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yabai-korra · 3 years ago

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The reasons why we're getting Manorian book

There has been a lot of speculation whether SJM is going to favor us with book/novella about Manon Blackbeak and Dorian Havilliard, recently I saw some fans doubting it, so here's a list of logical reasons why it's happening.

1. It's SJM

This woman writes two 500+ pages books per year, for her it would be a piece of cake.

2. There have already been books focused on side characters

a) Chaol and Yrene - Chaol was one of the most unpopular characters before Tower of Dawn (which made me love him hehe) and she still wrote a 600+ pages long book about him, just imagine what she'd do with the most popular character (Manon) and one of the most popular ones (Dorian).

b) Nesta and Cassian - this is ship is the closest to Manorian equivalent in ACOTAR series, aka starting from a physical relationship that develops into a sentimental one. Also 6th ACOTAR book will be focused on a new characters (most probably Elain)

3. Favoritism

SJM has talked multiple times about her love for these two. When asked about her favorite TOG character, she said Aelin, but Manon was a close second place and she said that she absolutely loves writing her.

In another interview, when asked who she would go on a book tour with and a few similar questions, she answered Dorian.

Now, I haven't seen all of her interviews ever and I'm not sure how much she loves Nessian and Cahorene (seems to love Nessian a hella lot tho), but it's definite that Manorian are some of her favorite characters and it's just logical that she would write about them.

4. Unfinished story/Unresolved feelings

Ships at the end of TOG:

Rowaelin - married

Elorcan - engaged

Lysaedion - engaged

Chaorene - married with a baby on the way

Nestaq - engaged

Manorian - hug and "we'll see"

All the ships basically got engaged in the last chapter (it's not like I didn't like it hehe) and their stories, romantic-wise, were pretty much finished and they have no unresolved tension between them. Manorian on the other hand, have enough of it for all the ships lol.

KOA spoilers ahead!

Keep in mind, Manorian relationship was mostly a sexual one, and they don't quite yet have a way of communicating their feelings properly. So there is a lot of unaddressed between them, even though they obviously care a lot about each other.

The unresolved things between Manon and Dorian:

"“And if I asked you to stay?” / “I’d need a very convincing reason, I suppose.” / “Because I don’t want you to go.” - they just fucked and Dorian left for Morath later, which impacted Manon a lot but they haven't discussed it

"I even care about you." - Manon got up and left

"There is only one witch who will be my queen." - Manon doesn't know about this

Manon saved Dorian from Valg demon even when Aelin couldn't. It was the worst thing to happen to Dorian and he still bears scars from it, yet he didn't have an appropriate situation to thank Manon for it

Dorian knows that Erawan lusted after Manon, which got him pissed of course, and he didn't have a chance nor time to ask Manon about it. It might be nothing, but if I were Dorain and my girlfriend who doesn't show feelings was locked up with a crazy guy who has a thing for her, and have seen the way he treats women, I'd be concerned. Erawan was a Valg king, a tough opponent even for Manon. If he had done something to her, and he had plenty of means and opportunities and wish to do so, Manon would never openly tell anyone (maybe Asterin) about it, because it would imply opening up and being weak, which is Manon's worst fear. Again, SJM, as the Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just randomly throw in the main villain having a thing for an important character, everything in her books always has a meaning and purpose.

"Would you miss me if I didn't [come back]?" - Manon didn't reply

This is how SJM described Manorian marriage: "She would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, mirror in so many ways. And with their union, the world would know it." - and you're telling me it's not deserving of its own book? Not just that, Manon asked Dorian for marriage and they, again, just had sex, with Dorian loving the idea but deep down knowing that Manon would feel caged in a marriage. And that attitude won't just change out of the blue. It takes time and development which is something SJM writes amazingly.

With the Thirteen gone, beside Abraxos Dorian is the only creature Manon cares about.

Dorian's mortality (although as you'll see in point #6 I'm sure he's not human)

The dreaded "You could just marry each other." / "We'll see." (Thanks Yrene :)

5. Foreshadowing

Listen here, SJM IS THE QUEEN OF FORESHADOWING. She thought of a detail (Dorian's dad's name) in the first book that would matter in the last book. Of course, there are many many many more examples of that, but if we got "We'll see." then we'll fucking see it happen.

6. Unresolved things about Manon and Dorian as individual characters.

Manon and Dorian and both pretty broken at the end of KOA.

Manon lost the Thirteen, the only people she cared about. That is a huge trauma that needs to be addressed, especially with someone so reluctant to show feelings and heal like Manon.

Dorian can't be human?? He has fae abilities due to his relation to Gavin and Elena even though he's not even called a demi-fae. He possesses powers no one else does, phantom hands for example, which he didn't steal like shape-shifting. And Maeve pointed out that due to his father being possessed by Valg when Dorian was sired, it's possible he got some of the Valg abilities. (Also she said that he's stronger than Aelin) The main villain, especially written by Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just let drop it there and that's it. Also not to mention Dorian's own struggle with depression and self-worth.

They have both just become rulers of their kingdoms, completely new to it. Dorian has spent a big part of KOA imagining what kind of a king he wants to be (one that will have a witch queen hehe) and it was a major point of his character. And addition to that affecting them as characters, the future of Adarlan and Witch Kingdom could make a good plotline.

7. Other TOG characters

Although pretty much all the readers would die to see Chaorene baby, Lorcan in Perranth, Aelin and Rowan ruling Terrasen, Lysandra and Adeion officially adopting Evangeline, Nesryn and Sartaq becoming Khagan and Empress of Antica, all of these don't make enough of a plot on its own. They are great side-plots.

We know all of these characters love each other and are happy together, there isn't that much to be added to their personal stories other than kids. (same way Feyre and Rhys got a baby in Nessian book) Manorian however, they haven't even kissed without it leading to sex, they hugged at the end of KOA and it was the pique of their relationship. Their relationship is merely at the beginning, whereas others have pretty much reached their ultimatum (ofc SJM can decide to add some drama with betrayal, kidnapping, pregnancy etc. but for now everyone is good and settled beside Manorian)

Not to mention the way other relationships would affect them. Chaol, Dorian's brother, and Yrene, Manon's wannabe bestie and Manorian shipper, would bring their baby to meet his/her uncle Dorian and aunt Manon, and imagine Manon with a baby lol.

SJM loves Aelin and other characters way too much not to give us an insight on them as married couples, but since her books are huge and it's her, it needs a plot with drama, addressing traumas, repressed feelings, worldbuilding, and sex, and Manorian's got all of that.

8. Abraxos

We need more Abraxos, that's just a fact.

Wow that was a long one. Anyways, in conclusion, we're getting that Manorian book. Pretty sure it's gonna a book rather than a novella (TOD was also planned as a novella but then guess what) because there is just SO MUCH possible content.

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jbreenr · 2 years ago

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⚠ MS MARVEL 104 SPOILERS ⚠

Alright…

Poor Kamala, she's going to Pakistan and had no opo to explain everything to Nakia. To whom, she sent like a thousand texts and is not answering.

So, the bangle saved her grandma, uhm? That trail of stars was (for what I understand) like the power unleashing. If you know what u mean by that.

And this super secret boy band (see what I did there?), the Red Daggers. I learned not to trust people at first but they seem nice. Like, genuinely nice.

And their purpose is to protect the world from the unseen. Isn't it everyone's job here?

When Waleed explained that the Clandestines wanted to use the bangle to bring down the wall I had these ACOTAR flashbacks. Sorry. Re-reading them atm.

And talking about the Clandestines, they escaped from the Damage Control center.

And left Kamran behind. Well, at least they didn't leave him inside.

Now nOW!! Marvel honey, you cannot just show me a nice guy with long hair helping the MC and expect me not to fall for him. What were you thinking?

Kareem, I just met you but I already love you.

Okay but that Mom / Kamala moment. 🥺❤️

Kamala's “I knew you were gonna murder me” to Kareem is the equivalent of Ross' “I knew you'd be my death, Phoebe Buffay” in Friends.

Was it I lt me thinking that? K.

Waleeeeeeeeeeeeed.): I kNEW one of them wouldn't make it. And I'm sad because I was right.

Mostly because Kamala wanted to go back for him and Kareem told her that it was too late.

But that running / fighting sequence was sooo cool.

Wait a minute. What happened? I don't believe the bangle transped her. Is it a vision? I mean, it obviously is but how did it happen? Why is she watching it?

Too many people again!!

I missed Bruno btw. Looking forward to see him in the next episode.

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rosenecklaces · 2 years ago

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As @elrielbliss tags said is not even only her (tho for sure she recieves a lot more for just breathing)

Is also Morrigan, the one with the "messy relationship with her friends" that if we think about it isn't any more messier than regular womanizers men in books, she is flirty indeed, and? We can say the same at Helion and how he doesn't see sex as the ultimate Relationship Thing. Then there's her attitude that again, I don't see anyone giving it shit to judgemental men at all

There's Feyre, that people wants her to decide between being an artist, mother, warrior or high lady...like, curious no one bats an eye when the men are more than one thing (they even are cheered on, especially when they become parents and get that sweet old "daddy" status) See also: Rhysand being loved even when he had hurted her, Tampon stans, Helion being considered a good dad when he doesn't even know about lucien neither raised him, etc...

Nesta? She's a bitch!, rude, mean and a dick to anyone for no reason! What does it even matter that she had shown and not tell how she's sorry? That we had saw her save people and feeling self depreciation and mental illnesses? Deep down she would never change her way and still be a cruel cunt right? She needs to Lick the floor!

