#ship: the faerie queen and her prince

[theladyofbloodshed]

Chapter 33

Two updates in a week, who is she?

A horn blast cleaved the world.

A dozen horns, lifted in perfect, mighty harmony.

Rhysand went still.

From the eastern horizon, thousands upon thousands of white-winged soldiers flew towards them. Beneath them, cutting through the waves were hundreds of ships, all bearing different flags and crests. Another armada.

A tan-skinned, dark-haired male soared for them. He landed casually and offered a grin. ‘You could have asked for aid, you know. Instead of letting us hear of all this through the rumour mill. Seems we arrived just in time.’

Nesta looked between the male and Rhys. Clearly there was a history between them. The relief from Rhysand was palpable.

‘Shall we assist you then, old friend, or just flap about talking?’

‘At your leisure, prince.’ He looked to the armada aiming for Hybern’s forces. ‘Friends of yours?’

The male, Drakon, quirked his head to the side. ‘Friends of yours, I believe. We met up with them on the flight here. Saw them crossing the channel and decided to join ranks. They’re led by a human queen called Vassa who was found by-’

‘Lucien,’ Feyre choked out.

Elain’s mate had done it. He’d succeeded in this impossible task.

‘No, no,’ said Drakon. ‘He found them later. She was found by a mortal male. He calls himself the Prince of Merchants. He managed to find Vassa and rally an independent mortal army. He says he has three daughters who live here. That he failed them for many years. But he would not fail them this time.’

Nesta went cold at the words. As the armada became sharper in her vision, she could pick out the golden lettering on the starboard sides.

The Feyre.

The Elain.

The Nesta.

And there he was at the helm of one of them, her father.

Nesta should have been relieved. After all of these months without a word, he was alive and well. But he would find three daughters turned into faeries. He was wading into a war.

Nesta could hardly understand it. Her father had recognised that a war was coming. Had found the mortal queen, Vassa.

There, soaring over the water, as fast as a shooting star was a bird made of flame. She tore through three of Hybern’s ships without stopping.

‘Get your legion on land,’ said Rhys.

Drakon nodded then turned to Cassian. ‘I presume you’re Cassian. My legion is yours. Command them as you like.’

Azriel was reassembling the lines of the northern flank while Cassian scanned his progress. The armadas were engaged in outright bloodshed at sea. The firebird rained hell upon Hybern’s ships. She collided with the masts and sails, setting the ships aflame before they sank, sending panicked soldiers to the bottom of the sea. Cassian gave a nod then, ‘With me.’

He pushed off of the ground and Drakon followed, his white, feathery wings the contrast to Cassian’s black, leathery ones.

‘We need to go now,’ Feyre urged. 

Her heart squeezed tight. The realisation of what she was about to go loomed over her, making the world spin. She watched in numb acknowledgement as Rhysand kissed Feyre then nodded. He winnowed away to join the battle.

‘We cut a path through it and we run,’ said Feyre.

Amren put a hand on Elain’s shoulder, drawing her away. ‘Don’t look back.’

Nesta stayed at the back, letting the distance between her and Elain grow with every step then veered in the opposite direction.

She knew they wouldn’t let her do this – so it was up to Nesta to do it herself. The king would be waiting by the Cauldron. It was the perfect trap. He needed to be drawn out. And Nesta was the best bait.

Nesta panted as she ran back towards the knoll they had been on. She’d had all night to think about this as she lay beside Azriel, unable to sleep.

The king didn’t know how much power she took. If she could just make it seem like she was about to use that stolen power against his army, the king would come running. To kill her. If it meant that her mate lived – if her sisters lived – then it was a worthwhile ending.  

Nesta held herself firm, fighting back her tears as she saw Azriel soaring in the distance, the blue of his siphons making him easy to pick out. That was her mate. The Mother had found a good male for her.

Amren had taught her well, but it wasn’t enough. A handful of days wasn’t enough against the might of the king. But Nesta would try.

She let her power trickle from her fingertips like the slow dripping of a tap. It was a leak that would call to the Cauldron. Her power would draw it.

Praying that her sisters were close enough to make the final stretch at a run, Nesta eased out more of her power. It was a bucking beast that didn’t want to come to heel. It reared its head, surveying the battle. In her chest, it seemed to purr with delight at the carnage unfolding.

She felt the Cauldron.

As if an eye had snapped open, she felt the Cauldron spearing for her amongst the bloodshed.

‘Come to me,’ she breathed. ‘Come and kill me.’

The king winnowed before her.

Not alone.

A sword was pressed to her father’s throat while the king used him as a shield.

Her power guttered out.

‘Nesta.’

Her father’s voice sounded far away like they were submerged underwater.

The king, dark-haired and pale, smiled at her. ‘What a loving father – to bring an entire army to save his daughters.’

This hadn’t been in her calculations. Only she was supposed to die not another. It wasn’t fair.

‘So many things have changed since you were last home. Three daughters, now Fae. One of them married quite well.’

Her father’s brown eyes – Elain’s eyes – catalogued her ears, the leaner face, the otherworldliness of her eyes. And then he offered her a pitying smile. Nesta could not remember when she last saw her father smile. ‘I loved you from the first moment I held you in my arms. And I am… I am so sorry, Nesta – my Nesta. I am so sorry, for all of it.’

‘Please,’ Nesta uttered to the king. Her only word was guttural and hoarse.

The king gave another smile. This one hungrier like he’d found his prey already injured and easier to capture. ‘What will you give me, Nesta Archeron?’

Father shook his head.

‘Will you give back what you took?’

‘Yes.’

‘Even if I have to carve it out of you?’

Father snarled, ‘Don’t you lay your filthy hands on my daugh-’

His final word was cut off. Nesta heard it before she registered what had happened.

The light froze in his eyes before they went glassy.

Father crumpled to the floor, his legs folding beneath him.

Every thud of her heart seemed to echo across the battlefield. Each thud was slower.

Nesta looked upon her father’s face from the open, unseeing eyes to the freckles and tan that the Continent had offered him.

‘I would have given you it,’ Nesta whispered. ‘I would have let you carve out my heart.’

The king gave a low, rippling laugh. ‘Where is the joy in giving up your magic?’

When Nesta raised her head, she caught the widening of his eyes. Her own were brimming with uncut power. She could feel it churning inside of her. The beast bucked and thrashed, demanding release. The blood in her veins seemed to chill as her heart pumped slower and slower.

Something eclipsed who she was.

A rage, primal and predatory, seized control.

It was enough for the king to stagger back in horror and awe.

‘I am going to kill you,’ she said quietly.

‘A pity,’ the king purred. ‘I have far more interesting things to do to you.’

Her fingers curled into her palm then power pulsed from her. It blasted the trees, blowing them into cinders. It hit lines of Hybern’s ranks, taking out hundreds.

Not the target she wanted.

The king had winnowed from her path then returned, laughing deeply, mocking her.

Again, Nesta rallied her power and forced it from her in great waves of silver fire that ruined everything it touched.

‘Magnificent. Barely trained, brash, but magnificent, Nesta.’

The third volley of her power left her sick and unbalanced. Nesta could hardly hold her head up as the whole world span.

She sucked in breaths.

The king winnowed mere feet from her.

Nesta was without a weapon.

‘Well? What else do you have?’

The king began to close the gap, with a satisfied smirk settling on his handsome face.

She threw out her hand.

White, burning power shot from her palm and slammed into his chest. The king went flying backwards. Trees snapped under him. One after the other, the trees splintered.

Nesta fell to her knees. She spat out a mouthful of blood – the consequences of delving too deeply into a magic that she did not understand.

Please, be dead.

Her breathing was shallow. Vaguely, as if in a dream, she could still sense the tie to the Cauldron. She hoped to the Mother that her sisters were there. That Amren used whatever power she possessed to end this.

The King of Hybern stepped into the clearing. Blood ran from a wound on his head. Dark power wafted from his fingertips.

Nesta wished she had time. Time with Azriel. Her mate. Her beautiful, selfless mate. Wished everything had been different. Wished she could have given him more.

She could muster no power. Had no weapon.

Like a coward, Nesta ran.

Magic stung her calf, tripping her.

She forced herself up. Forced herself to run again.

Again and again, she ran. Again and again, the king knocked her down.

