#nessian contest

[readychilledwine]

Halloween Costume Headcanons

Warnings - Some sexual references, ships.

A/n - Ship and let ship on this one, my loves. I had an idea too cute to ignore. Remind me to pay some of our artist friends for commissions next year 💕

Ps- Added by Liz after this was queued, I'm playing spicy sadness catch up. I'm going to get all of the 2024 Monster mash posted by Halloween, though. Setting goals. Setting goals..

🕸2024 Monster Mash Masterlist🕸2023 Halloween Masterlist🕸

Nessian -

Cassian and Nesta wanted to go off the beaten path this year.

Nesta was reading one night and the idea came to her, a book and a librarian. It was niche. It was perfect. What was Cassian going to do? Say no?

She knew the stereotype was sexy costumes, especially around Velaris, but she decided instead to honor the females she loved and admired.

Nesta purchased her own light blue robes, presenting the idea to Cassian with a glare.

She wasn't asking. She demanded.

They had to hand built Cassian's book costume. A t-shirt with a title wasn't enough.

She made the cover, the spine, and the pages from a crafting material, turning him into an actual book.

Feyre helped and painted the cover, ensuring it looked as realistic as possible.

The book of choice? The first Sellyn Drake novella her and the other valkyries read

Feysand and Nyx -

Rhysand wanted to do family costumes this year.

Nyx wanted to do animals.

Cats, Feyre decided. They were going as cats.

Feyre decided to be an orange cat, Nyx a black one, and Rhysand, Rhysand she forced into all white.

Feyre just shape shifted her fluffy tail and ears, Rhysand and Nyx both got to wear little headbands and fake tails.

Once Nyx went to bed, Feyre's costume became significantly more provocative. A tight corset with a short dress.

They did not stay long at the party.

There was a certain little kitty Rhysand was very interested in petting.

Listen… before we get up in arms… I'm giving you all of them..

Eriel -

Azriel told Elain to pick whatever she wanted to be and he was all smiles when she pulled out Rhysand and Feyre clothing.

Elain does know how to pull a great joke and the humor of winning Rita's couples costume contest dressed as the High Lord and Lady was not lost on anyone in the Inner Circle.

Elain was bold, so very bold, and Azriel could not have been more proud and she stepped out of their bathroom in the first outfit Feyre had worn to Hewn City.

Azriel helped her make it slightly more modest, finding one of his favorite lace bodysuits Elain had to layer under it.

“I just didn't want to wear black,” her sweet voice said as he helped her get into her heels.

“I know, my flower.”

Rhysand hated every moment of it and that only made Azriel happier.

Tell him to leave his girl alone, he'll steal your clothes. At least, that's the joke that went around the Inner Circle

Gwynriel-

Assassins.

The sexiest assassin couple you've ever seen.

Gwyn saw this as a chance to hide her face in a mask as she pulled on the skin tight black catsuit.

Azriel didn't even have to buy a costume, which made him happy.

Her thoroughly enjoyed helping Gwyneth strap weapons to herself, a quiet lesson with each throwing knife on why he preferred that location over another.

Azriel then let her attach his, seeing if she could remember the complexity of his custom Illyrian leathers.

They lingered in his shadows all night, another joy Azriel had. His female all to himself in the dark corners of the Halloween party.

They also did not linger long.

Elucien-

I was told this was required.

Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Lucien spared no expense on Elain's dress. A beautiful blue ballgown that glittered like water.

He purchased himself the tailored white jacket, the tight pants. All to fit Elain's vision as she had Feyre draw out exactly what she was picturing.

Rhysand had been kind and took his favorite sister in law down to the archives where his family jewels and crowns were stored.

Much like Feyre, Elain was smitten with the glow worms and it almost gave Rhysand a flashback when she asked if she could pick a glow worm instead of a crown.

Tamlin and Briar -

I wanted to include these two. I don't know if this is a confirmed ship, but I want it.

Tamlin and Briar are going as a bee and a rose. So innocent to the naked eye, so very not.

Briar’s dress was made to look like soft petals. Her hair was pinned with small teacup roses weaved throughout the long dark waves.

Tamlin looked ridiculous, a little headband with bee antennas. Black pants with yellow fuzz all over them.

“If we leave now, I can make sure your flower is properly pollinated, my love.”

Cue Briar blushing profusely as those jokes increase as the fae wine does.

She's all giggles as Tamlin laces his fingers in hers, pulling her upstairs for the evening.

Bonus:

Cassian and the Valkyries -

Nesta could not leave Emerie and Gwyn out this year. Tradition had the 3 of them always dressing together and her marriage to Cassian would not change that.

They had just finished the legend of Dracula and his 3 brides. The thick old book provided the most beautiful descriptions of the brides and their flowing clothing, outfits made to show the female form like the art work it was.

Cassian did not mind being dressed in his normal all black and the fake vampire teeth. Not when his wife looked so beautiful, abs and breasts exposed.

He also loved the way Mor couldn't stop staring at Emerie. And Azriel Gwyn.

His favorite girls were getting all of the love and attention in their group costumes, and he was more than happy to give the 3 of them their spotlight.

[starsreminisce]

do you think the mask will be significant in future acotar books? will it be more for a crossover kinda thing?

Short Answer:

The mask is why I have a strong inclination that the next book will be Elain's POV. However, I think by the end of the third ACOTAR book, the dread trove items will either be cleansed or destroyed.

@glossamerfaerie posted this theory about how the next two book covers would feature the dread trove items, and it got me thinking about how each item's powers correlate to each FMC's powers and their essence. The mask, which controls the dead, is linked to Nesta's death powers and her ability to Make and Unmake. Nesta also masks her emotions from the get-go. The harp is a musical instrument, perfect for a musically inclined priestess who has found Merrill's study on the 26 worlds fascinating. The mind-controlling crown is ideal for Elain, who can convince anyone with her pretty smile and honestly, leads me to believe in a HK/HQ path for Elain and Lucien.

From this, I think that the next books will tackle each of the dread trove items, but their fate isn't clear, and quite frankly, SJM can tell us how she intends to weave them into the plot.

Long Answer:

I previously mentioned that something needed to be established in HOFAS to provide context for the coming books, and like others, I thought it was Truth-Teller. While we received the lore of TT, it didn't receive as much attention in the book compared to the dread trove items, particularly the mask.

In ACOSF, the mask received the most attention in how it affected Nesta as opposed to the other items. She had more time to reflect on it compared to the other two. We were also told that Helion had a strong reaction to it (Lucien's connection), and Azriel said Elain shouldn't be exposed to its darkness.

When we left ACOSF, Nesta was able to remove the mask with ease, but Elain and Nesta's fight was sort of swept to the sideline. Nesta was able to work out her issues with Feyre towards the end of the book.

When we got to HOFAS, Nesta was not able to remove the mask without Azriel listing off people she cared about, and her power flared at the mention of her sisters. Later on, after Nesta gave up the mask, it was a decision only supported by Feyre. So, my guess is that her power flared at Elain's name. Nesta enjoyed wearing the mask because it gave her a separation from her feelings where she isn't in her head all the time. The thing with healing journeys is that they aren't perfect, and someone can slip up every now and again. Cassian is testament to this. So Elain's name triggered something strong for Nesta, but when she was told Nyx's name, that's when she was able to remove it.

While we were told the lore of TT, we were also told more about the Dread Trove items even when Rigelus saw Bryce wield the mask and truth-teller. Rigelus cared more about the mask than he did TT.

So, there is this unexplained gap - why was Nesta able to remove the mask with ease for her not able to do so, and what is happening in Prythian that caused even Cassian to be the most disappointed with her when he had supported most of her decisions throughout ACOSF?

Are Elain and Nesta rehashing the fight they had regarding the dread trove?

I believe the next book will explore this gap, and it'll start either right after or during the ceremony of Nessian. It could also be a bridge between the two series to explain their perspective of Bryce coming to their world. Lucien and Elain are removed enough so that ACOTAR-only readers would be able to follow along as I feel retelling the tunnel part through Az would be redundant for the maasverse readers.

Ember's parting words to Nesta were not to worry, and she would find her way. Nesta had taken pride in being Elain's protector, and what would become of Nesta if Elain were to be with Lucien, who is primed to leave as he is the heir to Day, and his mother's line is strong enough that he could be contested for Autumn?

There's also a three-to-four-month gap between the blood rite and Bryce coming to Prythian, which actually follows a pattern seen in SJM's handling of mating bonds, from acknowledgment to acceptance. Feyre left the Spring Court mid-February to accept the bond in May. The bond snapped in December for Nesta to accept it in March.

Would Elain and Lucien follow this pattern? Perhaps they'll finally acknowledge each other during the ceremony, with Elain accepting it during the Summer Solstice, a celebration Lucien mentioned that the fae hold for being fae and completing her journey of self-acceptance.

So yes, to me, the mask is going to be important in the next ACOTAR book and be a point of contention for Elain and Nesta. I think Elain is going to focus more on mastering the crown while Nesta grapples with the mask.

I still don't know what its role would be for a crossover. It could very well be magical girl weapons for them, or it could be destroyed.

