#pro feyre and rhys and mor and nesta and all the other characters

[somewhere-in-the-rain]

I hate the fact that I have to check the tags on posts before reading them because of how hateful towards characters who aren’t even real people are. If you don’t like the characters, why the hell are you reading the books? Touch grass.

[iocaisaint]

Random ACOTAR takes

cw*: my unsolicited opinions

I agree with #that woman that canon Lucien and Nesta (and I mean pre-ACOSF) would've been terrible for each other sorry

As of right now Nesta is the only Archeron sister with direct connection to the Dusk Court, like her and her alone 🤷🏾‍♀️

Out of the love square (?) Lucien is lowkey the only one with a storyline that isn't made out of paper mache and hope. There's so many angles you could go: Beron, Eris, LOA, The Autumn Court or Spring Court, Tamlin, or Day Court, Helion, being an heir, or helping Vassa with Koschei + his overall friendship with Jurian + Vassa + humans as a whole and that's without touching on the mating bond even once. Real set-up wished she'd done that with everyone else

That being said, I disagree with a bunch of Lucien's stans when it comes to his characters, y'all have a power fantasy for him that's in direct contradiction to how he's actually written (I mean I get it the books treat him like trash)

If Nesta is pregnant I'll have a crash out to end all crash outs.

Everybody in this fandom bar maybe Feysands are shipping fanon, the scenes that y'all talk about and the ones that exist on page are either not the same or straight up don't exist.

I hate the HK/HQ plot even for Nesta, like is blatant colonialism.

Everybody here is a hypocrite when it comes to their faves we'd all be happier admitting then bending over backwards.

I do not care for Elain, simply because fanon Elain is so far removed from what's on page, that most her pro arguments simply don't make sense to me.

There's no reason for Helion to give up his Pegasi but I know HOFAS was a mess but when the place was revitalised after the Asteri were murdered they came back, my guess is that place and the prison are mirror worlds so the same will happen once the Prison is liberated

Azriel isn't boring but he also isn't extremely interesting. If he was a girl no one would gaf about him, but there are enough concepts of an idea where I could see his book not being awful.

Neither the pro or the anti side gives a fuck about Emerie, double points if you're engaging in that ship war. No I won't expand on this, I'm right.

Nessian sucks, that's all.

Actually no I'm expanding on that point, the fact that people defend no "I love you" from the MMC is crazy, that fact that people defend Nesta being threatened without Cass stepping in even worse, the fact that Rhys knows he can berate Nesta in Cassian's presence....like they had an 800+ page book and I'm still having to hear about how they need to "grow as characters" y'all aren't serious people

I've become more neutral-positive to Feyre because some of the arguments against her are just crazy but on that note she'd be deeply more entertaining if the narrative wrote her refusal for self reflection as a flaw

Gwyn cannot be a evil light singer and irrelevant at the same time please pick one.

Also I don't hate the light singer theory, sorry. Monsters not actually being monsters is this series's bread and butter. It'd be great if a woman finally got that treatment

I can already tell Eris is about to be retconned to hell because SJM hates a character not being vindicated by the narrative to redeem them (she already started by implying Eris wants his father dead for #feminism). Let it be known I like/d him as is

I don't get into arguments about Rhys cause I find him boring. Y'all are fighting day in day out about faerie Ronald Reagan

Nesta should've been bi, how tf did we get stuck with Mor

I have more but that's it for now.

[ladydeath-vanserra]

New Blog Bio:

I do not tolerate pro-israel, zionist shit anywhere near me. I don't tolerate anti semitism anywhere near me. I will not tolerate anyone who is upholding or supporting the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinians. if you do, BLOCK ME

if ur gonna follow or interact with my blog pls realize I am very critical towards most acotar content, especially if it involves Rhysand. I am more-or-less a Rhys Anti until further notice and I am hard-core side eye towards Cassian until Rhysand is held accountable for being a shitty person for more than like *checks notes* two pages

I'm not a Tamlin Stan, nor do I particularly care for him, but I have been engaging in thoughtful criticisms of his actions often which involves character analysis so you v likely will see that pop up every now and then

likely you will find:

anti Rhysand

anti/critical IC

anti/critical/pro feyre

anti/critical Cassian posts, maybe MAYBE pro cassian

critical/pro Azriel- I'm pretty neutral towards him

anti/critical/pro elain content [often. w/o being tied to a ship]

pro Lucien

pro Nesta

pro Eris

most pro tog characters

anti/critical chaol (he just annoys me with his high horse)

Pro Ships:

Azriel/Eris/Nesta

Tamsand (lmao)

Feylin [book one]

Elucien

Nesta/Lucien [idk the ship name]

Feycien

Feyssian

Mesta

most tog ships

aelin/manon

malide

chaorian

Anti Ships:

Nessian

Feysand

Elriel

lysaedion

chaolena

My Specific ACoTaR Meta:

SJM + Eugenics + Ableism in her Writing

CoN + the Eternal Perpetuation of Abuse and Toxicity

SJM and the vilification of Ireland in acotar and tog

SJM could have had the HLs give their power to resurrect her wo Rhys forcing them if she played by Faerie Rules

Rhys physically assaulted Nesta

Class Warfare + Class Traitors in ACoTaR

Rhysand + Morally Grey Behavior

My Meta / Aus / etc Posts

tag -> #justice for poor cassian and poor archeron Sisters

tag -> #glasses!elain propaganda

tag -> #slavic archeron Sisters au

tag -> #fix cassians characterization challenge

tag -> #scottish!tamlin

tag -> #welsh!rhys

tag -> #disabled!Cassian

tag -> #my acotar world building

tag -> #appropriated faerie lore in acotar

tag -> #hybern Ireland

tag -> #white feminism in acotar

tag -> #eugenics in acotar

tag -> #eugenics in tog

tag -> #classism in acotar

Other Acotar Meta:

Mor SA'd Cassian

tag -> #acotar tiktok meta

tag -> #acotar meta

tag -> #racism in acotar

tag -> #Nesta is not an alcoholic send tweet

Other:

A Synopsis of The Ballad of Tam Lin

Other Fandoms:

TVDverse:

leave season 1 Caroline ALONE. she deserved better 🥺

Damon and Rose's Friendship that is ALL

"He's the 'good brother'. I'm the 'bad brother'" Salvatore Brothers meta

Esther is Mikaels victim too stop this irritating 'Esther is the real villain'

tag -> #can we stop the overt vilification of Esther Mikaelson and the UwUization of Mikael Mikaelson

tag -> #tvd tiktok edits

tag -> #Damon Salvatore

tag -> #Caroline Forbes

tag -> #Vincent Griffith

tag -> #Shelia Bennett

Bridgerton:

It's Loving how Nuanced Portia is Hours

tag -> #Portia Featherington

Shadow and Bone / Six of Crows:

The Darkling Meta

tag -> #David kostyk

Once Upon a Time

tag -> #cora mills

The Hunger Games / A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:

Coriolanus Snow Meta

tag -> #thg tiktok meta

tag -> #coriolanus snow

tag -> #reaper ash

tag -> #wovey

Percy Jackson

tag -> #nico di Angelo

completely irrelevant:

tag -> #rural iowa

more to be added!

[kayla-2]

i dont get why feyre demolished her sisters apartment (+with all the other people there) and made her train, lock her up basically against her will with no escape except stairs which she could physically not do. Feyre had this massive ass breakdown when tamlin did the same to her. so why is she doing it to her sister. yes nesta had drinking problems and yes she was wasting money but don't act like feyre did anything to earn that money. they all live in velaris where nothing wrong goes on while other people in other parts of the court suffer and pay taxes because they arent seen as "dreamers" or wtv bs that is. personally i feel like nesta and feyre could have such a good relationship if rhys didnt keep coming in the middle of it. Also nesta's drinking problem was a problem but when the whole ic was drunk and im talking about mor when it says she's always drunk at rita's etc. so thats ok but when nesta does it, it's not?

i think each character could have had such a great story but sjm ruined it by going back on her own words. if acotar feyre saw acowar feyre she would murder herself. she became the thing she didnt want to be. its not even like any of the ic respect feyre. they hid the fact that she could die. thats so out of order because its feyre's body and she has the right to know. yes nesta told her out of her own spite but at least someone told her. and dont even get me started on acosf cassian because wtf was he even on.

sorry this was kind of me ranting. i would love to hear ur opinions on what i said and just ur thoughts in general (this isn't me sending hate btw) (it depends on my mood sometimes im anti ic sometimes im pro i think it depends on what specific media i see that day portraying those characters)

I don’t even think feyre should’ve helped n.esta, so I don’t know how to respond.

Feyre gave her an ultimatum, and she agreed to go to the house of wind. She wasn’t forced. Tamlin didn’t even speak to Feyre and abused her multiple times. It’s very irresponsible to compare the 2 situations as no one in the inner circle messed with N.esta like she asked until a year later and gave her unlimited money and her sisters tried to reach out and was pushed away. I know the fandom mysteriously forget n.etsas actions to vilify Feyre and the inner circle but I don’t.

Feyre wanted her train to help the powers that were tormenting her. I wish n.esta fans would actually understand her because you wouldn’t be upset about her training since lack of control is what was causing her pain. She ends up wanting to be trained and invited others because she didn’t want to feel weak anymore. Which she explicitly said like wtf?!?

