#Illyria

[starryeyesxx]

[kataraavatara]

was searching for the quote in acomaf about mor wanting to burn Windhaven down and came across something much more sinister

Amren. AMREN. Rhysand has been the High Lord for centuries. why are we talking about CHILDREN. GETTING THEIR BONES BROKEN (REPEATEDLY & OVER WEEKS). IN THE. PRESENT. TENSE. You mean they “did” worse, Amren. Right??? Surely Rhysand has stepped in by now. You mean bones were broken. right…

[bxriles]

On Rhysand and Eris:

I saw a post that said Rhysand and Eris were the same exact character and it low key implied that it’s hypocritical to like Eris while hating Rhysand (among other things lmao), so I wanted to give my two cents as someone who fucking hates Rhysand with every fiber of my soul but who also likes Eris. No hate to the person who made that original post. I’m just using it as an excuse to ramble and avoid the work I should be doing right now.

More below the cut:

I’ll start off by saying that Eris and Rhysand are DEFINITELY similar characters. I wouldn’t say they’re the same though. I would say they’re foils of each other instead. They both wear masks, but one of them has a support system while the other is completely isolated. But I want to go deeper than that.

I think the key difference between Eris and Rhysand lies in the reason they both wear a mask.

Rhysand. I cannot for the life of me understand why Rhysand wears a mask. Amarantha maybe? But that doesn’t make sense. He’s been wearing that mask for way longer than 50 years if his treatment of the Illyrians and the CON is anything to go by. Is it because he wants to seem powerful? Well, he already is, isn’t he? He’s ThE mOsT pOwErFuL hIgH lOrD eVeR. So it’s not that. Maybe he’s wearing the mask because he wants to keep a tight leash on Illyria and the CON? Fine, but I don’t think he’s wearing a mask at all when he interacts with Illyria or the CON. I think he actively hates them and treats them as such. If he actually gave a shit about the Illyrians, he would enforce the wing clipping ban. If he actually gave a shit about the CON, he would work harder to find the “dreamers” who are trapped down there. What does he do instead? He has Cassian bark orders at the Illyrians and actively torments the CON by torturing Keir and parading Feyre around as his own personal, glorified slut. (And no, I don’t think that’s what Feyre is, but it CERTAINLY is what Rhysand portrays her as when they’re in the Hewn City. Especially in ACOSF where he fetishizes her pregnancy…) So it doesn’t seem like he’s wearing a mask when he interacts with 2/3rds of his court. It reads like he straight up hates them.

Okay, well maybe he wears the mask to protect Velaris from outsiders? No, that doesn’t make sense. Velaris was already hidden from the rest of Prythian. No one was going to discover it. The only reason it got discovered was because Rhysand made a gamble on telling the human queens about it and it backfired.

Fine, maybe he wears the mask around the other High Lords to seem more intimidating. That seems plausible, but I don’t understand why he would do that. Coming off that way means the other HLs will never want to ally with him (as we saw in ACOWAR). And if we’re being honest with ourselves, Rhysand’s actions while wearing his mask do not do him any favors with the other HLs. In all likelihood, he killed those Winter Court children (and no, I’m not taking arguments on this point. If this mysterious other daemati really did exist, why didn’t they out Feyre and Rhysand’s alliance UTM? That daemati may not have been able to get into Rhysand’s mind but they easily could have gotten into Feyre’s or Clare Beddor’s mind instead), he stole an ancestral artifact from the Summer Court when he could have just asked for it, he allowed his wife to burn the Lady of Autumn (I know Beron didn’t gaf about that but if we’re talking alliances, hurting Beron’s wife is a great way to make sure they never work together for the greater good), and he regularly gallivants around the Spring Court when he has NO BUSINESS being there. Sooo wearing the mask around the other HLs may make him more intimidating, but it hasn’t yielded him any positive results. If anything, his behavior should have alienated him more.

So then what’s the reason for Rhysand wearing a mask? Because I haven’t figured it out. He’s just… Wearing one for shits and giggles, I guess? (We all know the real reason he’s wearing that mask is so SJM can justify him sexually assaulting Feyre UTM and twisting her broken bone.)