Now, of course, we are at the mercy of SJM's whims, and she could very well decide that Gwynriel is the best couple to bridge ACOTAR and HOFAS after Bryce gave Nesta the items, but I am having trouble reconciling why Nesta is struggling to remove the mask and how SJM would handle rehashing a similar plot, given her penchant for info dumping.

[vidalinav]

Promp! Nessian subtle touches!!! Like they are not together together yet but they give eachother little touches?? Kind of like before all the a*sf fiasco, i don't know i just want soft nessian

I sort of wrote something for this... but I made it sad face. :D but it’s actually more Nesta having anxiety.

This is basically if Cassian hadn't immediately run off to the snow ball fight and they had their morning after. Basically for context, after this scene, they'd have to go see the rest of the family after they've basically accepted the mate bond. SO... awko taco, but I didn't write that part.

~

Nesta always dreads the morning afters and perhaps that's why she never invites Cassian to stay. There's no drunken allure, no fascination, no great lust that overrides her senses enough to forget that she is with another person... lying in her bed, less than perfect... something stale and sweaty, while she tries to forget the night.

But Nesta finds she doesn't particularly want to forget this night. She doesn't want to get out of bed either.

Cassian’s arms are wrapped around her and his wings are lazily lounging across her way, blocking out the sun and instead of clambering out of sheets, Nesta wishes to trace the fabric of his wings and see what he might do. Would he get mad? Would he settle in sweet sighs? Would he let her touch him, over and over again, just as he had last night?

Last night feels like a dream where they are surrounded by stars. Light winds around their hearts, knotting and twisting into something permanent and precious. Nesta has an inkling of what it is, but she won't say it out loud. Let him admit it first. If he dares, let him speak his mind and she'll tell him that she'd always hoped it was him. That it was always meant to be him, even when she contested so greatly to herself that he wasn’t meant to be hers. 

They fit somehow. Her head rests in the crevice of his neck and she's tucked so neatly next to him. Their limbs are twisted together and surely they've become so entwined that no two people exist. Only one soul. One body. One star shooting across the night.

But now it's morning and just like the sun, Cassian blinks awake.

He smiles as he sees her. Nesta can't help the soft grin. It arises from her face without any great fanfare and it settles just like the warmth on her skin. 

“Thank the Mother,” he says, his voice rough with sleep. "I thought you were a dream.” 

"I didn't want to wake you," Nesta says as she lightly trails a finger across the fine tendons still wading across her body. Cassian shivers and he takes her hands, placing a reverent kiss to each knuckle.

He's quiet as he kisses her awake, kisses her back to life. Her skin turns pink at his touch and there must be something to be said about the color that returns in light of his presence. He soothes her and thrills her all at once.

"They'll be searching for us soon," he confesses, a little smirk playing with his features. Nesta tries not to wrinkle her nose, but Cassian kisses there, his hands weaving through golden brown waves. "I doubt they'll let us miss breakfast."

Bunch of busybodies, she thinks, but before Nesta can rant her lungs clear, Cassian is pulling her closer. An impossible feat, really, because there’s no way they could be any more entwined. Not unless they burrowed their way to the center, where that splitting star sits. 

"There will be pancakes. French toast. Oatmeal... and I even made sure they'd have those strawberries you like. There's cake left too, perhaps we can make a celebration of it."

A celebration, an announcement, some rejoice of pleasure. A finally.

A finality.

Cassian sounds excited as he says the words, but Nesta can only think of morning afters. 

There's a shame to it, isn't there? That everyone should know about how she's spent her time and whose she spent it with. She swears there was a concern there at one point... though she doubts they will mind much now that it’s Cassian. 

But it is Cassian.

Nesta has always been full of secrets and this is but one that will be ripped from her grasp. If it exists outside quick romps, it will exist outside bedroom walls. The secret will no longer be safe and hers alone. 

It will no longer be theirs--safe where it's clasped within her hands with tightened fists.

“What worries you,” Cassian asks softly... slowly... But Nesta doesn’t know what to say, what to reveal. Will he keep her secrets? If those walls are knocked down, will he guard those walls he’s plundered? "Don't you want to see the others?"

Nesta swallows, staring into hazel with her heart a roaring song.

How does she say she doesn't know what she wants? How does she speak a truth that will tear him apart? How does she speak without the inevitable sighs, the impatience, as if she's arrogant and not troubled? Her world is being ripped to pieces just like her soul, and he's holding her together merely by his arms--his embrace.

Why does love feel so sickly? She feels like she's humming out of her body and her limbs must move, but will she run? Will she freeze? Will she fight and tear them both apart?

So Nesta instead tightens her hold where her arms are wrapped around him. She chooses to cling, and she leans her head on his chest, willing herself to stop screaming when her voice makes no sound.

"I want to listen to your heart," she answers, "for just a little while longer."

[stillwintering]

All's Fair in Love and Politics (a modern Nessian AU - where Rhys is running for president)

Summary: In the ruthless arena of politics, victory demands risking everything, even one's own heart. Rhysand has his eyes on the presidency. Feyre convinces her estranged sister, Nesta, to join the political campaign. Nesta and Cassian find themselves forging an unexpected bond as the campaign intensifies. But can their budding romance survive the treacherous waters of modern political warfare?

Read on AO3

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8

Chapter 9

One run became two. Then, before she knew it, Nesta found herself training with Cassian three times a week. Even when they returned to DC, they continued to run together.

They fell into a natural routine, meeting up after their workday at a major landmark on the National Mall, like the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument. Cassian, evidently a seasoned runner, would lead her on beautiful routes around the Potomac. Although Nesta had spent many years in DC, she had never taken the opportunity to visit any of its cultural sights.

"The Lincoln Memorial is best viewed early in the morning, at first light," Cassian had remarked once when they met at the white granite steps to begin their run. He knew full well that Nesta wasn't the type to rise at such an ungodly hour for exercise.

"Dusk will have to suffice for us," he had said with a wink.

Nesta soon discovered that Cassian maintained a rigorous schedule, rising each day at 4:30 am -- a vestige of his years in the army, he told her. She quickly grew to appreciate the fierce discipline beneath the easygoing demeanor with which Cassian approached his work and life.

"Old habits die hard," he had confessed with a small smile.

Nesta surprised herself by how much she looked forward to her sessions with Cassian. He had been an excellent coach, helping to correct her running form and improving her strength training. She liked Cassian's carefree laugh and how he constantly challenged her to be a little faster and stronger during each workout.

Despite spending entire workdays together -- except when campaign commitments called him away to the early-voting states -- Nesta never felt overwhelmed by his company.

She was seeing a lot of Cassian. But she couldn't bring herself to mind.

As spring gave way to summer in Washington, Azriel joined the two of them on their evening workouts. Azriel's presence was a stark contrast to Cassian's boisterous energy.

Where Cassian was fire, Azriel was water -- quiet, steady, an intensity that lay beneath the surface.

In the sticky heat of DC summers, Cassian and Azriel often completed their runs without a shirt. The appreciative looks and naked ogling from passersby had not escaped Nesta's notice. She had caught many women (and some men) staring slack-jawed at their beautiful forms.

But she had been surprised the first time -- a rainy, humid June evening -- when she saw that they bore complimentary tattoos, intricate black patterns swirling across their chests and backs. She didn't think that it was appropriate to inquire after their provenance.

It was clear that Cassian and Azriel considered each other to be true brothers in everything but blood. And like bickering siblings, they brought out a vicious competitiveness in each other.

There were numerous occasions where Nesta found herself stepping aside so that the two men could engage in additional physical trials as a means to settle scores that only they seemed to keep track of.

Sometimes, Cassian and Azriel would spontaneously challenge each other to sprint races to some designated landmark. Other times, they would engage in impromptu strength contests, seeing who could complete the most burpees or hold the longest plank, with Nesta often roped in as the reluctant judge.

Once in July, the competitive edge between Cassian and Azriel escalated beyond mere athletic feats and into outright hand-to-hand combat. At the end of their official 8-mile route, Cassian and Azriel had challenged each other to a sprint towards a secluded patch of forest by the Tidal Basin, leaving Nesta to catch up to them.

By the time she found them again, they were circling each other with lethal intensity, ready to strike. It was as if all that crude competitive energy between them had finally boiled over.

Cassian eyes flickered to Nesta, marking her arrival to their patch of the forest. Azriel, taking the opening, struck first, his fist launching towards Cassian, who blocked quickly. Nesta observed the ensuing sparring session with a mix of horror and carnal fascination. It was as if their bodies spoke a language of their own, a dialogue of feints and parries, blocks and counters.

It was clear that they'd sparred before, and Nesta wondered whether this was another vestige of their shared military days.

The sight of Cassian's beautiful, muscled body, taut and rippling with every forceful movement, stirred something primal within her. His physical dominance was undeniable. It was like witnessing a live sculpture in motion, each muscle group defining itself with remarkable clarity under his sweat-slicked, golden skin, igniting an urgent warmth in Nesta's core.

Azriel, with his lithe, agile form, displayed a different kind of power. His movements were liquid poetry, each twist and turn highlighting the lean, sinewy muscles beneath his tanned skin. The grace and precision with which he moved were tantalizing, a seductive dance that drew Nesta's eyes to the swell of his back muscles, the curve of his biceps, and the hardness of his abdomen.