Dark magic whirled into her. She tasted blood and mud as she hit the ground hard. A pain lanced through her ribs – each breath as sharp as a knife in her lungs.

When Nesta rolled onto her back, the king loomed over her.

‘A shame to lose such a treasure,’ he said. ‘But I will take pleasure in carving out your heart.’

Darkness encroached on Nesta’s vision. There was nothing left in her. No will to fight or to flee. She propped herself up on her elbows. If she was to die, Nesta would look it in the eye. She wanted to see the king’s face as he killed her.

The king raised his hand. Power whirled there like a dark galaxy in his palm.

The whole world seemed to go quiet. The roar of the battle ceased.

It was only Nesta and the rattling breaths that came from her cracked lungs.

The king’s hand began to drop.

And then halted.

A choking noise came out of him.

A gleaming, silver blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood.

It was withdrawn quickly.

‘Nesta Archeron,’ came a deep, smooth voice.

The king pressed a hand to his throat as he slumped to his knees.

A tall fae male sheathed his sword and extended a hand to her. Nesta’s vision swam as she forced herself to her feet. Her thoughts were muddy.

‘Eris.’

‘For a moment, I worried you didn’t recognise my handsome face.’

Eris was still smiling when a blast of magic hurtled towards them. He flung himself at Nesta, taking them both back down to the ground.

Why did he sheathe his fucking sword?

Fire danced at Eris’ fingertips as he parried the King’s magic. Fire was no match for the sort of deadly arsenal that the king had. Even the wound on his throat was beginning to close up, the skin an unnatural shade of grey.

‘Do you trust me, Nesta?’

‘No,’ she forced out.

A wall of fire ruptured from Eris’ chest, the heat almost unbearable as it barrelled towards the king to swallow his magic.

Eris sliced open his hand with a dagger then did the same to Nesta, cutting deep enough that blood poured from it.

‘We are carranam.’

A sudden warmth flooded through her veins. Not the ice of her magic, but the searing heat of Eris’ own. The smouldering embers of her power were bolstered by his magic. The beast within her forced itself to stand, to rally itself again.

Eris trapped the king with an arc of fire, but within those flames, she spotted strands of silver.

‘After you,’ he said, nodding his head.

One last attempt. For everything that was good in the world. One last try.

From deep inside of her, Nesta erupted with power. Silver flames twined with the gold of Eris’ magic as both of them unleashed themselves on the king. Eris held her firm – kept her from getting lost in the magic – as they obliterated the king. They burnt his clothes, his skin, his bones. They burnt and burnt.

When the king became nothing but ashes, she felt Eris’ magic recede from her body. The heat lifted. In its place, Nesta turned cold. The world began to spin again. A ringing sounded in her ears. Warm hands cradled her head and shoulders, lowering her to the ground.

‘Don’t close your eyes.’

But she was so tired.

So tired.

‘Nesta.’

[rey-jake-therapist]

8, 16 and/or 24 for the “love your fandom game”

Hi dear, thank you for asking me! Since we met through our love for The Sandman, I'll answer exclusively in relation to it.

8. you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

I'll answer two characters: Lucienne and Lyta Hall. Lucienne, because I see her too often reduced to a mother figure for Dream, while not only I disagree that's what she represents for him, but also because she deserves much more acknowledgement for her role in the global story. I must say I prefer her to Lucien, she's more assertive but also softer, she appears more like a friend and less a servant than Lucien does in the comics. IT'S ONLY THANKS TO HER AND HER LOYALTY TO DREAM THAT THE DREAMING DIDN'T DISAPPEAR WHEN HE DID! she seems to be the only one who can touch him, not just physically... Yeah Lucienne really deserves more credit and attention than she gets. All the love that Hob freaking Gadling gets should go to her. There. I said it.

The other is Lyta Hall, whose story and drama is far too complex for her to be judged harshly like she is by most of the fandom. She's a dramatic figure who was never explained anything and got her husband kid taken away from her (twice for the husband), all to fulfill a purpose she was never given the means to understand.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

I'd like to see more talk about the importance of the Fair folks in The Sandman. It's not just about Nuala the Faery, or the little affair that queen Titania may have had with Morpheus (though there was something definitely deeper than it seems in the idea that the queen of magical creatures had a romance with the Prince of stories...). Dream held the Fair folks in high regards first because they amused him, but also because they gave him much inspiration to create dreams. So when they told him they left Earth, he commissioned Shakespeare to write a play that would be about them, and played to them, as a parting gift. He also did it because he didn't want humans to forget them; he wanted them to keep dreaming about the fair folks. The relationship between Fairy and The Dreaming is a beautiful but an underrated one, I think. I hope the show will give us A midsummer night's dream on screen so we can see that.

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life?

Well, mostly it's the pleasure of discussing meta and sharing art in all its forms 💜 Also I have met some wonderful people who I'm happy to have in my life. The Sandman isn't my first fandom experience but it's by far the best, for all these reasons.

[inyvat]

MY THOUGHTS ON LUMINE'S TRAVELER ARCHON QUEST (from 3.5)— read more cause idk how long this is gonna get everyone.

Just to let you all know that I in-game play as Lumine. So when I say Abyss Prince, I'm referring to when AETHER is the leader of the Abyss Order.

First thing's first. Kaeya calling Paimon a FLOATING LITTLE WHITE HAIRED FAERIE and having her as the address for his Letter is FUCKING HILARIOUS. IDK about y'all, but I laughed. I mean KAEYA'S NOT WRONG. She's basically SUPERGLUED TO LUMINE.

Ahhh Kaeya, how I've missed you. I haven't seen you get any screen time since FUCKING SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER! He says he's here on official business, and I'm inclined to believe him. And we've NEVER ONCE seen Jean actually pissed. She's always so cool and collected, even when angry or sick. So if Kaeya's seen her actually pissed off then yeah it would make sense if she terrifies him. But he could also be saying this in jest.

Paimon chastising Kaeya for drinking on the clock while also telling him to STOP HOLDING A GRUDGE AGAINST DILUC AND GIVE HIS BIG BROTHER THE INFO is golden. Since Diluc is no longer a Knight and he HATES any and all alcohol despite being in the business. So it would fall to his brother who loves his wine to be sent for spice deal for wines because he'd HAVE to taste them. Dawn Winery is too busy to send people ALL THE WAY TO SUMERU for this.

And then there's the casual Kaenri'ah name drop. Just out of the blue while talking about his past. He said, "when he was very young". So I'm looking at anywhere between the ages of 4-9. Why not 10? because once you hit double digits, you slowly start to learn more and more about the adult world, making you grow up little by little. Kaeya will never be in the single digits again in terms of age. He'll always be in the double digits. He'll start having more responsibilities by the time he's 10. They'll be little and a lot less than Diluc I'm sure, but he'll still end up having some responsiblity entrusted to him and that'll grow as he does.

He wanted to find out about Khaenri'ah. He read it in a book somewhere. Either in the library at the Knights HQ or in the library at Dawn Winery. And he's probably kept the book with him ever since. Since Lumine would know if she saw anything, any book, that has any mention of Khaenri'ah within its pages. But what he did was very serious. He probably scared Diluc and Crepus half to death by being a stowaway aboard that ship.

Kaeya as a kid used to believe that had some sort of destiny to Khaenri'ah. And that's what everyone in the RPC, theorists, etc headcanon or think. That he's got to be some sort of savior for them. But I don't think so. Khaenri'ahns didn't have a God at all. And yet the CRYO ARCHON HERSELF, THE TSARISTA, or Celestia or whoever truly grants the Visions to a small percentage of people thought he was fit enough for the power of a Cryo Vision; a small amount of the power of the Cryo Archon herself. Khaenri'ahns detested the gods and yet Kaeya is friends with the Anemo Archon himself as well. If he had some sort of destiny to avenge his distant homeland then he would still harbor such hatred towards the Archons and the other Gods that failed to win a seat in Celestia and would have forsaken his Vision. That thought of him having some sort of destiny faded after some time and now he's more Mondstadt than Khnaeri'ahn, regardless of his roots. He'd protect his friends and his life there in Mondstadt if push came to shove.

