

Maybe you wanted to know who Miya Atsumu was in love with. Just so you could prove someone wrong.  

When you were heading to dinner that night, someone poked your shoulder.

"Hey, slug," Atsumu nudged your shoulder lightly, you giving him a chuckle in response. His raised eyebrow and a teasing expression playing at his features. A winsome, yet sly smile playing at his lips as if he was hiding something.

"What?" you asked, a quick smirk of your own forming. He shrugged lightly before speaking, "Erm.. you know how Quidditch is starting soon?"

"Yes," you murmured, continuing to walk to the Great Hall at a much slower pace than before. Your desultory expression made him whine—causing you to let out a small chuckle.

"Okay, so I was wondering if you'd help me with the try-outs? I'm the captain this year since Kita-san graduated last year. 'Samu, Omi and Suna won't help anyway, and you're the seeker, so I was thinking—"

"I'll do it," you nodded, "But only if you buy me more Treacle Tarts."

"Say what, [Y/N], if you can catch the snitch in under 5 minutes, I'll buy you as many Treacle Tarts as you want."

"Oh, you're on."

© all works belong to admiringlove on tumblr. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[the-bed-gremlins-reading-list]

Obligatory RO-question: how would they react if there was only one bed?👀

Ooo, I love one-bed tropes!

Tucking this under the cut since it got a little lengthy.

Diana

Does not look at the bed. If she doesn’t acknowledge the situation it’s not there. (At least not until she figures out the logistics of how to deal with this. Lots of internal monologue going on there. There has to be another bed somewhere, right? Maybe another room. Or she could go share with Jem like they used to when they were kids. Or – she’s your Captain, this is definitely not a line that she should cross! Are you okay with this - she needs to say something, to make it not-wierd, but what even can she?) When she finally admits there’s no solution she is the one who builds a pillow wall.

If you’re past the point where feelings have been admitted, though, she goes “You better not snore” and is happiest as the big spoon.

Jem

Offers to sleep on the floor or in a chair. It honestly doesn’t occur to him that the simplest solution is to share the bed because he’d never want to impose. He can definitely be convinced to share, though. And he swears he’ll stick to his side of the bed. But he’s a sleep-octopus. You definitely are waking up tangled up together. The moment he’s conscious he manages to trip himself trying to jump out of the bed while he apologizes, profusely. And can’t quite look you in the eye without blushing the rest of the morning.

If you’ve already admitted feelings for each other he double checks that you’re okay with this, and asks that you tell him if you’re uncomfortable. He still turns into a cuddle-octopus when he’s asleep. Just instead of falling out of bed he just refuses to wake up enough from being comfy to let you go. If you have any weakness to puppy-dog eyes you may need a rescue to escape in the morning. Jem can and will deploy them to get "just five more minutes".

Eydis

Inappropriate and uncomfortable jokes galore. Also a casual reminder that she has a massive battle axe and grew up in the Order that produces the best legal defenses around. Oh and lots of deflection if you try to ask if she’s okay with it but also an adamant refusal to let you sleep somewhere less comfortable. Once you’ve settled in she whispers that she’s sorry if she wakes you up screaming or thrashing.

If she knows you have real feelings for her she goes quiet. She’s afraid of what you’ll think if one of the nightmares comes, after all, being a Death Seer is bad luck – she’s already a bit surprised you let her near. And while you of all people know that dying is traumatizing, they weren’t her deaths, but she felt them, and most the time the ones she’s had to feel aren’t gentle ones. Once convinced to get in the bed, she can’t quite get her worries to quiet but she likes being able to curl into you if you’re the big spoon and use them to block the rest of the world out, or just hold you to anchor herself to what it feels like to be alive. But, all in all, she actually finds that she really enjoys cuddling. Its 10/10, will repeat.

If she can, she’s definitely cooking you breakfast.

Rowan

It takes them a moment to remember that humans don’t just jump straight to having a cuddle puddle when there’s limited space. They’ve been around humans a long time but it still confounds them how much space they usually keep with each other. They’re very tactile when permitted to be so even as just friends they assume that sharing the bed is just going to happen. They’re probably already getting comfy when they recall that. Then it depends on the MC. If they can tell you’re uncomfortable they’re already getting up and reminding you of the fact that they don’t needto sleep the way a mortal does and that you doneed to sleep. If you’re okay with it they’re thrilled and asking how you want to do this – to make sure they don’t cross any line you don’t want to.