Finally, Azriel executed a swift, well-timed strike that connected solidly with the right side of Cassian's face. Cassian staggered back slightly, momentarily dazed, and then raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay," Cassian chuckled, rubbing his jaw where Azriel's blow had landed. "You got me, Az."

Azriel, however, didn't relax his guard. His attention remained sharply focused on Cassian, his body still coiled and ready. "No appetite for a knockout today?" he asked, challenge lacing his voice.

"A knockout? You wish," Cassian answered, playful. "You're in top form today -- I'll give you that."

Azriel's stance finally loosened. The corners of his mouth turned up in a satisfied smile. "Someone has to keep you on your toes, Cass."

Nesta folded her arms across her chest. "Really, you two?" Nesta admonished, her gaze shifting between Cassian and Azriel, still squared off against each other. "Has no one taught you to use your words first before resorting to violence?"

Cassian looked over Azriel's shoulder to where Nesta stood. "Az, here, never got over the fact that I beat his rucking record during basic training," he teased.

Azriel turned while rolling his eyes. "By three minutes," he reminded him drily.

"Rucking?" Nesta asked.

"It's a timed test used by the Army to assess physical fitness," Cassian replied. "Twelve miles in unforgiving conditions while carrying a 45-pound rucksack, along with your standard equipment and rifle."

Nesta arched a brow. "Dare I ask where the record stands?"

"One hour and 28 minutes," Azriel supplied.

Nesta couldn't help but give Cassian an assessing once-over. He flashed her a cocksure grin, loving how her eyes traveled up and down his body. She immediately felt her cheeks flush.

"Don't encourage him, Nesta," Azriel smiled, too aware, "My brother's ego is large enough as it is. It'll be unbearable for all of us if it gets any bigger."

Nesta forced out a frown, self-conscious. But she couldn't tell if she was embarrassed by their brutish behavior or by how she was caught blatantly gawking at Cassian's muscled chest.

"Next time you two feel the urge to engage in a childish, testosterone-fueled pissing contest," she said disapprovingly, face still red, "Please leave me out of it."

Cassian swung an arm over Azriel's shoulders, pulling him into an affectionate side hug. Azriel had visibly relaxed against Cassian -- whatever score between them settled.

"Don't worry, Nes," Cassian laughed, a deep rumble. "Next time, Az won't be getting the better of me."

Azriel knocked against Cassian's shoulder in displeasure, but his eyes were mirthful. "Are you saying you want to go for a second round already?"

Cassian eyed his brother with a wicked glint. "We can move this to a boxing ring."

Azriel took a beat to consider. "Name the time and place."

Nesta shook her head sternly. "I'm going home," she announced.

Sparing one last look at the two half-naked men, Nesta tamped down the flutter in her stomach as she walked away, suddenly feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush.

---

Thankfully, Amren did not assign Nesta to join Cassian on his frequent trips to field offices across all the early voting states. Now that the Iowa offices were up and running under Baz's leadership, Cassian shifted his energy to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan. But Nesta remained Cassian's primary partner on most projects. While he traveled, she stayed in DC to work on media strategy, messaging, and provided logistical support. They were constantly together or constantly on the phone with each other. She would have been annoyed to depend so heavily on a colleague, but she found Cassian to be resourceful and frustratingly competent.

Nesta was also thankful that Amren refrained from putting her on projects that required her presence in Velaris at the home office. Azriel had been charged with that particular assignment.

Feyre was in and out of DC all summer, primarily to accompany Rhys to important fundraisers. Nesta resolved to build a firewall between her work and personal lives. So, she made a point of keeping her interactions with Feyre purely professional. The last thing she needed was to lose focus when the big political battles were looming ahead.

Sometime during the summer, Nesta decided that she loved her job -- campaigning suited her. She found a profound sense of purpose in shaping Starborn's policies and moving the debate among the candidates. Now that Sean Hybern was the Republican frontrunner in all but name, Nesta felt an exigency in what they were doing that she had never felt before: she was willing to do everything in her power to ensure Hybern didn't win the presidency.

She could tell Cassian was also driven by the same fear. Occasionally, she would catch glimpses of a burning intensity in his eyes while he was in the middle of some task, whether it was on a conference call with the field offices where he would direct their operations with canny efficiency, or it was in the heat of a brutal discussion with Rhys and Amren over campaign priorities. It was the same deadly intent she saw when Cassian and Azriel sparred.

And Nesta wondered what it would be like to have all that military-honed lethality trained on her. It gave her goosebumps.

Every now and again, she could feel that he was watching her in the office. But whenever she caught his eyes, that burning intensity immediately dissipated into something softer and yielding towards her.

It felt like a mask. Like he, too, had a firewall.

---

Like their evening runs, Nesta and Cassian fell into an easy routine at the office.

"So, the Iowa State Fair," Nesta came to sit on the edge of Cassian's desk one late July afternoon. She had been going over the list of Rhys's campaign appearances for August. The Des Moines Register hosted a Political Soapbox event for all presidential hopefuls at the Iowa State Fair -- it was an essential campaign event. Nesta had been helping Rhys hone his interview answers for weeks.

Cassian looked up from his laptop. "What about it?"

"You're not going with Rhys?"

He cocked his head. "No, I have to be in Michigan that weekend."

Nesta smiled coyly. "I just thought that..." she bit her bottom lip in the way she knew would get his attention. "That was the sort of thing that you enjoyed. The reason you liked traveling for the campaign so much."

After all this time spent together, Nesta had finally mastered the art of their repartee. She learned the contours of Cassian's humor, the tempos of his day, and most importantly, the buttons she could press to elicit a reaction.

"What?" He looked dazedly at her face, gaze lingering on her lips.

"Don't you want to see the butter cow?"

Cassian snorted. "Do you want to see the butter cow?"

"You understand it's a life-size cow made entirely of butter," Nesta replied seriously.

He shifted back in his chair. "I'm not going," he said again. "But you are welcome to go and see the butter cow yourself, Nes."

"There's also a butter Elvis and a butter Last Supper which has, I swear to God, Cassian --"

"Butter on the table?" he provided with a wide grin, falling into the rhythm of their now familiar banter.

"It's got butter on the table right there between butter James and butter Peter." She widened her eyes for effect and then leaned toward him so that she was only a few inches from his face. "It's an almost mind-blowing vortex of art and material that dares the viewer to recall Marcel Duchamp," she finished breathlessly.

She watched Cassian swallow. He often became slightly flustered when she entered his personal space unexpectedly. She waited for him to recover.

Up close, she could almost make out all the golden flecks in the hazel of his eyes -- a glimpse of that burning intensity peeking through.

"How do they keep it from melting?" he asked after a beat too long. His expression shuttered, eyes guarded again.

Satisfied, she pulled back. "How, indeed," she said with a wink and returned to her desk.

---

Rhysand's summer calendar was a tightly packed itinerary of political fundraisers from the East to the West Coast. Nesta knew it was essential for candidates to amass the financial resources necessary for the upcoming primary season. But the process troubled her, how much politicians depended on their donors.

When Nesta was still reporting, she was never allowed to attend a high-level fundraiser; they were strictly closed to the press. Now, in her senior role on the Starborn campaign, she had been fielding invitations to various breakfasts, lunches, and dinners around the DC area. She was finally given a look behind the proverbial curtain, and she wasn't sure she liked what she found.

The beginning of August marked Keir Hewn's summer fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, a blockbuster event among the Beltway elites. With all the high rollers invited, the party was expected to raise millions in one night. Nesta reluctantly agreed to go along with the rest of the senior staff, even though these events always left her feeling greasy afterward.

The sprawling grounds of the Hewn Mansion had been transformed into a spectacle designed to dazzle the crème de la crème of political society for the evening. Fairy lights wove through the foliage and above the walkways, creating an illusion of a starlit canopy that mirrored the clear night sky. A candle-lit path led guests through the manicured lawn to a series of outdoor gazeboes. The large flagstone terrace was set with tables dressed in blue and silver linens, the DNC's colors, with centerpieces of lilies and roses.

Nesta slipped into the garden from the North entrance, careful to avoid crowds gathered near the mansion doors. She remembered the layout of the grounds well from the spring charity gala.

After taking a lap around the terrace, she found Mor and Azriel by the bar.

"Nesta, you must tell me where you found your dress!" Mor exclaimed as soon as she was close enough.

"My friend owns a boutique in Alexandria," Nesta replied, allowing Mor to pull her in for a kiss on the cheek. "I can send you the address. She'd love to dress you."

"Please do," Mor said. "This fabric is absolutely divine!" Mor ran a hand down Nesta's side, feeling the soft grey silk of her gown. She clearly had a lot to drink already. Mor was partial to red for formal events, and Nesta was sure that tonight's red tulle number was made of a material far more luxurious than her own.

Azriel handed Nesta a glass of wine. "Chenin Blanc," he said and leaned in for a kiss as well. "If I recall correctly."

They've attended enough open bar events together now that Azriel knew her preferred drink orders. "Thank you," she smiled.