Eris. Eris’s reason for wearing a mask is a lot less convoluted than Rhysand’s. If Eris doesn’t wear the mask, then Beron will kill him. It really is that simple. In the HL meeting, Feyre notes that when Eris spoke up, he chose his words very carefully, which clearly implied he was trying not to provoke his father. It was even confirmed in ACOSF that Beron tortures Eris. So if Eris doesn’t wear a mask, he gets murdered. The difference is that he doesn’t have the IC sucking him off and telling him what a good guy he is because he’s wearing a mask. Eris has nobody.

I also want to note the other MASSIVE DIFFERENCE between these two characters. Consequences.

Rhysand. This mf does not face any consequences for his actions. Ever. He steals an ancestral artifact from the Summer Court? Yes, he gets the blood rubies, but those are rescinded one book later. He barges into the Spring Court all the time (Specifically ACOTAR, but also ACOFAS and ACOSF) and Tamlin never whoops his ass for it even though he would have every right to. He locks Nesta up in a house with a man she DOES NOT WANT TO BE AROUND after he crucified Tamlin for doing the same thing to Feyre? He’s NEVER challenged on this. He straight up lies to Feyre about her life-threatening pregnancy and then has the entire IC lie to her as well, and that’s that. He’s never held accountable for those lies. He sexually assaults Feyre, defiles her body with paint (the thing she LOVES), and twists her broken bone when she’s likely already septic and what happens? Nothing. It’s never brought up again. He gets away with all of it.

Eris. Eris is a great example of talk shit, get hit. He makes some hateful ass comments to Mor at the HL meeting and what happens? Azriel beats the ever loving fuck out of him. He leaves Mor on the Autumn Court border (he did NOT nail the note to her womb, as a lot of this fandom likes to pretend) and the Night Court holds a grudge bigger than the state of Texas against him for it and they bring it up every single chance they get. Eris goes after Lucien and Feyre in ACOWAR when they (illegally) cut through the Autumn Court? He gets his shit clocked by Azriel and Cassian. If there is one thing about Eris that I like, it’s that while he may dish out a lot of shit, he can also take it.

So is it hypocritical to like Eris while hating Rhysand? I guess you could say that if you still believe they’re the same exact character, but I personally don’t think they are. I also wonder if the people who think it’s hypocritical to like Eris while hating Rhysand also think it’s hypocritical to hate Eris while loving Rhysand. Just some food for thought.

[queercontrarian]

To Carry Home My Little Soldier

balthazar, emerie, zhila - dreamers in illyria/the night court

(army dreamers - kate bush)

close up of the characters under the cut

[illustratus]

Diocletian's Palace by Ernest Hébrard

[viajandopelomar]

Have you ever stopped to think that Velaris isn't even that big and there are people in bad enough conditions that Rhsyand needs to donate EVERY year?

Nesta, with her malnourished body it took her about an hour to get to the house on the river in ACOSF, maybe less, because I don't remember any mention of time, but I know it was something that a body in that condition managed to walk from the edge of the city to the center of it. The city isn't that big, but there are people in bad enough conditions that Rhsyand makes a list of donations every year with winter clothes and blankets, and investment grants for single mothers (by the way, why does ACOTAR mention children so much, so many children running around the streets and in the Illyrian camps if it's so hard to conceive a baby? It just... doesn't make much sense, right? There are literally children running everywhere in Velaris), and all this with the city being practically an EGG. So small and yet with so many people in need of help, although Velaris remains the most privileged region in the entire territory of the Night Court. Just imagine if it were a big city... just imagine Hewn City or even the true reality of Illyria 😶.

I don't remember if that donation list extended outside of Velaris, correct me if I'm wrong, but I also remember that CASSIAN bought coats for the poorest at the Windhaven camp (and we only know that he helped this one, mind you)

🇧🇷 Já pararam pra pensar que Velaris nem é tão grande assim e há pessoas em condições ruins o suficiente para que Rhsyand precise doar TODO ano?

Nesta, com seu corpo desnutrido levou mais ou menos uma hora até a casa do rio em ACOSF, talvez menos, porque não lembro de menção de tempo, mas eu sei que foi algo que um corpo naquela condição conseguiu andar da ponta da cidade até o centro dela com uma caminhada. A cidade não é tão grande, mas há pessoas em condições ruins o suficiente para que Rhsyand faça uma lista de doações todos os anos com roupas e cobertores para inverno, e bolsas para investimento de mães solteiras (aliás, por que em ACOTAR tem tanta menção de criança, tanta criança correndo nas ruas e nos acampamentos illyrianos se é tão difícil conceber um bebê? só... não faz tanto sentido, certo? tem literalmente crianças correndo em todos os lugares de Velaris), e tudo isso com a cidade sendo praticamente um OVO. Tão pequena e ainda assim com tantas pessoas precisando de ajuda, embora Velaris siga sendo a região mais privilegiada de todo o território da corte noturna. Imagine só se fosse uma cidade grande... imagine só Hewn City ou até mesmo a verdadeira realidade de Illyria 😶.