If feelings have been admitted and acknowledged? It goes similarly. Just with a lot more teasing and flirting. (And reassurances for the uncomfortable MCs, trying to figure out what can be done to help because they never want you to feel that way around them, not if it’s something they can fix.)

Felix

Ah, my favorite cactus. (In 98% of scenarios this can have happened he’s placing the blame on Rowan or Bors – his half-brother, who you’ll be able to meet in Ch2 - for playing matchmakers and is definitely plotting revenge for it.)

He’s grouchy and muttering curses about the whole situation while he sets up some basic protection runes around the room. But he also goes “I’ll take the floor” or “All-nighter, yaaaaay” and just refuses to budge on the option without a lot of convincing by the MC. Unless the refusal to share makes you feel sad or hurt and it shows in which case he groans and informs you that the scarf will be staying on and he will stab you – lightly - if you accidentally strangle him while you both are sleeping. Unfortunately for you he’s a blanket thief, and totally unapologetic about it.

When you wake up the next morning he’s already gone but there’s coffee/tea/hot chocolate/etc waiting for you.

Where feelings have been admitted he manages to be extra awkward for the first couple minutes – still grumbling under his breath about the whole situation while he places the runes. If he trusts you not to place expectations on him he’ll probably relax and just ask which side you prefer. Otherwise you might have to reassure him that you’re going to respect his boundaries. Felix can take or leave cuddling itself, but he likes being able to steal your body heat so cuddling inclined MC’s are in luck.

Felix wakes up first – unless your MC is the type to wake hideously early – so you don’t wake up cuddling. But there’s coffee/tea/hot chocolate, whatever your preference waiting for you when you do wake up while he fusses with one of his contraptions nearby.

Rowan & Felix

Sticking both of them in the room with an MC they both are starting to have feelings for (and is willing to go along with Rowan’s nonsense) results in something like this:

Felix: We won’t all fit.

Rowan: You give up too easily, gentle knight. MC and I can clearly see that you’re wrong.

Felix: I’m not.

Rowan: Hmm…we’ll have to try it. To be sure. Otherwise how will we know for sure?

-Ten Minutes Later-

Felix: *impersonating a grumpy blanket caterpillar* Fine. I was wrong. This is nice.

Honestly though, Rowan is probably going to be teasing and joking with both the MC and Felix until you both have relaxed about it. (Felix, the anxiety cactus that he is, has a soft spot for people that make him laugh. Clever MCs may have a slightly unfair advantage with winning him over.) And comfy cuddle pile. Rowan insists the MC takes the middle so that you have at least a chance at keeping some of the blanket.

If y’all have admitted feelings. Lots of laughter and joking is going to happen. Felix trying, and failing, to pretend to be annoyed with Rowan – and nothing will ever convince Felix that Rowan didn’t somehow arrange the whole scenario on purpose somehow. MC or Felix has to get stuck in the middle to deal with the blanket thief.

Felix is the first one actually awake, so he makes the run for coffee/tea/hot chocolate/etc and breakfast while Rowan gets to enjoy some extra cuddles.

BONUS SIBLING ROUND - Riley

Riley used to crawl into your bed all the time when they had nightmares or felt lonely before you left to go train and join the army. They could have definitely found a way to scam another room out of someone else, but they like the idea of getting to hang out with you again. So here you are.

(Besides, if their big sibling is there then they don't have to be so careful about watching their own back. They might be able to sleep with both eyes closed for once, and that'd be sort of nice.)

One thing that definitely hasn't changed with them growing up? Riley still kicks and flops around in their sleep.

[fencesandfrogs]

clan culture inspiration fic master post

a collection of fics/series/w/e i've used for inspiration. ordered by how much i used them

Flightless Dove, Poison Ivy acaciapines

read it, it’s good. it's 100% my main fic inspiration, i love it, it's very good.

the light that shines on you solacefruit

huge inspiration for my riverclan. just. massively where i get a lot of ideas. probably a larger source of material than flightless dove, if i'm being honest.

RIVERCLAN leaders have a litany of names. weather caller, storm seer, spirit walker. a new leader being made is a chance to find another for the list. these names are to honor leaders for the role they play in their lives.

(names. leaders. meaning.)

so you can see where i got that from.