Yall love lucien and eris, men that had never had apologized for their bad deeds ever in their lives (mind you, they had done 10 times worse things than her) so is crazy people can forgive and even idolize this two men that don't even treath eachother good (eris literally helped in lucien girlfriend's dead) but somehow Nesta is unredeemable

There's even Amren, she would be the typical Super Tight and Badass mysterious man in any book but somehow people not only downsplay her but also ignore her power

There's even gwyn, emerie, fortunately I haven't seen much hate for emerie but the way she is sidelined, ignored, and even had her story and heritage being used and given to white characters (nesta, gwyn, feyre) is like mhm, I just know people would had make her enter azriel and cassian illyrian buddies circles if she was a men. Gwyn is this overprotected, still kind of youthful and yeah maybe childish but there's nothing wrong to be and over excited girl, she went trought something horrible. With her I feel people either coddles her way too much or completely change this traits of her to the Max until she isn't Gwyn no more, I had never saw this happening to the "overcheering sweet extrovert" men in books, they even are called golden retrievers and are liked by precisely being who they are

Nuala and Cerridwen would had been that one "guy who only appeared for five minutes and everyone got interested on them and have fanfics everywhere now" but the hate on them is also racism so who knows if people would be willing to get into two black men too

It is truly a problem of misogyny all around the corners on the fanbase, Elain Archeron is close to the equivalent of Wylan from soc or Will from pjo (to put examples from the top of my head) both characters are dedicated to their craft, side characters that maybe don't have the "craziest" storyline or more "important" powers or abilities but they are loved a lot because of it, because their sweetness, easy going nature, kindness, and what they do/what they can do. Like is insane how far is elain in problematics and yet you see people call her boring for having a job and not getting involved in drama that doesn't concern her..

acotar really is formed mostly by women but a lot of those also hate women (and I do think the author is part of this problem)

Lowkey thinking about how if Elain was a male character (who stilled liked gardening, was quiet but has moments of witty humor, had seer powers that wouldn’t be forgotten about, and stabbed the King of Hybern) he would probably be universally loved or at least accepted by the fandom. He’d be the lovable ~soft boy~.

Don’t try and tell me that the Elain hate isn’t rooted in misogyny, at least a little bit. 🙃

#elain #elain archeron #acotar #acotar rant #haven't posted something so long in a long while but #this problem really is bigger than we give it attention on

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taylors-fourth-cat-meow · 3 years ago

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The part in acotar where tamlin loved that winter forest painting and told feyre that he's not alone anymore, I love that part where he was finally opening up about his vulnerability

Hi anon!!

Oh yasss I LOVE that part too.

(I actually think that was the moment he realised he was like 'in love with her' but that's just me)

I know a lot of people don't like the first book cause it has no rhysie dick but if I had to choose my fav from this god awful series it wud be the first one.

I know it's a sad excuse for a beauty and the beast re-telling, the pacing is slow, tamlin has no beast characteristics and as always feyre's narration is weird but atleast it has a plot.

It gives a mediaeval fantasy vibe not like feyres over sized sweaters and leggings in acomaf or hello toilets?? It's like they are set in two different time periods *Sigh*

And tho tamlin is mostly depressed sad white guy I actually like that he is shy and distant at first but then slowly opens up to feyre like she does to him. It's how they both bring down their walls and fall in love (unlike how rhysand literally manipulates feyre into accepting that mating bond with his sob story. ) Their interactions are also sweet and balanced with luciens humour. Like the part at breakfast when tam's 'hungry' gaze makes feyre all hot and heavy and Lucien is like I'm trying to eat.

I think someone mentioned this before but Tamlin and feyre in the first book had so much in common with than rhysie and her.

Like the anon pointed out, that scene is tamlin opening up about his vulnerability to feyre because she understands. She was also thrust into a situation she didn't ask for, with a terrible father and uncaring siblings. She didn't like hunting she has said it in canon but did it because she had to. Likewise tamlin didnt ask to be HL but he has no choice. I also like this line from the text,

I paused with my foot on the threshold. “That’s what happens when you’re responsible for lives other than your own, isn’t it? You do what you have to do.”

This I think is equivalent to the painting scene. This is feyre opening up to Tamlin about her vulnerabilities.

And their relationship is so much more realistic and not epic fantasy love *gags*. Atleast the romantic scenes in Acotar weren't cringing-till-i-throw-up bad like they were in Acomaf

We apologized at dinner. He even brought me a bouquet of white roses from his parents’ garden, and while I dismissed them as nothing, I made certain that Alis took good care of them when I returned to my room. She gave me only a wry nod before promising to set them in my painting room. I fell asleep with a smile still on my lips.

There are so many other scenes that like these which so cute and sweet. Like the one with the pool of starlight, the singing willow, the summer solstice, where she tends to his hands after he fight with the bogge ig, when the summer faerie dies.

The first book in general had so much potential. I mean the concept of the seven courts and the girl going through those trials (as stupid as they were) to save the guy was actually not bad if only it had a better author to execute it.

#i am not saying feylin is a good ship #just that it had a lot of potential #i fell for tamlin and lucien in book 1 #i also liked feyre when i first read the book #it sucked to see those characters being dragged through the mud for rhysie's dick #this series deserves a better author #anti sjm #anti feyre #anti rhysand #acotar #feylin

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thorne-archive · 4 years ago

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fic recs!!

posting this because my percynet friends were practically begging me to post this with the pjo hyperlinks haha also featuring ridiculous fangirling comments by yours truly

features fandoms: HP, ACOTAR, PJO, and FMA

features (mainly) ships: drastoria, scorose, elriel, percabeth, jasper, and royai

— harry potter (I’m currently in love with draco x astoria and scorpius x rose)

warmth by littlemissmadness (drastoria oneshot!!! it’s so cute!!! a lil heartbreaking at first but i just - ugh!!!)

amor quod fecimus by jillian bowes (some consecutive drastoria oneshots, very cute!!)

a long time coming by helloimsabrina (drastoria comfort fic :)

finding hope by insertcleverandwittytitlehere (cute drastoria oneshot)

the way you look tonight by you-make-me-wander

shouldn’t by reppad98

blood, war and a touch of love by controlled climb

the dragon and the star maiden by boogum

the kiss thief by boogum

of sunflowers and rainydays by rosescor90 (scorose oneshot!!!!!)

the feeling of vindication by howlsatthemoon

worst of a bad bunch by graeliars (teddy/victoire oneshot fic hehe)

a kiss with a fist by superspy (jily oneshot :)

the smart one by nikkira (scorose oneshot, in which scorpius and rose are lowkey academic rivals; this is pure fluff)

off limits by livetodream (the! cutest! scorose! oneshot!!!)

when you grow up by drcjsnider (scorpius pining after rose? I think y e s)

the unnecessarily racy by anaela loves who (humorous jily oneshot feat. a jealous lily)

— acotar (mostly elriel fanfics sorry lol)

lover by @julesherondalex on tumblr! (an elriel roommates au!! okay but the angst and pining here made me SOB like three times over, 10/10 recommend!)

all of me by julesherondalex (I just love this writing style and there’s so much fluff and pining I cant-)

home in hogwarts by julesherondalex (elriel at hogwarts!! what more could you want?)

enchanted by julesherondalex (elain’s pining for azriel in this is 100/100 omg)

flight mode love by julesherondalex (elriel!coffee shop au!!!)

love me tonight by julesherondalex (you best believe I cried reading this! another elriel fanfic set in the canonverse)

the scent of you by julesherondalex (elriel au, angst with a happy ending! this one also made me cry really hard)

a little piece of your heart by julesherondalex (elriel confession in azriel’s pov!!)

a secret admirer by @florrama on tumblr! (short au elriel fic, very heartwarming!)

a seasonal love by florrama (more elriel? I think yes!!)

a shadow’s kiss by florrama (a collection of elriel oneshots!! they! are! so! soft!!!)

perfect strangers by @rosehallshadowsinger (short and sweet elriel au)

gifts from the heart by rosehallshadowsinger (the pining!!! so cute :)

stars hold no power over us by stardustsroses (a little explicit but so very cute :’) I love the concept of elain choosing who she loves and not having a bond define it for her)

this collection of short elriel oneshots by @a-novel-blog (so well written and so soft!!! I love gentle!elriel)

‘cause by @noodlecatposts (best friends feysand au that made me smile :’)

gingersnap! by noodlecatposts (this is so cute! and so soft! in which azriel is allergic to cats, and elain has one)

stay by noodlecatposts (I am. such. a sucker for best friends to lovers fics. the pining in this made me wanna cry I love this)

bite me, asshole by accidental_optimism (nessian oneshot! mostly revolves around cassian taking care of a sick nesta)

distractions by @rhysanoodle (a super cute and fluffy elriel coffee shop au!!)

is that my shirt? by rhysanoodle (a cute elriel oneshot that had me screeching!!)

perfectly aligned by rhysanoodle (over 200k word fic about elriel falling in love, includes smut)

dreams answered by @radientwings (a collection of oneshots, the elriel ones made me sob with joy)

songs of shadow by radientwings (a collection of elriel stories...the writing style is so perfect and I love it)

to flower by literarynonsensefics (short and sweet elriel oneshot hehe)

sharing sunsets by librarian of velaris (elriel & sunsets & fluff :)

navy suits & chelsea boots by feathery_malignancy (fair warning, the latter 2 chapters have smut but y’all...the pining in this? unmatched!!!)

call out my name by myownremedy (azriel pining for elain!!! so cute :’) but also pls be aware that the last like 1/3 of this fic is like. smut. but with like fluff mixed in lol)

long shot by myownremedy (listen. I will never tire of elriel coffee aus)

cake & kisses by @mehlisssa (in which elriel is expecting and display pure domestic fluff tHIS IS THE CUTEST ONESHOT EVER)

bloom by swishandflickwit (elriel fluff which is SO CUTE and also followed by smut, but at least it’s not too explicit)

— percy jackson

a storm in my best dress by herecomesthepun (percabeth soulmate au? say less! oh but also it’s lowkey enemies to friends and also a high school au! also jasper is the stable relationship 10/10 love that for them!! very long, very good :)

kiss me once 'cause you know i had a long night by herecomesthepun (GUYS THIS IS SO GOOD I ACTUALLY CACKLED LMAOOO the dialogue is *chefskiss* and jason fawning over piper is also *chefskiss* also this is an office percabeth/jasper oneshot, absolutely amazing)