Taking a sip, Nesta surveyed the assembled guests from the rim of her glass. It seemed like the entire higher echelon of the Democratic Party was in attendance. She spotted Rhys and Feyre on the lawn speaking with the House Whip and Senate Minority Leader. Closer to them on the terrace, Thesan Morgenstern was huddled with Keir Hewn, Speaker Beron, and, from the expensive cut of the fourth man's suit, a high-dollar donor.

Mor sniffed. "Don't worry," she said, following Nesta's gaze. "My father holds another fundraiser in September for the GOP. We Hewns are, if anything, equal opportunity lobbyists."

"Is your father backing Thesan for the Democratic nomination?" Nesta asked.

Mor frowned, picking up another glass of red wine from a waiter. "My father hasn't made a decision yet," she replied, voice low. "My father would never bet on only the favorite when it is possible to bet on all the contenders. He will guarantee that the winner be indebted to him in some way or other."

"No family loyalty?" Nesta arched a brow.

Mor laughed. "It's business," she said simply. "Now, what do you say that we go find Cassian and see about turning this snoozefest around?"

Mor linked her arms between Nesta and Azriel and pulled them towards the candle-lit lawn.

---

Cassian was talking to a bald man Nesta didn't recognize beneath a sprawling elm tree just below the terrace. The soft illumination from the lights weaving through the branches highlighted the perfect angles of his face as he spoke. The other man was older and seemed intensely interested in whatever Cassian said, but their conversation seemed stilted.

Cassian had been gone for campaign business for the last week, and it was already as if she were seeing him for the first time. When their eyes met, everything around them seemed to fade, and the chatter and laughter in the air became muted hums. Cassian shook the man's hand goodbye without looking at him, his attention solely on Nesta as she walked up to where he was standing.

She drank in every inch of him: his broad shoulders, his dark hair styled just so, and the unyielding strength in his posture. Her heart thrummed a frantic rhythm against her ribs; it had been doing that a lot in his presence this summer.

Cassian wrapped Mor into a brief hug, moving as if on autopilot; his eyes remained focused on Nesta the whole time. Mor returned to her conversation with Azriel. Cassian remained still as a statue.

"Nesta Archeron," he finally breathed, voice low and husky. "You are lovely."

A blush crept up her cheeks, her usual retort dying on her lips. Instead, she allowed herself to luxuriate in the burning intensity of his gaze. He felt like a vision from a dream she rarely allowed herself to indulge in.

Then, she blinked -- the spell broken. "I wasn't sure if you were going to make it back from New Hampshire for tonight."

"I couldn't miss the social event of the summer."

"When did you get in?"

"A few hours ago," he admitted, looking down at the drink in his hand. When he looked back up, his eyes glittered. "Did you miss me?"

Nesta scoffed. "I'm much more productive without you around the office to distract me."

"That's not a no." The corners of his lips twitched.

“It’s not a yes, either. We talk every day on the phone,” Nesta took a drink from her glass. “How long are you back for?”

“I’ll be flying out to South Carolina by Monday,” he replied, looking away and then back at her. "Admit it, you missed me.”

“I miss having a reliable running buddy," she finally conceded with a small smile. "Mine is constantly out of town.”

He leaned against the solid tree trunk, studying her like a puzzle. "Sounds like you might need to get a new running buddy," he finally said.

All these months of close proximity, orbiting each other like binary stars, yet he always pulled himself back, never letting himself get too close.

Did she want him to cross that boundary between them? She didn't know what she would find on the other side.

"Perhaps," she murmured, stepping close so she could press her free palm against the tree beside him. She marked his eyes drop and linger on the low cut of her dress. "It's terribly rude of him to always leave me high and dry while he is away."

He swallowed. "What would you have him do then?"

This close, she could make out all the notes of his cologne: black truffle, patchouli, and ylang-ylang. She would bet all the money she had in her wallet that he smelled even more intoxicating if she leaned into the skin of his neck, right below his ear.

Nesta took a small step back. "Who were you talking to?" she asked instead, changing the subject.

"Ted Marcus," Cassian replied, his posture stiffening. "Hollywood executive, big-time donor."

"Ah," she acknowledged. "Is he one of Rhys's supporters?"

"I imagine so," Cassian said. "But I haven't figured out what he wants yet."

Nesta turned away, her discomfort palpable amidst the buzz of political strategizing and the clinking of expensive glassware. She forced herself to concentrate on the faces in the distance.

"Is there anyone here I should be talking to?" she asked, reminding herself that this was a work event.

Cassian stepped into the spot beside her, so they faced the same direction, towards the terrace. He lowered himself so his face almost touched hers, their eyes exactly level so he could see from her vantage point, following her gaze into the crowd.

"Well," he spoke softly. "Lauren Shelby," he gestures towards a woman in a black dress, "from OMB is crucial; she knows everything that is happening with the major bills. Ryan Pierce, clerks for the Chief Justice. You'll need Senator Arnold Vinick's support to pass anything in the upper chamber." He pointed out each guest to her.

Then, he stopped and waited for the throngs to shift. If she moved even a little bit, she would brush against his temple. She held her breath.

"Roger Salier," he finally pointed out. "Owns half the newspapers on the East Coast. But I suppose you probably know him already."

She nodded. "Only by reputation."

Cassian moved away, straightening to his full height. She almost sighed at the loss of heat from his proximity.

Mor had been watching them out of the corner of her eye. "Would you like an introduction?" she asked.

"What?" Nesta pivoted, almost forgetting that Azriel and Mor were nearby.

"To Roger Salier?" Mor smirked, her eyes glinting with an emotion Nesta couldn't place. "Perhaps you can convince him to part with some pocket change for the campaign. Or grant Rhys a meeting with the editorial board of The Washington Post."

Nesta studied the man in question. He stood on the edge of the party -- he looked young with energetic eyes -- speaking to an older man with a grey beard. His suit was extremely flattering, perfectly tailored to his tall, lithe frame. The fabric and lines were so exquisite that even from far away Nesta was sure it was from Savile Row.

"He's newly single, too," Mor continued. "A very amicable breakup. It wasn't a serious relationship -- if the town gossip is to be believed. Definitely the most eligible bachelor here, I'd say."

Cassian's expression became perfectly neutral, although he clutched his glass so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Nesta only blinked, surprised by the conversation's turn. Mor took Nesta's pause as affirmation.

"Okay, Az, you've got to do the honors," Mor squealed in delight. "I already gave Roger the whole campaign spiel earlier tonight. It would be too conspicuous if I made the introduction. Az will escort you over there. He can divert Myron," she indicated to the bearded man standing next to Roger, "while you make your entrance."

Azriel shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "I am not --"

But Mor was already blazing with unabashed glee, her cheeks pink and eyes bright -- it reminded Nesta of Emerie when she got particularly worked up over some scheme.

"Off you go!" She practically shoved Azriel and Nesta together with a self-satisfied grin.

Azriel gave Nesta a conciliatory shrug and hooked her hand around his elbow. "Sorry," he said softly as he tugged her away. "It's easier to just go along with it. Mor loves to play matchmaker."

Nesta sighed. "Oh, all right," she conceded; after all, she came tonight to primarily socialize for professional gain. She allowed Azriel to escort her back towards the Mansion.

When Nesta looked over her shoulder, she gave Cassian a wan smile, a little disappointed to leave him behind. Cassian's expression was unreadable. Mor talked giddily against his ear, but he didn't move -- his eyes were hard as stone as he watched Nesta walk away.

Azriel was saying something to her. Nesta nodded along but had yet to hear one word. Her mind was churning. She was almost sure of Cassian's interest in her -- he flirted with her constantly. Yet, a nagging puzzle piece refused to fit: his relationship with Mor. Were they, or had they ever been a couple? Or was it Azriel who was Mor's lover?

The questions lingered like specters in her thoughts, and the ambiguity clouded her judgment.

[vulpes-fennec]

Happy Day 3 of @sjmromanceweek!!!

Pairings mentioned: Nessian, Gwynlain, Rowaelin

I’m going to leave all the “Dear Suriel” parts a mystery to the readers hehe. You can read the regular text below the cut!

Dearest reader, if you did not have the pleasure of attending Nesta Archeron and Cassian’s mating ceremony last week, I feel sorry for you. But Suriel, I thought you were dead? Rest assured that death is merely the gateway from one realm to the next. 

Under the flower-bedecked temple by the flowing Sidra, Nesta and Cassian exchanged tender vows and offered each other sweet cake. Cynical readers may question the purpose of such extravagance. Is such formality necessary when two people already love each other, when they have already accepted their mating bond? This author posits a different question: why live, if we cannot find causes for celebration? 

But sending well wishes to the happy couple was not my sole reason for attending the mating ceremony. As we all know, there is nothing this author loves more than a scandal. It has become common knowledge that a singular stained glass necklace was offered to Elain Archeron, and then Gwyneth (Gwyn) Berdara last Winter Solstice by an errant Azriel Shadowsinger. I can only hope Mr. Shadowsinger’s future partner does not have the love language of gift-giving! 

Society, like a snarling, salivating hound, has hungered for an explosive resolution to this whole debacle. With both ladies attending the ceremony, has the other shoe finally dropped? 