I would assume that what we heard during the Wine festivial of Kaeya's father's last words to him, that he was their last hope, was that he was their bloodline's last hope at something GOOD; at something decent. Not the last hope for Khaenri'ah. Because remember his family, the ALBERICHS were REGENTS OF KHAENRI'AH. Not Queen, King, Princess or Prince. But REGENT. And REGENT is someone who rules FOR someone else, either due to the monarch being mentally unstable or a minor, and it is a position that is not INHERITED but granted by the monarch at their choosing usually to a someone of NOBLE FAMILY.

Kaeya knows he's being cut off. From what? We don't know.We can all assume that it's the power from the Abyss or the Abyss Order itself. But what if it's not? What if the love of a mother and a father? Of having blood related siblings? I'm sure he still loves Diluc with all of his heart, but there are things that he's kept from him. Perhaps it's something more concrete. We don't know yet or perhaps we'll never know. We just have to see.

Then there's the last name Alberich. The very same name I was just talking about. Dain comes in and says that he knows the last name Alberich is the same last name used by the man who founded the Abyss Order. This does not make Kaeya "Prince of the Abyss Order" as that role immediately went to Aether when his journey was done. Not even "king" would be correct. As the founder would have had to induct his family into the order for it to be a "family business" and have Kaeya inherit the title. And if that were the case then there would be no need for Aether as the Abyss Prince.

Put a pin in that for a second. I'll come back to that.

Lumine and Paimon go with Dain to the Avidya Forest. To an old abandoned hut. The hut is checked out, the only things worthy of note are the strong smell of medicinal items coming from the bowl and the broken mirror. Lumine takes on some pyro slimes while Dain goes off to check the ley lines in the area living Lumine and Paimon alone for the night.

It gets a little emotional as Paimon reveals that she hopes that Lumine isn't growing or doesn't grow tired of her. Lumine has to cheer her up because Paimon being down in the dumps hurts her to see, she doesn't like to see her friend or any of her friends sad. It gets even more emotional when Paimon asks about Aether and her travels before they came to Teyvat. Lumine tells her a little bit about their travels and how this is the first time in all of her life she can remember ever being separated from her big brother.

Paimon notices that Lumine is exhausted and probably a little sad since she brought up Aether and so she tells Lumine to go sleep and that she'll wake her when it's time for her shift since Paimon is taking first watch instead of her. Lumine falls asleep, dreaming about Aether.

She wakes up to Dain but everything is groggy and disoriented and she doesn't move to get up and she doesn't see Paimon at all or hear her. But Dain tells her to go back to sleep while he goes back into the forest after he tells her that he noticed her tear stains. She falls back asleep and wakes up sometime in the late morning.

That's when she goes to the hut and sees weirdly dressed man with STAR SHAPED pupils. Just like Kaeya and Dain. Immediately I know that he's Khaenri'ahn. But I don't know WHO exactly. He's mentally unstable, since his moods go from one extreme to the next and during the conversation with Lumine, Lumine is introduced to a hilichurl by the name of Caribert. Now Caribert means GLORIOUS WARRIOR in Old Frankish and probably has the same meaning in Khaenri'ahn or something similiar.

What strikes me is that Caribert is HALF KHAENRI'AHN AND HALF MONDSTADTER. And he's this man's illegitimate son. Meaning he was born out of wedlock. We only see Caribert in his hilichurlian form, so we don't know what his eyes would be in his original form. This man, his father, is trying to give his son's mind some clarity again so that they can talk again at the very least.

The man "Eide" tells Lumine that he was fed up with his arranged life, which means an arranged WIFE and KIDS and everything planned for him but not by him. But then he met and fell in love with a Mondstadter woman turned naturalized Khaenri'ahn citizen. They had an affiar and it produced a son, Caribert. After that, he had to hide his love and his son from the eyes of his family. He couldn't be there for either of them, as "Eide" said, "I resented my life arranged by my family… Caribert faced great hardship from the very moment of his birth, all due to my selfish desires… and I was never able to be there by his his side for any of it…" So this tells me that Caribert was perhaps sickly from the time of his birth. And he also had to deal with being a hidden son, who would be viewed as a great shame by his noble paternal family and half siblings and thus grew up poor.

"Eide" during the Cataclysm went to his lover and his son, more than likely ABANDONING his first wife and kids, and watched as mother and son were changed into hilichurls. But because HE, his first wife and their kids as well as every other Pureblooded Khaenri'ahn were just that PUREBLOODED, they received a curse of Immortality. While those who were of the other nations, or were only half Khaenri'ahn, were turned into hilichurls. Lumine helps make some medicine for Caribert but it doesn't work. And "Eide" goes slightly more insane at the fact that it failed. But she reminds him that maybe one dose isn't going to be enough. Maybe it'll take more than one.

When Lumine and "Eide" go into the Chasm via the route into Sumeru after the man freaks about a lone hilichurl being Caribert and they end up facing a Frost Abyss Herald who tells them to go back that they have no business being down there. Now normally Abyss Heralds, Lectors and Mages (thus far) all have attacked Lumine. So it's strange that this one gives Lumine and "Eide" a chance to escape unscathed. But it ends up a battle anyway a "trial of destiny" as the Herald called it since it came to think that they were there for some sort of audience. Audience???? WITH WHAT OR WHO?! They go in and they see all these hilichurls bowing down to a crystal hanging in the sky. And it gives off the same familiar and unnatural evil that the Defiled Statue gave off. GREAT JUST GREAT!!!!!!

"Eide" bows and it reminds Lumine of the deceased thief from the Treasure Hoarders. YEP THIS IS BAD PLACE TIME TO YEET! And Lumine tells Eide pretty much that but is stopped from trying to pull him out of the trace/bow by a voice in her head, describing itself as a "sinner" not a god and to go and become a transcented one and learn the truth. Then the voice zaps "Eide" with a purple light and goes dormant.

THAT CAN'T BE GOOD OF FUCKING HELL NO. "Eide" gets up and Lumine and him return to the hut and they try the medicine again and this time it does work. I'm wondering right now if it's not the Abyssal Power that the voice gave him that made it work… Once Caribert regains his mind and he and "Eide" talk for a moment or two, he's told not take off his mask and to never look in a mirror. For good reason. Hilichurls hate how they look as they mourn the faces they can never have again.

Lumine and "Eide" go to unnamed/unknown sanctuary to go see the crystal again and find it missing "Eide" ponders if it was really a "sinner" and not a god after all. But soon as they return to the hut, Caribert had gone missing and "Eide" finds the broken mirror. They search around but find nothing. They decide to search outside of the hut and run into some forest rangers. One of them tells "Eide" that he saw a hilichurl just walking aimlessly and left be after a brief and heated confrontation.

Lumine and "Eide" find Caribert and he's got the dark purple Abyssal power following out of him. And he tells his father that it hurts and that he can't take the pain anymore and that he's sorry just as he takes off his mask and starts to fall the power explodes out of Caribert and Lumine passes out.

She wakes back up in the hut, but with only "Eide" there. Caribert is nowhere to be found. Lumine panics, understandable, as she doesn't know what happened to Caribert after he took off his mask. She hopes that he's okay, that he's not dead. And "Eide" laughs and tells her that Caribert can now weave his own destiny that he has become the "Loom of Fate".

So Dain is looking for A HILICHURL WITH A SCARF ON HIS ARM?! AND WHAT DOES THIS DUDE MEAN WHEN HE SAYS CARIBERT HAS NOW BECOME THE "LOOM OF FATE"?! IS HE DEAD, IS HE STILL ALIVE????? Or is he something else entirely now???? Is he something that's no longer human or hilichurl? Has he become something almost mythical to the point where Aether has to be the one to now find him as a part of his plans??????????

"Eide" then reveals that he's really CLOTHAR ALBERICH and is the FOUNDER OF THE ABYSS ORDER. Since he worshipped the thing that was a "sinner" and he figures that only salvation for a sinner must also come from a sinner. And then he reveals that to the people of Khaenri'ah that like the Abyss, which is mysterious and powerful and otherworldly, Lumine was viewed in the same light and everyone figured that she would lead them into a bright future.

Clothar then reveals to Lumine the title of PRINCE OF KHAENR'IAH. Which isn't right. If it was Lumine he was talking to then it would have to be PRINCESS! Right????? Well, Lumine looks into the broken mirror and doesn't see her own reflection staring back at her but AETHER'S INSTEAD! Meaning that this wasn't really happening in the here and now. THIS WAS AETHER'S MEMORY RIGHT BEFORE HE JOINED THE ABYSS ORDER AS ITS PRINCE.