‘cause you’ve been sinning in this city by @seaweedbraens (percabeth soulmate au in which percy calls everyone by some vaguely related nickname lol)

don’t you let it go by seaweedbraens (percabeth rebirth au with a twist; I SOBBED SO MUCH THIS WAS SO GOOD IM STILL CRYING)

if I were to pluck on your heartstrings by seaweedbraens (percabeth soulmate au with moodstrings!!)

would you strum on mine by seaweedbraens (companion piece to the fic above!!!)

and they were roommates by @bipercabeth (look. I’m a sucker for roommate aus)

I’ll go anywhere with you by bipercabeth (THIS IS SO FREAKING SOFT I COULD CRY OKAY??? ACTUALLY I AM CRYING!!! road trippin percabeth babey!!)

just because i had “spider” sense doesn’t mean i had common sense by bipercabeth (jasper spiderman au, ITS SO SOFT AND I WENT FERAL AT THIS LINE “She inhales, and Jason swears she takes the breath from his lungs. He’d give it to her, if she asked” PLS READ IT ITS SO GOOD IM SOBBING)

I like me better when I’m with you by @cressisaqueen (a tatbilb jasper au!!!!)

my yesterday was blue, today I’m a part of you by pastypirate (a series on how the HOO couples meet as soulmates hehe)

greek dramas and other spectacles by annabetncnase (a percabeth friends to lovers college au!!!)

california howl by suneater (I haven’t read this yet but it features werewolf!jason ans jasper content hehe)

if it’s you and me forever by lesbabeths (piper centric jasper soulmate au set in the canonverse that had me ugly sobbing at 4 am)

dream-like christmas time by @perseannabeth (annabeth gets famous and percy gets left behind, oneshot au)

number one by perseannabeth (percabeth roommate friends to lovers oneshot hehe)

back to the beginning by perseannabeth (percabeth proposal with ties back to the original series!! I loved it 🥺)

everythin' is icy and blue and you are here there too under the mistletoe by perseannabeth (a percabeth fake dating au!! I’ve yet to read it but Marianna is such an amazing writer I have no doubt I’ll love it!!)

sugar, sugar by perseannabeth (another tbr by Marianna on my list haha but the concept of percabeth and jasper meeting over chocolate is just :’)

— fullmetal alchemist (I’ve literally never watched this, but I somehow got obsessed with royai so Uh)

make me better by @lantur (bruh the yearning...I cannot, also beware this contains smut but it’s non graphic, but this fic is centered around roy being blind and riza helping him :)

side to side by lantur (in which royai practices hand to hand combat...the thirst and angst is real damn)

a little bit scandalous by lantur (I cried reading this...yeah)

got your back by lantur (roy’s yearning...I’m gonna cry)

love the way you shine in the night, like the diamond you are by lantur (it starts out funny...and then my heart broke lol)

if you were mine by lantur (so much angst...but take heart! there’s a fluffy ending in sight!)

learning as we go by megthemighty (high school teacher au!! fluffy!!)

are you asleep? by fullmetalscully (fma as a romcom? yes! I cackled while reading this LOL)

royai collections by fullmetalscully (royai oneshots, there’s a mix of angst and fluff. but mostly angst ;-;)

smoke and gunpowder by @eskalations (royai genderbend au!)

some things last a long time by akingdomofunicorns (royai coffee shop au)

against the run of play by bergamots (in which roy is a rugby player and riza is a neurotrauma specialist, I love how this fic includes tweets and articles!!)

you pull me through time by @ohmytheon (100 royai oneshots, so cute!!)

lessons in formality by @royai (royai valentine’s au!! iTS SO SOFT IM SCREAMING)

don’t let your students trick you into an equivalent exchange (a royai teacher au oneshot! say less!!!)

missed opportunities by ohmytheon (royai christmas mistletoe oneshot!!!!)

#fic recs #pjo #hp #acotar #fma #drastoria #scorose #elriel #percabeth #jasper #royai #usercali #tuserclaire #usercal #usershamina #HAVE FUN MY FRIENDS #okay to reblog #yes i know thats a lot shhh

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houseofhurricane · 3 years ago

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ACOTAR Fic: Bloom & Bone (16/32) | Elain x Tamlin, Lucien x Vassa

Summary: Elain lies about a vision and winds up as the Night Court’s emissary to the Spring Court, trying to prevent the Dread Trove from falling into the wrong hands and wrestling with the gifts the Cauldron imparted when she was Made. Lucien, asked to join her, must contend with secrets about his mating bond. Meanwhile, Tamlin struggles to lead the Spring Court in the aftermath of the war with Hybern. And Vassa, the human queen in their midst, wrestles with the enchantment that turns her into a firebird by day, robbing her of the power of speech and human thought. Looming over all of them is uniquet peace in Prythian and the threat of Koschei, the death-god with unimaginable power. With powers both magical and monstrous, the quartet at the Spring Court will have to wrestle with their own natures and the evil that surrounds them. Will the struggle save their world, or doom it?

A/N: The High Lords' meeting! After this chapter, Bloom & Bone will be going on hiatus until August 19th. My goal is to be able to post straight through to the finish after that. In the meantime, I'll be launching a giveaway tomorrow on my Instagram, so follow @house.of.hurricane to find out more. You can find all previous chapters here, or read Bloom & Bone on AO3. Thank you for reading! ❤️

Lucien has been over every word of Tamlin’s speech, has brilliantly strategized his way through each potential question and argument, every terrible scenario and rousing win. Still, despite the ocean breeze wafting through the window, the scent of ripened fruit, it’s all he can do to keep from pacing as he waits for the rest of the High Lords to arrive.

Tarquin and his retinue are stationed near the door, ready to welcome their guests as they enter. Tamlin stands at the window, watching the waves, his hands clasped behind his back, and Lucien can tell, in his posture, that each muscle is coiled to spring. He wants to walk over, remind Tamlin that he cannot look desperate, that he should be the commander he’s already proved to be over centuries, the High Lord who killed Amarantha, who defied Hybern, not the beast lurking in the woods, but if Tarquin hears, if there is gossip that the High Lord of Spring requires constant reassurance, equivalent damage will be done. Instead he walks to the table set at the side of the room, laden with fruit that glisten in the summer sunlight.

Elain comes to stand next to him, the beading on her dress giving away her trajectory. Melis had completed the intricate embroidery on the golden yellow silk late yesterday, the only activity she’d been allowed in her makeshift prison cell. And seeing Elain in the dress before they winnowed here, Lucien understands her insistence on Melis’ abilities. The golden embroidery, beaded with hundreds of pearls and tiny diamonds, the scattered gemstones which make her golden brown hair look like something crafted by a master jeweler, all combine to give Elain a glowing presence. She has always been beautiful, even as a scared human girl, but now she could easily be mistaken for a goddess. Or a female anticipating her mating ceremony, which is exactly the tale she’s helped him weave.

“He knows the speeches,” she murmurs, spearing a slice of starfruit.

“Tam always likes a mission,” he says, forcing himself to sound confident, the mask of the courtier slipping into place, confident and not a little awful. “If only today’s involved a sword.”

Before she can respond, the delegation from the Dawn Court enters, Thesan and his mate leading a group of High Fae and Peregryns, all bland courtly smiles that make Lucien aware of the small size of his own party, only the three of them with so many favors to ask. He manages to greet them with a real smile. He knows Thesan’s court well enough, likes them well enough, this court of tinkerers and inventors and alchemists, but knows they eye him now with real suspicion, aware of his shifting alliances. They all watched Tamlin’s outburst at the last meeting of the High Lords, likely wonder why he stands at the side of this High Lord. He steels his spine, introduces Elain with a deference that is mostly fictional and makes her blush.

The skepticism does not fade from the eyes of the new entrants, the denizens of the Winter Court and the Day Court arriving together, Helion and Kallias making stilted conversation, the High Lord of Day slipping on the haughty mask he prefers for inter-court business. Lucien presents Elain to Helion as a stranger, and her mask of shy amusement does not falter even with Helion’s dismissive greeting. Helion had warned her, two nights ago in his private library, after Lucien and Elain had recounted their visit to Koschei’s world, the sensation of the magic, which Lucien had spent hours afterwards diagramming.

The greetings continue, all eyes on the glittering, golden female in their midst. Met with Kallias’ ill regard, Viviane’s curiosity, Elain’s expression does not falter. Lucien thinks, even as he tries to focus himself on the task at hand, that Vassa would be so proud of her in this moment, the way Elain has learned to use her quiet loveliness as a diplomatic asset.

As the room fills, Tamlin still stands alone in the window. Even when the Night Court enters, the largest group and the loudest, too affectionate for the formality court technically requires, Tamlin continues in his contemplation. Elain shifts from foot to foot under the eyes of her sisters, glances that give nothing away, not fear or sympathy, love or hate.

“They love you,” Lucien mutters to her, as he detects the looming breakdown in her facade.

“But what if I’m the monster?”

There is a question beneath her question, but the room has filled with all the expected guests. Beron, as they’d anticipated, had never sent a response to their invitation.

“For now,” he tells Elain, extending his hand, to lead them to their spot in the assembly, “you are soon to be the Lady of Spring. Or else they’ll think we’re secretly lovers.”

He can tell from the brief flare of her nose that if the eyes of the room weren’t on them, she would try to level a blow at him, too confident from the training Tamlin has provided. In return, he shoots a smirk her way, offers the expression to everyone who watches, who might doubt their small group, its sincerity and affection. As he leads Elain to her chair, she follows his lead by offering her own bright smile, winking at her as she settles her skirts. A bride whose joyous anticipation overflows onto every interaction.