Not in the way you may presume. For the gentle Kingslayer and the cheerful Valkyrie were spotted giving each other shy glances while walking down the aisle. After the luncheon, Gwyn sidled up to Elain with an innocent request to dance. As the rest of the party grew raucous over copious cups of wine, Elain gave Gwyn a tour of the peaceful River House garden, demurely clasping the priestess’s hand midway.  

Surprised, reader, by this budding romance? Not I. Miss Archeron spoke true of not wanting a male, and perhaps Miss Berdara will find solace in feminine intimacy as she ventures out of the library. 

Thanks to the revocation of Cassian’s Summer Court ban, the happy couple is currently soaking up the sun in a stunning overwater bungalow. Let us pray that the Illyrian general does not destroy yet another Summer Court dwelling with his…honeymoon activities. 

One can only assume that Nesta and Cassian had their hands full, as they did not pay a visit to the Adriata’s annual Turtle Days Festival. A shame! This author is particularly fond of turtles, for they are some of the longest lived creatures in the sea. Wise, yes, but also prone to chit chat like me. After all, life can get incredibly dull without gossip… 

There is nothing like the warm sun and ocean breeze to put one in the mood for love. Summer Court’s most eligible bachelor, Tarquin, was spotted with a pretty female at his side the entire time! 

As schoolgirls tearfully take down the posters of their handsome High Lord, several of them wrestle with the silver lining: perhaps one day, they may have a shot with him. For it appears he does not limit himself to the court ladies when it comes to relationships! Tarquin guided his companion down the art gallery, listened attentively to her input while judging the seafood bisque contest, and tore up the dance floor with quadrille after quadrille. The two looked positively over the moon as they stole away to a secluded beach for an evening swim in the warm summer sea. 

Enjoy the honeymoon phase, young lovers! This mystery lady is certainly a lucky one, for the high lord of summer is working hard to ensure all fae are elevated to equal status in his court. For workaholics everywhere, this is a sign: perhaps finding love is the quickest way to make you all take a break.

Across the worlds, Her Majesty Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius (a mouthful of a name!) and Prince Rowan Whitethorn have retreated to the royal summer estate on a much-delayed honeymoon.

While much of the estate has fallen into disrepair over the years, the remaining locals did their best to fend off looters and even buried the late prince and princess in the estate gardens. 

Queen Aelin is renowned for her love of luxury, but one can imagine that peace and quiet are of higher priority on her honeymoon. The opportunity to retreat from the hubbub of court should not be taken for granted, and I fully expect the couple to make the most of their privacy. 

Perhaps revisiting this once-beloved home and forging new memories is the final piece of healing needed for the young queen. This author does affirm Prince Rhoe and Princess Evalin were contentedly watching over the newlyweds from their garden bench. That is, before that pesky dog Fleetfoot decided to charge at me, snapping at my robes! All right, all right. This author will leave the happy family be. 

Dear Suriel, I am thinking of proposing to my girlfriend. Marriages, engagements, most of all love…these are foreign to us Ironteeth witches. So I have been doing my research: I’ll need to procure a diamond ring, take her to an upscale dining establishment, plan a fun sedentary activity for afterwards, say a sappy speech, and get down on one knee. But I am worried she will decline because this may be a long-distance marriage (we have duties to our respective queendoms). Respectfully, Abraxos’s Mom. 

Dear Abraxos’s Mom, I am honored you consider me the expert in marriage proposals. I commend your commitment to researching an unknown area, but I am sure your darling would find more meaning in a personalized proposal over an expensive (and sometimes gaudy) one. I suggest finding a ring that will, most importantly, fit. I also recommend focusing on her favorite dishes, rather than expensive fine-dining. Speeches are not a must before the fateful words “will you marry me,” but if the moment calls for it, opt for genuine words over spouting poetry. Wishing you luck!  

Win a free honeymoon trip to Terrasen National Forest! A three-night stay at the Peregrine Resort, complete with deer park, Kingsflame meadows, Staghorn mountains aerial tramway, spa, and fine dining vouchers for two! 

Erilea residents only. Submit your wedding invitation and the story of how you met your partner to Terrasen Parks Service before Beltane Eve.

[ninthcircleofprythian]

🔥- Smut 💕- Fluff 🙈- Angst 🩹- Hurt/Comfort

Masterlist Header by @saradika-graphics

Please read all warnings on fics - some fics contain heavy emotional topics and explicit descriptions. All fics will be appropriately tagged at the time of posting. Please read them carefully before diving in. Your mental health matters.

Azriel

🔥 Winner Takes All - After returning from a girls retreat weekend at the cabin, Nesta and Celeste find out the Bat Boy husbands have made a bet they are sure to lose. (Azriel x OC Celeste)

🔥Here Comes The Sun - When the Spymaster of the Night Court discovers your little crush, you end up crossing a lot of firsts off your list. (Azriel x You/Reader)

🔥💕Dinner and Dessert - As his mate's due date approaches, Az can't handle the sight of her pregnant body in a sundress without going a bit feral. (Azriel x OC Mira)

Series

Unbound (Masterlist) - Not having a mating bond didn't stop the love Azriel and Celeste have for each other or their commitment. When an unknown magic lingering from Celeste's past causes her to lose all memories of the last century, will they be able to rebuild their life without a bond tethering them together? (Azriel x OC Celeste)

Cassian

🔥 Kiss - Don't Tell - Cassian/Azriel - M/M - after a wild threesome months ago - Cas and Az get a little curious what things would be like without a third party involved

🔥Just Call My Name - Cassian/Azriel - (part 2 of Kiss - Don't Tell) after an unsuccesful night at Rita's, a tipsy Az can't stop thinking about a previous night he shared with Cassian.

💕Let It Snow - Cassian/Reader - modern au - sweet holiday themed fluff with Cassian during a snowstorm. *Cheesy use of song lyrics*

Eris

🔥 Make It Hurt - After a truly terrible day you come home only to be surprised by the one and only Eris Vanserra and he knows how to make it all better. (Eris x You/Reader)

💕 Stuck in the Middle with You - Eris relents to participate in a throuples Halloween costume contest at your insistence. (Halloween modern AU) (Eris Week 2024 - AU day) (Azris/Reader)

Series

The Bird and The Badger (Masterlist) - a series of interconnect one shots told in non-linear order detailing the life of Eris x OC (Bryn) --- eventual Azris x OC (Parts will be listed here in chronological order)

Azris

💕A Pocketful of -- Ragweed? - (Short little drabble for Azris week) Eris might be snide and snarky with his words, but he sure knows how to surprise his mate with his actions.

🙈 May Her Memory Be a Blessing - no summary. please read the authors notes. this will hurt. emotional damage.

💕 When You Wish Upon a Star - just a little slice of life and domesticity for dad!Az and dad!Eris.

💕Boop or Treat - modern AU halloween fic with dad!Az and dad!Eris

💕All I Want For Christmas - modern AU christmas fic with dad!Az and dad!Eris

Elucien

💕 Scrabble Drabble - Family game night after weekly dinners tended to get a little contentious. It wasn’t unusual for someone to quit midway through or to accuse another of cheating. It was no different now that Lucien had joined in the weekly tradition with his mate, Elain.

💕Icing Is The Spice Of Life - Elain may have slightly over-commited her famous holiday cookies to friends and family. But her mate Lucien comes to the rescue. Cuteness abounds.

Headcanons

💕 In which the fae of Prythian discover bubble gum - (Feysand, Nessian, Elucien, Azris, Mor)

Corner Productions

(Collaborations with Chaos)

🔥 Gold Star for You - silly NSFW smut headcanons of everyone and reader - Reader introduces gold star reward system in the bedroom.

💕 With This Ring - Headcanons about Eris Vanserra and his affinity for jewelry - especially after a certain Shadowsinger enters his life.

[c-e-d-dreamer]

Are you kidding?! The cabin idea is amazing! I love it! I’m so gonna have fun with that! I never snows where I’m from (😢)

Anyway, next question: Ugly Christmas sweaters or Nah

I'm sorry that it never snows for you 😭 I am technically in what is considered a "southern state" so we rarely get snow unless there's a crazy blizzard. We can both live vicariously through Nessian.

I personally don't own an ugly sweater. My work does an ugly sweater contest most years and I participated pre-covid but been a bit meh about it since. But I do think Cassian gives big Ugly Sweater Energy. Just thinking about how he and Feyre were during ACOFAS? They probably have matching ugly sweaters. And they both drag their respective mates into it 😂

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter Three}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Nesta sat across the kitchen table in Azriel and Elain’s kitchen, looking at her sister.

“I mean, I just don’t get it,” Nesta continued, shaking her head. “Me and Cassian… Why didn’t they choose you and Azriel? You’ve been together forever and want a big family.”

“You’re second guessing taking care of Nyx?” Elain asked, with no judgement, just curiosity.

“No, of course not,” Nesta began, sighing. “It’s just… Me and Cassian?”

“They did try to set you two up all those years ago,” Elain said, propping an elbow on the table and dropping her chin in her hand.

Nesta raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “And how well did that work out?”

Elain rolled her eyes, but sighed. “Feyre was right though,” she said, looking at the letter from Rhys and Feyre, laying face down on the table. Nesta had brought it over for Elain to read, which had just made them both start crying over again. “You have the fiercest heart. Nyx needs you in his life.”