The dream memory ends and Paimon and Dain are there relieved to have her awake and she relys to them both about everything she saw and heard. Dain reveals that 100 years after Clothar founded the Abyss Order he went completely mad due to the curse and then simply vanished. And that Aether had made no mention of this to him during their travels except for the "Loom of Fate" a few times.

Lumine asks Dain to help her dig up the field remembering the weird mushrooms that Clothar had given Aether for the medicine. There she finds two human skeletons. One male and one female. And around one of them, the female, is a scarf that Lumine recognizes as having once been Caribert. Then she says that she thinks the male skeleton, which was brought back over here at a later date, was Clothar's and that he found some way to break the curse of immortality and died.

Dain wants to say more but he has to go and shift through his memories. And he's pretty sure that an person he refers to as "he" as seen Lumine and that if it is who he thinks it is, Dain will be in touch later on at some later date once he's shifted though his memories and leaves Lumine and Paimon. Lumine gives Paimon and hug which is sweet.

— —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — ——

Quick thoughts on the Abyss Heralds, Lectors and Mages. I think that the Abyss Heralds were the royal mages and their apprentices and other minor mages were the lectors and mages that we fight against in the game. That they were toying with the Abyssal magic and energy and it turned them not immortal humans or hilichurls but into monsters of the Abyss. And that they have their memories which haven't eroded away due to the curse of immortality. They know hilichurlian because it's a corruption of Khaenri'ahn.

The only royal mage who DIDN'T turn into a monster of the Abyss is Peirro, the 1st Harbinger. He left Khaenri'ah, but due to his being a pureblood, he's still cursed with the curse of immortality.

— —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — —— — ——

Now back to Kaeya. Is he Caribert?! I don't think so. It's possible, but only just. But Caribert is the "Loom of Fate". Meaning he can be ANYTHING or ANYONE at this point. I think he's something that's not human or hilichurlian or Abyssal monster. I think he's something more mythical now and is in hiding because he knows that if he's found by the Abyss Order it will be the end of everything. It's why Aether and the Order is so hellbent on finding the "Loom of Fate" since it's a major part of their operation to revive Khaenri'ah.

And if Kaeya was Caribert in a new form, Aether would know I think since he knows the feeling of that power that Caribert was trying to hold back and then when it exploded. No I think Kaeya is descended from Clothar through the family he had that was ARRANGED. As a noble, regardless of fantasy or reality, or even a royal; marrying for love was very rare. Everything from birth was arranged for Clothar. As he was either the OLDEST son or the SECOND oldest son in the Alberich family at the time of the Catacylsm. So that means he has no freedom in what he wants in terms of life. His only rebellion was falling in love with a woman who was NOT noble and who bore him an illegitimate son who he could not even with. So Kaeya being descended from this legitimate line of the Alberichs would make more sense.

And we KNOW THAT KAEYA IS A PUREBLOODED KHAENRI'AHN TOO. Because BOTH HIS EYES, even the one that's hidden, the one that has the scars from the night Diluc and he fought, are star shaped. Yes he's dark skinned, but who says that all pureblooded Khaenri'ahns were PALE?! We've only seen 3 pale Pureblooded Kaenri'ahns. Dain. Peirro. Clothar.

That's how Kaeya knows about Dain being pureblooded. Star shaped pupils. And STAR SHAPED PUPILS are the immediate identifiers of someone who is pureblooded either by descent — pureblooded Khaenri'ahns marrying down the line to other purebloods — or by the sole factor that they are the cursed immortal humans of that ruined nation. Dain even says that humans, pureblooded Khaenri'ahns by descent or cursed, still live in Khaenri'ah despite it being in a ruined state.

[rhoditus]

Sephonine and Zenos by @beasthuntergalvus [@tcfact0ry on Twitter]! I love this so much, it captures them perfectly! Please consider commissioning them, they are wonderful to work with. 💖

[salty-ironstrange-shipper]

Hi! I was wondering if you know any fic like "crown of thorns and shadows"? Thanks❤

OK I wasn't sure if this meant I knew the fic "A Crown of Thorn and Shadows" or if I knew fics like that one, so I just did both.

(tbh all I did was search "fantasy" in my ironstrange bookmarks, so these recommendations are probably not 100% accurate to like this fic, but hopefully you'll find something you enjoy_

"A Crown of Thorn and Shadows" - "Anthony Stark, King of Blood and Darkness, ruler of the Unseelie court, did not expect to find Prince Stephen Strange of the Seelie chained up in his torture chamber, cold iron being driven into his hands. Stephen Strange, a Seelie healer, never dreamed of finding himself in the court of nightmares, being cared for by the king that the Seelie called a monster. They must work together to find the traitors in two Faerie courts that have not spoken in over six hundred years and reclaim Stephen's memories before the courts descend into war once more." 58,465 words. Mature.

"The Bride" - "A large black hand with claws was raised in his direction, taking the veil gently and lifting it to expose Tony’s face, and giving Tony the chance to see the creature’s face in return. In front of him, there was a man… well, not a man exactly. The face was a man, and the body seemed human… at least kind of human. Were those feathers real or was it just a very weird cloak? (Based on The Bride AU by TD269)" 15,721 words. Mature.

"Strange Seas" - "Defeating the Mandarin had come at the cost of the Ancient One’s life, and while Stephen Strange was trying to save her, the Mandarin’s ten rings of power slipped away in search of new bearers. Now he and his faithful (if dour) companion, Wong, must try to recover them before a new Mandarin can emerge to terrorize the world. Stephen is prepared for fell magics and formidable warriors -- but Tony Stark catches him entirely unawares. Tony Stark was sailing to London to take possession of his father’s offices and factories there when his ship was beset by pirates. Now he’s a prisoner with a magical and semi-sentient artifact buried in his chest, tasked with the impossible and his life on the line. The appearance of a pair of sorcerers seeking the ring that keeps him alive is the very last thing he needs." 74,990 words. Explicit.

"The Sorcerer of Ephemeral Colours" - "For centuries, the sorcerers of the Sanctum have been the first line of defence for the Kings and Queens of Veston. Stephen, after becoming a Master of Time, wants nothing more than to join his fellow sorcerers in their task and pledge his life to the study of the Mystic Arts. Imagine his surprise when he gets assigned to protect the wilful prince Anthony, instead. Dark secrets start to unravel and Mastery of Time will not be enough to save the kingdom, let alone Tony. While Tony has to overcome his own difficulties, Stephen must Master all six Aspects in order to do what he was always meant to do – no matter what both he and Tony might lose in the process. Magic always requires a sacrifice, after all." 130,241 words. Teen and Up.

"you can't force a love to grow" - "The people of Midgard say the drought is a final curse wrought by the Red Skull as he and his men were driven from the land into the churning winter sea. King Fury of Midgard believes in no such curses, but his people are starving and riotous and he is desperate. He puts out a call for aid to the other kingdoms. The desert only howls its answer, the messenger to Asgard is turned away at the border, but the messenger to the mountain kingdom of Kamar-Taj returns - shaken and babbling of ghosts and demons - carrying a scroll. Kamar-Taj will open a route of trade, but in exchange, they want a bride for their prince. King Fury, childless, puts out a call to his noble houses. Lord Howard Stark of the Southern Mines senses an opportunity for advancement and offers up his son, Anthony, who fits the specifications listed in the terms. Anthony would argue. Wants to fight and scream and flee. He’d dreamed of a love marriage like his mother always spoke of. The King paints a kind picture of duty and dignity: this marriage will save his people from starvation. His father threatens to throw him to the desert's mercy. There's no point in arguing. His heart probably won't last long anyway." 29,013 words. Teen and Up.

[coffeecup-homebrews]

The Feywild and its Courts

This is how I imagine the Feywild looking in my homebrew world- a continent with four seasonal courts, each ruled by an Archfey. The oceans around the continent quickly give way to mists that end up bringing any ships right back where they started. Lore below the cut!

The Seelie Courts

The courts of Spring and Summer both fall under the rule of Titania, Queen of the Seelie Court and the Summer Court. She rules from her throne in Senaliesse, and is generally considered to be one of the most amiable Archfey to make deals with. As Titania is the Summer Queen first and foremost, she oversees the activities of the Summer Court, which is one of the mot classically ‘faerie’ of the courts. Eladrin and other fey roam freely, and Titania’s fore keep out thos of the Unseelie Court and other dark realms. 