She was drinking to escape and not dealing with her problems that different from causally drinking. If she had a job or money they wouldnt be able to do anything but Feyre has the right to say I’m not “funding anything that destroys you.” Which if you are a fan, why would you be upset??

Personally, Feyre did nothing wrong and n.esta would’ve died in that apartment if she didn’t do anything. Which she should not have. Especially since it’s bringing unnecessary hate to her. She’s not n.estas mom and don’t owe her anything. P.S it was not even n.estas apartment, she paid absolutely nothing and didn’t work. Why did feysand destroy their apartment they pay for?. They were already rebuilding old or destroyed buildings

[spore-loser]

ACOTAR Ask Game:

Thanks for tagging, @sunbrightheart 😁

Who is your favourite ACOTAR character?

Lucien for fav male and Nesta for fav female.

Who is your least favourite character?

Readers hate Nesta for things she said, but Amren is wildly worse. SJM’s writing of her in ACOSF makes no sense to me. She told Cassisn to keep reaching out his hand but did nothing herself except demean Nesta. Also, she showed that she ultimately only sees the Archeron sisters as pawns for the IC, talking about how they could make Rhysand high king - something he didn’t even want.

Say something nice about your least favourite character?

No. 😐

Ok, just kidding. She made a sacrifice to save everyone.

Who is your favourite high lord?

Tarquin for his convictions and ambition to make a difference. 

Tamlin for his coming through several times in ACOWAR, saving Feyre and co. at the camp and then dragging in Beron against Hybern.

Favourite minor character?

Gwyn for her optimism and determination. Emerie for her fortitude and resilience in a culture that demands her subservience. Eris for his actual moral grey-ness that Rhys stans wish he has.

Favourite ship?

For canon: Book One Feylin

For fanon: Neris

For upcoming: Elucian

Favourite court?

Autumn has the scenery of my fav season and very much intrigued me with its huge royal family and Eris’ plotting against Beron. SJM not giving the Lady of Autumn a name (and so many besides) is just 😑

Make up a brand new court - No prep, just vibes!

An undersea court? 🐡🐙🦑 With merfolk and other oceanic aquatic beings.

What relationship would you have liked to see more of in the books?

The Archerons! Wish there were sister bonding moments instead of what we got 💀 If we don't see Lucien and Eris *Vanserra Bros* moments in an upcoming book I will be so annoyed.

What is your unpopular opinion?

For Pro-Nesta spaces: that she verbally abused Feyre in their cabin days. (I know they were described as at each other’s throats but we weren’t shown Nesta internalizing things the way Feyre did.)

For Pro-IC spaces: basically everything. I don’t think of Azriel except for his relation with others (Gwyn or Eris). Cassian was rude to Nesta first, became a stalker who ignored her boundaries, then became a horrible partner. I don’t consider Elain IC because she is infantilized and kept out of everything they do. Feyre’s character post-Book One completely changed. Mor is inconsistently written and was out of line with how she treated Nesta because of Cassian. Rhys is neither a ~feminist king~ or morally grey, he is an unintentional walking red flag 🚩 on SJM’s part that had intended softboi moments which were only cringe to me.

What is your favourite headcanon?

That “Sellyn Drake” is Helion’s pen name. ✍️🏾

If you were swept away to Prythian, what’s one thing you would want to do?

See what an Autumn Equinox celebration is like. 🍁🍂🍺

If you could have one faerie ability seen in the books, what would it be?

Winnowing for instant travel is the best to me but Tamlin’s shapeshifting is a close second. It would be so cool to fly as a bird 🦅 and swim as a fish 🐠 and all that.

Tagging: @blueinkn, @ennawrite, @gwandas, @jon-snows-man-bun, @msbrownwithacrown, @washmchineheart, @wingsdippedingold

[graycious-tea]

Inner court angst ideas/prompts cus y’all apparently wanna hear my ideas 😂 (mainly Azris coded)

Rhys finds out about Azris and approach’s it from a political standpoint which leads to the whole argument of “oh but when it was feyre and she was engaged to a whole ass other high lord it’s fine” or amren she’s his number 2 (I think) and she has a romantic relationship with someone politically involved in summer court

The inner circle full on not believing eris is az’s mate. Eris charges in furious that all these people claiming to be azriels family aren’t supportive that he’s happy: “I just can’t wrap my mind around why you’re so against it, you’re his family- wait… oh I see… you don’t believe it do you? That’s what it is?!”

I love Azris raised Lucien so like they’ve been together for centuries and the ic is pissed they didn’t know

AZ KEEPING PSYCHO SECRETS LIKE A PRO FROM THE IC

Has az been in love with Mor all this time? Maybe. But I like she’s his beard but she doesn’t even know it, she full on thinks he’s in love with her

Az standing up for Nesta when ic are meanies (I used to hate Nesta but like silver flames? Sold me. Her journeys great (don’t come at me if you disagree pls))

Azriel scaring the ic with his power/emotions and their reactions destroying him

I’ve said this before but az and Rhys conflict about azriels job

Mor knowing that eris isn’t this irredeemable person (this is like a popular fan theory) but on the Azris side “I spent centuries thinking I was fated to a sick son of a bitch who’d nearly killed someone I love”

Badass Elain finding out Rhys and all them argue over her love life and shutting that shit down cus “um no if I wanna be with him I will it’s not up to you”

Eris stuck under the mountain while az is stuck in velaris… you can see where I’m going with this

Y’all know how Rhys told feyre azriels like basic life story after she’d met him like once?? I’d like him to be pissed about that pls and thanks

Rhys making a deal with one of the Illyrian lords or whatever so they have access to velaris leading to azriels dick head brothers and father access to him and his mother (yes she’s alive I will die on this hill)

I don’t know why but I have so much Rhys and az beef ideas… like Rhys’s dad trained az to be a killer that’s gotta f you up

Maybe az and eris aren’t even together yet but Rhys finds out about the mating bond so he low key fires az because it’s a “conflict of interest”

Az losing his shit cus the ic was mean to his boo

Mor and azriels whole thing like… you can’t convince me he doesn’t know and the whole reason he acts all distraught is because he knows she does this shit just to remind him they won’t happen as a couple even tho HE KNOWS

That also pisses me off a lil like Mor going “wait az did something sweet/psycho attacking eris for me so I gotta sleep with some dude so he doesn’t get the wrong idea” like wtf…

Anyway here’s my usual all swirling in my brain I wanna be clear tho I don’t anti any of these characters so pls don’t be in my comments all mean pls (damn this turned out long)

[bookofmirth]

I was wondering if you would be willing to take on an analysis of Cassian and Nesta’s relationship. I’m a sucker for romance and when I first read acosf I was so excited and happy for all the nessian although there were parts I felt so angry with Cassian because I felt were extremely unnecessary, like making Nesta carry a heavy pack all while not noticing her dehydration, telling her he’s shackled and not getting a decent reconciliation, to name a few. I feel like the story has this imbalance between the two characters because everyone already sees Cassian as this funny, mistreated by society, handsome huge cuddle bear in Feyre’s pov and we see Nesta as this unnecessary asshole in her pov. That, paired with Nesta’s self loathing, is why I can see why some readers are led to believe Nesta is awful to Cassian and might even go as far as agree that she needs to be worthy of him (which is why I have feelings about Mor who is an NC leader and one of her job titles is to help abused women but that’s another topic) then to read it explicitly in Nesta’s pov at the ending of acosf is what made me abandon the ship almost completely. which is a problem because we’ve agreed in previous posts just as Nesta’s pov is subjective by that same logic so is Feyre’s.

I loved reading your thoughts about Nesta and her father since that also didn’t make sense to me. I always figured Nesta’s trauma stemmed from the matriarchal side of her family and it’s helping me come to a certain understanding. I was just hoping maybe your perspective might give nessian a fresh angle I’m missing.

Hello! I will do my best. I assume we probably won't agree 100% but I am very much in the mood to lend some nuance to Nesta's character since the fandom is either intensely anti her or pro her, and both stances distort her character (and tbh some of the takes I've seen COMPLETELY missed the point of her entire character and of acosf, not to mention they are super vitriolic and antagonistic towards other people in the fandom. Calm the fuck down, y'all. No you op, just... the fandom.)

I take nessian as being a very different type of ship than any of sjm's others. Her other ships have tension that usually stops short of cruelty, but nessian are very aggressive as a couple and that energy turns antagonistic sometimes. Their dynamic is what made sjm make them mates, because Nesta is a force to be reckoned with and Cassian is not only strong enough to be with her and give it back, but he doesn't turn away from her either, when so many people in her life have stopped trying (Amren, Elain, Feyre to an extent).

I put the rest of this under the cut because it got very long!

Honestly, it confuses me when people get mad at Cassian for being mean to Nesta because that street goes both ways. They both say horrible things to each other that they know will wound, though Nesta does it first and more often. She calls him a brute and a bastard, when we know that that's one of his major insecurities. And this starts in Wings and Embers!

Her brows flattened. “Leader of the High Lord’s armies, and yet the brute remains. You cannot cow me with words, so you seek to intimidate me through your hulking size.”