Warriors Redux Deconstruction Dullard on ao3 (not linked)

i've split this into two parts, because there's a lot. i'm a fan of this in terms of world building, but i've been select in what i've used from it. deconstruction is linked highly because it had a lot of key details that shaped my opinions on what wouldn't be. a lot of this i would've changed anyway, but i wanted to list WR because it'd be dishonest to act like this wasn't shaping my thoughts.

anyway, a short list of things that were mentioned in WR:D that i'd already decided on or am now using

behaviors. i mean, i've said "flicked her tail" or "flattened his ears" so much it's getting old, but by god if i am not being true to cats movements. i think WR:D is somewhat conservative on use of purring, but i've also been writing about kits, and a lot of purring is involved with kits, so special case, i suppose. but i'm very cautious with my descriptions. i've tried really hard not to use smile, because cats don't smile. that's the one that gets me the most.

water. this is kind of a specific thing. but. in ctd's fading echoes. the lake is a concern not because the cats need water, but because the prey needs water.

queens and toms. now. i have always been irritated by this. and the lack of female leadership. because toms should know they're kept on the graces of the queens. the sisters got it right. but i can't just kick out half the cast, so i'm forced to keep them. i have, however, kept toms out of the nursery. queens are protective around their kits. it's the best i can do to appease my strong desire to literally just kick every male cat out of the clan. in all of my stories, though, i keep track of who's in the nursery with what kits, because those kits are going to bond to every damn mother. it's super annoying that this isn't kept more clear anywhere. i have to do so much math and check so many allegiances every time.

kits. it's basically impossible to convince me to write this the way the hunters do, so even in ctd, we see kits not walking, not opening their eyes, until real kittens would. does this make the early chapters of growing shadows a pain because dovekit does basically nothing but sit and listen? yes. do i care? yes, it is important to me that dovekit does nothing but sit and listen because she's a baby. bb. need protect.

genetics. usually i correct coat colors for POV cats. because it bothers me. see: tortie dovekit/ivykit in CTD, and the fact that i think in jaywing, jayfeather is going to end up amber like brightheart. i need to do some research to double check, but...i think that's what will happen. (please don't ask about hollykit, ivykit, and lionkit. i don't even know who their parents are. how is crowfeather "dark grey, almost black"? what does that mean. how is leafpool even leafpool. i don't understand anything.)

religion. i'm not fundamentally changing how starclan works, because i'm writing the books where magic is confirmed real, but...i've tried to distance the connections with it. and god, so help me, i'm going to make things a proper religion for w&f. there will be religious things like prayer. god.

cultures, folklore, names. this is getting long so i'm lumping this together. basically, i've got some name stuff sorted out. it's not "traditional" naming, because i'm not going WR on this and renaming really important cats (altho the reason WR has my respect for traditional naming is because they're not afraid to rename cats to fit the scheme), but i have some pretty defined rules. and there will be folklore and stories. this is especially important for dovefeather, when she goes to riverclan.

Sharing Tongues Icej

a series. i don't think i've used much of this directly, but it has shaped a lot of my opinions on clans. it's why thunderclan is militaristic and why windclan is so strict.

it's also shaped my thoughts on a lot of parts of clan life. i'm writing this all out of order, so i'll say, a lot of the inspiration that warriors redux had, is shared in this series. i'm not sure if there's overlap in the interst, but it's got simularities.

especially in terms of relationships. i have a bit of a fascination with story telling as a form of culture, if only because in my personal life, story telling, especially verbal story telling, has always been really important. so i think a lot about it.

anyway, these are a good set of fics, and they're ranked so highly because they're kind of a paradigm i've crafted my thoughts around.

Tell me about your Ancestors Drowsy_Salamander

so this was what got me started, even over flightless dove. it got me thinking about the differences clans would have.

i haven't written "funerals. mourning. prayer." yet, although as you might guess from the fact that i have a title, it is on my mind. i think i'll draw heavily on this for that.

one other very specific line in this that i draw on is

When SkyClan was reformed by Firestar at the gorge, it was reformed in ThunderClan’s image.

now i say that specifically because i didn't want that. i wanted leafstar to find her own tradition. a lot of skyclan's destiny deals with her struggling to adapt the warrior code to her clan. so Ancestors continues by talking about tree's influence, and this is what i got from it:

SKYCLAN once held ceremonies at tilt, when the birds were quiet, but now, they hold most ceremonies at low moon, when the spirits are strongest. ...

apprentices are made at low sun, born from a time when they were not always gathered.