The Spring Court is ruled by Verenestra the Oak Princess, one of Titania’s children. She has her bower of silver trees within Astrazalian, City of Starlight, so named for it’s location on the Sea of Stars. In addition to Verenestra, Titania’s son Hyrsam holds some power in the Spring Court, mostly as a trickster spirit. The Spring Court is known for their celebrations, revels, and merriment, and it’s one of the best places to find faerie wine. Mortals can typically traverse this court safely, though should be wary of trickster fey. 

The Seelie Courts are typically very generous towards mortals, and show particular favor towards those of elven descent. Though all faerie courts tend towards chaos, the Seelie Courts are generally the more lawful of the two. Typical denizens of these court include nature fey such as dryads and nymphs, as well as Spring and Summer Eladrin fey. 

The Unseelie Courts

Autumn and Winter comprise the Unseelie Court, ruled by the Queen of Air and Darkness, Titania’s sister corrupted by a dark artifact. She rules over both courts as Empress from her seat at Cathair Mordrache, though she takes little interest in the day to day affairs of the courts themselves. These courts are less hospitable to mortals, but those of elvish (especially drow) descent have some favor with the Queen and have an upper hand in bargaining with Unseelie Fey.

The Autumn Court currently stands without a ruler, and it has for the past century. Taking a throne of the Archfey is no easy feat, and the thrones accept only those who they find worthy, and thus far none that have attempted it have been deemed worthy to lead the autumn court. By now, the Empty Throne has become a joke between the noble fey that inhabit the Autumn court, and they delight in tricking people into taking the throne, which usually leads to their death. The Court itself has two sides- that of decadent nobility and courtly politics and that of the wilds. The wilds of the Autumn Court are frequented by the Wild Hunt, a hunt in which beasts are not the only prey.

The Winter Court is desolate, an endless tundra and mountain range of white snow and ice. The cold-hearted Prince of Frost rules over this land from the only truly habitable area-the Vale of Long Night. The Prince is known for making warlock pacts with even those inside the Feywild, a group known as Long Night Scions. The Winter Court has an affinity for dragons- especially white dragons which roam freely across the court. Woe be upon a mortal who enters the Winter Court without an invitation.

Ynys Lleuad

These Isles are the Isles of the Moon, end they are unaffiliated with either court. These isles are enveloped in endless night, and thus are a haven for shadow fey, drow elves, and other creatures of the night. The Archfey that rules these isles is Lord Kannoth, an eladrin vampire that has existed since the fall of Cendriane in the war between the gods of the Seldarine and the Dark Seldarine. Ynys Lleuad has a connection to the Material Plane’s Underdark and to the Shadowfell.

The Twrs (Tors)

There are three Twrs in the Feywild- Twr Cyfnos (the Dusk Tor) Twr Diwrnod (the Dawn Tor) and Twr Nawn (the Noon Tor). Each of these towers are more akin to vertical cities- enormous floors of wood and silver in which all manner of fey live. These spaces are unaligned to the courts, but they are also open to members of every court, so it is no safer to be there than anywhere else in the Feywild. Twr Nawn is special, as it serves as a neutral meeting place for all the Archfey, and it is where all matters of state are discussed. It’s one of the few areas in the Feywild that is a dead zone of magic, to ensure that all negotiating parties are on equal footing. No one knows how, when, or why these towers were constructed, but it is suspected that either the Seldarine pantheon, the Three Fate Goddesses, or both had a hand in their construction. 

[lunarosewood23]

Wait WTF are all those faerie tale titles??

Alrighty this is going under a cut bc this is gonna get LONG as Fuck. And fair warning: There's a LOT of "Fuck you sad endings" in this. There's also screens of each couple/polycule here too for reference.

Okay so all these AUs are set within the same world, as they use a lot of characters from the LbR crew. It started out as a bit of a "What Faerie Tale would your ship/polycule be in?" and it kinda...spun out of control.

Let's start with Swan Lake, as it's technically the first in this madness of a mass Faerie Tale AU. The ship is Raven/Haurchefant, and tbh there might be mixes of Cinderella in this too, but Swan Lake is the bigger story. Haurchefant is the "swan" in this situation, but he transforms into a gorgeous silver chocobo during the day and is a man at night. Raven is a traveler throughout the realm and sees the chocobo. but doesn't realize that the beautiful chocobo is actually a gorgeous commander of a nearby camp. His seconds and his best friend know, but the rest of the world has no clue that he is the chocobo. The two meet at night and immediately hit it off, and eventually she finds out that he is her friend the wild and free silver chocobo. Shit eventually goes down and he's forced to run, Raven offers to take him with her but he's accepted he's probably gonna die, they kiss, and then lo and behold he can feather up at will.

...Look there are a lot of things I need to rework, let me be.

Anyway, next up is @inkblood-mistrieu and mine's triad ship in their AU: The Little Mermaid. In which Mingxia is a traveling songbird while Foulques and Rukia are merfolk. There are some elements of Little Red Riding Hood here as well, as Rukia and Foulques could be classified as the "wolves" and Ming is the girl. Except this girl has no self-preservation and actually likes the company of these two thank you very much. =P

Even though it's not listed, I will also include @starswornoaths story of Serella, Aymeric and Estinien in their rendition of Sleeping Beauty. Aymeric's father cursed him to be locked in eternal sleep and also cursed Estinien to guard him, as he is the strongest sky knight and nigh undefeatable. Serella is a traveling swordswoman (the five being Raven, Rukia, Ming, Foulques and Serella) who eventually goes to find her best friend, as they were childhood friends that lost contact years ago. She goes after him, whoops Estinien's butt, then finds Aymeric in the tower. Cue magical kiss that releases the curse on them both.

However they discover that Aymeric's father, Thordan, has caused even more trouble, which leads into...

The Twelve Cursed Lords. This story is loosely inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Every day twelve knights (The Ward) come to the local forgemaster (Kaia) with gear banged to high hell and every day she fixes it up, but it gets weird when she asks what they're doing, especially since they all seem to be exhausted during the day as well. She opens her home to them to rest and she eventually finds out that the knights are causing trouble in their respective fae realms. For when the greedy fae king Thordan took over the fae realms he took the strongest among them as his personal guard so no one could oppose him. (The Summer Court doesn't share as much trouble thanks to a deal cut by the clever adopted prince, his sister was the true heir and the stronger between them, but he was older and held more control of his powers.) Kaia, with the help of the Summer Princess (Raven) and the Dragon Queen of Spring (Ratatoskr), reverse their curse. The ship here is Kaia/Zephirin, but the focus is on the Ward themselves, as their curse is the equivalent of them being tempered.

While this is technically a separate faerie tale, I will still include it bc THEMES and plus I actually have screens for it. The Snow Queen is Coronette and Haumeric's story. Haumeric is hit by shards of a mirror that makes him cruel and cold like the ice he commands (as he's an ice conjurer), and Coronette goes after him. When she finds him they fight and after a battle she slams him to the ground and they kiss, her tears melting the ice in his heart, and when he's released from his curse he kisses her head, thankful for her being more of a fighter than he is.

And finally the last tale, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, or in this AU: Princess Yotsuyu. She wakes on the isles of Isari by Mingxia's parents, who she gives them the name "Tsuyu" as she doesn't remember who she is. She's absolutely beautiful and gains the attention of the young men in the village. She refuses their advances as she holds no interest in them, or any of the people there, wishing to live in peace. Many protest, but the one she considers but eventually rejects is the fae prince of the Summer Court, Charibert. He accepts her terms but asks if she would write to him, for even if they never officially date, he still wishes to be her friend. She accepts this and they write often, allowing their friendship to bloom until one night she looks up at the full moon and feels...anger. Rage even. She remembers who she is: Yotsuyu, Princess of the Moon. Her family had cast her aside in exchange for her brother, the warlord Asahi, and she soon realizes that he's looking for her. Her adopted parents take her to the Fae Realm of the Summer Court, and when Asahi tries to cause trouble, he's met by both Yotsuyu and Charibert. Yotsuyu stomps his ass while Charibert covers her back with his flames, and they end up spilling feelings in the gardens under the moonlight.

[thealmightyemprex]

Fictional Character Ask: The Huntsman from Snow White?