Rhys, Az, and Cassian all call each other bastards on occasion but with them it's Bastard (affectionate). When Nesta calls Cassian a bastard/brute, she does it à la Beron and Eris. I honestly can't include all the times that she insults him that way. He lets it go at first, but then we know that, in his POV, this is actually an insult that gets under his skin and something he thinks about himself - much in the same way that Nesta thinks negative things about herself:

They were all staring. Cassian rolled his tensed shoulders, stretching out his wings. He’d revealed too much. Like a stupid brute, he’d let them all see too much, learn too much.

And someone else who uses that against him is Eris:

Cassian clenched his jaw. “So you’re to be my ally whether I wish it or not?” “The brute understands at last.” Cassian ignored the barb.

“It’s the ugliness of his fucking soul that riles me. I don’t care if he calls me a mongrel bastard.” Eris had called him such things today, she realized. Rage rippled through her. “It’s just that, ally or not, I hate him. He’s so slick and unruffled and … I can’t stand him.” He set down his fork and stared toward the window behind her. “Eris and his twisted word games and politics are an enemy I don’t know how to handle. Every time I meet with him, I feel like he’s got the upper hand. Like I can only catch up to him, and he sees through my every fumbling attempt at being clever. Maybe that makes me a stupid brute after all.”

And it's ironic to me that Nesta gets angry at how Eris insulted Cassian in that way, because she has done the exact same thing. So she knows that her blows are landing. In fact, that's why she does it. Nesta has identified a weakness and exploits it in order to push Cassian away, so I'm not surprised that it worked and he snaps. That's the reaction she's going for and that's the kind of behavior she needs to change because she's constantly pushing people away and then getting angry/sad when they leave.

The reason that I am emphasizing the things that Nesta has done here is not to say any of this is her fault, but that they both dish it out, and if we read the whole scenes, it usually starts with Nesta because that's just where she's at in her life right now. I dislike the arguments that because Cassian is older, he should know better or whatever, because 1) Nesta is an adult, and 2) as an Elder Millennial lol I know that age doesn't mean anything when it comes to maturity. In fact, I've lost my fucks with increasing frequency over the past few years. I know 20 year olds who are more mature than 40 year olds. It's just not that simple!

To go back to my initial point about their relationship, I think that even once the intention to harm is gone, now that some reconciliation has happened and they accept the mating bond, they will continue to be that aggressive couple. Feysand are leaders, nessian are warriors, and in the future I see elucien as co-conspirators and gwynriel as competitors. Nesta and Cassian both fight for what they care about, in the literal fighting sense, so it seems natural that that bleeds into their relationship a bit when they are still butting heads and trying to figure out how they work.

There are a couple of things you pointed out that I've noticed other people mention, so I wanted to discuss them!

like making Nesta carry a heavy pack all while not noticing her dehydration

I personally don't have an issue with the hike as a whole (I have another ask where I'll touch on it), but I did read this thing where Nesta passed out from dehydration as being both of their faults. Cassian just isn't paying attention, he forgets that Nesta isn't a hundreds of years old Illyrian tough guy and she *had barely gotten to the bottom of the stairs at the HoW (edit because I forgot she did that just before these shenanigans). Nesta is a grown adult, he's not her babysitter, she could have said something but instead she just suffered. (I wonder if that was also in line with her self-destructive behavior in acofas?) They're basically both being dumb here.

telling her he’s shackled

While he is doing this to hurt Nesta in that scene, all of the acotar mates thus far have said that about their mate. Lucien said it about Elain and Rhys about Feyre, though theirs were in more self-deprecating ways. To me, it just goes back to the push and pull that Nesta and Cassian have. I think the conflict in that scene is that they are essentially talking about two different things - for Cassian, Nesta rejecting the mating bond is her rejecting him. But for Nesta, the mating bond has nothing to do with Cassian and everything to do with her lost humanity. Cassian is taking her reaction personally (and why wouldn't he, when she has spent so much time picking at his insecurities?) and she is thinking of how the Cauldron and being Made affected her (and why wouldn't she, when she is still grappling with her trauma?) They are basically both thinking of themselves! And not considering how the other one feels.

and not getting a decent reconciliation

I think *fingers crossed* that we will see them in a much better place in future books. SJM said that Nesta's story will continue, so I'm just going to be optimistic here. Since the narration won't follow either of their perspectives anymore (we assume) we probably won't get an in-depth exploration of it. In fact, I was surprised when I got towards the end of acosf that I only had 30 more pages because I knew that so much still needed to happen. The end was very rushed but that's a whole different issue 😂

I am curious what you think of them after this! They aren't my favorite acotar ship; that's reserved for feysand and elucien, at least in canon. But I really love Cassian's character for his combination of strength and vulnerability, and Nesta is probably the most complex and interesting thus far, so I enjoy them from that standpoint.

[acourtofthought]

I saw your back and forth with pro el/riels, what they do not get is history does not equate endgame. The have limited themselves to these little moments in an effort to make their ship bigger than it was, when it so obvious it was always a plot decoy to Elucien endgame. Chaol, Dorian, Nesryn, Tamlin, all are examples of characters who we thought would end up with certain characters and did not and they shared more than stolen glances and almost kisses.

How do el/riel ignore SJM's own words and explanation as to why she mated Elain and Lucien? She publicly has made it clear she had plans for them. She even went as far as to include them in her headcanon modern vacation when she wasn't even asked directly about them, she practically blurted it out. I find it funny how El/riels refuse to acknowledge it's existence, or say those are old interviews, but yet cling onto a 2015 comment about potential multiple mates. See the Hypocrisy ? The only interviews they care about as "evidence" are the ones that fit their narrative, same as textual evidence in the books.

There is always a counterargument why Azriel and Elain are endgame despite the multiple seeds set up for other potential storylines. Could SJM make them endgame? Sure, it is her world, but I find it less likely given the events of ACOSF. Like TOG, what happened in CoM, does not matter given the events of HoF, and so forth, so same applies to ACOTAR, does not matter if Elain and Az stole glances, if SJM introduces a mate, that ship has tanked IN FAVOR of the mate and considering she used heavy, prominent mate coding for Gwyn, says it all. She also did not need Gwyn if she wanted Az and Elain to end up together, she already had Elucien's mating bon, Azriel's unresolved feelings for Mor, along with Rhys disapproval of them as obstacles, there is no need to introduce Gwyn. Do El/riels really think SJM is dedicating this many roadblocks for them? Are they not familiar with her writing patterns? Character's arcs are about the struggle within themselves, their own healing and acceptance, not a million damn reasons why x and y can't be together.

Elain and Lucien were so minimally involved in ACOSF, it screams upcoming arc for them both in the future, while SJM took the time to plant seeds for Azriel and Gwyn. NO, these were not romantic, but that's not the point, all that matters is the potential.

SJM once said she loves for her couples to banter, challenge one another. When have Elain and Az ever bantered, why does Az HIDE who is he after 2 years of knowing her? Why per canon, stay away from her, say it's wrong. Hypothetically, done nothing to help her learn her powers or give her strength, the way we see with other endgame couples. In the few moments with Az and Gwyn, in another couples book, we see them banter, she looks at him for approval, asks to train with daggers, Az thinks of her joy, admires her. All El/riels can say is Gwyn is evil as a counterargument. Which is sad and pathetic. Like come, come up with something better than that.

When it comes to Az and Gwyn, we have two individuals who are warriors, will fight alongside battle with an upcoming war brewing, she may fly a pegasus, given Valkyrie lore , Az alongside her. SJM has done so much to set these two up as equals, the way she made Feyre almost as powerful as Rhys, Nesta leading an army of Valkyrie while Cassian leads the Illaryan's. Mates are equal. Like sorry, but Elain is not going to be alongside Azriel in that battlefield, she won't even wear leathers, her strengths lay elsewhere, and THAT IS OK, but she is so similar to Lucien, who also prefers words over violence. Yes, both will do what is necessary, but it is never their first choice.

In terms of Gwyn. Yes, she returned to the library, but where exactly could she have gone? She has no money that we know off, no family she knows left, SJM was not going to dedicate chapters at the end of ACOSF of Gwyn's decision to leave, that requires its own dedication and will be in future books, bu tshe did foreshadow it. There is no reason to give her a secret parent linage and unknown power if she was not meant to be a factor in upcoming books. Just as she foreshadowed Elain leaving the NC. She is giving readers clue's in the direction she is going. How people miss these context clues is beyond me.

It's one thing to say, I like Az and Elain because x,y,z and that is ok, I've been part of multiple fandoms and it's part of the fun in shipping couples, even couples who are not endgame, but to act as if more than half of the fandoms, yes, I do believe it is now more than half, including the El/riels who jumped ship publicly lack reading comprehension is absurd.

El/riels will attack and bully anyone who disagree, like where do they get off on acting as if their ship is the only one that can exist in the fandom? They are setting themselves up to look foolish if we are to go off the way that bonus chapter ended.