Lucien had warned Tamlin that Tarquin might conveniently forget to make an introduction, and sure enough, the High Lord of Summer lounges in a position of honor as befits his status as host, and despite the expectancy that rises in the room, he does not speak, only watches.

Now, Lucien thinks, crossing his ankle over his knee, trying to look artfully bored, start speaking now.

He has never known himself to be a daemati, but this is exactly the moment when Tamlin turns from the window and begins his address.

“I have asked you to come here because I discovered an army from the Autumn Court, led by their High Lord, marching through my lands on their way to the human realms. If our goal in this realm is peace between the fae and humans, this army must be contained, or there soon will be no human lands in Prythian, only more Autumn Court.”

Tamlin pauses, as Lucien had suggested, and in his chair, Lucien tries not to slump in his seat from relief. He’d spoken confidently but had never crossed the line into arrogance, his warrior’s posture working in his favor, as if he would strike Beron at any moment if only the rest of the room would agree.

But the silence in the room drags on. Lucien had anticipated an interruption, confusion or indignation, the tone of this meeting to be revealed at the outset. He had been so sure of this that he’d mapped the rest of Tamlin’s speech according to the tone of whatever comment punctuated his opening salvo. But the High Lords and their chosen courtiers only wait for Tamlin to continue.

He clears his throat.

“My army has been severely depleted. I acknowledge my own contributions into its small numbers, but I am asking that you--”

“All of our armies were hit hard during the war with Hybern,” Kallias says, the winter wind in his voice, cold and biting, “but we have been hard at work restoring our lands. All the while, you have been in the forest.”

Tamlin’s face goes pale, then his cheeks are red, blotchy even against his tanned skin. Be honest, Lucien had told him, but now he finds himself clutching the seat of his chair, knowing that Tamlin will explode in a rage.

And then he looks at Elain, meets her eyes for a few long seconds. His demeanor changes, calms, and then Tamlin heaves a sigh so deep the whole room can hear it.

“You are correct, Kallias,” he says, raising his gaze so that he addresses the High Lord of Winter. “I failed my people. And I -- I will tell you what the stories do not. Why I hid. I believed that any invading army, any territory bent on expansion, would rule them better than I could. Because I had failed them over and over. I failed to protect them from Amarantha, sacrificed them for love of a female who rightly knew she needed to leave me, left them to the whims of Hybern because I thought only I could know what was best. These are not the actions of a worthy High Lord. But they were my actions. You are right to judge me. I have no great explanation which will transform me in your eyes. Only recently have I begun to seek out the citizens of my court, to listen to them. I have canceled the ancient tithe which my ancestors instated millennia ago. I am visiting the villages every day so that I may learn in time how to rule them well. Still, these are farmers and weavers, blacksmiths and seamstresses and poets. It is possible that they will go to war for a noble cause. They may still have that much faith in me. But it is unlikely that they will prevail against an army.”

Kallias has no rebuttal to that rush of words, and Lucien wonders if maybe this silence is appreciative. He tries to meet Tamlin’s eyes, but that green gaze goes out over the crowd, meeting each face in its turn. He has just spoken of his failure, let the horror of it rise in his voice, and still, on his face he wears the look a ruler has, when addressing beloved subjects.

“And how can we be sure this isn’t an attempt to impress your mate?” Feyre’s voice is gentle and angry and devastated. Tamlin winces at the sound of it, retreating back into himself. They had discussed Feyre, what she might say, but the reality of her, that deep kindness that undergirds her every action, is unsettling when it turns to fury.

“I treated you horribly, High Lady,” he says, his voice scraping, raw in his throat. “I know that -- I deserve your scorn, always. I am sorry for how I treated you.”

“How can we be assured that this isn’t an act?” Feyre’s voice has not changed in pitch or tone, and still it is clear in the room as a ringing bell.

“Have you ever known me to have an abundance of self-control? The kind required for that level of deception?” The laugh in his words is ragged.

“Elain is my sister,” Feyre says.

“I swear on my life that I will not harm her.”

“And she is free to leave your court whenever she chooses?”

“Always, High Lady.”

In the quiet that follows, Lucien hazards a glance at Elain. Her face is drawn and pale, her brown eyes a whirlwind. I am tired of being an ornament, she’d said, although she’d also agreed this was the best play, her relationship to Tamlin a better lure than even the candid admission of his failures. That, mute and glittering among the rulers of Prythian, she would be more effective. Still, he understands the toll even a well-intentioned role requires, especially beneath the gaze of her sisters, the rest of the Night Court.

“You were speaking of the army you require, Tamlin?” Feyre asks into the quiet, her voice a little gentler. In response, the room seems to breathe a sigh of relief.

“The Autumn Court army has at least a thousand troops, from what I can tell. They are currently stationed within my borders. I am not sure if the plan was to provoke me into an ill-fated attack, or join with another force on the coast. I have not been able to make a close enough approach. I have also not been able to discern whether any of Beron’s sons have been involved, the sole exception being Lucien, of course.”

“Azriel can assist you,” Rhysand drawls, studying Feyre’s hand as he entwines their fingers. “Nobody notices a few rogue shadows.”

The tone in the room shifts at this remark, and whatever he might feel about Rhys personally, Lucien is grateful. The problem was never going to be the action taken. Beron has invaded another High Lord’s lands and threatens to undo their tentative peace, and fighting against any of this is right and proper, even honorable, for the other High Lords. The problem was always going to be Tamlin himself. Even with every note hit beautifully, the way he’s spoken and carried himself today, his history, his failures, his isolation would make any potential ally tentative. But an offer of help from a nominal enemy shows everyone else that they can ally with Tamlin without fear of reprisal.

“But regarding your forces, while I am happy to offer you an army of volunteers, I will not force the citizens of the Day Court to fight simply because it’s taken you years to recognize your mistakes.” Helion’s arms are crossed over his chest. There’s a murmur in the room which suggests this sentiment is not unwelcome. Tamlin’s face clouds. Control yourself, Lucien thinks at Tamlin, keeping his expression a careful blank. Beron might not be present, but there are still too many eyes to safely acknowledge the High Lord who fathered him, to show any disappointment. Perhaps later Helion will offer additional forces.

“The Valkyries will make up the gap,” Nesta Archeron says, from the back of the Night Court retinue, a death-queen in her black gown. “I still remember what it was like to be human.”

“The Winter Court will send volunteers,” offers Kallias, his fingers tented.

“We will put out the call in our court as well,” Thesan says, his mate nodding along, which could mean Peregryn support, particularly valuable given Beron’s lack of aerial forces.

“As will the Night Court. But I do not think we cannot offer the Illyrians.” Cassian, looking grim, nods his agreement with Rhysand. Lucien had thought the talk of rebellion had been put down, but apparently the losses against Hybern have caused a more permanent rift.

Now, everyone turns to Tarquin, awaiting his answer. But the young High Lord does not betray nerves. Instead, the serene smile on his face is a mirror of Elain’s.

“I will offer you my army on one condition,” he begins, and somehow Lucien knows that Tamlin will be able to meet it, that the threat from the Autumn Court will be put down, that they can go back to saving Vassa, and he almost allows himself to smile when the door bangs open, nearly thrown off its hinges.

Beron stands in the doorway, alone. Despite the wards in place, Lucien would have thought the position dangerous, except for the power which ripples off the High Lord of Autumn, more than he has ever known this male to possess, not in all the years Lucien lived under his roof, or in the years Beron did his best to be a terror at any social or diplomatic gathering.

Elain turns toward him, her eyes wide with concern. When she begins to mouth at him, he thinks she’s asking if he’s all right and he waves her off. She plucks at his sleeve, keeps moving her lips until she realizes she’s mouthing Koschei.

The magic is depthless and flashing, lightning in a howling storm. He’s encountered it before, run towards it with a sword in hand, and suddenly the sound of Vassa’s screams fills his mind.

“I see you decided to begin without me,” Beron says, and even his voice has changed. Gone is that jealous, brittle anger. Now he’s practically smirking, knowing what he holds over them. The immense power he wields, now greater than that of anybody in the room.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Rhys shoots back, positioning himself so that Feyre is behind him. “You must have known you could not cross into the Spring Court without at least informing Tamlin.”

“And you must have thought you were quite the politician, conspiring with Eris. You’ll notice that my firstborn isn’t here with me today.”

Murmurs in the room at that secret revealed. Lucien feels himself begin to rise from his chair, wants to charge at the male who raised him, this curse of a father. Elain’s hand is on his arm, pulling him back.

“How does your tethering spell work?” she asks, and at first he thinks she is only trying to distract him, keep him from doing something foolish, and then he sees the determined set of her jaw, realizes she’s formulating a plan.

“It won’t be enough to carry all these people,” he says, shame welling up inside him. His magic has never been a well of raw power, but a matter of finesse, quickness, a well-placed strike. “And who knows what Beron would do if we left this court without defense.”

Near the door, Nesta, Cassian, and Azriel have stood to block off Beron from the rest of the group, the Peregryns flanking them, though their expressions are noticeably reluctant. Rhys’ covert politicking will not be well received. No matter how disagreeable Beron might be, the rule of the High Lord is absolute in his own territory.

While Lucien considers this, tries to map out the next step, the declarations his father will make, Elain darts forward, grabs Rhys’ sleeve, and whispers something into his ear. He disappears, and when Elain dips her head to convey the message to Feyre, the High Lord of the Night Court quickly vanishes. She turns around then, nods at Tamlin, who unsheathes his sword in a fluid motion, strides toward the High Lord of Autumn without hesitation.

“What are you doing here, Beron?”

“I’ve come to watch you attempt to convince these bleeding hearts that you’re a competent ruler. You think I didn’t spot you in the woods? My army is better trained than that.”

One moment, Beron is blocked by a dozen trained warriors, and the next, he simply appears in the middle of the circle where the High Lords are clustered. There is no trace of magic, not even the lightning that betrays Koschei’s involvement in this tableau. He feels Elain stiffen in her seat.