(ceremonies)

and i'm happy with that

Warriors Redux: Ammendment Dullard on ao3, not linked

this is ranked significantly lower than deconstruction because (a) i'm borrowing superificial things at best and (b) i had already come to a lot of these conclusions. still, i'm writing a full list because there are little things i don't think to write whole essays about sometimes. that said, whereas in deconstruction, i could basically say "yes, everything that's said here, i agree with, i'm only tweaking things for personal taste or because of differences in perspective" here it's more like "here are the things i'm using" and the other stuff is just there, but not really anything i want to use

time and date. in one of my generic CTD posts i had a few paragraphs about this. basically, i like the system of time. except for half, because that confuses me. so it's dawn, sunrise, low sun, (sun) tilt, sunhigh, dusk, moonrise, low moon, (moon) tilt, moonhigh, repeat. and kits are aged to apprentices at the beginning or rough midpoint of seasons.

numbers. math. drawing things in the dirt with claws. in short, yes, no, what the...no. just no. cats in my stories can basically count, but they don't really, like, count the way we do? they might say five leaf bares ago, because i am not saying, "the leaf bare before the one with X which was before the one with Y" and that's what a cat is thinking and maybe they have words for this, i don't know, i'm not writing that. four and nine are holy numbers, or the closest cats get. (apprentices are apprenticed at nine moons in the holy sense, because a queen pregnent for a three --- two, but who's counting --- and in the nursery for six. this will never come up in a story unless it's a background note, because it's confusing and hard to explain off the cuff.) i don't have to explain my last point.

names. i have my own rules. i don't intend on changing character names with the exception of the symbolism in jaywing and dovefeather, but i may at some point make some comments on what, based on my rules, i would do. i don't want to change names because it confuses me, but i don't want to say for sure that i won't. definitely not based on WR rules, i have my own form of "traditional naming" for the w&f world.

clan specific notes. you can find it in my writing. there's a lot of influence in it. i don't want to list everything.

come back to you one by one solacefruit

i haven't really used this for anything, i just generally like it. it's definitely given me inspiration for how i use stories, but not any particular thing.

it really is beautiful, though.

alright, that's about it.

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Shantae Headcanons - The Half-Genies

This is a bit of a weird one for me, not gonna lie. Mostly because, well...you've kinda seen some of my headcanons already! Aside from Harmony, the half-genies don't really get that much screentime (well, Shantae does, but she's in a different post), so I've had to figure out their characterization myself for their quotes. Don't worry, though, that's not all I'm covering here. In any case - onto the headcanons!

Harmony

Harmony is a lot of things. A mentor figure, a guide, a gentle hand - she does great in a crisis, and does wonders helping others through their own. It's no wonder the other half-genies looked up to her. She does have one glaring weakness, though...she cannot do casual social interactions. At all. The other half-genies figured this out rather quickly when they went into the Half-Genie Festival; she did spectacularly with her performance, but during the afterparty? Harmony was doing her best to either not be seen, and what conversation was sparked between her and the partygoers was rather stilted and awkward. The reason for this? Well, it actually ties back to how well she does as a calm and collected leader...

Harmony's mother was well aware of the dangers of Quake Magic. Used without thought or care, it can cause mass devastation, as Shantae herself can attest to. So, to help Harmony when she was gone, she slipped in some instructions into the scrapbook to tell Harmony how to train herself. The catch was, she had to completely isolate herself from civilization first, to avoid any potential harm to innocents while she was still learning to control her magic. Harmony followed said instructions to the letter, only coming out of her training when she felt she was ready to fulfill her role as Guardian Genie. As a result of this nomadic lifestyle, Harmony's calm, disciplined, and can use her magic incredibly well, but it doesn't really make for a good social life.

Thankfully, the other half-genies have been able to help with that, letting Harmony loosen up and enjoy herself. She's still more naturally introverted, but she is rather open around the other half-genies. She has a lot of time on her hands, as very few actually want to be on the other end of her Quake Magic, so Harmony rarely has to actually step up to defend her town. That's not to say it doesn't happen, of course...

Harmony's town is completely landlocked, so she hasn't had to deal with Risky Boots. Instead, the main threat she deals with is Ammo Baron and his army. See, Harmony's town is in a similar position to Scuttle Town in that it's a great tactical position to launch an assault on the palace of Sequin Land. Unlike Scuttle Town, however, Harmony's town has a mayor who's never even considered firing Harmony, meaning that it's never been in the vulnerable position that let Ammo Baron take over Scuttle Town. As a result, 85% of Harmony's job has mostly consisted of dealing with Ammo Baron's plan B: brute force. Thankfully, her Quake Magic helps tremendously in this effort, frustrating Ammo Baron to no end. It's why he switched targets to Scuttle Town in the first place, and why he was investing in a flying armada in Half-Genie Hero. Easier to deal with earthquakes if you're not touching the ground!