Eu não lembro se aquela lista de doação se estendia para fora de Velaris, me corrijam se eu estiver errada, mas também lembro que CASSIAN comprou casacos para os mais pobres no acampamento refúgio do vento (e só sabemos que ele ajudou este, veja bem)

[genericaces]

so i've got a very specific pitch for you

[sonics-atelier]

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝

Summary: Tamlin is a Virgin. He asks ( read : uses his very convincing puppy eyes ) Rhysand to teach him how to have sex in time for calanmai. Smut Ensues. Yes the title is a pun. Read On Ao3. Snippet Given Below.

CW : Smut, MDNI, Thigh Riding, Dry Humping, Corruption Kink, Praise Kink, Overstimulation, Nipple Play, Handjob, Blowjob, Sex in a body of Water, Wing Play, basically Porn without plot. WC : 5K

Author's Notes : Hello Fellow Gays. A month ago, I had the incredible honor of bringing 400 amazing souls into my little corner of this world (or cult, if you will). I wasn’t able to properly celebrate at the time, but now, I’m thrilled to share this gift as a thank-you to all of you who have supported me, encouraged me, and made this journey so worthwhile. Special shoutout to @praetorqueenreyna for beta reading this fic. I hope you enjoy this and please let me know your thoughts in the comments, I'd love that!

Snippet ( the whole fic has been posted on Ao3 Link Here )

. . .

Rhysand whirled around momentarily, his expression a perfect blend of affront and disbelief. “A reason? Tamlin, the audacity of that question defies reason! It defies logic! It defies—” He gestured vaguely, as though at the entirety of existence, before spinning back around to escape.

“Rhys,” Tamlin said, softer now, his voice carrying a note of pleading that gave even the birds—now safely aloft ( although they still glared at the overgrown bat with contempt ) —pause. “Please Rhys Calanmai is only a cycle away, I need your help.”

When Rhysand ignored him, Tamlin sighed, then surged forward. With one decisive motion, he grabbed Rhysand by the shoulders, effectively halting his escape. Rhysand froze, his jaw tightening as though bracing for impact. Slowly, begrudgingly, he turned to face the Son Of Spring.

Tamlin’s expression was devastating. Wide, imploring green eyes gazed up at Rhysand with the kind of earnest vulnerability that could topple empires. His lips formed a slight pout, the picture of wounded innocence. It was the quintessential “puppy dog” look, and it hit Rhysand with the force of a thousand suns.

For a moment, silence reigned. Rhysand’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his meticulously cultivated composure crumbling under the weight of Tamlin’s gaze. He tried, valiantly, to look away, to summon some shred of dignity, but the heat creeping up his neck betrayed him.

“Fine,” Rhysand bit out, his voice tinged with defeat. “Fine. I’ll teach you how to have sex, but I swear to the Mother, if you ever—”

Tamlin’s lips twitched into a triumphant grin, and Rhysand’s words faltered. He raised a hand to rub at his temple, as though nursing a sudden headache. His other hand tugged at the collar of his tunic, futilely attempting to conceal the blush that now dusted his cheeks a rosy hue.

“Stop smiling,” Rhysand grumbled, turning his face slightly away.

Tamlin, of course, smiled wider.

. . .

Taglist : @lifeisabiscuit , @donnadiddadog <3

[joodeegemstone]

i am such a horrible little apologist for every buffyverse woman. they could drink my blood or sacrifice me to a demon or just fucking beat me up and i'd probably be into it

[thequeenofsastiel]

I just listed the characters that were all in the title sequence at one point or another.

[starryeyesxx]

[hugevanserrass]

I feel like the entire concept of a ruler having an army made up of people who hate them and don't share their values is kinda...counterproductive, at best. like doesn't rhys know that people are more likely to fight to protect the things they care about? what do the Illyrians gain by fighting in his wars, aside from the right to keep their lives assuming they don't die in battle? it's not like they get a say in whether or not they become warriors. and yeah yeah they are a "warrior race" and I know this is all due to sjm's lazy writing but I just cannot help but lament how many missed opportunities there are in regard to the Illyrians and their dynamic with rhysand/the night court in general. could've been so interesting.