Favorite thing about them:

Reallly that he does the right thing at the risk to his life

Least favorite thing about them:

I do nopt like the versions that say he spared Snow White cause of her looks cause ew

Three things i have in common with them:

I wouldnt want to kill Snow either

I would also try to trick the queen

I'd also be terrified if my boss told me to murder their stepkid

Three things i don’t have in common with them:

I dont have the hand eye coordination required for hunting

I actually have an aversion to hunting

I wouldnt have ebven tried to kill Snow ,just tell her "HEy your stepmom is crazy you might want to run off "

Favorite line:

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

"I can't. I can't do it! Forgive me. I beg of Your Highness, forgive me."

"She's mad! Jealous of you! She'll stop at nothing!"

"Now, quick, child, run! Run away, hide! In the woods, anywhere! Never come back! Now go! Go! Run! Run! Hide!"

brOTP: He and the huntsman from Little Red are buddies

OTP: No one really

nOTP: SNOW

Random Headcanon:Either the queen killed him or she forgot to and he is rewarded by Snow and the Prince reward him for informing her that the queen was crazy

Unpopular Opinion:I am NOT A fan of the Huntsman and Snow ship ,nor the weird implication that beauty is the only reason he spared her(Maybe in the fairy tale it is but I havent read it ) ,when I always thought it was simply empathy and not wanting to kill someone

Song i associate with them:

None

Favorite Picture of them

Michael Preston from Faerie Tale Theatre

From Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

@sunlit-music @princesssarisa

[the-river-person]

Monster History in the Librarby

Niven was getting ready to close the Library for the night. All the usual patrons had gone home already. Both of the editors for the Snowdin Newspaper, as well as the Loox that often hung around by the tables and played word games like crosswords, junior jumble, or soduku. Speaking of which, Lady Garf, one of the editors of the newspaper who specialized in making games for it, had left a few of the ones she’d been working on. With a sigh he collected the pages and stored them behind the main desk, he’d have to remember to give it to her tomorrow. The bell on the door tinkled and Niven looked up to say that they were actually just about to close. But the words died on his lips and he stared at the person who had come in. Face hidden by a dark cloak, they were somewhat tall, nearly reaching the height of Sir Papyrus, captain of the Royal Guard. Though he couldn’t see their face, he caught a glimpse of white fur. Was it Ice Wolf? Just a little over a year ago he’d started coming in every few months to check out books to read during his work breaks. No, Ice Wolf was much bigger. “Is this the Librarby?” Asked the figure, a male voice, deep yet not unpleasant, almost musical really. Niven grimaced at the question. He’d once harbored hopes of getting the sign repainted. But there really wasn’t any point now, was there? Not only had everybody just gotten used to it, but even if he did repaint it, the sign would just reset along with everything else in a few short weeks. It wasn’t worth the effort, but it still irritated him. Forcing himself to smile he quickly decided just to see what this Monster wanted before closing up. “Yes, it is. We don’t usually see too many non-locals in here. Most just pass by on their way to the ruins or the Greater Snowdin Caverns. Are you from the Capital?” “You could say that,” said the figure, sounding mildly amused. They offered no further explanation, and Niven decided not to push his luck further that way. “What can I do for you?” For a moment the Monster was silent, looking round the small library as if gauging its potential somehow. Not for the first time, Niven wished for the resources to make a much grander library, something akin to the great libraries he’d read of in human books: Ashurbanipal, Alexandria, Pergamum, Villa of the Papyri, Trajan’s Dual Library, Celsus, the Imperial Library of Constantinople, House of Wisdom in Baghdad, "Dharmaganja" ("Treasury of Truth") and Dharma Ghunj ("Mountain of Truth") in India’s Nalanda University. There were so many, and all he had was a few shelves. A couple histories, fiction, somone’s book report left here years ago and never retrieved (it was gleefully shelved as something new and at least 3 people had checked it out since for the sheer novelty), poetry, only a single science book about astronomy, and an entire shelf devoted to joke books and word games. But if someone was really coming out here, far from the Capital, to look for something specific. Well... They had to be desperate. New Home’s public library was much bigger, and if you couldn’t find something, you might humbly petition the King and Queen for access to the castle archives in the chance it might be there. Nobody came to a tiny town at the edge of civilization. Well... they did come. Sometimes they even bought things at the general store or stayed a the inn. But that was really just people on their way to the Ruins after Reset Day, the crowds and the general traffic as Monsters carried out their plans for the next three weeks. Getting puzzles ready for the famous DT and Royal Guardsman Monster Kid, who lived right here in said small town. So some people came through, a lot of people. But not for books. Never for the librarby that hadn’t even spell its name right when the sign was painted. “I’m hoping,” said the Monster. “That you might have texts on Monster History from before the war. History, perhaps theology? Mythology and folklore? I’ll take anything you’ve got.” Oh, so that’s what he wanted. Niven gulped. Okay so maybe it wasn’t accurate that nobody had been coming to their tiny library from out of town. There was that person from the capital he’d only seen once, a shifty fellow who was supposed to be a castle servant. White hair, pale purplish skin, and a terrifying grin with sharp yellow teeth. Niven had been freaked out by the Monster’s weird face markings and the J like tail that had lashed back and forth in agitation. Jevil, or so he had said his name was, had been after books on Monster Religion. It was a surprising subject, one few cared about. But Niven had a couple of rare tomes on it, possibly texts even the Royal Archives didn’t have. And that, it turned out, was the entire point. Jevil was a scribe in the Royal Archives and kept the smaller of the castle’s two libraries in good order for the King and Queen’s more general use. Thankfully he hadn’t come again after the first time, having taken a stack of books with him. He sent them back a month later, along with a few coins for the late fees, and asked for more books, naming each specifically. So Niven had shipped them off to the Capital, and sure enough they returned the next month with a request for more books. Sans the skeleton had become a familiar face as he came by so often to pick up or deliver boxes of books headed for the weird little Monster. And Jevil wasn’t the only one. Ice Wolf had been checking out the weirdest things. Niven would have expected a joke book, or even an interesting novel, but no. Ice Wolf wanted to read about physics and geology and historical documents and traditions. Niven hadn’t had much cause to write to the Capital Public Library in... well ever really. But to get some of the texts Ice Wolf wanted he pulled up his sleeves and penned message after message requesting various books until someone came down about nine weeks in to ask why on earth there was suddenly more book traffic going to Snowdin. “Oh, heh heh.” He laughed nervously. “I believe we do have some things. If you’ll come this way please.” The Monster followed him into the lower levels of the library, a section which held most of the least circulated books and materials available only by request. He really needed to dust down here, now where was the light? Ah yes. A dim bulb flickered to life, bathing the shelves in a warming and distinctly yellow light. From the shelves he pulled book after book, most dusty, a few with a little water damage, and many quite old. These he stacked before the Monster, who shifted in surprise as he looked over the growing pile. As Niven set another book on the pile he caught a better glimpse of the face beneath the hood. A white furred goat-like face with black markings on his lower cheeks and eyes of a dark muted red. Niven almost dropped the books in surprise but hid his reaction by faking a sneeze, though maybe with all the dust in here it really wasn’t that fake. This was a Boss Monster! But not Asgore, not nearly tall enough and certainly much thinner. But not the motherly Toriel either. It didn’t make sense, all the other Boss Monsters had been killed in the war, only the King and Queen had made it Underground with the others. And the only other Boss Monster living since then had been... Hadn’t Asriel Dreemurr become a flower? How had he regained his body? Or... something similar. It wasn’t quite a child anymore, though not yet an adult. Somewhere in between if appearance was anything to go by. A teenager maybe. That didn’t make sense either as his age should have been tied to Asgore and Toriel’s, and none of them could age anyway with the Resets, but maybe being a flower did odd things to you. Niven watched out of the corner of his eye as the prince began flipping through some of the books. “Monsters and Humans have always dwelt together in the world, though the nature of this coexistence had been woven together with myth, legend, and superstition for thousands of years.” Asriel read the passage from a “Brief History of Monsters and Humans”, it was volume nine of the collection, which was anything but brief. The author had been criticized for his long winded and needlessly flowery language. Still it made for good reading, if you had the time for it. “Owing to the nature of Monster’s Souls and the intrinsic connection their magical bodies have to the state of their soul, Humans were often under the mistaken impression that the Monster Clans were more numerous than they really were. As new generations of Monsters were born, they sometimes took on new and often unique forms different from their elders, forms that matched the state of their very soul.” The Prince broke off reading and looked up at Niven, who suddenly realized he’d stopped taking books off the shelves and had been staring as he listened. Flushing, the Lizard started to turn back to the shelf. “Is that why some of the Monsters around are things like Aeroplanes or shaped like bathtubs and obsessed with washing? Because they were born with new forms?” Niven turned back around. It was a good question, and not really covered that well in schools. Sure they touched on the subject, but no one really focused on the implications of how Monster Souls behaved. “Well, more or less. You have to understand that Monsters such as the Tsundereplane couldn’t have been born until Monsters learned of the existence of human airplanes. And anime of course. Then when this new Monster was born, their soul manifested a body that fit who they were at their foundations, the most basic structure of all the things they could become. We Monsters don’t have much control over this, we can’t shift our own forms at will, but our appearance is far more closely tied to who we are than you would think. Creatures like Woshua were born of groups of water dwelling Monsters. Humans often characterized us with names like Fay or Fairy, Spirits, Daemons, and lots of other things. And human folklore has a lot of tales about faeries who insist upon cleanliness and washing, often enacting terrible punishment if specified arrangements weren’t kept, like leaving washing water out at night for them to bathe in, or having a strict routine of personal hygiene while living in an area where said fairy has to deal with you often. Sound familiar? At some point the bathtub must have been an image they focused on, and at some point a Monster child was born with that form as part of who they were.” Asriel nodded, forgetting that he was trying to hide his face and letting the hood slip down a bit as he listened with wide eyes. Just barely visible in the upper shadows of the hood were his horns, not terribly big, just poking up from the white tufts of fur. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll take this one. And these.” He plucked another four books from the pile. “Can you hold the rest for me?” Niven found himself agreeing to do just that as he followed Asriel back up the stairs and let him out. As he locked up and turned out the lights, he wondered why nobody had heard anything about the prince yet if he was back to his true self?