Zapple

Zapple is very impulsive. You'd think that her paranoid streak might make her a little more cautious, but no. If anything, a common reason for her to head off on some crazy quest is whatever conspiracy happens to be in her mind. Thankfully, Vera's always been there to help bail her out when she gets in over her head, with the other half-genies helping in this endeavor as they've gotten to know Zapple better.

As the Guardian Genie of Armor Town, Zapple is an expert blacksmith. Who do you think made that armor? She actually ended up forming an unexpected friendship with Bolo because of this, thanks to their similar backgrounds. She also managed to figure out that Bolo's mom is the Squidsmith (more on that in the post I linked earlier) thanks to her spending some time on Siren Island for the Half-Genie Festival, and thinks it's absolutely hilarious that Shantae hasn't connected the dots yet. She's definitely not telling anytime soon, that's for sure.

After the whole Empress Siren thing, Zapple's relationship with Shantae ended up becoming...something between inspiration and friendly rivalry. Like everyone else, Zapple saw the fight between Shantae and Empress Siren's giant form. Like everyone else, Zapple agreed that it was impressive. So much, in fact, that it made her think, "Well, damn, I better step up." And soon after the dust settled, Zapple started training herself and her magic, hoping to do just as well defending her hometown someday. This also lead to challenging Shantae whenever she visited, as a benchmark of how far she'd come since they first met. Shantae was fine with this, knowing it was all in good fun...even if it was a bit unnerving how intense Zapple could get about it. However, after the return of the remaining Sirens (read here), Zapple's need to prove herself significantly died down, so the "rivalry" part of their friendly rivalry has been kinda phased out.

Vera

As the other resident half-genie on Siren Island, she and Zapple have been friends since childhood. Though from completely different walks of life, they get along very well, with Vera helping to ground Zapple's more manic moments, and Zapple always being there to cheer Vera on with her electric pep. Though Vera's been relieved to have some relatively subdued people in her life with the other half-genies, she does still gets along best with Zapple - even if her spontaneous plans and adventures can be a bit much. Someone has to be there to pull her out of the way of angry Bonk Tortoise, after all.

Beyond Zapple, though, Vera gets along very well with Lobster Siren, helping her understand the surface world better and come out of her (metaphorical) shell. This may have something to do with her Refresh Magic and connection to life making her one of the best at understanding Siren, second to only Shantae herself. She serves as a great translator for Zapple and Harmony, as their Spark Magic and Quake Magic provide little or no help understanding Lobster Siren.

Vera is an excellent dancer, knowing all the traditional dances from Tree Town and beyond. She and Shantae actually had a dance-off during the Half-Genie Festival when Vera saw how good Shantae was at it. Though, at the end, both were so impressed with the other that they couldn't decide a winner, and ended up calling it a tie (although a certain zombie and a certain electric genie were a bit vocal on who they thought won).They agreed to send each other tips when they had the time.

Plink

With her psychic powers, the threats Plink protects her town from tend to be ones they can't see. Specters, wraiths, curses - her Seer Magic gives her a better view on all of them, and she combats it by either seeing if she can talk to the haunting entity or warding off the area to ensure no one goes in by accident and causes something they might regret. It's not really flashy or spectacular, but Plink does her job well, and is one of the best people to talk to regarding the supernatural.

Runs a fortune telling booth in her spare time. She doesn't use her magic or anything, she's just well-versed in the world of fortune telling and thinks it's fun, even if she can't exactly predict the future. Plink does try to make it explicitly clear that she's not an actual fortune teller to those who come by, though, as she doesn't want people to come based on false advertising. It's definitely made for a fun party trick to show the other half-genies, though.

Plink knows Poe and Abner, running into each other when the latter two briefly rejoined the zombie caravan. The zombie brothers were a bit surprised to see another half-genie, to say the least, but were able to laugh it off. They talked a bit, ended up exchanging notes regarding what they knew about the supernatural, and going their separate ways. Ironically, though, Plink didn't connect the dots between Rottytops and the little sister the two mentioned until the Half-Genie Festival was nearly over. She really felt compelled to indulge in a facepalm when she did.