“You will always be too weak to achieve the peace you desire,” Beron says, looking on each High Lord in turn, smirks when he notes Rhys’ absence. “Has it occurred to any of you, how the Night Court hoards its power? Do you ever wonder what it will do, how it will strike, as soon as you step one toe out of line? Why Tamlin invites you as a courtesy to this meeting, when all he needs is Rhysand’s approval in order for the rest of you to beg?”

“You are becoming boring,” Helion drawls through the developing monologue, though Lucien knows his mind is working quickly, laying out all the ways this meeting could develop, the course of action. Wondering if there’s a kernel of truth in Beron’s ranting. “What are you doing in Tamlin’s territory?”

“You think I’d tell you in the name of peace and cooperation?”

“There are only so many options,” Helion shoots back, and Lucien knows on instinct alone that he’s basking in this moment, when he can trounce Beron with his mind alone. “Invading the Spring Court, invading the human lands of Prythian, invading the human lands on the continent. I don’t think even you would be stupid enough to invade Rask or Valhallan, and there’s no reason they’d ally with a single High Lord. Unless Koschei has made you a substantial promise.”

Beron’s face curls into a snarl.

“I’m sure you and your son have spent hours speculating,” he says, and then he turns to the small group from the Spring Court. To Elain. But first his eyes rest on Lucien, suggestive and damning and enraged.

Tamlin strides forward, his sword in one hand and his power gathering in the other, and on instinct, Lucien opens his hand and builds a wall of flame and light around them, so bright he knows it’s blinding to everyone on the outside. He’s always had to hold in half his power to avoid some catastrophic discovery, but now that Beron has decided to officially reveal his parentage, he can ensure that the HIgh Lord of Autumn cannot land a blow.

“You will not harm my friends,” he says, willing the hurt and anger from his voice. This male cannot torture him any more. He is no longer alone in this world.

“What if I proposed a trade? Your so-called mate for the human queen you think you love?”

Despite the light he’s conjured, the world goes dim around Lucien.

For years, it was an act of will not to think of Jesminda, her smile, her expression in repose, the sounds she made at the back of her throat when he kissed her. The color of her eyes and hair, the way her hands had sliced through the air when she’d spoken. Because though all of these memories on their own would have been painful, each memory was intermingled with the sights and sounds of Beron’s torture and killing. Her screaming and her blood, her skin lifted from her like a garment, his horrible relief when she’d finally gone still, saved from torment at last.

All along, he has told himself that there is no way that Koschei is subjecting Vassa to the same treatment. He has been determined to keep her alive. But if Beron is involved, then it is possible that Vassa’s life hangs by a thread. Already he can hear her screams when Koschei grabbed her, rising to drown out every other sound in the room. It is likely that if he hands Elain over, that in moments those will be her screams, instead.

“You need to give me up,” Elain murmurs to him, barely audible over the crackle of the wall of sunlit flames.

He is about to argue with her, offer up an alternate plan, when he sees the expression on her face. He’s seen it on Tamlin’s face dozens of times, the warrior ready to lead their troops into battle.

As he gives her the barest nod, he watches her mouth one word to him, in the same motion as she reaches back to squeeze Tamlin’s wrist.

Once Lucien drops his shield, Beron does not wait for Lucien’s assent. He lunges forward and grabs Elain by the back of her neck. Her startled cry, the scrambling from Nesta on the other side of the room, is drowned out by a sound of a dozen tapestries being torn in half.

When the sound dissipates, the world around Lucien is barren and gray, robbed of color. It’s saturated with Koschei’s magic. Beron’s now seems like a poor echo.

And that same High Lord now whirls on him, flinging Elain’s body in front of his own, a shield.

“Take me back to Prythian or I’ll destroy her,” he growls. But Beron’s eyes dart around at the world, the wide open plains and stubby dried grass which offer no cover, no protection. He does not have Lucien’s talent for the analysis of magic, but even he must sense the air clotted with unsettled magic, thicker and more terrifying than anything in Prythian.

“I think you’ll find that will only strand yourself,” Lucien says, dropping the tethering spell between himself and Elain as a precaution, schooling his face blank as Tamlin approaches, then presses a dagger to Beron’s neck.

“Let go of my mate,” he growls, his power filling the plain, “or I swear I will drop this shield and leave you for the monsters of this world to feast on.”

For years, Lucien thought that this High Lord was his father, and for this reason only he wonders at the lack of sympathy or remorse at the blood that wells at the edge of Tamlin’s blade, the rage and horror on Beron’s face as he sees the green-gold shield formed by Tamlin’s magic, the creature on the outside, a giant winged snake, circling and looping, its prey so close and yet untouchable.

“And you will not defend the male who raised you?” Beron’s eyes are on Lucien now, which is when Lucien realizes the true extent of the High Lord’s fear. In all his life, Beron has never thought he had anything to give.

“Let go of Elain first,” he says, calm as he’s never been before with Beron. He holds his composure when Beron’s fingers loosen, when the knife falls from her neck and Tamlin pulls her behind him.

Then, before the High Lord of Autumn can lash out with a power that is more formidable than Lucien’s, he summons the light and fire of his magic and drives it in a bolt through Beron’s heart.

For a moment, Beron looks stunned, and then there is a horrible gurgle in his throat. The grass crackles with the weight of his collapsing body.

Lucien doesn’t realize Tamlin has moved until he hears his friend’s voice in his ear.

“He would have killed us all without a second thought,” Tamlin is saying, extending his sword toward Lucien, in case he’d like to bring down a final blow. Lucien waves it away. The male he called father for far too long is dead now, his blood soaking into the dirt of this barren world.

“The Autumn Court will be in chaos,” he says, his eyes still on Beron’s body. Even knowing that Beron is dead, he still expects it to rise, to attack Elain and Tamlin, to summon Vassa from Koschei’s side and destroy her.

He cannot believe that after three centuries, he is finally free.

Minutes pass, or maybe days, and he watches the world grow dark outside Tamlin’s shield, the monsters outside circling. He does not know what happens next, in this new world, in any other. He can do anything he wants, and yet those possibilities all overwhelm him, are mixed with all the sneers and beatings Beron delivered over the years, the punishments because he was not like his brothers, was not cruel enough.

“We need to return soon, Lucien,” Elain says eventually, her voice as gentle as a Spring Court breeze. “Do you think that we should bring his body?”

“My brothers will know he’s died. The power will rest on one of them.”

“The funeral rites?”

He wants to tell Elain that she does not understand what it is to have a father who doesn’t just misunderstand you, but spends your trying to unmake and destroy you, who was never your father at all, but her eyes on his are so earnest, so instead he says, “I gave Beron a kinder death than he deserved. My brothers can retrieve his body if they feel so inclined.”

Elain gives a little nod, and Tamlin’s hand is on his shoulder, hard and solid, and so Lucien takes one last look at the corpse he once knew as his father, winds the tethering spell around their three living bodies, and watches this world fade into the one he knows.

The High Fae male appears at the lake a few hours before sunset, and though Vassa cannot quite comprehend what she sees, she studies him, the red of his hair, the arch of his ears, the elegant jacket which is torn and bloodied, the rich fabrics giving way to the pale skin below. He is a study in the colors of autumn, the gold of his eyes and the greens and browns of his clothing, embroidered to match his glinting gaze. The red hair that is so familiar that Vassa gasps, the sound subsumed by the body of the firebird.

This male is not Lucien but so much like him. He paces the lake, his hands tearing at his chest and shoulders, the places where Koschei’s spell weighed down on her hardest in Prythian. Another captive, then. The only one she’s ever seen. Whom Koschei has ever allowed her to see.

Her brain tries to put together the forces that have brought this not-quite-Lucien as a captive to her lake, but the firebird was made for seeing the world too deeply without the mind to comprehend that vision. Once again, for the thousandth time since Koschei took her captive again, Vassa is forced to bide her time.

As the sun makes its way to the horizon, Vassa formulates her questions for this male, bubbling inside her skin as she circles the waters. They are mostly stupid questions, but they will form a ladder toward the information she needs.

Not for the first time, she wishes that she could fly, get a better sense of her surroundings, understand whether this male is one of many or if he has been deposited here alone. But lately Koschei has taken the strength from her wings, made her too weak to fly.

Instead, Vassa waits until the sky darkens, glides to the edge of the lake, and becomes herself again. With her human eyes, she recognizes Eris Vanserra instantly.

Only, he is not looking at her. His gaze is off in the middle distance, and his body glows, the power thick and sulfurous around him, the center of a flame.

Finally, his gaze snags on her.

“My father is dead,” he says by way of greeting. “Our agreement to Koschei is broken. So if you’d like to leave the death-lord, Queen Vassa of Scythia, I suggest you start running now.”

She does not bother with so much as a nod, only hitches up her skirts and starts running for the woods, away from Koschei’s home.

Behind her, she hears Eris footsteps, hears the crackle of the trees she’s passed, now set aflame.

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rhysand-vs-fenrys · 7 years ago

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is ToG worth reading? is it as good as ACOTAR series? and if its no trouble can you give me a small description of the series, pretty please!

I’d say ToG is definitely worth reading, you can see places and characters that probably inspired ACOTAR characters & locations for sure (as you get to them, Rowan + Aedion = Rhysand).

The thing with ToG… even the diehard fans agree that the first 2 books are HARD to get through. The first book is very straight-line, the 2nd has a core story but then it’s like there was a minimum page requirement and so there’s a lot of frankly forgettable filler (anything about Mort).

Now, far as I understand it at that point the publisher threatened to drop the series, it just wasn’t selling, and Maas must have sold her soul or something because in Book 3, that’s when you look at it and go “Oh there you are Maas!”. That’s when it feels like it’s in the same league as the ACOTAR series.