She blinked away the tears lining her eyes again. Silently, she wondered when she’d be able to think about her sister, about Rhys again, without dissolving into tears. She knew it would be a long while.

Finally, she said, “I know he does. I just don’t understand why Cassian has to be involved. That’s not going to be a healthy environment for him to grow up in.”

She could already see it, she and Cassian at each other’s throats. He knew how to get under her skin, loved to do it, did it as often as he could. It would be all Nyx saw as he grew up, his guardians screaming at each other.

“He needs to be somewhere happy and loving and peaceful. Like here, Lainy. He’d flourish here, with you and Az and Seph.”

Elain gave her sister a long, wistful look. Her eyes were soft and misty when she said, “We’re just learning to take care of one, Nes. I can’t… We can’t take on another infant. And, besides, it wasn’t what Feyre and Rhys wanted.”

“They probably wrote that the second they got engaged,” Nesta said, knowing that wasn’t true. “They didn’t know what they wanted.” Elain glanced at the open letter that sat on the table between them. “I read it. They knew exactly what they wanted for Nyx in case something happened to them, and I think that they were right. Just because you and Cassian can’t see it doesn’t mean that it’s not a good idea.”

“The lawyer will disagree with that,” Nesta muttered, remembering Tarquin’s words from their meeting. I tried to advise them against this. She shivered. “The thought of living with Cassian and playing house has me nauseous. And pissed off. So pissed off that I’m nauseous.”

Elain sighed again. “He really is a-.”

“A good guy,” Nesta interrupted, letting her head fall into her hands. Her fingers tugged in the roots slightly. “I know. You keep telling me that. Feyre always told me that. Everyone keeps telling me that. But the two of us?” She looked up at Elain, letting her see into those eyes that matched Feyre’s perfectly, letting her see the slight panic in them, letting her see everything. “We aren’t compatible. Everything about him, it throws me off.”

A cry from down the hall had both of the women standing, but when Nesta realized it was Nyx, she hurried out of the kitchen. In a flash, she was in the spare room, crossing to the small crib Elain and Az had set up for Feyre and Rhys when they found out they were pregnant.

Nyx’s blue eyes were wide and he let out another tortured wail and Nesta tried to soothe him before he was even in her arms. “It’s okay, bubba,” she cooed, holding him against her chest. He kept crying, though the volume of his screams lessened. Instead they were more akin to what Nesta would have almost called sobs.

“It’s been a long day,” she breathed. “I think we should go home, yeah?”

She gathered his diaper bag from where it laid on the bed and when she entered the living room, Elain was sitting on the couch, reading over the letter again. Quiet tears slid down her cheeks.

“I’m gonna get him home,” Nesta said, softly. She repeated, “It’s… It’s been a long day.”

Nodding, Elain folded the letter back up and wiped at the tears on her face with the back of her hand. “Right.” She held the letter out to Nesta, who took it, careful not to jostle Nyx who had finally quieted down, though Nesta could tell he was still awake.

His little hand was pressed to the side of her neck, and she could feel it moving gently.

“Call me if you need anything,” Elain said, carefully hugging her and pressing a kiss to the top of Nyx’s head. “Az and I will help you move what you need to into the house, so don’t hesitate to ask.”

Nesta could only nod, still unsure of how she was going to do this, how she was going to live her life, while also taking care of the far more precious one in her arms. She silently left, driving home and getting Nyx inside and settled, letting him sit in the Bumbo seat she’d found in the kitchen atop the counter while she cooked dinner.

After putting him down for bed, Nesta found herself sitting on the balcony off of Rhys and Feyre’s old bedroom. She looked out into the small wood that made up their backyard, over the pool and chairs that had been set up for the approaching summer, but her eyes were drawn up to the stars that Velaris was famous for.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered, not sure if she was admitting it to herself or to Rhys and Feyre, listening to her wherever they were. “I’m so scared I’ll do something wrong.”

The sounds of crickets and other manner of nighttime creatures were the only reply she received.

“I know you believed in me, in us, but I don’t. I want to make you both proud but I don’t know if I can do that. I just need something to tell me that I’m not making a huge mistake and-.

She softly gasped as a shooting star went blazing across the sky, a second one following it right after.

Her lip trembled as she nodded up at the night sky, understanding, knowing who had sent those stars. She almost felt like she could feel them there, as if they were telling her that it would be hard, but she could do it.

And she… she didn’t have to do it alone.

*

Cassian wasn’t at Az and Elain’s for thirty seconds before he crossed to the mini-fridge Azriel kept stocked in the garage.

“There’s no way they thought this was a good idea,” he said, pacing around, Azriel silently watching him. “It’s a sick joke, just like all of this is. There’s another letter somewhere that says just kidding, wouldn’t that be funny though?”

He cracked open the beer and drank it all in one go.

“I mean, Rhys and I always messed around and shit, but…this is too far,” he went on, tossing the can in the garbage and reaching for another one.

Azriel crossed his arms as he said, “Too many of those and you may think it’s funny, too.”

Cassian shot him a look as he drank from his can. “This isn’t funny. None of this is funny.”

Azriel took a deep breath before saying, “Did you stop to think that maybe they knew exactly what they were doing?”

Cassian said nothing as he propped himself on a stool and shook his head. Azriel didn’t push him. Eventually, Cassian said, quietly, “I want to help Rhys. I want to be the man that he thought I was. I mean, shit, he left me in charge of his child. And I would die for that child. But, Nesta was right, you know? I have no idea how to take care of a kid, especially one as young as Nyx.”

“You think I did, when Seph came along?” He asked, leaning back against the workbench. Cassian was as comfortable in this garage as he was his own, had created just as many beautiful things here as he had in his own cramped space. But he focused on Azriel’s words, sighed as he listened to his brother.

“I was scared shitless, but that didn’t mean a thing to her, or to Elain,” he went on. “Because they both needed me. They needed me to get my shit together and figure it out, and that’s exactly what I did.”

Cassian didn’t say anything, he just looked down at his feet, at his dirty work boots and silently drank from the can in his hands.

Azriel crossed the garage and pulled out a beer of his own, cracking it open and taking a drink. “So read the books, do the research, go online, do whatever you have to do, but Cassian, listen to me.”

His brother rarely used his full name, so he looked up at him, nor expecting to find the tenderness on his face or the silver lining his eyes.

“If you think for one second that Rhys and Feyre didn’t know what they were doing, you’re wrong. No one loves that little boy as much as you do. Yeah, you’re probably going to fuck up once or twice, but it’s okay.” Azriel placed a hand on his shoulder. “It happens and as long as you learn from it, that’s all that matters.”

Cassian wiped at his eye with the back of his hands. “I’m fucking scared, man.”

“I know you are,” Az replied, his voice dropping, almost gentle. “Not to mention we’re all still hurting. But you and Nesta are going to be fine, Nyx is going to be fine.”

Cassian clamped his eyes shut. He groaned. “It wouldn’t be so bad, I know I can learn to take care of Nyx, but Nesta? They expect me to live with Nesta?”

Azriel actually hesitated. “Yeah, that sucks.”

Cassian, despite himself, laughed quietly. “Yeah.”

“But, believe it or not, I think she’d be good for you,” Azriel said, keeping that quiet tone.

“Now you’re trying to set us up?” Cassian asked, wiping at his eyes and the tears that had nearly fallen.

Azriel shook his head. “No. But, Nesta Archeron gets shit done. And she loves Nyx, too. The two of you together….different parenting styles? Yeah. But, you’d be surprised at how well two opposites balance each other out when it comes to parenting.”

Cassian thought of Azriel and Elain. They were both gentle and kind, but they were pretty opposite, too.

“And if it’s a complete failure?” Cassian asked.

Azriel sighed as he watched Cassian. At last, he said, “It won’t be.”

Cassian wanted to believe him, wanting to feel confident in the words Azriel said, but even his third beer hadn’t lifted his confidence.

He let his head fall back, staring up at the ceiling, at the garage door that was raised to allow the cool, night breeze in. “I have to live with Nesta Archeron. The Mother thinks she’s funny. The Cauldron is laughing at me. Fate is rubbing its hands together and laughing maniacally.”

“No,” Az chuckled. “I think that might be Rhys.”

Cassian snorted, but the door to the house opened and Elain stuck her head out. She smiled softly at Cassian, who raised his drink in greeting. “I thought I heard you out here. You gonna stay for dinner?”

His alternative was grabbing something from a drive through or searching through his fridge for something that wasn’t completely freezer burned, so he smiled and said, “Sure, Lainy. Thanks.”

She beamed at them both and the door clicked shut behind her as she turned to go back to the kitchen. Cassian looked over at Azriel to find him still smiling like a fool at the door.

He sighed quietly as he realized he would probably never have that, would never have someone he could stare after and gaze at as fondly as Azriel did Elain. Not if he was to spend his life shackled to someone who wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

As soon as he thought the words, he chastised himself, stepping out into the driveway. She was just as miserable about the whole ordeal as he was. But for Nyx, they could try and make it work. They would make it work. They would do what they had to.

He sighed, gazing up into the night sky.

