#faerie lore is so wild 😭

[helenofblackthorns]

sometimes I see people talk about Kieran being in the same boat as Tessa and Magnus when it comes to being destined to out live those they love (etc etc) but correct me if I'm wrong... Faeries aren't immortal. they're long lived (which basically just means they live however long they feel like it) like isn't the main way Faeries die them just going "I've seen enough" and laying down for an eternal nap 😭

[wingsdippedingold]

Ch 1: "Please String your Bow"

New Series: Read ACOTAR with me!

Hello! I’ve decided to start a new series of me going back and rereading the ACOTAR series, as it's been years since I last actively did so, and posting it here on tumblr!

I plan to do my best to observe the story as though I’m reading it for the first time and don’t have prior knowledge, trying to build my opinions back up from a blank slate. Some of my annotations will try to reflect that, asking questions that I or you may already know the answer to. However, I’m including many of my old comments as well.

I may start a tag list if people are interested, but with that: Chapter 1!

wc : 859 - Index

This is the line that pulled me into the chapter.

So she's shooting a recurve, which in this case, is basically the standard medieval bow you'd imagine. Unstringing is done to keep the wooden limbs from straining and getting bent out of shape from the tension.

Alright, so this is our first bit of human lore regarding faeries beyond just the "they're dangerous". Humans believe that faeries eat people.

Okay, okay, very Cinderella-esque. Now, is the expression she's thinking of sad, disappointed, or angry- at this point it seems more pitiable.

I am familiar with this pose.

Seemingly, both her family and her town rely on Feyre. I know it's to emphasize her role as the only one working, but it's weird imagining an entire town asking a single 17 year old girl to provide for them. They're asking her to be the main character at this point. The world is cruel to Feyre.

The artist in her 😭

I think its interesting that she includes bother her father and her current cottage (quote below) in this dream.

On another note, I know some people interpret the last bit to be "oh she hates her sisters and wants them gone", but I think she knows they'd be unsatisfied with the simple life that she would be, wanting to go back to their prior life of luxury. (But, she basically becomes her sisters in this dream later in the series anyway)

Feyre and painting on fucking walls

Pretty words

Feyre, baby… you gotta string your bow again…

I think I know why y'all are starving.

Our first outright characterization of Nesta from Feyre:

I mean a regular arrow would still do more damage than a bee sting. Regardless, her weapons are important for later.

👍

This confused me. Because, either way, unless you kill the wolf, you starve, unless the wolf flat out leaves, but considering it's going for the deer, it won't. If he eats the doe or scares it, you have to kill him. SJM didn't give Feyre the mindset of a poor woman in dire need of food. Is eating the wolf not even an option?

I would imagine hunting the bigger game, even if less tasty and more dry, during a time of animal scarcity when she regularly comes back empty handed, would be a starving woman's first choice. Your shot would have to be a good one regardless of whichever you choose, and if its because of disease, eating any wild animal carries risks.

Maybe I'm just being stupid, but like... if they really were that poor and in need of food, how is the wolf not even an option?

8 years of experience, assuming she had consistent practice between hunts

Wrong, this happens even after death. How much research did SJM do before making an entire chapter around hunting and a character who's been doing it for 8 years?

Personally, I would try putting the poor thing out of its misery if I was unsure about pain, instead of sitting and waiting. Feyre has a hunting knife which she uses to skin the wolf later. Even with her appropriate level of caution, this animal couldn't jump up and kill you. I don't know, reading this made Feyre feel like a relatively amateur hunter, rather than the experienced one she's meant to be.

I imagine she waited for it to die in case it had faerie magic or something, but she decides that it's not one after its death, which doesn't make sense to me, because I imagine she had never seen a faerie die (or shapeshift)? How would its death have any different markers- beyond the ones Feyre couldn't previously identify- than a normal wolf?

Well no. It didn't. Earlier she said animal wouldn't live with the ash arrow in it's side, but it was her normal arrow in the eye that proved lethal (see below)

Mr. Wolf was still standing after the ash arrow, he only collapsed after the normal one in the eye.