Unfortunately, the first 2 books are major setups for stuff that happens in the “good” part of the series. But yeah, you “get through” book 1, you tolerate book 2, and then Book 3-5 are wonderful. A whole different league, and a TON of new characters you’ll look back at and wonder how the series even survived without them :)

Personally, I rate Throne of Glass as a 7/10, and ACOTAR as a 9.5/10 if not higher. It just feels like a very together series and the characters are amazing, whereas in ToG you kind of see Maas searching for who her characters will be and who doesn’t make the cut (Mort) and like with Feyre’s father in ACOTAR, kind of forgetting characters even exist (the Queen and the brother).

So yes, it’s worth a go, but it is no ACOTAR.

That being said, your spoiler free summary (I know it’s not small like you asked) :)

Years ago, the King of Hybern Adarlan, a kingdom of humans, found a way to destroy or block all magic across Prythian Erilea. He first overthrew Terrasen, a kingdom that was mostly populated by Fae or half-fae and slaughtered their royal family, including the heir apparent to the throne and his daughter, the Princess Aelin. Once Terrasen fell, the rest of the continent wasn’t far off.

Throne of Glass follows the adventures of teenage assassin Celaena Sardothien, who builds a name for herself across Erilea as the most prolific assassin in history. When she is captured, the King of Adarlan has her secreted away to a slave mine to die instead of publicly executing her and embarrassing all those terrified or manipulated by Celaena thinking she was some kind of demon when she was really just a teenager.

A year later, Celaena is freed by the King’s son- Dorian Havilliard, and his best friend Chaol, Captain of the Guard for the King. She is conscripted by the prince to compete in a tournament to see who will become the King’s Champion- essentially a government sponsored assassin. Celaena agrees, figuring she’ll either escape during the tournament or earn a full pardon and go off… assassin-ing again.

As a series, ToG follows Celaena, Dorian, and Chaol as they begin to fight back against the evil King of Adarlan and find a way to bring back magic. In their adventures (Books 3 & 4) they are joined by:::

Rowan Whitethorn- a fae prince and LEGENDARILY badass warrior (with tattoos and an attitude problem, so RHYSAND)

Aedion Ashryver- AKA “Cassian with Rhysand’s backstory”- cousin to the late Princess Aelin of Terrasen, and overall comic relief.

(Eventually) Aelin- now the rightful Queen of Terrasen- a badass half-fae bitch you DO NOT MESS WITH UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SERIOUSLY JUST RUN. I love you Aelin, but there are like 15 screws loose in your head. Minimum.

Lysandra- a child sold into sex slavery, raised as a prostitute and former enemy to Celaena (now bestest best buddy). Also don’t fuck with her, she’s scary af when pissed off. Which Aedion finds out. The hard way. She’s basically Nesta.

Manon Blackbeak- a 116 year old witch who is like Witch Black Ops. She’s terrifying, she drinks blood, and she turns an unlikely character very kinky.

(super eventually) Elide Lochan- professional damsel in distress and the human equivalent of a small dog who thinks its big and scary (ILU elide and I’m sure you’ll be scary one day).

(Super duper eventually) Lorcan Salvaterre- aggravatingly similar to Elide’s last name, and basically Tamlin meets Azriel when you think about it (don’t kill me).

There are also demons who are trying to gain a foothold in that world, and the bitchiest Fae queen ever who would probably make Amarantha go “Hey, you need to tone it down a bit there satan”.

Yes, I’m aware I failed at the “small” part of that description.

A Side Note: I’ve noticed this question worded this exact same way popping up across the big ACOTAR blogs and fan art blogs the last couple weeks, always on anon. I don’t know if people are just asking about ToG more because of the upcoming show, or if you’re all the same person trying to take a consensus or something, but I say go for it, read the series and decide for yourself how it stacks against ACOTAR.

You absolutely cannot skip the first 2 books. If you did you’d be OVERWHELMINGLY lost, just FYI.

#ask #throne of glass #acotar

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booksapphic · 8 years ago

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Opinions/Analysis of ACOWAR’s Queer Characters

Considering that I have been vocal about queer rep for this fandom, I wanted to discuss the four queer characters that we got in ACOWAR and go through the good and the bad for each. Please note that, especially in regards to Mor, I approach this from a representation standpoint, how the way queer characters and queer identities are discussed in relation to how queer readers will interpret them. Trying to discuss queer identities and characters from the character’s perspective would make this monster even longer than it already is, and I would prefer to leave those discussions to those from more abusive/homophobic backgrounds than my (healthy, more heteronormative than homophobic) background. @illyrianazriel has been discussing this pretty consistently, and I highly recommend this post in particular for a discussion of Mor’s queer identity as a character. Finally, please realize that I am only one person, and while I have tried to take into account the opinions of others I have talked to, it is impossible for one bisexual to speak for all bi/gay/pan people. This post is meant to be part of the discussion of queer rep, and I welcome other queer people adding your thoughts and opinions. (If you’re straight, please make sure that all engagement is respectful.)

I didn’t really have any issues with Nephelle or Thesan. They were both highly respected, in loving same sex relationships. Nephelle in particular was viewed as a hero, an idol, whose actions are meant to be emulated and upheld by both the heroes and the reader. My only issue with either of them was the use of “lover,” particularly in the case of Thesan. I find “lover” to have a very sexual connotation which is uncomfortable when queer people are so often simplified to just what they do in bed. I realize that “lover” was also used in regards to straight relationships, but because of the sex-obsessed view of queer people, it still makes me feel uncomfortable. Though Nephelle’s “lover” eventually becomes “wife,” I was uncomfortable that Thesan’s “lover” isn’t referred to even as “partner,” which takes away the solely sexual connotation. They mentioned that their relationship was ignored UtM for what Amarantha would do to him, and so it is understandable then that he isn’t “consort” or “husband” yet, but in the spin offs that are after ACOWAR, if he’s brought up in that, I hope that one of those other terms will be used. Additionally, it bothers me that in the ACOTAR universe, there is still no mention of same sex mates. The mating bond in this world is very heteronormative, but it would be awful for SJM to make a world in which all Soulmates who experience True Love are heterosexual. If anyone has any additional information from something she said on tour, etc., please hit me up.

While I (and many others) adored Helion, he very very narrowly escapes the “slutty bisexual” trope. Even our first contact with him in ACOWAR, the letter he sends accepting the invitation to the High Lord meeting–what should be solely professional correspondence–is said to be readable “between all the innuendo,” (293). Though he is mostly professional in the meeting itself, it isn’t long when meeting personally–without the “’swagging prick performance’” (450)--that he brings up sex. His sexuality is described to Feyre by Rhys as “Helion favors both males and females. Usually together in his bed” (450-451). While this alone would be enough to make him part of this negative trope, I believe it is avoided for a mix of four reasons. First of all, there are multiple other queer people in this book who are not viewed negatively (as above, with Nephelle and Thesan). Secondly, his sexuality, while joked about, isn’t insulted and is treated in a similar fashion as the jokes made about Cassian’s sex life in ACOMAF (this isn’t really possible to prove, per say, but it personally read as similar teasing to me). Thirdly, we are given proof of him being in love with, of having feeling and emotion for, a single person. It would have or could have been a true monogamous relationship if it was up to Helion, but the Lady of Autumn “’chose to stay’” (455). This removes part of this trope by showing that bisexuals can have romantic feelings for people and care about things other than sex. Finally, Helion is highly respected in the narrative/by the readers, perhaps only second to Rhys. This is shown multiple times. During the meeting of the High Lords, it is said that only three of the current High Lords were present for the last war against Hybern, being Beron, Rhys, and Helion (436). This in of itself sets Helion equal to Rhys in terms of experience, knowledge, and (at least political, if not magical) power. After the meeting, it is written in the narrative that “[Helion’s] muscled body was only a mask–-to hide the cunning mind beneath. I wondered if Rhys had picked that up from him” (452). Our Hero has this same trait–-a trait that the readers love him for–-and he learned it from Helion. Helion taught things to the Hero. I think that speaks for itself. Additionally, Helion is treated as a friend, invited to have dinner with the Night Court, as Kallias and Vivane are (459). Very specific battle plans are discussed between the Night Court and him, and he is intelligent and largely professional at the meetings. Then, in the final battle, it is said that “If Rhys[’s beast form] was a flying terror crafted from shadows and old moonlight, Helion was his daytime equivalent…. Together, my mate and the High Lord of Day unleashed themselves upon Hybern” (645-646). Once again, Helion is set as an equal to our Hero. Once again, this speaks for itself. Now, with all four of these factors at play, I would say that Helion avoids the damaging “slutty bisexual” trope. If one of these four were removed, I would argue he falls into that trope. As such, fandom should make sure that in the way we talk about Helion in the future does not remove the respect and complexity canon gives him. (I personally haven’t really seen anything that has made me uncomfortable yet, but if I do see an issue, I will call that person out on it.)

Now, on to Mor, by far the most controversial of the group. Her sexuality is told to Feyre as “I do find pleasure […] in both…. But I’ve known, since I was little more than a child, that I prefer females. That I’m… attracted more to them over males. That I connect with them, care for them on that soul-deep level” (589). I know there is currently a debate going on in the fandom over whether she is gay or bisexual, but I would like to say that this reads as bisexual to me. In fact, this is the only part of Mor’s queerness that I thought was well done: I, along with many other bisexuals I’ve talked to, identified with this description of her sexuality. I know that this is how I feel about my own attraction, and past that, it can be appreciated that there is a bisexual in media who is not viewed as “50/50″ like so many are, that can like both while still having a preference one way or another. Obviously this is a discussion that should be had among the bi and gay girls in this fandom but: people have called her lesbian. People have called her bisexual homoromantic. For the number of self-identifying bisexual women in this fandom who have said their attraction matches what is described here, I would call her bisexual. Though there are people who find the split between romantic and sexual orientations helpful, and there are bisexual homoromantic women in this fandom who identify with Mor’s description of her sexuality, I think that calling her bisexual homoromantic ignores the fluidity of sexuality that many bisexuals (myself included) feel. The discussion of labels is something that the fandom should continue to have, but in the fandom, if you are not bi/pan/gay, tread carefully when trying to name her sexuality.

