#like Team Velaris; team Illyria; Team Hewn city

[lainalit]

God how I wish the Bat boys weren't brothers/ friends it would be so much more interesting to read the series.

Imagine Cassian being the General of Illyria, who doesn't like Rhysand since he doesn't do anything for his people, even though Rhys is half Illyrian himself, and when he and Nesta are mates so we get even more conflict between Nesta and rhys/ feyre  'cause all of a sudden Nesta has back up in the form of Illyria and nessian would be out here making rebel plans against feysand.

And it would be so much more interesting if Azriel's father was from the CoN and Azriel was also out here starting a revolution with other CoN citizens.

Instead of pro IC/ anti IC we could have had three parties with three different political viewpoints and everybody in the fandom could be a different team. At least that would be more fun than the black and white view SJM currently has of her characters.

[goldenspringmornings]

this is something I’ve said about h*td too but I really don’t think that writers and fans understand how fictional monarchies work anymore.

sjm has created a high fantasy absolute monarchy where the title is passed on genetically through magic, but fails to actually like….think about the consequences of that. absolute monarchs don’t answer to anyone, there is no council they have to get approval from or send out a vote on matters of state or anything like that- law is whatever they say it is, the monarch might have advisors but the final decision is always theirs.

which of course brings us back to the night court because unfortunately we spend the most time there. I’m not saying anything no one else has said but the night court is not run like a true (fantasy) monarchy. not with the way illyria and the hewn city are treated, the hewn city especially actually because how can rhysand still call himself high lord when he explicitly lets the hew city govern itself up until he needs something from them?

rhys even mentions at one point he either dismissed all his fathers courtiers or they left (I don’t remember which, it was tamlin’s thing first) and then he installed the ic in their places. but then doesn’t actually….do anything after that. well okay he does do one thing- bitch and moan. and that’s annoying.

western media (american media especially) has shifted imo into this cultural need to force everything they read/watch/consume through a narrow modern lens that just doesn’t fit well with this pretty well defined fantasy trope and you can see it reflected in the absolute vitriol people will spew in regards to h*td specifically. this is an acotar post I swear but to tangent for a second: the team black/team green divide is, again imo, largely based in the fact people aren’t thinking of politics when they’re watching the show- they’re more focused on having a good time and liking the characters. and a large, large percentage of people watching the show aren’t book readers and don’t understand that fire and blood is a piece of propaganda written long after all the events it’s talking about have happened. that doesn’t translate well to tv. and the showrunners hopefully know that and that’s why they’re taking the show in the direction they are (not that I like it, I’m team black and they’re even isolating me with the shit they’re pulling).

bringing this back to acotar though, you can tell this… irreverence ig is the best word for it, for monarchs right from the first chapters of maf and feyre’s complete disinterest and disdain for the role of Lady of Spring. yes it’s also due to her very recent trauma, and I do think it would have been best for everyone if they’d waited longer to marry, but feyre desperately doesn’t want political power and views tamlin’s incredibly mild and indulgent exercise of it through the tithe as morally reprehensible but finds the taxes of the night court as fine and good even though they’re the same thing in the end. one is a direct and obvious example of monarchical power- tamlin and feyre had to physically be there to collect the tithes- while the other is more subtle and not as harsh sounding and more palatable to the modern reader because just like irl it’s (presumably) an automated and invisible process.

feyre and rhys don’t have to engage with politics in the night court if they don’t want to, and overwhelmingly they don’t. they’re perfectly happy hiding away in velaris and leaving illyria and the hewn city to their own devices until it benefits them and even in velaris they have the city governors actually running things. at best feyre and rhys are figureheads and at worst they’re puppets.

for a world designed to need the high lords, they’re surprisingly irrelevant. high lords and their magic could just as easily be replaced with Some Guy and nothing would inherently change except the name were ostensibly supposed to remember as Important (I cannot tell you how many times I’ve have to look up kallias thesan’s names). high lords don’t really do anything and I’m sure that’s just the failings of sjm as a writer but it also makes the world supremely unserious. there’s no weight to the power they have, it’s just some words we as the audience are supposed to find significant because they would like they would be Important People irl with a title like that.

I’m starting to ramble now but hopefully this makes sense; I’ve got a lot of opinions on the politics of acotar obviously and it’s getting really tiring seeing people say that fictional monarchies are bad just because they’re monarchies and that everyone should just switch to democracy when it could be fun to have a monarch instead.

[theladyofbloodshed]

Why make Cassian play courtier when he’s clearly out of his depth, doesn’t enjoy it, and is good at fighting?

This.

+ Azriel overworking and is doing job meant for 10 people means one thing from my pov.

Rhys court is understaff. I meant it. Rhys family member alone are not enough to run the 3 seperated court in Rhys Night Court. They got hewn city, illyria, Velaris to cover. 7 is not enough.