And what exactly is wrong with Gwyn returning to her home? Did everyone honestly expect her to move out just because she's started finding her way? Does she even earn a salary to move out? She has lived there for the last two years and the other priestesses are a family of sorts. So logically it makes sense for her to return there. Yes, I think SJM made it a point to mention that she returned there to show us that she's not completely healed and that makes perfect sense. Because no SJM heroine starts off her novel in a perfect place. She needs to start at the bottom and work her way up. Which means Gwyn returning to the library places her exactly where she needs to be when it's time for her to start her book. And spot on with Elain. The other characters don't seek her out, she doesn't want to wear leathers, the color of the Night Court sucks the life out of her, she tried using a weapon then returned it "and didn't look back." The mental gymnastics being done to make Elain a fit in with the IC (despite what Elain "declares" to anyone in a book that's not her own based of all the hints suggesting otherwise) is quite impressive. And YES! Elain and Az literally say nothing but awkward formalities to one another. She has now made two jokes to him because that's simply a characteristic of who she is (refer to the lines about the Human Queens and Amren) but do they honestly come across as two people who have ever had a REAL conversation during the entire time they have known one another? It's cringe worthy, how hesitant they are around each another. She could have made them endgame but the second she started the narrative that them being together is wrong, that she's too innocent for his world, that she doesn't know who he is, was when she said goodbye to that ship. That is all SJM ending a couple right there. Celeana had sex with Chaol and didn't end up with him. Feyre was engaged to Tamlin and didn't end up with him. E/riel had a near kiss and it's a joke if that's the thing that anyone is using to convince themselves of endgame. Of course SJM hasn't built on Elucien at all. Why would she? The second those two start talking, really talking, is the second they're going to realize how much they like one another. Elain isn't Nesta. Nesta could talk to Cassian and hold on to her anger in order to help her keep her distance. It was easy enough for SJM to have them interact but still keep them at arms length. But Elain is not an angry character. Once she and Lucien interact, there's nothing to really put them at odds. They're both really caring, and emotional characters who don't lash out. So the only way to make it look like they won't be together (since the will they / won't they needs to stay a mystery until their book) is to make it so they don't talk. Seriously, the second we get Elain or Lucien's POV and the second we see them really talk, you're going to KNOW they are ending up together. I think it's going to be so apparent and that's 100% why she's created this storyline where Elain refuses to interact with Lucien.

[roseadleyn]

nesta was 16 when feyre started hunting. their father was also in that cabin with them. a sixteen year old nesta should not have to take care of her family over their father, a grown ass man.

feyre did risk her life. feyre should not have had to but nesta didn't let her do anything. nesta wanted their dad to ( rightfully ) get off his ass and help their family. and it also does such a disservice to feyre's character when you say that nesta let her hunt etc feyre hunted because feyre has always been a provider and a protector., and i'm pretty sure there was that promise she made to her mom

okay but... rhysand hired her for emissary. nesta's scolding was the only reason they got anywhere with that high lord meeting. and didn't rhys promise to pay her for it? he never did. where's the money? what about her inheritance / her father's money that she's supposed to inherit? what about the fact that nesta fought in their damn war, where's her payment for that? nesta uses rhys' money because that rapist doesn't give her any of her own despite her working for him AND losing her inheritance.

also nesta is right. it was rhys' credit that she used, not feyre's.

oh god not the insane rehab defense 😭 nesta just watched her father die. even if she hated him, he died right in front of her, this man who she has seen and known her all life. nesta fought in a war. nesta, who was raised for high society, who is not a soldier. obviously she'd have ptsd and depression. hating a character for having trauma is insane just because she won't deal with it in a proper way. elain was catatonic for months and she didn't get locked up, but nesta does because... what?

'nesta was harming herself' you're right. it wasn't a healthy coping mechanism. but mor drinks and parties every night, the batboys beat each other, fuck and gamble, but NESTA is in the wrong? she doesn't have her own money, what is she supposed to do? feyre sobbing abt five hundred gold marks while she n her mate have five houses and the Illyrians live in fucking tents was so insane of her actually.

ouch babe, those tags are pretty misogynistic! to say nesta gets leniency for being a woman is just wrong. nesta gets no leniency whatsoever in this fandom, just look at your own blog as an example. and to say women get a pass for their actions simply because they are women is wrong and sexist. men get a pass for that. if nesta archeron was a man, you guys would love the character and fully support. you all love rhysand and he's a rapist, classist asshole, cassian and he's an incel.

anyways, your entire blog is just you reblogging pro nesta posts while hating on them. going in the pro tag, while being an anti, to make yourself mad. demented behaviour. babe, are you well?

is nesta archeron truly a bitch, or are you all inherently misogynystic and expect women to be friendly and laugh freely ( or whatever bullshit sjm wrote at all times), and the minute a woman doesn't conform to your rigid standards of what makes a woman worthy of respect — which in itself is insane — you simply must demonize her and call her every derogatory name ever

[riddlecrux]

What is past is present: Azriel and Elain, Helion and Lady of Autumn Court

This post is going to be a long one. I will be talking about parallels between Helion - Lady of Autumn Court - Beron and Azriel - Elain - Lucien situation. How their relationships mirror each other, how the blood duel mentioned in ACOSF and ACOWAR will come to an end, but also how the first triangle was used as a plot device in ACOWAR. I believe it is not a coincidence that SJM decided to put these scenes and histories in the same book with such a short span of time passing between things happening on the pages of their story. I would like to say that this post is a pro Elriel meta, so if they are not your cup of tea please scroll past this. Many thanks to Gardening Tools, especially @silverlinedeyes !

We are going to start with the Lady of Autumn Court and the scene at the High Lord’s council. She is there with her husband, Beron and as the conversation surrounding Hybern increases in intensity, we are presented with a bit of background information about the Lady.

Lady of the Autumn Court had 2 sisters that died during Hybern's soldiers' attack. We got to see another family of three sisters, two of them dying for their sister. What's even more important is a mention of Hybern's war camps and how it's very unlikely for anyone to survive their time there.

Here Beron taunts Kallias by telling his mate that Hybern and his people probably torture and abuse women before killing them. (Please be sure to remember that because we're going to go back to this notion later in this post.)

Another big insight about Lady's life and this particular accident comes from no one else but Helion.

Few things that are very important to mention: - she had already given birth to a few of her children - Hybern directly attacked the estate they were in - her sisters let her run away because they loved her - she tried to fight and stay with them till they convinced her to run - the beasts sent by Hybern tailed her and finally cornered her in a trap

What Feyre says in this particular scene - about Helion knowing too many details holds great importance for the further quotes. We also get to know that, in fact, it was Helion who rescued the Lady - not only saved but found her. The setup, the build-up and the fact that it wasn't her "husband" that came for her are the main things I wish to bring attention to, as we are going to analyze different scenes from the same book with this knowledge.

He could have ended it differently, yet he didn't. Why? The question seems to be imprinted in Feyre's mind as she tries to connect the dots and points she was given, just like us readers. I do believe that what we are being presented with is the notion of the mating bond. Helion's rage at Lady's attack projects typical mate behavior - such as unnecessary violence against the ones who dared to hurt their mate. It also goes with the information of him finding her - how was that possible? Her husband wasn't there, it was Helion who essentially knew that something was wrong. How? Well, by applying the mating bond in this picture we can easily deduct few things: Helion probably felt her distraught through the bond, was able to locate her and save her.

Another insight given by Helion is about Lady's relationship with Beron. Not only it gives us information about her young age (cue to Rhysand's mother and how her young age was also brought up as something very disturbing and not in favour of some mating bonds), but also we get to know that her marriage was arranged. Just like the reader, Feyre is left with these very personal insights and detailed descriptions - so she presses Helion more, to speak, to see if her suspicions are correct.

Another person jumps into the conversation and it is Mor who hands the information of a possible romance between Lady and Helion. We learn that both of them met at an equinox ball before she was proposed with an arranged marriage with Beron. Feyre's curiosity is evident in the way she perks up at Mor's words. Helion on the other hand counter-attacks and provides us with the political background of the story. The Lady was basically left without a choice when it came to her love life.

Helion saved Beron's wife during the war. And Beron didn't know and still doesn't have an idea that it was Helion who saved the Lady.

Feyre tries to fish for more information - and Helion seems to be very reluctant to answer her question about his relationship with the Lady. It makes us think that, in fact, their relationship was somehow forbidden, being kept in secret. Moreover, what's even more interesting is the fact that we suddenly have a shift of focus on another person - Azriel. We are deliberately made aware of the fact that Azriel is listening to this important conversation.

We are starting to see Helion becoming slightly less humorous - Feyre can spot the difference between his usual self and the way he delivers his question. It suggests that the relationship and potential mating bond is a very touchy subject for him.

Their forbidden relationship went on for decades. They were secret lovers till Beron found about them. We see that contrast between the Lady with Helion - all brightness and smiles, Lady with Beron - withdrawn, timid, scared.

I clenched my teeth. “If you were her lover, why didn’t you stop it?” The wrong thing to say. Utterly wrong, by the dark fury that rippled across Helion’s face. “Beron is a High Lord, and she is his wife, mother of his brood. She chose to stay. Chose. And with the protocols and rules, Lady, you will find that most situations like the one you were in do not end well for those who interfere.”

Helion reacts with anger at Feyre's inquiry about his lack of participation in the case of the Lady's wellbeing. "Dark fury rippling across Helion's face" is also an interesting word choice. Again we are reminded that their romance was meant to end that way due to the notions of choice and politics.