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

"'Tell me what I must slay, what I must steal, tell me the riddle I must solve or the hag I must trick. Only tell me the way, and I will do it, no matter the danger, no matter the hardship, no matter the cost.'"

Year Read: 2021

Rating: 4/5

About: There are spoilers ahead for The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. Jude is living in exile in the human world, despite her unrecognized status as the queen of Elfhame. When Taryn arrives unexpectedly seeking Jude's help, she agrees to return to the faerie court in her twin sister's place. Yet Elfhame is more dangerous than ever as varying factions search for a weakness in Cardan's rule. Madoc threatens war, and Jude is, as ever, on her own side. When a curse breaks out and terrorizes the kingdom, Elfhame's exiled queen may be the only one who can stop it--at terrible cost. Trigger warnings: some body horror, severe injury, abduction, violence, poison. Some NSFW content.

Thoughts: Another lovely buddy read with @cementeriodelibrosolvidads​! Much as I enjoyed this series, it doesn't match the magic of The Darkest Part of the Forest, which remains my uncontested Holly Black favorite. In part, I think it's a pacing issue. I enjoyed reading all of them, but it's not always clear why this is a trilogy in terms of the plot and its scope. This is the quickest moving of all three books, and it does the best job of pulling all the unexpected detours into a purposeful twist. I rarely know where Black is going to take things, which makes for a twisty, enjoyable read (although I think her riddles are a bit obvious this time around). This was easily my favorite book in the trilogy, and I didn’t want to put it down.

I'm a little surprised that Jude and Cardan are an unsinkable ship on Tumblr, given how little page time they actually spend together across the series. Much as I enjoyed Cardan's redemption arc and seeing the two of them (finally) on the same team, their development as a couple fell shorter than I was expecting--not because it isn't there but because, quite realistically, they still hardly know each other by the end of the novel. Black's faerie novels almost always end with overthrowing an evil ruler and putting a more just one in its place, but for the first time, that felt far more like a beginning than an ending. I wouldn't be surprised if she continued this story at some point. I suspect we could get an entirely new trilogy about Jude and Cardan's rule.

[booklover41802]

Could you do a Jurdan fanfic where they reunite post During Jude’s banishment but pre-queen of nothing but Jude is on a date, or Cardan thinks some guy is courting Jude and he jealously glamours the guy to leave her alone. And it leads to angst?

Of course, lovely! Thank you for the request! It turned out a bit longer than I had anticipated, and I tweaked it a bit, but I’m happy with the result. I hope you enjoy it, as much as I loved writing it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jude Durate, High Queen of Elfhame, Wife to Cardan Greenbriar, was on her seventh date with a human boy. The boy was sweet, the complete opposite of the folk in Faerie. The kind of boy you fell for slowly over time until you looked at him one day and realized that you were wholly and utterly in love with him. 

Jude was terrified of him. Vivi had set them up, wanting Jude to heal from the scars of Faerie, and during the month and a half she’d been in the mortal lands, she learned what people meant when they said your heart could be divided in two. Though she loved Cardan, he seemed like a dream, like she could never truly have him. Lucas was more real, more than a daydream. 

Attempting to be discreet, Jude slanted her eyes to study the boy walking next to her, chattering on about mundane things. He was averagely tall with sandy blonde hair and striking emerald eyes. He looked nothing like Cardan. In her eyes, that was all that mattered. He was a distraction, a bit of fun during her banishment. After all, her delightful husband was surely doing the same.

They were walking along the pier near a beach Jude had discovered during the month away from Faerie. It was a quiet spot, away from the worrying gaze of Vivi. The boy, Lucas, suddenly smiled at her shyly, a flush reddening his cheeks to a brilliant flame. “Would it be okay if I held your hand?”

Jude’s heart hammered in her chest, wondering what she was getting herself into. If she said no, his disappointment would simmer awkwardly between them. If she said yes… would it be a betrayal to her vows? She swallowed the phlegm in her throat, trying to shove away all thoughts of what this small gesture meant. Without giving herself a moment to second guess what she was doing, Jude forced her lips to upturn at the corners, as though she was pleased he asked. “I would like nothing more.” She stretched out her hand and laced his fingers with hers, secretly enjoying the feel of his smooth palm against her calloused one. Lucas’s eyes widened imperceptibly at her move. 

Wonderment filling his gaze, Lucas studied her scarred palm. “Where did you get this scar from?” He traced the scar she had received when she pledged her loyalty to Dain with reverence.

What was she to tell him? She couldn’t very well say that she had cut open her own palm in order to gain the protection of the Prince of Elfhame. He would think her mad, and then who knows what would happen to her. She would have to lie, as she did about most things. Her mortal ability to skirt around the truth came in handy once more. “Childhood accident. You know how kids are. Magnets for disaster!”

Lucas chuckled, the fading light of the sun hitting the golden flecks of his eyes as he turned his head towards her. “I know exactly what you mean!” His fingers danced over her scar lightly, lovingly while his other hand traced circles in the sand. “When I was six years old, and learning how to ride a bike, I lost control and crashed right into a big old maple tree! Cut open my arm horribly. My grandma almost had a heart attack with the amount of blood that was on me.” When he mentioned his grandma, his face took on a softened look, his full lips fondly turning up as he reminisced on the past. 

“Both of us are covered in scars, as the two accident prone children we were.” She was deflecting, she knew, from the truth. But it was the only way to keep him safe from her past. 

From the corner of her eye, Jude saw a Golden Retriever huddled up against a building, with the faint shimmer of wings hovering in her peripheral vision. Jude’s pace slowed down as the pixie tormenting the dog smirked at her, taunting her. Even now, far away from Court, her past continued to haunt her, reminding her how she did not fit into the mortal world. She would never be safe here.

Lucas, oblivious to the pixie and her racing thoughts, pointed out a landmark on the far side of the coast. “That lighthouse over there is where I lost my first tooth. I was so excited by the ships, I wiggled my loose tooth a little too hard. Blood gushed all over me, staining my favorite shirt. My parents fussed over me for days. I even had the tooth fairy visit me for the first time. Found a whole dollar underneath my pillow the next morning.”

The tooth fairy. Such a human tradition. Jude had never experienced it, as her parents had been murdered before her teeth fell out. 