Shaking his head, he wondered if there was some sort of afterlife. If there was, he wondered if Rhysand and Feyre were somewhere in the sky, looking down at him, trying to encourage him, trying to get a message to him during this horrible, hectic, anxiety-ridden unknown time.

He hoped they were.

He could use it.

That encouragement.

That love.

Cassian began raising his can to his lips, but then he froze.

A shooting star shot across the night sky.

Then another.

Cassian’s hand fell back to his side as he stared at the bright Velaris starlight, completely in awe.

They were watching, they were there with him. They were there with all of them.

Of course they were.

Cassian swore under his breath as he fully gave into the ridiculous notion of moving in with Nesta, of co-parenting with the most frustrating, stubborn woman in Prythian.

But for Nyx, he would.

For Rhysand, for Feyre, he would.

[theladyofdeath]

NESSIAN CONTEST!

Y’all!

@snelbz and I got so many incredible prompts that we just couldn’t choose! So, we’re leaving it up to you all! We chose our five faves, all which we could see ourselves writing, and we want to know which is your favorite. 

Whichever gets the most vote in one week’s time will be our winner!

We will start posting after the completion of Fame, which ends with chapter 30. 

PUT IN YOUR VOTE! >>  https://forms.gle/QA2i9qqJr8rbB6HaA

[broodybatboy]

Gwyn: If I ask you a boy question will you promise not to be weird?

Nesta: I promise.

Gwyn: So, basically there’s this guy an-

Nesta: You can do better.

[houseofhurricane]

ACOTAR Halloween Costumes

Feyre & Rhys: They choose a couples’ costume that’s a little outdated but still recognizable. Last year they were Jack and Rose in the “paint me like one of your French girls” scene (Feyre wore a nude bodysuit and the necklace was definitely real). This year, they’re going as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Feyre can mimic Sailor Moon’s attacks perfectly with the magic she got from Helion, and Rhys has spent hours perfecting his rose throw.

Cassian: Cassian alternates between two costumes, a soccer player and a pirate, depending on how much effort he wants to put into the costume. This year, Nesta said she wanted to see him in eyeliner, so it’s a pirate year.

He would do a couples’ costume if he thought Nesta would agree.

Azriel: Always wears his leathers instead of a costume, and everyone is so happy he actually attended the party that they make no objections.

Nesta, Gwyn & Emerie: The three of them are deeply committed to a group costume. This year they’re going as a trio of Pegasi, which Nesta and Emerie are worried will be cumbersome and too warm, but it was Gwyn’s idea and she’s very excited about it, so they start constructing their costumes in August.

Elain: Never really has a specific costume idea, and always comes in a pretty dress and a flower crown, but no one complains because she always bakes the best treats and comes early to decorate for the party.

Mor: Her costume is always all-out and very glamorous, and ends up being the talk of Velaris. They’re always very pretty but also go that extra level that makes everyone excited to see her arrive at the party. Last year she was a butterfly with functioning wings, and this year’s costume is a very carefully guarded secret.

Amren: Doesn’t wear a costume but comes to the party wearing so much gorgeous jewelry and fur that she ends up getting more compliments than anybody.

Lucien: Though Lucien doesn’t intentionally seek out costumes that make him look attractive, his costumes are always flattering. This year, trying to signal a desire for peace, he wears ancient Autumn Court attire, and the doublet and hose really draw attention to his finely muscled legs.

Vassa: She borrows a set of Illyrian armor and certain people can’t take their eyes off her all evening. She decides she will try and keep the leathers for as long as possible, partially for the freedom of motion, but also for other activities.

Jurian: Uses Halloween as an excuse to remake his clothes from 500 years ago, and inevitably gets asked where he found them.

Eris: Before he arrives at the party, he puts on his High Lord costume, which is an elaborate crown made of jewels and gold in the shape of autumn leaves and a special outfit made of the finest materials, refreshed every decade so that he’s ready for his position. For the actual party, he wears clothing in the style of whatever court is hosting, and makes sure to point out that he looks better in it than the actual citizens do. Many attendees agree with his assessment.

Tamlin: Takes his shirt off and calls it a costume every year without fail.

[abreeviate]

As I had mentioned in my last post, I would do a contest at 100 followers. This may not seem like a lot but it is for me because people are appreciating my art and I would like to show how much I appreciate all of you! :)

So as a thank you I’m offering three prizes!

💠 1st Place: A detailed image with up to two characters of you choice!

💠 2nd Place: A Flat color image with up to two characters of your choice!

💠 3rd Place: A sketch with up to two characters of your choice!

How to Participate:

💙 Be a follower(Mandatory)

💙 Like this image(Counts as a +1)

💙 Comment with an answer to only ONE of these questions: What is your fav Flower or Which court would you want to belong to if you lived in the ACOTAR universe (Counts as a +1)

💙 Reblog(Counts as a +1, multiple reblogs do not count!)

Entries close: June 1st(it will take me a few days after this to finish the placements)

Good luck! ❤️

[swankii-art-teacher]

Love this whole fic... couldn't help chuckle at their antics... and the appearance of Amren and Nyx at the end perfect. The pix of the gingerbread house at the top is wonderful... which of the 3 teams might have made that one 😁?

All’s Fair in Love & War

A little early Christmas gift to all of the wonderful humans I’ve met from the ACOTAR fandom this year. I’m truly so grateful for every single one of you & love that I can call so many of you friends. It’s often not a hospitable place to be a part of & Elriels in particular cop a lot of bullshit from some nasty corners of the fandom, but as a little token of my love, please enjoy some family shenanigans. It’s ridiculous and fluffy and I hope it puts a smile on some faces this silly season ☃️🍭

3 brothers x 3 sisters. Fluff. 2.4k words

Keep reading

[separatist-apologist]

Prompts

Not ship specific:

Elain Yelling At Night Court

You should do a one shot of Elain letting her inner fire out and yelling at the IC about using Elain to control Lucien AND going on and on about Lucien failing Feyre in Spring. (I mean we all know Tamlin abused Lucien both mentally and physically and its a bit hard to take care of someone else when you are being abused yourself. Ya feel me? HA)

Eris embarrassing Lucien

I can see Eris telling embarrassing stories about Lucien to Elain and Lucien just has to sit there and take it. Do a one shot of that!

Jealous Elain- Rita's edition

Hey ! Could you write a little one-shot (or Multiple if you are feeling it) of Elain being super jealous that Lucien is getting attention from other females? I feel like she would be super territorial and I really think you could run with it!

Elain riling up Lucien [NSFW at part 4 until part 7]

One, Two,Three,Four, Five, Six, & Seven

Hey, I saw a reply from you where a person proposed a one shot, do you still accept this kind of thing? If so, could you write a fic where Elain spends the night of the winter solstice trying to get close to Lucien to make someone else jealous, BUT when everyone goes to sleep they meet in the kitchen and when Lucien is about to kiss her he asks her what she wants and she says a distraction, so Lucien walks up to her, puts his knee/thigh between her legs, runs his nose down her neck, across her face, gets close to her ear and says he's not a distraction to anyone, bites her on the ear and leaves? ?? Please, I need to read something like this. Where he excites her and then leaves.

Lucien's Jacket

Favorite Head canon. Mine is the jacket Lucien gave Elain so please enjoy some ANGST.

Jealous Elain- the vase part 1

You could write something in which Lucien is doing something and one of his friends (Nuan or Vassa) runs her hand through his hair to get it out of his face but Elain (who has not yet accepted the mate bond) gets jealous and tries to get his attention??

Jealous Lucien (part 2 of the vase) [NSFW]

I just like seeing jealous Lucien

Game Night

I have an idea for a one shot, Elucien, Nessian, and Feysand cutest couple contest and Elucien wins but then Eris and Arina walk in and actually win 😂

Lucien finds out about Solstice

Could you do one where Lucien finds out about what happened on solstice but he and Elian isn’t speaking to him yet? I’m curious to see your take!

Part 2-Lucien finds out about Solstice

Um can I have a part 2 to Lucien finding out about solstice? Pretty please?

Helion & Lady Of Autumn [NSFW]

Listen…There’s so so little HelionxLoA smut out there🤧🤧 so naturally I came to the Queen of Vanserra/Spellcleaver writing to request literally anything you want to write for them, I just need content about them cause all we have is CRUMBS😭🤧

love your writing boo have a wonderful day💕

"Truth is, I'm so damn in love with you I don't know what to do with myself!"

"truth is that i'm so damn in love with you that i don't know what to do with myself" - for lucien please!!

Human Lucien/Fae Elain [NSFW]

nooo bestie because ur teasing elain wrecking lucien n I need it pleaseeee😭😭😭 it's always lucien n his firedick but I wanna see elain ruining lucien for a change

Trick Or Treat- [NSFW]

prompts - a "trick or treat" elucien smut

Mirror- [NSFW]

Prompts elucien: her or him talking in her or his ear "do you want to know why I know what you are doing? because I did the same thing to you; looking for any excuse to get closer" (no pressure at all and if you want to mix this prompt with another one, feel free, you are the commander)

Elain hate fucks Lucien [NSFW]

Okay, but you should definitely write Elucien hate sex!!