Realistically, the better option would be to dress both animals, get rid of organs (especially the wolf's), guts, heads, genitals, and any other dead weight; this'll reduce the load by at least a third, if not a half, considering that she's only hunting for sustenance and not keeping any parts for trophies. Drag the wolf and carry the deer.

The wolf's size could be an issue- but she considers a small deer to be a struggle, so I'm not sure what's up with that. I imagine she isn't an experienced hunter and/or doesn't field dress, despite her 8 years, considering that she usually comes back empty-handed.

Alright, so dressing both animals would take upwards of an hour for someone with the amount of experience I would assume Feyre has. Regardless, for a wolf of that size and weight, with half of it against the ground, it'll take way longer than minutes to skin. You're gonna spend a while there, even if you don't dress the animal.

Back on track with Feyre being the cool protagonist that she's set up as.

Thank you for reading these! Overall, this was more nitpicky than any serious notetaking as its just the opening chapter- there's a lot more substance in the coming ones!

[starsoforionwrites]

Ten people I want to get to know better…

Thanks @eurhythmix for tagging me! 🥰

Last song: Uh, Superfreak by Rick James. Don't ask.

Favourite colour: Hmmmn hard to narrow down tbh but either Grey or Forest Green. Big fan of wintery forest / coastal colours, so lots of dark stormy blues and greys and blacks in my wardrobe, and the décor is all deep greens and wood tones.

Last movie: Galaxy Quest. Watched it with my partner a few days ago, it's a real comfort watch for both of us.

Last TV show: Great British Menu. Playing catch-up on old seasons atm, but I just found out that the new season has started so maybe I'll swap… 🤔

Last book: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries - I thought this was a super fun read and I'm really looking forward to the follow-up

Sweet/savoury/spicy: I have such a sweet tooth it's not even funny

Last thing I googled: Mr Bean Tartare

Current obsession: BattleTech 👀 Something about the combination of Big Stompy Robots and Decades of Serious Lore is really hitting me right now

Looking forward to: Work has been absolute hell lately, and we have a huge database migration happening and Yours Truly has to work next Saturday to run point on the whole thing. And I'm going to be on hand to provide support to our clients in the week following, in the event that it goes tits up, which I'm absolutely expecting it to. SO I'm looking forward to the end of this whole process. I'm so tired this has been ongoing since November 😭

Tagging: @cr0ftisprocrastinating @ficmuse @onebedtorulethemall @secretsofcirce @spiteandchocolate @mandg-readings @iggygiraffe @scarlet-it-was @augustaoctavia87 and anyone else who wants to play (I’m sorry if you’ve already been tagged!)

[hyukascampfire]

🌰 here, i rested a little too well and now i have a stiff neck. but on a brighter note, my sister agreed to lend me the cruel prince for now (rare 🌰 W!) although it wasn’t without a bombastic side-eye or two (which is absolutely not my fault because i absolutely did not abduct the book first, then vaguely say i’d return it or something when i’m done with it.)

as for the emily wilde book… it was so fun for me to read about a fmc who is a scholar with both the ambition to write the first encyclopaedia on earth about faerie lore and a severe case of social awkwardness. i, too, have beef with field research for this very specific reason. besides, i feel like it does lean towards a rather authentic portrayal of european folklore even though the book’s genre is cosy fantasy. the stakes are usually pretty low but whenever emily is whisked into situations involving the fair folk, they are clearly presented as being potentially dangerous. and i’m technically not saying that my favourite thing about the love interest (whom she suspects is secretly a faerie too!) is how beomgyu-coded i believe he is but this might be exactly what i’m saying 🫣

i personally can’t stand sending an ask without a closing message so… good luck with your writing projects! and with life as well! sending you much love and strength, as always! ♡

HELLO AGAIN!^.^ stiff necks are the worst. i always get one cause my pillows move around. grr. but i’m happy to hear you got some well deserved rest!! ♡

IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO READ IT. you have to tell me who your favorite character is!! and you should totally try to guess who mine is. also, your sister definitely loves you bunches. when my siblings touch my books, i watch over them crazy, making sure they don’t smudge pages or crease them. lmaoooo.

a socially anxious fmc is actually… so cool? usually female characters are only ever able to be delegated to shyness if they have like absolutely zero ambition. hearing that the fmc has both intrigues me so much. i’m def going to read!! cosy fantasy and authentic folklore and the love interest might secretly be a faerie… yeah i’m so in. hehe. AND he reminds you of beomgyu. u get me so well, thats all i need to hear 😭

also, your closing messages are the sweetest. i love it 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ thank you so much, love! i wish all the same to you. ♡

[hollandorks]

Hey Shelby!! So I just saw your post asking for romance book recommendations and since you’ve help me endure exam season with your absolutely amazing Middle of the Night fic, I thought I’d return the favour!

A darker shade of magic, V.E. Schwab: Okay so, it does center around romance but the romance in it is really sweet and has got a pretty natural flow. The basic concept of the series is that there are four different worlds in which four London cities exist in superposition. There’s black London which has been consumed and burnt out by magic, white London in which magic is scarce and every one fight for the slightest scraps of power, red London which is the capital of an empire in which magic flourishes and grey London aka Victorian London with no magic. Kell, is from red London and is a very powerful type of magician called an antari who can travel through world using blood magic and tokens to deliver messages from his king and queen to the other world’s sovereigns. Lila is a thief with dreams of adventure and a sharp tongue. They both meet under strange circumstances and end up teaming up to save the worlds from being corrupted by magic the same way black London was. They are a very cute, sassy, pairing who really complement each other well and help each other grow as people. Highly recommend. (There’s also another really really cute pairing that start appearing in book 2, Rhys and Alucard)

The Folk of the Air, Holly Black: Okay so that one is much more romance oriented. It takes place in the land of Faerie, where Jude and her twin and half-fairy sister where taken after their parents were murdered by a fairie general who was married to their mom and decides to raise them out of honour. And because the twins are human however, they’re not really accepted by other fairies. That’s partly why Jude feels an insatiable need to prove herself and gets involved in all sorts of political schemes and plays for power. Carden is a prince of Faerie and is know for his cruel, tempestuous and wild temperament. Him and Jude both feel nothing but contempt, hatred and disdain for each other and yet Cardan might be the key to Jude’s plans. So it’s a bit tough to summarise but basically enemies to lovers with lots of sexual tension, an insanely clever and ambitious female lead and faerie lore!

Lore Olympus, Rachel Smythe: So this one’s a webtoon, I don’t know if you like comics but seriously this one is amazing. Lore Olympus is basically a retelling of Geek mythology and follows the Hades and Persephone. The art is just gorgeous, Persephone and Hades are just so adorable, the plot is complex and well built and if you like mythology, you’ll definitely love it. Episodes come out every Sunday and you’re in luck cause the hiatus ended just a few weeks ago !

So that’s for my little recommendation list! On that note, I just wanted to say, because I haven’t had a chance to do so since motn ended, thank you so so much for your writing!! It was seriously one of the best fanfics I have ever, and I mean ever, read. And I don’t say this just for the sake of it because I generally never really reach out to authors personally. But wow, let me tell you, nothing makes me happier than the thoughts of a sequel. And just as you’re stuck on battinson, I’m stuck on motn 😂

Anyway, thank you so much, lots of love,

Mal 🤍🤍

Hi Mal!! Thank you for the book recs!!! I have read and loved both ADSOM and The Folk of the Air!!! 🥰 literally two of my favorite series! I haven't read Lore Olympus though and I shall do so!

(Also, love that you included a little like summary for each of these and why you love them!! 🥺 we're best friends now just based on this, you have excellent taste)

And thank you so much for the love about motn 🥺😭 It means a lot to hear that! I'm hoping to take a week or two to read & refill my creative well while working on the sequel! 🥰