“Beron never called you out for it?” “To publicly do so would be to admit that his possession made a fool of him. So we continue our little dance, these centuries later.” I somehow doubted that beneath that roguish charm and irreverence, Helion felt it was a dance at all.

Helion reminds us about politics that bind different Courts - in this case, we can easily see that the matter of choice in this example ends with Lady choosing duty over love. It also supplies us with an idea that if Helion would have wanted to fight for Lady he would need to participate in a blood duel. Yet, the Lady chose Beron - we don't know why Helion probably was left alone with the same question. However, by analyzing this situation I believe that Lady knew about the possibility of a blood duel happening she didn't want her potential mate to be hurt. So, in the end, she opted for a life in a loveless marriage with Beron. Furthermore, we have Rhysand and Feyre coming to the conclusion that Lucien is Helion's son - and he is the fruit of the loving relationship between Helion and the Lady.

What does this mean, though? Nothing—ultimately nothing. Other than the fact that Lucien might be Helion’s sole heir. And that … it changed nothing in this war. Especially not with Lucien on the continent, hunting that enchanted queen. A bird of flame … and a lord of fire. I wondered if they’d found each other yet.

The usage of the word "this war" is not a coincidence, as well as Rhysand's poor prediction of the future. Because as we know, right now - it changes a lot. Elain being his mate bounds him to the Night Court, so losing that relationship puts the Court at risk. Especially now, when Lucien doesn't know that Helion is his father. Another very important addition is the part about Lucien and Vassa. Feyre has prophetic tendencies and her thoughts about both Vassa and Lucien always focus on their... relationship. Not to mention that it was brought up after that whole conversation with Helion. With all these things above, I would like to move on to Elriel parallels. Starting with the Cauldron kidnapping Elain. Please bear in mind that this scene happens after the meeting with Helion, after learning about the story of Lady's and Helion's romance.

But Azriel asked softly, “What about Elain?”

The one who noticed that Elain was absent was Azriel, we can speculate whatever it was his intuition, his shadows, or perhaps some kind of feeling that made him aware of her absence. Yet, it's not a coincidence that another male character, the one who doesn't have an official mate is the only one who either felt/realized that she was taken. That's the first parallel I would love to bring to your attention - Helion was the one who found and rescued the Lady. Now, the situation is almost identical - Hybern attacks via Cauldron takes Elain to the war camps.

And what Hybern would do to Elain, might already be doing— From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

Azriel reacts with rage, a silent debate raging within him. He is battling something deep inside him, which is obstructed from the reader's point of view. I wonder why? He is the one who swears to find her and rescue her. Also, worth mentioning how Feyre seems to realize the graveness of the situation - as if she can remember the conversation she had with Helion about what happened with sisters of the Lady of Autumn Court. War camps. Nobody would walk away from them alive.

We looked to Rhys, to Cassian and Nesta, to Mor—right as she appeared, breathless, between the tent flaps. Her eyes went to me, then the shadowsinger, and flared with shock and fear—

In this scene we also have Mor. Mor was present during Helion's conversation and gave input about their love and forbidden relationship. Mor that possess the power of Truth. Is it possible that Mor knew about the mating bond between Helion and the Lady? Is it possible that Mor knows about the truth of the mating bond between Lucien and Elain? Does Mor know about the potential mating bond between Azriel and Elain? There are so many questions and we don't get an answer. Mor keeps secrets, which is understandable yet it provides a whole new aspect of Mor being the one who realizes what's happening. (Not to mention that Mor is always present when Elain is with Lucien, assessing them.)

Screaming. A shadow gripped my shoulder, reminding me not to run. Ianthe would not run—would not show alarm. My mouth went dry as that scream sounded again. I couldn’t bear it—to let it go on, to see what was being done— Azriel’s shadow-hand grasped my own, tugging me closer. His rage rippled off his invisible form.

It is Azriel who reacts once again with - rage. At the thought of Elain being tortured, abused, or being killed. Feyre can't stomach the idea of what is happening to her sister in this war camp.

I could feel Jurian’s smile against my ear. “She’s in his tent. Chained with steel and a little spell from his favorite book.” Shit. Shit. Perhaps I should have gotten Helion, who could break almost any—

The mention of Helion is such a beautiful parallel. We, as readers, are amidst a rescue mission. A situation that was very similarly described few chapters before, a situation in which it was Helion in Azriel's shoes. In the past it was - Helion and Lady, here in the "future" we have - Azriel and Elain. The same circumstances - Hybern attack/Hybern powers, three sisters, and the only one is targeted, a savior that isn't husband/mate finding and rescuing the girl.

Azriel gently removed the gag from her mouth. “Are you hurt?” She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” The shadowsinger only inclined his head.

I could write a whole meta about this quote because it's ridden with such enormous parallels and foreshadowing. Let's start with the simplest one, which is the word "devour". It has very strong connections to physicality, it basically means that Elain greedily took him in, he was her focal point at that moment. Also, the following addition of her not quite believing that, in fact, it is Azriel who arrived before her - she hadn't expected him to rescue her and you may be wondering why? It all beautifully goes with the idea of two mates/true mates theories - what is making me say this with so much certainty? Well, first of all, ACOWAR is full of descriptions of how a healthy mating bond works, for example, Feysand one. It's a bridge connecting two souls through which our emotions, thoughts can be perceived for the other person.

Find me, find me, find me, I tried shouting down that bond. But my mate’s wry voice didn’t answer. There was only the roaring void.

This happens at the begging of ACOWAR when Feyre tries to communicate with Rhysand through their mating bond. I find it very interesting that throughout the whole book the trope of "finding your true love, significant other" is very persistent. This brings me back to the theory that both Azriel and Helion heard their mates' cries of help and that's how they were able to rescue them and find them. In addition to that Elain's "you came for me" is striking so many questions. What does she mean? Why is she so docile and peaceful? As if she somehow had an idea that someone will come for her - did she perhaps inwardly call through the mating bond? This, again, brings us to another parallel - Beron doesn't know that it was Helion who rescued the Lady. Lucien doesn't know that it was Azriel who saved Elain - which, we really don't know if he even felt/knew that something has happened.

The hounds closed in, two breaking away—to cut to the side. To herd us. For that was a cliff at the other edge of the camp. A cliff with a very, very long drop, and unforgiving river below.

I'm bringing this up because the setting is oddly familiar with the run of Lady of Autumn's one. The isolated place, a trap etc.

Azriel’s roar echoed off the rocks as the hound slammed into him, dragging those shredding talons down his spine, his wings— The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast’s face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. With a yelp of pain, it released its claws—and plunged into the ravine.

Parallel on parallel. We have Hybern's beasts, we have a similar setting again and fight. What is different, however, is that in Helion's case it was solely him that destroyed beasts while rescuing the Lady. Here, however, it is Elain that fights against beasts - she who had never trained, she who is a gardener is fighting against evil. She is kicking as the beasts hurt Azriel. She took the initiative and killed the beast at that moment when they previously hurt Azriel. Also, the most beautiful comparison in my opinion is the fact that after Elain knocks the beast it falls down the ravine, dying. It is somehow very symbolic that Elain kills the beast that falls into the ravine, whereas Lady of Autumn is stuck in the ravine as beasts approach her and it is the moment when Helion saves her.

The gray light of morning had broken over the world, mist clinging to our ankles as we headed into that camp, Azriel still cradling Elain to his chest. He dripped blood behind him the entire time—a trickle compared to the torrent that should be leaking out.

After that intense battle, they arrive in the safety, but Azriel still holds on Elain even if he himself is bleeding all over the place.

Rhys lunged for Azriel, taking Elain from him and gently setting my sister down. Azriel rasped, swaying on his feet, “We need Helion to get these chains off her.” Yet Elain didn’t seem to notice them as she rose up on her toes and kissed the shadowsinger’s cheek.

Another mention of Helion in that very parallel setting. He was very present during the rescue mission, which is a neat way of showering the audience with foreshadowing. If I wanted to indulge even more in the symbolism of this scene, I would point out that the chains on Elain are very symbolic as well. They could either mean the restrain of her powers, but also the chains of the "lack of freedom", "lack of choice". Being freed by both Azriel and Helion is something that I believe is very important to remember while waiting for the next book. Because even if Elain is a mirror to Lady - Elain will change the course of her story. Elain is going to choose love over duty, she will choose Azriel - which ends with them discovering that, in fact, the bond was there from the beginning. Helion getting rid of those chains is also a metaphor for what is to come. He will break Lady's chains by fighting with Beron during the blood duel. In this timeline, Azriel and Elain are symbolism of healthy love, mating bond, freedom of choice. Lucien doesn't mirror Beron, because he himself doesn't want to be with Elain since both of them don't feel comfortable with each other, they are making each other miserable. Not to mention the fact that their mating bond is... very weak and through the ACOWAR and ACOSF we see that it is different from the true mating bonds that are present in the universe. Azriel-Elain-Lucien triangle will break the past wheel of unhappiness and forced love, changing it by their own rules of free choice. As for Helion-Lady-Beron love story, if I may be so bold, the blood duel is going to happen and Beron will die - freeing Lady and Helion from him and politics that kept them away. If you are still not sure if these two situations are foreshadowing I would love to put this quote as the ending of this very long meta.