And as for me, this show just how much people avoiding working directly under Rhys. Like come one, if you are a good leader, strong and charismatic people will flock to you to work under you. You sjm, want to tell me that Velaris that loved their HL are not trusted enough to work directly under their HL? The HL that whore his live to protect one single city? 1/3 of his court???

That is sus to me. I have seen bad leadership and good leadership. People run from leader like Beron and is chasing after good leader to work under their command.

+ Keir avoiding Rhys, Illyrian camp master avoiding and disobeying Rhys.

This is all are evidence to Rhys weakness in ruling. He only knew to sat in throne, getting aroused w his mate. And now he is underestimating the power of a good team in ruling. Rhys seems to think, his power, his wing, his daemati, his 6 IC member is ebough is enough to rule 3/3 of his court. 500 years living and it is proven he is weak at ruling. Even tamlin have a good reputation among his court. We see in Acotar 1 and 2, Tamlin have a lot of friends and connection.Every known ruler have a good team and loyal. Even hitler have.

I wanna laugh at rhys. Then turn to Cassian and laugh more at him

It makes no sense that this small number of people would all rule the night court. i think there is a part where rhys said his father's advisors left when the appointed the illyrians to the council.

I also think its because sjm is lazy and couldn't be bothered to come up with an actual council where democratic decisions are made because rhys is omnipotent and can do what he wants so we don't need to bog down the descriptions of how good he is in bed with actual plot detail about him ruling.

[asnowfern]

Girls Like Girls (like boys do)

Summary: Emerie volunteers for shelving duty so that she can sneak peeks at the pretty blonde. Mor frequently studies at the library to sneak peeks at the pretty brunette. A modern AU oneshot.

==========

Emerie noticed her the moment she entered the library. In fact, she noticed her on her very first day after moving from Windhaven. The way she walked down the hallway with her friends, gorgeous face lit with laughter. With a brightness that took Emerie's breath away.

Morrigan Keirson.

Captain and reigning champion of the fencing team. Daughter of the mayor of Hewn City and the niece of the Governor of Velaris. Rumoured to be engaged with the Vanserra heir. Yet, Emerie could not stay away even if her life depended on it. Could not fend off the infatuation which grows with each small interaction every time Mor comes to the library.

"I'm going to go shelf the books." She abruptly informed Nesta.

"Uh-huh." Nesta hummed knowingly, looking up from the latest Sellyn Drake novel to give Emerie a knowing stare. "You should just ask her out already. Instead of pining from a distance."

"Morrigan's here?" Gwyn, the other librarian, chimed in. Nesta's lips curled upwards into a teasing smirk. Emerie blushed and scowled. "Have I been that obvious?"

"Painfully." Nesta drawled. "You head straight for the shelves the moment she arrives and disappears for an hour." Emerie felt her ears warmed.

"She watches you too, y'know? When she thinks you're not looking." Gwyn added. "Winter break starts tomorrow. Perfect to share some hot chocolate and cuddle over a roaring fire." She wagged her eyebrows. Emerie flipped her off in response and walked towards the tray full of books to be shelved.

==========

"Are you heading to the library again?" Cassian asked in disbelief, "Today is the last day of the school term."

Mor swallowed. Deciding to go for a half truth, she answered, "My father expects me back in Hewn City for winter break. I need to get ahead of my assignments." Cassian does not need to know about the pretty brunette who works in the library.

Emerie Quintana.

The brunette who caught Mor's attention the first day she moved here from Illyria. Spotted her a mile away sprinting on the track with the speed and grace of an Illyrian angel. The Illyrians were renowned for their athletic prowess but Emerie seemed to do it with such effortless grace. It was breathtaking. When she realised the Illyrian worked part-time at the public library, she could not stay away.

And that was how Mor found herself sitting alone in a secluded corner of the library on the last day of the school term. Having given up on getting any further work done on her holiday assignments, Mor switched her screen from Microsoft Word to Netflix.

"Studying hard?" A lilting voice teased, startling Mor who promptly yanked the earbuds off. Emerie gave a playful smile, arm full of books. She ignored the butterflies in her belly and replied in what she hoped was a confident and flirty tone, "School's out."

"Indeed it is." Emerie grinned. "So why are you at the library alone watching the L word instead of out having fun?"

Mor's face flushed and replied sheepishly, "It's my favourite show." To her surprise, Emerie's grin widened as she gushed softly, "Mine too."

Mor felt her heartbeat quickened. Of course, liking the L word did not mean one was into girls but there was definitely a correlation, right?

"What are you doing later? Do you wanna grab dinner?" Emerie asked, her tone deceptively light but Mor swore she saw some nervousness in her eyes.

"I would love to."

Emerie's answering smile could have lit up the deepest corners of the Mariana trench.

=========

Emerie rushed back to the staff room of the library as quickly as she could. Once in the room, she snapped the door shut and punched a victory fist into the air and squealed. The room door immediately opened and Gwyn poked her head in.