That description was the only good thing about Mor’s coming out. Everything else was, as my gay friend and I said while discussing it, A Heterosexual Mess.

The scene starts off with Mor deciding to tell Feyre because Feyre got angry at her and Mor felt bad. That’s gross. No one should have to come out because their friend was shitty to them. No one should have to come out as a form of apology. No one should be coerced into coming out. And this might be a nitpick, but there is a line from this moment: “[Feyre] reached for [Mor’s] hand, prying it off her arm” (589). I know this was meant to be comforting, but a light caress on her hand to see if Mor was okay taking it would be a lot better than a straight person trying to force comfort on a queer person because They Are Understanding and Accepting. Later on in the scene, Feyre specifically says, and Mor agrees, that “’Rhys wouldn’t care–I don’t think anyone in Velaris would’” (592). But Mor continues to stay in the closet for the sake of Azriel’s happiness. All of these things put straight comfort and happiness over queer health. All of these things make it seem as if queer people owe something to straight people. And we don’t.

And then, at the end of the scene, Feyre says to Mor,

“I’ll stand by you no matter what. Until then… Your secret is safe. I won’t tell anyone–even Rhys.” “Thank you,” [Mor] breathed. I [Feyre] shook my head. “No–thank you for telling me. I’m honored.” (592)

A queer person thanks a straight person for not outing her, which would negatively impact at the very least her mental health and relationships, if not her authority and power over her past abusers. The straight person replies that she is “honored.” Honored for what? That her friend has been hiding herself because of a homophobic society for 500 years and can only admit who she is to someone she’s known a matter of months? (I know some people find it easier to talk about these things with people they know less rather than more, but it shouldn’t be a big enough deal for Mor to be scared about it in the first place.) Honored that straight people have to be told that people they know are queer because otherwise they’ll assume everyone is straight? Coming out is not “honoring” someone. It’s telling someone, anyone that you trust to not hurt you, something about yourself. Coming out is a product of a heteronormative society.

The fact that Mor has been hiding it for five hundred years is also disgusting. Considering that Helion’s, Thesan’s, and Nephelle’s queerness are all accepted, this would suggest then that the Night Court is homophobic while other courts/societies are not. There is no reason to make any place in fantasy homophobic. If you can write about a bunch of hot people with endless magic, you can write about a society where homophobia doesn’t exist. I was reading another meta about Mor earlier today by @my-name-is-fireheart, where she says that, with the Court of Nightmares being what they’re being, they would have made Mor’s life worse for her being queer. I don’t disagree. But then she says:

Realistically, I don’t know how Maas could have avoided Mor’s painful backstory given what we know of her family. The only answer is that Maas could have written Mor as out from the beginning, and…then what? Had the court of nightmares, in all its patriarchal glory, be okay with her as bi? Be fine with her preferring females? Be happy with a daughter who was LGBT? Sure that is all wonderful but…not realistic given who Keir is. So…the only way to really change Mor’s backstory is to change who her family is.

Yes, she could have written Mor as out from the beginning. She doesn’t need to change her family to do this. I’m not suggesting that Mor come out to her family while they still had physical power over her, but once she was in the Court of Dreams, she very well could have. It would just add another layer of hatred and resentment from her family towards her, her power over them, and her freeing herself from them. Also, you can come out to one group of people and not another. She could be out and free to the Court of Dreams, Velaris, and Prythian and not out to the Court of Nightmares. How would they find out? It’s not like she’s going to bring anyone she’s dating with her on her job (not until “dating” becomes “possibly engaged” or “married/mated” at least). Would she sit on the throne and make a proclamation of her sexuality? Maybe I’m the outlier in this community, but that’s certainly not how I did it.

And I know, I know that coming out is hard. And that, as Mor says, you want to keep people from “shaming me, hurting me about this one thing that has remained wholly mine” (590). But by doing that, you are still putting fear above happiness. You are still putting straight comfort over queer health. And I really wouldn’t want a young version of me seeing this rep and doing that. Because I did it for a long, long while, and it nearly destroyed me. I don’t want it destroying another young queer girl, just coming into her sexuality. The scars and the pain of being queer fade generation to generation, but I will do everything in my power to end that pain altogether. And that means starting here, making sure that the media that failed me does not fail others.

With everything, I fully expect one of the spinoffs to be about Mor, her coming out to everyone, and her finding happy queer love. With all the pain Mor has gone through, she cannot pushed to a subplot as part of one of the other books–or worse, be pushed to the side to make room for a heterosexual ship. (And honestly, if this scene is gone back on and she ends up with Azriel, I will throw a fit. Because all that says is, “if you try hard enough, you can be happy with a man!” which is even worse than not having this at all.) If you are going to spotlight a queer character’s pain, you need to spotlight their happiness as while. And for future books and future queer narratives, the best way to prevent this would be to create a world in which homophobia does not exist, or doesn’t exist enough to force a queer character to stay in the closet. Because while coming out is a product of a heteronormative society, queer pain is a product of a homophobic society. Queer people aren’t tortured about their sexuality because of their sexuality, but because of how others view it. Yes, homophobia is something that needs to be worked through, but as a straight author writing about writing narratives of queer pain and homophobic societies in a fantasy book, you are perpetuating the very thing we are working to get rid of. You are contributing to the problem, instead of helping to fix it. And you are the one who is going to have to look yourself in the mirror every day and determine if you can live with that.

*All page numbers taken from the US Target edition hardback.

#acowar #acowar spoilers #sjmaas #bloomsbury #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #diversity #mine #also this monster is 2.6k words in case ya'll were wondering lol #that's longer than some fics i've written

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moiraineswife · 8 years ago

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FORTY FUCKING SEVEN

47) Do you have any f/f or m/m ships?

Funny you should ask Alicia....

I’m gonna section this off because like Organisation.

F/F:

Right, first off, if they’re not related, and they’re ladies....assume I ship them in some capacity okay. But my faves...

ToG:

Manon/Elide: my main ladies forever lowkey sad/bitter that they aren’t canon. QoS is still the gayest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life okay. The tower rescue scene was...everything. And Abraxos loves her too??? And so does Asterin? And they both drive so much of each other’s character development and fulfil so many of each other’s needs and I just *never stops screaming about malide*

Aelin/Manon: I feel like this should be self-explanatory like...u did witness that one scene in QoS did you not??? You know the one.

Aelin/Lysandra: also...self-explanatory.

Lysandra/Nesryn: LOOK THIS ONE IS REALLY ADORABLE OKAY??? and there’s fanart for it that’s forever branded into my mind because it too is adorable. Like there’s that one scene in QoS where Nesryn escorts Lys home and looks after her and I’m just like...yep that’ll do. But also it’d be cute?? Lysandra dressing Nesryn up in all these really fancy dresses and Nesryn just being -_- but doing it anyway because it makes Lys happy. Lys watching Nesryn train and just...drooling a little bit. Ladies being SO SUPPORTIVE OF THE OTHERS WANTS AND NEEDS THERE IS NO JUDGEMENT THERE IS ONLY SUPPORT. and really good sex.

mmm those are my main ToG ones (I’m probably missing sixteen different things but anyways)

ACOTAR:

ehehehhehe *rubs hands together with glee*

Mor/Nesta: tbh if you’ve been following me for any length of time and you don’t know I’m trash for this ship...well how??? I’ve written like...bucketloads of sin for them I mean? Also like, speaking of that sin this ship started as a vague hmm okay this might be kinda fun musing and turned into....domestic wives. because like..if you don’t need domestic, happily married mesta in your life then you’re doing it wrong okay you just are. they’re beautiful. tiny fierce hellcat and her court of nightmares princess it’s LITERALLY EVERYTHING. They balance each other out really well too? Mor’s composed fire and Nesta’s wild ice. But they both have a lot in common too? I think they’re actually both pretty reserved, for all that Mor wears her heart on her sleeve that doesn’t mean she lets anyone know her or truly lets them in or trust them. And Nesta is trapped behind a bigger wall of ice than Jon Snow and I just *sobs* love them opening up to one another and trusting one another and just fiercely defending the other against any man who dares look at them the wrong way. Also really hot sex. Like that’s just a given.

Mor/Elain: this one is @pterodactylichexameter‘s fault (most of these are your fault too, you know this Alicia) and it’s one of those things I just...enjoy any which way really? I just like them spending time together it’s really sweet? They just get on, there’s no drama, there’s no upset everything is just happy and mellow and nice and it’s lovely. (Except for when Elain ties Mor up in bed but you know, that’s a different story. Ahem) Please imagine morain as roommates though (Alicia this one’s your fault too) and sleepy Elain, hopeless gardener Mor (really, she’s terrible, Elain despairs) and holding hands and lazy morning sex, and colour-coordinated outfits okay. And giggly slow-dancing at Rita’s and eskimo kisses and just THEY’RE DRIPPING WITH SWEETNESS YET SOMEHOW I ALWAYS WANT MORE. (bonus consideration: Mor/Lucien/Elain ot3. Because. Mhm. I have many ot3s. Except more bonuses. They’re great fun.)

Mor/Feyre: what you should be getting from this so far is that Mor is bi af. Ahem, for the most part I will admit that I sorta prefer this one as platonic actually? They have...such a deep meaningful friendship and it’s beautiful? but at the same time I just cannot ignore the fact that the first time Feyre sees Mor she just....yep, this is Rhys’s female equivalent in the looks department....Not your most heterosexual thought ever, Feyre darling.