Azriel shrugged. “We—Rhys, Cass, and I—will occasionally remind each other that what we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history.”

And as you can guess, that very unlikely person who altered the course of history in ACOWAR was Elain when she killed King of Hybern.

[confused-as-all-hell]

Morrigan

A queen—a queen who bowed to no one, a queen who had faced them all down and triumphed. A queen who owned her body, her life, her destiny, and never apologized for it.

Morrigan; lovely and bright and brilliant as the sun herself. A female who knows hateful abuse by its first name, and can still rise every morning with merriment on her lips. A lethal warrior, a fierce third-in-command, a loyal friend. A good person. So why is she despised?

Mor, from the first page, is depicted as proud and laughing. She loves her family, the Inner Circle, and refuses to tolerate any slander against them. Time and time again, Feyre narrates Mor’s devotion knows no restraints, that she would end the world for those she loves. We loved her for it, applauded her sharp remarks against those who had wronged our sweet Feyre, commented on her unwavering allegiance. 

And yet, when Nesta makes no attempt to hide her distaste for her sister, some of you had the audacity to be shocked when Mor snapped. Mor loves her High Lady, has always stood by her side and protected her fearlessly. It must have hurt her to see Feyre harmed by her own family; don’t forget, Mor herself suffered unforgivable trauma at the hands of her parents. To see Feyre crying over Nesta... that would have pained her beyond belief. It would have struck a chord within her. 

Mor saw a friend in fucking tears, and she was furious. She had every right to dislike who Nesta was pre-ACOSF. Are we actually going to blame her for defending someone who was practically her own sister? Mor may not have understood Nes’ trauma, but she was not wrong for what she did. Neither was she wrong in the case of Cassian. Do none of you understand what it means to love someone? You protect them, worry after them, try and ease the source of their pain the best you can. 

Mor is not a saint. She can’t read minds. When she was cruel to Nesta, though it may have hurt Nes, Mor was defending Cassian. Cassian, who reached out a hand when nobody else did so long ago. Cassian, who she has known for five hundred years. Cassian, who looked after her like a brother. Come on. Since when do we hate characters for watching over each other?

I have, rather amusingly, also seen arguments over Mor’s sexuality. She is closeted and bisexual, with a preference for females, and little interest in sleeping or going out with males. Mor owes it to nobody to come out; she may do so when she feels comfortable and ready to share her news. I cannot believe people are whining “Ohhh, Mor can’t lead Azriel on like that, it’s just not fair to him.” That’s fucking funny.

I will ask, has Mor hinted towards him she might be ready for a relationship? Has she made advances? Has she mentioned by word or deed that she feels anything but sisterly love towards Az? 

If anything, she has done quite the opposite. Mor is not responsible for whatever Azriel has convinced himself of. It is not her job to sit him down and tell him she has no interest in their romantic relationship. She is not leading him on: Azriel is simply pining over a female who feels no attraction for him. It is disgusting that some of you think Mor owes Azriel an explanation. He chose to love her. She is not responsible for un-making that decision.

Mor is allowed to defend her family. She is allowed to live her life. She is allowed to have a wonderful girlfriend who will care for her, and protect her, the very same way Mor has protected so many for all her years.

I am not opposed to her dating Emerie, but I hate the theories Emerie will knock Mor down in defense of Nesta. I myself am actually pro-Nesta, but I will not allow lovely Mor to be slandered. She deserves someone who will understand her, not someone who is only going to berate her. Does she deserve to be held accountable for a few hateful comments? Yes. Does she deserve to be detested herself for it? No.

I also happen to hate the theories Mor and Eris are going to reconcile. Fuck, Eris hurt her unforgivably. He saw her bleeding and shaking and sobbing, nails in her stomach, and did he reach out? No, he curled his lip. And insinuating Mor lied about her abuse... this is so awful. Abuse survivors are already never believed. We do not need to project this further. And we do not need another shitty redemption arc for a brutal male with a sad story. 

I would like to see Mor holding Eris accountable. Not Cassian or Azriel or Feyre or Rhys or Nesta. Mor. Because we see in ACOWAR that Mor is not over her trauma, and being around Eris terrifies her. She can never find her closure if she does not stand up for herself, and she desperately needs closure. Even then, I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive Eris.

Mor is honestly such a lovely, flawed character. She makes her mistakes, but she has good intentions every time. She defends those she cares for without fail, loves her family fiercely, and moreover, she loves herself. I will not tolerate a word of slander against her.

[propshophannah]

Am I the only one who thought the book had a lot of sexist undertones? Like preemptively modifying your body to MAYBE one day give birth to your man's (male's) babies? I feel like the IC never tried to let Nesta heal in her own way, they just forced her to do things they thought would be good for her, while demeaning her along the way. And the shield thing around Feyre is very reminiscent of how Tamlin treated her in ACOTAR... I don't know, a lot of the book just made me uncomfortable :/

Hi Nonnie!

First, I want to say that I’m sorry parts of this book made you uncomfortable. That’s never fun. Second…

I think we can reasonably say that no matter what we’re looking at, we can find sexism if we want to. Now that doesn’t mean that some things are not just blatantly sexist. I think with this book there is a conversation to be had about what some of us read as sexist and what some of us read as not sexist or even pro different-forms-of-feminism.

It’s sort of in the eye of the beholder.

It’s also a fantasy world that has developed under a patriarchy. So some things are just as sexist as they “should be” because that’s the world building, right? 

So, like, territorial Fae males is fully explained in the world building and is therefore fully acceptable for the books, and is also, frankly, a kink. SJM caters to that kink. So we know we’re going to get that in these books. Most if their shit is NOT okay for planet Earth. (That’s why some of us actively seek it and enjoy reading it in books.)

So let’s get in it!

Nesta modifying her body

Now as far as Nesta modifying her own body to have children one day, I don’t see that as sexist at all. Because the alternative to her altering her own anatomy is her pausing for a moment and asking Cassian if she can strip him of his faerie race and make him something else that doesn’t have wings. If that happened, we’d be getting into race and identity and all kinds of other shit that is hella problematic. 

So, no. Nesta wanting to one day birth her own children is not sexist. Nesta deciding to alter her own anatomy so that she can safely birth her own children with Cassian, is not sexist. (Now if Cassian did it without permission, then we’d have a problem!)

The IC making Nesta heal their way

Now THIS is a conversation on choice. Not sexism. Rhys has long touted that his court is a court of choices and all that. So forcing Nesta to either go to the human lands (where she’ll very likely die) or go to the House of Wind (where she can’t readily leave) and train and work everyday, is a problem. If you want to make an argument that this is the equivalent of Tamlin locking Feyre in the house, I won’t stop you. I would only ask that you consider the nuance. 

And the nuance here takes us back to world building. They don’t have psychiatric wards or mental health services or rehab centers like we do on planet Earth. Nesta needed help. AND LET ME BE REAL CLEAR: I’m not here to debate what kind of help she needed. (We could run in circles all day long debating that.) What I am saying is that they recognized that: 

Nesta’s behavior was not good, 

that THEY WERE ENABLING HER, 

that they actually had the power to do something about her situation

They do not live in a democracy. They live in a monarchy. They have and hold absolute power and rule. And while that whole intervention—or whatever the fuck that was—was absolutely TERRRRIBLE, they had every right to do what they did. Why? Because it fit the world building.

They acted like rich parents fed up with a wild teenager so they cut her off and gave her a choice between getting kicked out of the house or going to work on grandpa’s farm in the middle of BFE. Essentially that’s what they did.

Do I agree with it? Eh... they didn’t have a lot of options and SOMETHING needed to happen (I’d have been VERY ANGRY had they left her to die like that). Do I like it? FUCK NO. They went about it all wrong and it was shitty.

Abandoning her in the human lands would have been fucking murder. But do you HONESTLY, HONESTLY think Feyre would have done that??? ALSO, LET’S BE REAL: Nesta would not have stayed there long because EVERY HIGH LORD knows about her power and would want her in their court. That whole shit about the human lands likely was NOT real and was a scare tactic. It was a shitty scare tactic. But again, it fit the world building. AND Nesta’s character (cuz it worked, she didn’t ask to go to the human lands). 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

This isn’t directed at you Nonnie, but what did people think would happen? There would suddenly be psych wards and rehab centers and Feyre and Rhys would start acting with compassion and kindness and like they themselves had gone to therapy for decades and suddenly be able to convince Nesta to sign herself into one of those facilities? 

I get it’s annoying. And it’s infuriating. And some of their bullshit talking out their ass moments made me want to throw the book across the damn room. Because that’s not how you act to people in the middle of a downward spiral/crisis like Nesta was. 

But here’s the thing: they have no basis for knowing better. They don’t have mental health services. Gwyn mentioned a priestess who counsels them, but that’s NOT the same thing as a therapist or psychologist or psychiatric NP or psychiatrist.

So what did people expect?

Also. Do you think for one second, Nesta would have responded well to compassionate attempts to get her help? She hadn’t hit rock bottom yet (where compassion would have worked wonderfully *depending* on the type of rock bottom she hit). She would have seen any attempt like that as pity and she would have rebelled.