"Good news?"

"She agreed to dinner later."

The trio spent the remainder of her shift helping Emerie plan the dinner. By the end of the shift, she had her evening planned out. She waved bye to her best friends (who waved back with the most infuriating smirks on their faces) and checked her phone one last time to confirm the route to the eatery before meeting Mor outside the library.

"Shall we?"

Mor smiles, "We shall."

The two walked in a slightly awkward silence when Emerie felt an arm thread around hers. She looked at Mor in surprise and found her facing forward stiffly with a resolute look. Emerie bent her elbow to curl her arm and gripped back Mor's arm. Immediately, Mor's stance relaxed.

"Where are we going?"

"Have you been to Rita's?"

"Shut up. Really?" Mor gripped her arm tighter and gave her an incredulous look, "I love Rita's" Emerie internally sighed in relief and made a mental note to treat Nesta to coffee to thank her for the recommendation.

"I'm glad! I've never been but my friend said the place has great live music and food is really good too."

"The other two girls who work at the library with you?" Mor questioned. Emerie nodded in response, "Gwyn and Nesta. We share an apartment, they were the first friends I made when I moved to the city. I would have never been able to adjust so quickly otherwise."

Mor smiled gently, "They sound nice."

"Well, they could be right bitches when they want to be." Emerie laughed.

"I would love to meet them properly next time."

"I'll introduce you." Emerie's chest warmed at the implication. The two soon found themselves at the restaurant and were shown to their seats, a table by the window overlooking the Sidra river. Emerie made a second mental note to upgrade Nesta's treat to a lunch for securing the great table.

"So what are you doing over the break?" She asked casually while they were waiting for their food to arrive.

"I'm returning to Hewn City." Mor replied quietly, voice pained. Emerie didn't miss the way her hand closed tightly into a fist, knuckles turning white, and her heart ached in understanding. Before she could second guess herself, she wrapped her hands around Mor's. Looking into the blonde's eyes, Emerie realised no words needed to be spoken. She gets it.

The moment was over when Mor's gaze was torn away and focused on another person walking into the restaurant. Emerie followed her gaze. Eris Vanserra. His eyes locked on to their table.

Almost instantly, Mor wrenched her hand out of Emerie's. She tried not to let the gesture get to her but the hurt in her chest told her otherwise. She watched as the redhead gave Mor a curt nod before turning around to leave. Her date gave an imperceptible sigh of relief.

"Are the rumours true?" She asked quietly.

Mor took a breath and swallowed thickly, "Yes and no." She paused, face scrunched up into a frown which Emerie thought had no reason to look as adorable as it did. "My father did try to set something up but I said no. The conversation between us didn't go so well and I moved here the following week."

"My father is the reason I moved here as well."

There was no pity in Mor's gaze, just one of mutual pain and understanding. Just like that, it was like the Vanserra never walked into the restaurant. Just two kindred souls sharing a moment.

The pair was walking along the rainbow bridge by the Sidra after dinner, arms still intertwined with the other. Mor stopped abruptly, surprising Emerie.

"I don't want the evening to end just yet, " She explained sheepishly and turned to face the river, body leaning forward to rest against the railing. A heat filled Emerie's chest. She took Mor's hand in hers, "The evening ends only when we want it to."

Mor turned to face Emerie, her face impossibly close. Emerie felt her heart stutter. "Tell me that you feel it too." She breathed. Mor answered by leaning in to close the gap, lips slanting over hers.

It was electrifying. The blonde's lips were soft and warm. Emerie deepened the kiss and was rewarded with one hand coming up to close around the back of her neck and the other circling around her waist to pull her in closer. Her tongue brushed against the Illyrian's lower lip and was granted entrance instantly. Time stood still and the world dissolved around them.

The pair broke the kiss to come up for air, both flushed. Mor smiled cheekily, "I definitely felt that." Emerie laughed and pulled her in for another kiss and another and another.

[wallflowers-in-the-wind]

Imagine the amount of fanfic potential if someone wrote this!! Cause SJM may have dropped the ball but we could get it rolling.

God how I wish the Bat boys weren't brothers/ friends it would be so much more interesting to read the series.

Imagine Cassian being the General of Illyria, who doesn't like Rhysand since he doesn't do anything for his people, even though Rhys is half Illyrian himself, and when he and Nesta are mates so we get even more conflict between Nesta and rhys/ feyre  'cause all of a sudden Nesta has back up in the form of Illyria and nessian would be out here making rebel plans against feysand.

And it would be so much more interesting if Azriel's father was from the CoN and he was also out here start a revolution with other CoN citizens.

Instead of pro IC/ anti IC we could have had three parties with three different political viewpoints and everybody in the fandom could be a different team. At least that would be more fun than the black and white view SJM currently has of her characters.