Listen, there aren’t enough non-related ladies in this thing for me to happily ship it’s very upsetting. (ie we’re now moving on to the dudes)

M/M:

ToG:

Chaol/Aedion: Look, I can’t re-read HoF and not ship Chaol and Aedion I just can’t. (Also they’re both bi af so that helps) but it just. look HoF does all my explaining for me just like re-read it with a Chaedion lens, you’ll have a lot more fun I promise.

Rowan/Gavriel: listen, my first thought when Gavriel appeared (and Aelin’s first thought too god bless you child) was: okay so this is gay. I never quite got over that. Also I refuse to believe that these two were like...emotionally and dramatically tattooing each other for the past century, half naked, in a small space with one another and things never got steamy I just don’t okay. I’m not letting go of this hc. You can’t make me.

...this is apparently all I can think of for ToG. Which is sad. I need to pull up my ship socks. Moving on.

ACOTAR:

oh boy...brace yourselves.

Lucien/Andras: my boys, my sweet boys, my prince, my sentry, my fox, my wolf, MY SONS. I’ve waffled about these two before but they just have...a truly wonderful dynamic. Because Andras in all his chill, affable, unflappable, loyal, wondrous glory is the only one who can deal with Lucien when he is young...and even more of a little prick than he is currently. And they’re dripping in angst which appeals to me as well (why do I always get attached to ships that are literally dead before we even meet them....Don’t answer that I know why) we could be here for some time if I go into details so I will just..move on. (Also, please read the scene where Lucien finds out Andras is dead with the idea that he was secretly in love with him...makes everything ten times more painful and make much more sense) (double bonus: please consider the world’s most pure and adorable ot3: Lucien/Elain/Andras)

Lucien/Rhys: hehehehehhe I love this ship. I’ve lowkey loved this ship There’s just...nothing heterosexual about their first scene together in ACOTAR. Nothing. At all. And these two have a History with one another. Also it’s just like snark to the power of twenty. really hot sex. and angst. what’s not to like??? (mega double bonus points: Feyre/Rhys/Lucien....don’t....get me started...on that ship. just. don’t. just take my word for it that it’s MAGICAL)

Lucien/Tarquin: shout out to @valamerys she gets full credit for this one I’m just putting it on here because I really like it toooo.

Bonus OT3s:

because this is where the real magic happens let’s be honest. I’m just going to mash all of these together.

Chaol/Nesryn/Dorian: I don’t really ship Chaol and Dorian on their own (romantically) as it happens. But fling a little Nesryn in there and I’m sold. Just...the image of Nesryn having these two boys wrapped around her little finger is...too delicious not to ship.

Mor/Dorian/Azriel: (Alicia’s fault tooooo...just assume everything from here on out is Alicia’s fault. also if you haven’t read Alicia’s doriel fic a)- you have not lived b)-do that now) Dorian would 10000% fall into a foreign kingdom, find the two hottest people around and proceed to have incredible sex with them this thing writes itself tbh.

Lucien/Aedion/Elain: this is like the mother of all cross-over ships okay. (And mine and Alicia’s favourite child. you shouldn’t have favourites. but we do) Elain with these two towering males attending to her every want and whim is...something special. And Aedion and Lucien have enough fire themselves to be able to handle the other. And they just work...incredibly well when you write them, they flow very nicely. Bit more emotional than doriel toooo these three would definitely set up house together and go the whole hog of just becoming a happy little poly amorous unit. This mostly consists of Elain bossing the two of them around and them waiting on her hand and foot and being delighted to do this.

Lucien/Andras/Elain: look I’m aware I already mentioned this lot but they are Special and they needed to be mentioned again okay. Andras is gay af but that isn’t stopping them, he and Elain still very much love each other and work together very well (they’re a nice little....moment of peace amidst the chaotic hurricane that being with Lucien always is. they take nice quiet walks around the gardens...and Elain enjoys sitting with wolf!Andras to watch over her while she reads outside) And the three of them together just balance and work so well??? it’s beautiful and just THEY’RE SO PURE. THE PUREST OF PURE. *starts sobbing over the twenty ‘Andras lives’ AUs we have so far composed*

...I think I’m going to end on that beautiful, pure note. there is no topping Elandras.

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yabai-korra · 3 years ago

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Why I think Gwyn is NOT Tamlin's daughter

+ TOG/ACOTAR GENTICS AT THE END

I've seen so many interesting theories in the ACOTAR fandom in regards to the new book, and a great chunk of these was about Gwyn being Tamlin/Lucien's daughter, and so I thought here's my take on it.

When I first read Gwyn saying "My sister and I were convinced at the Great Rite 28 years ago." I immediately thought "OH DAMN SHE MUST BE TAMLIN'S OR LUCIEN'S DAUGHTER!" but as I continued reading the book I put my Maas hat on and was like... "Hmm... yeah I don't think that's happening."

I have read, or rather, savored, all of Throne of Glass and ACOTAR books, so I'm an experienced SJM reader. Lemme tell you something about her writing, it's full, and I mean full, of foreshadowing. She creates ridiculously complicated plots and connections, even mixing in between the serials, and most of these you pick up on when you reread.

Did you know that Feyre was in fact mentioned going to TOG world in Heir of Fire? Did you know that Aelin was in A Court Of Silver Flames? Did you know that Dorian's first appearance in Throne of Glass has a Manorian reference? Did you know Vassien as a ship was a subject of a fae story in Heir of Fire? Did you know Rowaelin was foreshadowed in Throne of Glass? Did you know that Kaltain gave us a Manorian hint in Throne of Glass?

And these are just the ones I randomly thought of, there are so so much more!

Now, as a SJM reader, when I started thinking about "My sister and I were conceived on the Great Rite 28 years ago." I thought... that is too easy, too convenient, too obvious.

To me, that sentence is the equivalent of "Stay with the High Lord."

When I, and 99% of other readers first read it, the thought process was like this: It's obviously Tamlin! The Suriel just didn't refer to him by his name.

Same thing with the Great Rite, even a casual reader would immediately connect it to Tamlin.

Which High Lord did we see do Great Rite? Tamlin.

When the Great Rite was mentioned again, who was it mentioned with? Tamlin.

Who was the only High Lord not UTM 28 years ago? Tamlin.

This is something most of the fandom picked on, because it's so easy and so obvious, and I think SJM did it on purpose to bait us, but left clues (will get there soon) that it is actually not Tamlin, like she did in the first book.

Of course everyone will associate Tamlin with the Great Rite, especially one that happened while all the other High Lords were UTM, but how many readers will remember that:

It's not only the High Lord that participates, but his whole court

High Lord can refuse to participate like Tamlin did the last time

Gwyn said her mother did it with a stranger, and yeah they were under the masks at the time, but who doesn't know how the High Lord looks like? (granted her mom might have lied about it but I don't think it's the case considering it was specifically said it was a stranger when it wasn't necessary)

This is exactly like "Stay with the High Lord" because everyone immediately went with Tamlin because it was the logical thing to do, didn't even cross their minds that High Lord could be some other High Lord, I think Sarah is pulling the same trick twice.

I do think however that she left us a major clue on why it is not Tamlin, and that is Catrin, Gwyn's twin sister. She was mentioned a few times throughout the book as Gwyn's motivation and drive to move on and work hard, which is totally understandable, but mentioning her appearance... unnecessary. And SJM never writes anything unnecessary.

Gwyn has coppery-brown hair and teal eyes, and if she was the only child it could easily be assumed that she got it from her mother and that her father might look completely different. However, Catrin had black hair and black eyes, obviously like their mother who was a half nymph, which makes it a pretty reasonable assumption that Gwyn at least partly looks like her father.

Technically, it is possible that out of twins neither gets anything from the father and took it from grandparents instead, but it is extremely rare and not something an author would do. Imagine, you are a writer and you want to hint that this guy is the father of these twins, and you give neither twin any of his appearance traits. In fact, you go out of your way to point out that neither resembles him in the slightest.

Neither of them even has a similar trait, it wouldn't be stretching at all if Gwyn had reddish-blond or strawberry blond hair instead, or having a greenish glow in her eyes or amber specks in the center like Tamlin does. Or leaving Catrin's appearance a mystery. There was no reason to mention the way she looks whatsoever, yet SJM purposely pointed out that she looks completely different from Tamlin and Gwyn, making it obvious Gwyn gets the looks from the father while Catrin did from the mother.

See what I'm getting at here? She's baiting us while subtly planting hints that it's not the obvious option.

We have already seen the way she handles genetics (lil bonus):

Lucien has Helion's dark skin, and Loa's hair and eyes.

Nyx has Rhysand's skin and hair, and Feyre's eyes.

In TOG, when Rowan has a dream about his future children, three kids are a combination of his and Aelin's traits, while the youngest has his hair but her grandfather's eyes, eyes only, because kid inheriting complete looks from a grandparent is very very unlikely, and makes no sense from author's perspective.

Also, while everyone is focused on LUCIEN being Helion's son, nobody noticed that ERIS probably is as well! Not only were Loa and Helion involved when Eris was conceived, but Eris and Helion are also the ONLY TWO characters in the whole ACOTAR universe to have amber eyes, there is no way that's a coincidence. She literally described Beron's brown eyes, Loa's russet eyes, Helion's amber eyes and Eris's amber eyes all the in the chapter and nobody noticed because we didn't know of Loa and Helion yet, then all the focuses went to Lucien.

She wrote children looking exactly like one parent, a mix of parents, looking mostly like one parent, and having ONE trait from a grandparent which was literally only done not to have two kids that look the same way, but both twins having 0 resemblances to one parent? No way.

So, Lucien's daughter? Possibly. (I personally don't think so bc Lucien has way too much drama already lol but possible)

Tamlin's daughter? Nope.

My guess though? It's neither, I personally think Gwyn has a way more interesting story to explore (like being a Lighsinger) than who her father is.

#acotar #acosf #acotar theory #tamlin #lucien vanserra #gwyn berdara #sjm #sarah j maas #a court of silver flames #a court of thorns and roses #helion #loa #eris vanserra

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