Here’s how I get over being annoyed with Feysand and Amren for that dumb af “intervention” moment: I remind myself that

They recognized she couldn’t keep going down the path she was going.

They recognized that they loved her too much to let that happen (Feyre at least). 

They recognized that they held ABSOLUTE POWER over her in their realm

They recognized that they needed to put her in a place where she had a purpose, a routine, where she couldn’t fall back on old habits, and where she had the option to talk to other trauma survivors (if she chose to) 

That’s what they knew. Putting her in the House was their only choice. So they did. And guess what? It worked. 

Now, the forcing her to train thing was BULLSHIT. You can’t force other people to change, they have to want that for themselves. But guess what? Turns out Nesta wanted to change. Because she wasn’t against training. She was only against doing it in a place where she could be judged. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Also, exercising is FUCKING FANTASTIC for mental health. (Maas knows that.)

Now did they demean her along the way? Yes. 

Was it shitty? HELL, YES! 

Did Rhys finally learn his lesson that night with the nightmare? He sure af did! 

Did some people in the fandom expect too much from Amren? Yep. Lady was never going to show affection or be nice to Nesta. Amren shows respect. When you respect Amren, she respects you. That’s her ENTIRE character. We’re three books in with Amren. Idk why people are still butthurt about her personality. Like. You can’t get mad at Amren for not being a table when she’s always been a chair. (Doesn’t mean we have to like her behavior or anyone else’s. But it does mean that we only have ourselves to blame when she acts the way she always has.) This same logic applied to Mor and Feyre and Elain etc.

Also. Did them acting like assholes drive the plot forward? IT SURE AF DID! If they had acted differently the book wouldn’t be as good as it is.

The shield around Feyre

If you want to make the argument about how this is a Tamlin thing to do, I won’t stop you. But again, I’ll ask you to consider the nuance and the world building. 

In a world where anyone can scent a pregnancy, would you not try to hide your ruler’s pregnant scent and body from enemies and potential attacks? I would! 

Is it a little territorial? Yes. 

Does that make sense for the world building and what we know about Fae males? Yep! 

Could Feyre have told Rhys to cut the shit? Yes. 

Is it possible Feyre *maybe* use the lie of Rhys and Helion(?) having fun with shield as an excuse to have it around herself? Yeah. I’d probably do it. 

Look, if Feyre hadn’t wanted the shield, it would have been gone. They said it was a compromise, but you can’t tell me Rhys would force a shield around her against her own will (or that she, The Cursebreaker, wouldn’t bust through it in a heartbeat).

Sorry if this comes off as salty, Nonnie! I don’t mean to be. I just don’t really understand why people get mad at stuff in books *that’s perfectly reasonable* for the world building when the alternative that they would prefer would be out of character, out the world building, or create plot holes etc. 

Hope this helps!

[ink-insomnia]

First off, this post is not supposed to be a anti-nesta or pro-nesta argument.

If you are here to defend your fave, kindly move along. This post is not for you.

Another thing- I dislike nesta. You can not change my opinion.

This post is an attempt by me, an Nesta anti, to understand why people like her. A lot of reasons have been discussed like, they have not been a victim of one or, that they are simply looking for justification for their own action.

In simple words, people who love Nesta, are either abusers or they have never been abused.

I want to talk about another reason why people might like her, which, as far as I know, has not been discussed.

Actually being a victim to a Nesta, i.e., they have been abused the same way nesta abuses Feyre.

We can see throughout the series, no matter how harsh and cruel nesta gets, Feyre hardly ever speaks up against her. Except for once when she asked nesta for help at the dinner and at the end of the last book, Feyre has been empathetic towards her.

Saying things like, "This is just the way nesta is." Or "She has a mind/ spirit of steel. "

She glorifies Nesta's toxic traits. Turns them into something to be admired and because we are reading the book from her point of view, this is what the readers is supposed to think.

Which primarily stems from the abuse itself. Feyre, although having survived under the mountain, a war, her own death, her mates death, abuse from Tamlin and, not to mention, her time hunting, because of Nesta's constant verbal attacks, thinks that she's weak. She thinks that Nesta is better than her because she has drilled it into Feyre's head that she is beneath her. She had years to do that.

There are different ways in which victims react to abuse. Some hate their abuser, some get angry, some get scared.

And some love their abuser. That is valid. That is not wrong.

Maybe, just maybe, some of the people who defend Nesta so fiercely, are in fact the victims of one.

Nesta antis react to her abuse the way Rhys and Mor do.

Some Nesta stans react to her abuse the way Feyre does (or did).

When they see SJM present Nesta in such a glorifying way, they find comfort in it. They relate to it because they love their abuser the same way Feyre loves nesta.

And now, that Feyre is distancing herself from Nesta, they think she is bad because they used to see someone they love in Nesta.

According to them, she must continue to love and care for Nesta.

Same with Rhys and Mor. These stans would hate anyone who retaliates to Nesta's abuse.

They see their abuser in Nesta . An abuser they love.

That brings us to another important fault in SJM's writing.

Her bias towards an abusive character can potentially put people in harm's way. Everyone is affected by the books they read. Her using words like "queenly " for Nesta is (in my opinion) very, very wrong.

I myself use Morrigan as a comfort character. We have all found characters that we use for coping between pages of a book and we can not judge others for doing that.

People who may be getting abused the same way as Feyre will start Glorifying and loving their abusers more and get hurt if they do not distance themselves from their abuser.

Again, these are speculations on why so many people would defend a character so toxic and abusive. I can not say if this is true or not.

[highqueenofelfhame]

I feel like it’s ok to just not like a certain character in a series be it Nesta or Feyre or Mor or Rhys or whoever. Maybe they remind you of real life people or maybe you just don’t like their characters but what I feel like isn’t ok is going into spaces where you know fans of these characters are and just shitting all over them. It’s perfectly fine to have some discourse and an open discussion about characters actions but please don’t be rude to people for liking fictional characters.

like i’m fine with people disliking characters but going to blogs and stuff and sending hate about a character especially when a blog is clearly pro those characters. like the only anti person ppl can be on my blog is anti tamlin or chaol lmao. but i keep those opinions to my blog and don’t force them on other people. so i agree with you 100%.

[bookaholic1012]

Prythian Magazine Part 4

I know I’ve said it a bunch of times, but Imma say it again. I am sorry for not updating in weeks! I was busy and didn’t feel like writing, but I’m back! Anyway, if you guys saw my post on this chapter, you know I have ship-related news.

Lately, I've been wanting some Cassian/Azriel, Azriel/Lucien, and Cassian/Lucien fics (btw, please tell me if you have or know of fics with them!). ANYWAY, I have decided to have one of these ships in my fic. I have chosen.......... Cassian/Lucien! Elain will now be with Azriel (sorry, Elucien shippers! I just felt like Elain should be with someone, and I know SJM has said they have a bro/sis relationship, but I didn't want to make an oc or take someone else from the ACOTAR books!) Nesta Archeron will be alone, although I am hoping to have her and Cassian be friends, idk, we'll see. Also, Lucien is bi (obviously, it goes without saying) and he and Andras did have a relationship, which I'll elaborate on in future chapters. So, that's all the news I have. Again, sorry for not updating, and sorry for the really long note!

Tagging: @sugarcoated44

ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO SARAH J. MASS

PM Masterlist My Writing

“Rhys.”

He couldn’t breath. She was stunning. Her pale skin, blue-grey eyes, golden brown hair, freckles. Everything.

“Hello, Feyre, Darling.” Rhys purred. My Feyre, Darling. No. Not mine. She’s with Tamlin. I’m just a friend.  Painfully, he reminded himself of this.

Rhys didn’t  know who moved first, but he was holding her in his arms. Rhys buried his face in the crook of her neck. She smelled of vanilla and oranges. Rhys knew he missed her, but he hadn’t realized to what extent he did. When she left them to be with… him, Rhys couldn’t do anything for weeks. He fell in love with her, and he still is.

“Ahem.”

Startled, they broke apart, to see everyone standing a bit awkwardly around them. How long were we hugging?  Probably a while if their friends’ looks were anything to go by. Cassian - who interrupted them - and Mor both wore shit-eating grins, Azriel’s mouth twitched up into a smile, Amren was smirking, and Lucien was smiling, though worry was in his eye. He tried to hide it, but Rhys saw. 

“Anyway,” said Cassian, “We are all glad to see you again. Rhys especially.”

Cassian sent a wink Rhys’s way, earning him a glare. Cass was going to give Rhys hell for this later. Feyre was blushing, her cheeks a deep red. As Rhys was looking at her beautiful self, he realized with a shock, she was thin. Rhys didn’t mean healthy thin; he meant a starved thin. Rhys slid his fisted hands into his pockets. Rhys knew it was because of Tamlin.

“I’m really happy to see you guys, too. I missed you all so much.” said Feyre. “I hope you guys don’t mind Lucien being here.”

Their attention turned to Lucien. He looked like this was the last place he wanted to be. Rhys knew there were mixed feelings for what his family did to Mor, but we the Inner Circle also knew that he left the Autumn Court and stopped using his family name. Cassian broke the silence.