Maybe Lucien hasn’t visited velaris in a few weeks all while Elain is getting tired of her life there. He visits but walks in on an upset Elain who doesn’t have an outlet to pour her anger into. Just saying 😏

Elain x Luicen x Jurian threesome [NSFWest]

"Lucie-" "You've lost the right to use that name." "For the I rest of the night you will address me as sir and nothing else." or sumn like that im not an author so feel free to do whatever, this can also be hate sex too or better yet angry sex

Soft Elain x Lucien in love

hi idk if this is a prompt or just me being emotionally needy but can you write about elucien making out? any universe you can think about.... just them kissing and being in love

Elain needs Lucien help to find something [NSFW]

Ok but imagine Elain being mean and telling Lucien she’s not wearing underwear before they accept the bond.

Helion x LOA reuniting

Lucien and LoA being reunited after not being able to really see each other for years and years. Bonus if Elain sees and it melts her heart because she loves that Lucien is an unabashed mama’s boy.

We're roommates and you drunkenly pass out in my bed

we’re roommates and you drunkenly passed out in my bed; move over I’m coming in For Elucien plss

Lucien and Elain read a Sellyn Drake novel

Your take on Lucien reading Sellyn Drake’s #1 Prythian Times bestselling novel, “The Autumn Flame” and realizing it’s about Helion and his MOTHER.

Nesta and Eris fall asleep watching a movie

Whoops I made them soft. 13- we fell asleep on the couch, watching a movie and wake up entangled with each other

Elain and Lucien are snowed in and cold [NSFW]

In honor of the 2-3 feet of snow we’ll be getting today! — “we're snowed in and there is not a lot of space and heat” 🌨

Elain has a nightmare

you woke me up screaming from a nightmare, and I’m tired, so let’s cuddle so the nightmares don’t come anymore (bonus points if Elain is the one having the nightmare and this forces Lucien and Elain to interact)

Still Into You

Cassian stumbles into the middle of Feyre and Rhysand's yearly mating anniversary, and learns the secret to making a relationship last: lying.

Feyre scares herself watching crime shows [NSFW]

Feyre has been on a Criminal Minds kick but now it’s 3am and it’s dark and every sound in the apartment is freaking her out so she calls Rhys who is just her “best friend” (sure Feyre 🙄) to come stay the night with her cause she’s paranoid

Nesta FM

Nesta is a host of a radio call in show for relationship advice and Cassian is one of her colleagues that starts making a few call ins…

[bookofmirth]

Hii, different anon here but I just wanted to say that I wholeheartedly agree with that other anon and your response about E/riel. You put my thoughts into words exactly lol. There was always something about E/riel that just lacked substance to me and I think it's partly because of how similar the aesthetic is to Feysand. Like we already have that and it's works. I do think Feyre has always had a little more darkness and edginess to her than Elain and I think that's why Feysand works. So far there's been nothing to really suggest to me that that's the case with Elain.

And further to what you've said about Elain and being assertive, Azriel would absolutely just enable her being a damsel in distress type character. He would assume the protector role and Elain would have nowhere to grow as a character. This doesnt do anything for either of them in my opinion  there would be no grotwth at all for either character. I think they both need people to come in and shake them up. Lucien, I think, has the potential to make Elain open up. I would love to see him be his snarky self around her and push her buttons a little bit or something to break her out of that shell, you know? I would love to see more layers to Elain's character because there's just not a lot there that interests me right now and I think Lucien could help bring that out of her. And that's not to suggest that she can't grow without a relationship of course but in the context of the two ships, Lucien presents more of a challenge and I think that's what she needs. Like, yes she killed Hybern to save her sister. She also immediately went back to doing nothing of note after that from what I recall.

Plus, I think the story between them could be so good. Like, we haven't seen a relationship develop with the already explicit knowledge of the mating bond out in the open. Rhys and the IC knew but we only got Feyres POV of all of that. Nessian danced around it and wouldn't admit it to even themselves for a while. Luciens first words to Elain were "you're my mate" or whatever. I want to see where we go from there. I think that has way more angst slow burn potential than E/riel and their supposed forbidden love or whatever. I also just personally don't care for the forbidden love trope so their whole vibe just does nothing for me that way lol.

Something else that always kind of bugs me about E/riel is that the 3 brothers, 3 sisters thing is just too easy of an ending. It comes off as a very cookie-cutter YA type ending and it's kinda boring and, (it feels a little rude to say this but 🤷🏼‍♀️), almost juvenile in a way. I would like to see more depth than that. Despite acotar being initially marketed as a fairlytale, beauty and the beast retelling, this series has become so much more than that and I just don't really want a fairytale ending, you know?

He would assume the protector role and Elain would have nowhere to grow as a character. This doesnt do anything for either of them in my opinion  there would be no grotwth at all for either character. I think they both need people to come in and shake them up.

This is 100% why I ship elucien and intensely dislike e*riel. There is just no contest in terms of which pairing would be beneficial for each characters' growth and healing. One ship would be stagnant and involve a lot of coddling. One would be challenging and enable and support growth.

And sjm literally told us there would be a lot of healing and growth with Elain and Lucien. So not only is it no contest in terms of my shipping preferences, but she's already told us, in many ways, that it's elucien. It just is.

And that's not to suggest that she can't grow without a relationship of course but in the context of the two ships, Lucien presents more of a challenge and I think that's what she needs. Like, yes she killed Hybern to save her sister. She also immediately went back to doing nothing of note after that from what I recall.

EXACTLY. We know Elain is going to have an emotional journey of her own. I think that, right now, her family relationships aren't doing it for her (Feyre and Nesta are just *shrug* about her). Her friendships aren't doing it for her. And we know that Lucien can be a pain in the ass. Either Elain's entire healing and romantic journey has somehow already happened off page (which is laughable and would do her a disservice), or someone needs to be introduced to the equation who will shake things up for her. The people who are around Elain every day are just letting her be passive. Someone who isn't around her all the time and yet has a vested interest in her thriving, needs to come into the picture.

3 brothers, 3 sisters thing is just too easy of an ending. It comes off as a very cookie-cutter YA type ending and it's kinda boring and, (it feels a little rude to say this but 🤷🏼‍♀️), almost juvenile in a way.

Can I add that it's weirdly limiting, for everyone involved? Considering that Nesta, Feyre, and Elain don't even get along that well as friends, they mainly tolerate each other, the whole 3 brothers 3 sisters thing feels like a fake, forced family. Not to mention the three "brothers" have some gay vibes that are canon in acosf. It's weird. Not even sorry, but it is.

The sisters/brothers thing would fit the fairy tale vibes, if that hadn't been ditched 2.5 books ago.

[inventors-fair]

Domain Event

Planes are the big names, the real sellers—you got Zendikar taking up marquee space, and Ravnica plastered all over the boxes. With that in mind, though, every plane is made up of places, towns and cities and continents. These are the places where people live and breathe and have their magical little tea parties in! The creation of specific geography doesn’t impact the gameplay, but it impacts how the world of a set is designated and how it feels to play the cards of that world.

Still, what does it mean to be an inhabitant of the Jukai woods, versus Oran-Rief, versus the Nessian Wilds? That’s what I want you to tell me.

Design a card containing the name of a specific geographic region on a plane of your choice.  You are designing for a draftable premier set.

Your card’s name must contain a place name unique to Magic: the Gathering’s various place names. Cities, towns, regions, continents, streets, whatever! But it has to be a place name. Use your best judgement.

The goal is to have a card whose name is distinctly embedded in the locative aspects of a Magic world.

“What about cards with names like Strixhaven or New Capenna since they’re not technically the name of the plane itself?”

Technically, you’re not wrong. But I’ll a) disallow set names and b) ask you to consider the spirit of what I’m looking for, plus the printed examples below. What I’m looking for is to encapsulate the essence of what designates this part of the plane from any other part. What are the dangers, the day-to-day lives, the joys, the wonders? 

Of course, I don’t need ALL that. Focus on one specific aspect, because you’re already doing that, y’know? A role or mood is enough. Make me feel that you understand this place and what makes it unique.

"Are you allowing nonbasic lands and/or legendary creatures?”

While they’re technically allowed, you’re going to have to go above and beyond to make them actually make them seem new and interesting to me. Part of this contest is capturing a worldbuilding feel.

“Okay, what about places like Nyx? The Blind Eternities? Other worlds? They’re regions, aren’t they?”

Look, that’s really not what I’m looking for. Why don’t we look at some examples, hypothetical smart-aleck?

Sokenzan Smelter

Tel-Jilad Defiance

Winds of Qal Sisma

Mists of Littjara

Ondu Rising

Kessig Wolf Run

Archdemon of Unx

This is a contest where you’re going to have to stand out a bit—but, well, isn’t that true for all of them? Here, though, consider what aspect of this place you want to represent and how you want to represent it. What would be the easiest way to do that? And, following that, how do you represent another aspect using a different kind of card? What would that mood look like on an equipment, an enchantment, a creature, an instant? Consider that.

Don’t forget, too, that you’re still designing cards first and foremost. Balance and editing is the key. And while you’re at it—have fun!

@abelzumi​

>> The Submission District >> Gates of Discordia