[libartz]

I am WEAK for this character type. Whenever I see one I go completely feral

[elains]

Azriel's association with Enalius, what it means for his arc and Illyria

This is something me and my friends have talked about off tumblr, but I wanted to write my own post about it and gather my thoughts. But here, I'll discuss a bit Azriel's character and how the revelations we witness in House of Flame and Shadow will be important to his character. (+ a little bit of Emerie).

What do we know about Enalius? From ACOSF, Emerie provides us with a little exposition when they are in the Rite, when the Pass of Enalius is brought up:

Long ago—so long ago they don’t even have a precise date for it—a great war was fought between the Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of its key battles was here, in these mountains. Our forces were battered and outnumbered, and for some reason, the enemy was desperate to reach the stone at the top of Ramiel. We were never taught the reason why; I think it’s been forgotten. But a young Illyrian warrior named Enalius held the line against the enemy soldiers for days.

Now, from the Crescent City crossover, we learned that Truth-teller and Gwydion are twin blades. They are a pair. According to the Silene History Lesson, the dagger used to belong to her father's (Fionn's) dear friend, slain during the war. A bit later, when they find Vesperus, she confirms that this friend was Enalius:

The Asteri’s eyes flared with recognition at the long blade. “Did Fionn send you, then? To slay me in my sleep? Or was it that traitor Enalius? I see that you bear his dagger—as his emissary? Or his assassin?”

Immediately before that, she also confirms that the Asteri crafted (which can either mean created, shaped forged, but we are going with created) the Illyrians:

The Asteri’s blue eyes lowered to the dagger. “You dare draw a weapon before me? Against those who crafted you, soldier, from night and pain?”

From everything, we can conclude this: Enalius was the original wielder of Truth-teller before Fionn and Theia, a dear friend to Fionn, and someone who pulled the ultimate sacrifice to keep the Asteri/Daglan from reaching the top of Ramiel. He was a traitor to the Asteri, a rebel against his masters and everything they stood for.

Enalius is the hero most Illyrians strive to mimic, the legendary figure who they all hope to one day surpass. He's a symbol of their people, even if so much about him has been forgotten — the fact that he had a dagger, Fionn's friendship, what the battle was for, maybe even how he was as a person. Brave, for sure. Willing to die for the cause.

And it's Azriel who bears his dagger. Azriel, who has such a complicated relationship with his Illyrian heritage and loaths it - and by extension, himself - is the one with this enormous legacy right at this hand. And this matters.

Still in ACOSF, we have Rhys talking with Cassian and wanting him to play Courtier, the following exchange then follows:

“What, we’re doing some role reversal? Az gets to lead the Illyrians now?” “Don’t play stupid,” Rhys said coolly. Cassian rolled his eyes. But they both knew Azriel would sooner disband and destroy Illyria than help it. Convincing their brother that the Illyrians were a people worth saving was still a battle amongst the three of them.

Azriel hates the Illyrians for what happened to him and his mother and his dislike for them is, to a degree, understandable. The thing is that Azriel, no matter how much he loaths it, is Illyrian. Maybe he's more than that (as it's pointed that Az is different in a lot of ways and Bryce wonders if he is Starborn), but at heart, he's Illyrian. Siphons, leathers, fighting, being Carynthian, his wings, his scabbard and the dagger it holds.

It was healthy, perhaps, for Az to sometimes remember where he'd come from. He still wore the Illyrian leathers. Had not tried to get the tattoos removed. Some part of him was Illyrian still. Always would be. Even if he wished to forget it.

Being Illyrian is part of who he is and his deep hatred for them only fuel his self-loathing. He would like to set himself apart, but he is not.

We can actually draw a direct parallel between Azriel and Bryce with how they regard the Fae vs the Illyrians. Bryce loathes the Fae and for most of HoFaS, she believes they are evil, corrupt, power-hungry and quite generally, not worth saving. She would leave them all to burn. Sound familiar?

And Bryce is wrong. Sathia challenges her notion, pointing out that she's laying judgement to all fae and that is hardly fair. What the one who don't deserve it? Herself, yes, but Flynn, Declan, and Ruhn himself? Do they deserve to burn too? Bryce herself acknowledges this:

Urd had sent her there to see, even in the small fraction of their world that she’d witnessed, that Fae existed who were kind and brave. She might have had to betray Nesta and Azriel, trick them … but she knew that at their cores, they were good people. The Fae of Midgard were capable of more. Ruhn proved it. Flynn and Dec proved it. Even Sathia proved it, in the short time Bryce had known her.