“Hey, Foxboy.”

“Don’t call me that.” Lucien snapped.

“Why not, Foxboy?” Cassian taunted, a smirk on his face.

“Because-”

“Enough, the both of you.” Mor interrupted. “We’re aren’t here to listen you two argue. We’re here to have fun together and welcome Feyre and Lucien.”

Lucien glared at Cassian and Cassian playfully did it back. Lucien sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Fine.”

Everyone else greeted Lucien and they went back to their table. Prior to Lucien, Feyre, and Mor arriving, Rhys and his friends ordered enough food for seven people. He sure that there won’t be enough food.

The food came and everyone dug in, catching up with Feyre. Lucien and Cassian were mostly arguing. Then, Cassian asked what Rhys had been thinking, ending all conversation.

“So, Feyre, why are you here? I mean, it’s great and I’m not complaining, but I thought Tamlin didn’t want you being around us.”

Lucien and Feyre both tensed. What happened to her? To Lucien?

“We… broke up.” Feyre said, although her eyes were bitter and distant, as if remembering an unpleasant memory. “I, with the help of Lucien, realized that I wasn’t being treated the way I should’ve been. Lucien helped pro- I mean, Lucien helped me break up with him.”

Lucien put his hand over Feyre’s. Rhys knew it was a friendly comforting gesture, but he still felt jealous. He wanted to be the one who comforts Feyre.

Cassian raised his glass, “I propose a toast to Feyre, for finally leaving the ass!”

Everyone laughed, toasting to Feyre, the tense atmosphere dissipating, though Rhys knew the others still had questions. He had a lot himself.

As the others were saying goodbye to Feyre, Rhys made his way to Lucien.

“Lucien.”

“Rhysand.”

“Call me Rhys, Lucien. We’re friends now.”

He snorted at that. “Sure we are.”

“We are.” I insisted. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for helping Feyre with Tamlin. I know there’s more to the story, but you helped her and that means a lot.”

“You’re right.” Of course I am. Someone should tell him I’m always right.  “There is more to the story then what Feyre said, but there’s a reason she didn’t share it.” Lucien said, a look of seriousness on his face.

“Well, bye, Lucien. See you around?”

“Bye, Rhys. And you probably will be seeing me, as I’m currently staying with your cousin.” Lucien replied, walking towards Mor and Feyre, but he turned around.

“And don’t worry, I won’t tell Feyre.”

“Tell Feyre what?” Rhysand asked, furrowing my brows.

Lucien merely gave him a knowing smile, “That you’re in love with her. It’s quite obvious you know.” With that, he turned away.

Shit.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know your thoughts and let me know if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes! Also, let me know what you think about the ship change! Next chapter will be in Feyre's POV. If anyone wants to be tagged in future chapters, let me know! I will (try) to post weekly.

Much love,

Bookaholic1012 <3

[supermortalavengers]

ToG & ACOTAR

1) Which of the ToG characters do you relate most to? Dorian Havilliard.

2) Which of the ACOTAR character do you relate most to? Rhysand.

3) Which character in either series do you think you would dislike the most in real life? Tamlin.

4) Which character wouldn’t like you in real life? Probably Tamlin.

5) Which character would you be best friends with in real life? Cassian, honestly.

6) Who’s your OTP from ACOTAR? Feysand. 100% no matter what. I can’t believe I ever shipped Feylin.

7) OTP from ToG? Doraelin (though Rowaelin is growing on me)

8) Did you ship Rowaelin from the moment he came into the picture? HELL NO.

9) How quickly did you stop shipping Chaolaena? Or do you still ship it? I stopped shipping it pretty quickly.

10) Which character do you ship yourself most with and why? Rhysand, because shit, man. Everyone that he’s around he BUILDS on, gives them the tools to make themselves better, he doesn’t MAKE them do it, he gives them the choice, and it honestly just… He is the person that I wish most people could act like because of that. I mean, he’s also beautiful. And sassy. And I need that in my life too, but mostly the other part.

11) Ships that annoy you and why? Feylin. Because Tamlin is an abusive little asshole and nobody will convince me otherwise.

12) Do you ship Amren and Varian or would you rather Amren remain alone? I don’t necessarily ship them, per say, but… They’re cute.

13) Any theories about where Amren came from and what her real form is? Fuck if I know.

14) How do you view Rhys’s actions UtM? Ah… When I first read the series, without having read the others, I really hated him for everything he did. But, after reading the other two books, and seeing where he was coming from, I’ve given him a little leeway. Yes, some of it was cruel and unnecessary, but… He was doing it to save Feyre, and in the end, save everyone from UtM.

15) Do you want Tamlin to die? Are you pro redemption arc? How do want his arc to end? In all honesty, I would never wish a bad thing on anyone, even a fictional character. So, I would prefer he didn’t die. I don’t think he should get a redemption arc though. He deserves a shitty ending, because he was/is abusive. He needs some God damn therapy.

16) Which villain out of both series do you hate the most? If I can count Tamlin as a villain, I really disliked him because of how he treated Feyre. And how Feyre didn’t see anything wrong with it until she was shown actual love and care. I also DESPISE Dorian’s father. He makes me want to slap a bitch.

17) Do you blame Elena? …Lemme get back to you.

18) Which villain do you want to slowly suffer and which one do you want a painful death for? Dorian’s father, even though he’s already dead… But whatever.

19) Tell me how you feel about Moriel, Elucien, and Nessian. Fuck, I think they’re adorable. Lucien really needed a good ending. He was put through so much shit, and he was stuck under Tamlin. He deserves a hug. Nessian… Just AH. I can’t describe it better than that. Moriel… Jesus Azriel needed a good ending too. Come to think of it, Mor needed it too. Both lived through hellacious beginnings… So… I think they’re all well deserved relationships.

20) Thoughts on “nameless is my price?” Gotta reread the series. So badly. I’ve forgotten so much. My only clear memory is that I love Dorian with all of my heart.

21) How do you think ToG will end? …With all my babies happy?

22) Do you prefer the Celaena story arc or the Aelin arc? Or do you find that the difference between the two is simply character growth? I think that it’s just character growth, though I do miss Doraelin.

23) Long haired Rowan or short haired Rowan? *shrugs* Don’t particularly care. I’m just starting to care about Rowan in the first place lmao

24) Which character would you most like to hook up with? Cassian. Would definitely be a good time.

25) Which character would you most like to fall in love with? Rhysand. I don’t think I need an explanation for that. And maybe Lucien… For some of the same reasons as Rhys, but also because Lucien has those fast comebacks and snippiness, and I need that in my life.

26) How would you feel if Sam were resurrected in ToG7? …I… Just… Don’t know. I feel that would make things problematic?

27) How do you feel about Elorcan at the moment? Do you forgive him and think Elide should? Or are you angry with him? …Lemme read the books more. I honestly skipped a lot because I was unhappy with Rowan. I need to reread the entire series. So…

28) Thoughts on Fenrys and Connall? As said in 27: I gotta reread the series.

29) What do you think the importance of “princess of carrion” and all the other stuff the book says to Feyre is? …Fuck, I’ve read these books enough times, but I’m drawing a blank to this.

30) Do you think any major characters will die in ACOWAR? Who? …Considering I read the book… I mean, I was so terrified near the ending about Rhys… But I’M OKAY RIGHT NOW.

31) Did you ship Feylin in ACOTAR or were you always side-eyeing it suspiciously? …I fucking shipped it, head over heels. Oh, how I regret that.

32) How do you think Feyre will handle being in the Spring Court again? Like a God damn boss, because she’s grown a lot.

33) Head canons for your OTP! I just… Mhmm

34) Name a ship you hope ends like the Titanic… …That one of them dies? Tamlin?

35) What do you think Feyre’s father is up to? Some stuff.

36) Do you forgive Nesta and Elain for how they treated Feyre? …Mmm.

37) Favorite morally grey character. Is Chaol morally grey? I feel like he is. Just a little bit.

38) Favorite villain. Mm… None particularly. A lot of them are just… Not to my liking.

39) Favorite god from ToG …Lemme get back to you on that.

40) What theories do you have about the Bone Carver? Fuck me running.

41) Any theories about the cauldron? That it’s a God damn mess.

42) Favorite funny moment from ToG Anything that was relatively funny between Dorian and Aelin.

43) Who is funniest character? …only one? UHM. Rhysand. Really. He just… He always makes me laugh.

44) Where is Nox??? On the God damn moon, probly.

45) Are you down for Rowaelin/Feysand babies in the epilogues or would you want them to wait? Oh, HELL YEAH. BRING ME ALLLLL THE BABIES.

46) What is the King of Adarlan’s name? “Piece of Shit”?

47) Do you have any f/f or m/m ships? Hm... None that stand out to me in ACOTAR? But, I really need to reread ToG though, so that could change.

48) Any part of the plot in either series that you would change? Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of Aelin jumping around from guy to guy in the beginning of ToG. I understand that a lot of people do that, but to me, it just created a lot of unnecessary drama. And I really do hate drama.

49) How do you think the lock will be forged? Carefully.

50) Who is a better male lead? Rhysand or Rowan?  RHYSAND FOR THE GOD DAMN WIN.