And this part here sums up quite neatly:

Fire met starlight met shadows, and Bryce loosed herself on the world. It ended today. Here. Now. This had nothing to do with the Asteri, or Midgard. The Fae had festered under leaders like these males, but her people could be so much more.

There are Illyrians who are kind and brave and break the mold. We see this with Emerie, who is also a woman. We see that with Balthazar, Cassian. The main point stands, though, that you cannot judge or condemn an entire race for the bad apples.

Azriel is wrong, just as Bryce was wrong, and his journey will be also to realise that his people are worth saving. They were created of night and pain (words that Azriel embodies, being a master of shadows and a torturer), but that is not everything they need to be. They can be more than soldiers. They can thrive.

And I believe this was something Enalius himself came to the believe, long ago. His people deserved more than to be slaves to the Asteri, forced to give them their power when need be, bred to live and die for them. They could be more. And Enalius died to free his people from their chains.

Is Azriel Enalius's blooded descendant? I'm not sure, but he doesn't need to be. Azriel is Enalius successor because he will finish what was started. He'll uncover the secrets of the past, what his people were in truth, what Enalius rebelled for, what he stood for, what the Blood Rite truly means - which he only got a glimpse of.

And this is where I think Emerie will also come in. She's s one of ACOSF most relevant characters and the first female Illyrian to be Carynthian. I think Emerie will also become an inspirational figure to the Illyrian women, another of these what they coud be. What they can be. And more importantly and that is just a theory, what they were.

Orestes was a warrior. What if so was Carynth and she was woman? The name always struck me as similar to Carina, which is the name of a constellation and commonly used by women. It would be ironic and another shaking revelation to the Illyrians that Carynth, for whom their greatest warriors are named after, was a woman.

Does that mean all Illyrian women must become Valkyries? No, but some might wish to follow this path whilst their society takes its time to catch up. They already shook the status quo and with Nesta poised to have a big role (andthe Valkyries along her), they will continue to do so.

Azriel will uncovered the lost history of Vesperus offered him all the clues he needed to start looking. His journey to find out this secrets will lead to him facing his own demons, confronting his loathing for his people and, in doing so, he will make peace with himself.

[bloomingdarkgarden]

3 B R O T H E R S | Growing up in Illyria

[cactusboil]

Rice’s effectiveness as a HL (and how fkn lazy and useless he is)

The Night Court is one of the largest and toughest (I suppose??) territories to deal with in Prythian. So doesn’t it make sense that it would obviously handled by the “strongest” HL existing in Prythian? Of course it does. And not to mention his oh so powerful IC always backing him up.

A little timeline thing:

The fae vs human war happened 500 hundred years prior to the events of acotar. It is said that the previous spring HL (tamlin’s dad) was killed by the end of the war, so we can assume that rice was around his 20s-30s when he took over as HL of NC. I’m gonna skip approximately 100 years including the time he wasn’t HL and was utm. So that’s 400 hundred years of being a HL.

And what has he done? WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR NC? Nothing. Don’t bring up the “change takes time, oh he banned wing clipping in some of the camps🤡” bs. If he can break Keir’s bones infornt of an entire audience made up of Hewn city ppl for simply bad mouthing Feyre and Cassian, a general of his army can clear out an entire village of Illyrians in retribution to his mother’s death, then I’m pretty sure that he along with his clique of the strongest ppl to ever exist can do so much more. He can barely hold up a wing clipping ban.

Making the Illyrian women train means nothing really, if they don’t have proper health care and safe homes to go back to. It means nothing when some Illyrian women don’t want to be fighters and just want to be able to live freely. Oh and what about the Hewn city women? Morrigan herself has said how her cousins are suffering yet no one does anything for them.

His double standards with Velaris vs Illyria and Hewn City is glaringly obvious. He goes around tryna be macho with other HLs but is a pussy when it comes to his own court.

400 hundred years is a lot of time. It is more than enough time for someone that is actually interested in helping their ppl and motivated to bring a good change to their court. But it is too little time for someone like rice, someone that has prejudice against his own ppl, that is lazy and truly doesn’t have any intention of helping anyone tbh.