A few people moved around the two of them on the sidewalk, not wanting to interfere with the moment they were having. Jude, not aware they would be seen by anybody, blushed fiercely. She looked away from the fond looks people threw her way, and pulled Lucas to a stop. She dragged him over to the sand, far away from the pixie, and made to sit down. Mercifully, he didn’t question it. “What are your parents like?” She asked, trying, and failing, to calm her nerves.

 “They were wonderful people from what I can remember. Every Saturday night they took me to the lighthouse to look at the ships docking in the harbor. My father worked there, and rarely left his post. The sea called to him, as it does to me.” Ships now were now pulling in, guided by the beam of light pouring out from the top of the lighthouse. Lucas watched the boats, a fascinated look taking over his features.

As the sun set over the horizon, glowing softly with pinks, purples, and oranges, gulls crying out in the distance, waves crashing against the beach, Jude felt a sense of peace settle over her, despite the pixie. With Lucas it was easy to feel safe, to let her mind drift away. In another life, she pictured herself with him. Forcing the words out around the memories of Cardan, she softly asked, “Have your parents died?”

With a rueful smile, Lucas looked up at the sky watching the seagulls circle overhead, his eyes far away. “Yeah. They died in a fire when I was eight. My grandparents raised me after that. It was hard to accept that they were gone for a while. I couldn’t even go to the lighthouse without thinking of them, of having the memories crash over me like the waves against the shore.” He was becoming detached, distant.

Jude did something she never expected herself to do. Gently, she took his hand out of hers, pulling his face towards her, so that they were eye to eye. “My parents died when I was seven. I guess we’re both orphans. I was raised by an… uncle after that with my two sisters. You’re not alone. Orphans always find each other, searching for a home in one another, hoping they will finally belong somewhere.”

The sea rocked against the sand, splashing the two of them with little droplets. Neither noticed, too lost in the depthless ache they felt deep in their chests. 

Reaching out a shaky hand, Lucas brushed away a stray strand of hair that was stuck against her cheek. “I think I’ve found my home.”

Knowing she was already damned, Jude leaned forward and drew Lucas into her arms, resting her chin on his shoulder, breathing in his scent. He smelled of cedar, the sea, with faint undercurrents of spices. She shut her eyes, relishing the feel of safety in his arms.

His breath tickled her ear as he moved towards her. “What was your childhood like? You never talk about it.” Immediately she stiffened, memories flashing by of a gentry member biting off the tip of her ring finger, another yanking her out from under a table at a revel and being tormented and glamoured, wearing rowan berries everywhere to avoid her mortality betraying her.

A childhood that was no childhood at all. 

“It was a childhood like no other,” she choked out. 

He pulled back, grasping her forearms and looking into her eyes, brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry if I hit a sore subject, I only wish to know you more.”

Before she could answer she was hit with the scent of roses, citrus and the overwhelming smell of wine. There was only one being with that aroma that she knew. Cardan.

Sure enough, there he glided behind her on the sand, his black eyes boring into her, burning her like a brand. His tail peeked out from his trousers, gently swaying in the wind. A cruel grin bedecked his face, as he narrowed in on the boy who held her in his arms. 

“Jude?” Lucas asked, drawing her gaze away from her husband. Gods. Her husband. The King of Elfhame was here. In the mortal lands. And here she was, on a date.

“Sorry, I-I think I’m getting tired.” Behind Lucas’s back, Cardan snickered.

Lucas nodded, eyes roving over her too bright eyes, the fake smile adorning her lips. “Before we turn in, I have something for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. Just a moment.” Reaching in the back pocket of his pants, Lucas drew out a necklace with a sterling silver ring hung on the chain. The ring twisted around a small pearl, edged with small gems placed around the base. The ring was simple, beautiful. Perfect. 

She was speechless. “Do you like it?”

“I love it.” But just as she said it, the raven haired boy from her past crept into her vision, patiently waiting for her to go over to him. Lucas didn’t notice, too lost in Jude to see anything beyond. 

Lucas gently swung the necklace around Jude’s throat, carefully securing the latch. He lifted up the hair that was trapped by the chain. Jude smiled softly at the gift, and at the boy who had given it to her without a second thought, attempting to block out Cardan so she could remember this moment without the stain of Faerie. “I found the pearl when I was out at sea a few weeks ago, and I thought of you. I made it myself last night. It’s a promise necklace, since I didn’t know what size ring you wore. A promise that, one day, we’ll be married.”

Jude’s smile slipped off her face. “Marriage?” Unbeknownst to him, she was already married to another, her heart belonged to another. In another life, perhaps, this could have worked, but things being the way they were, it wouldn’t last. She had duties and promises to fulfill.

Behind them, Cardan had gone stone-still, his tail twitching back and forth. A strange light filled his eyes, the golden ring around his pupil disappearing, his mouth set in a hard line. It was an odd sight to see. Cardan standing on the sand on a mortal beach with his extravagant clothing studded with gems and jewels, his crown perched haphazardly on his head. Of course he brought his crown, as though he was reminding Jude of who he was. If any mortals noticed him, they didn’t let on. He must have been glamoured, for everyone casually flowed around him as though he wasn’t even there.

Lucas twisted around to see why Jude kept looking over his shoulder, and found nothing, for he couldn’t see the ghost from her past. “What do you keep looking at? Have I moved too fast?” He turned to look at her once more, a heartbreaking expression on his face. The confusion hurt Jude as she could never tell him the truth. Never let him know who she really was, and where she had come from.

“Just-Just a dog. I like dogs, that’s all.”

Carefully Lucas reached for her forearms and pulled her towards him until they were mere feet apart. Cardan moved closer.

“Jude. I’m sorry if I’ve startled you with my declarations. It’s just that I know you’re what I want. I know I’ve only known you for a little over a month, but with each passing day I fall in love with you a little bit more. Your wit, your intellect, your dimples, that look you get when you think no one is looking, when you look happy and relaxed, your guard let down. I love you, Jude. If you don’t feel as strongly as me, I understand, I do. I’m prepared to wait a thousand years.” He nestled his face into her neck, his sandy hair tickling her skin.

Unconsciously she began to run her fingers through his soft hair, wondering if he could feel her racing heart. “Lucas-” She started, about to break his heart, to let him down easy, but suddenly, he jerked under her touch, as if he were a puppet and a puppet master had pulled his strings.

He pulled back as if in a trance, his limbs rigid, rose to his full height and began to walk away. Jude scrambled to her feet and attempted to pull him around. Oblivious to her, he kept marching forwards towards Cardan, never looking back. She hurried in front of him, to see his face. A glazed look had overtaken his features, a blissful expression on his peaceful face. “Lucas?”

There was no answer, no matter how hard she willed him to stop, no matter how many times she shouted his name, there was nothing. No sign of the boy who had given her his heart. So, defeated, she stopped trying to get him to halt and followed him towards the boy who had shattered her life.

Cardan was smirking at her, his hands placed casually in his pockets. “Hello, my darling Jude. How are the mortal lands treating you?” He purred, as soon as Jude was within range. He held out his arms to her, wanting to draw her into a hug, but she crossed her arms, unwilling to give him what he desired.

When she saw Cardan again, she thought she’d be overjoyed, to leap at the chance to go back. But she was angry. So unbelievably angry she wanted to hurt him as he had hurt her. “After banishing me and betraying my trust, you ask how I am? You show up, unannounced, mind you, and expect me to embrace you with open arms? No. I shall not. And you glamoured my date.” Jude frowned, her lips curling downwards, looking at Lucas’s dazed expression next to the King of Elfhame.

He dropped his arms, a wounded expression on his face. “I come in peace, to offer you a chance to return. I thought after all my letters, you would understand my regret and how much I wish to see you home.”

Letters? There had been nothing but silence. “Is this another one of your tricks? To get to me to sympathize with you? I never received anything. And Faerie is not my home. I am mortal, as I am so often reminded, and replaceable. I have no home, not anymore, not after you banished me. I cannot return.”

Again, the small smile danced across his lips, as if this were a game. “Have I finally outwitted you, Jude Durate, master of tricks and wit?”

“What are you talking about?” The way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. She had forgotten how he made her feel. Every touch, every look was as though a fire was exploding in her heart. Passion and desire warred over her common sense until she had given in to the whims of her deepest wants. Look how that had turned out.

Love was a fickle thing. It made you lose all sense until you were a love-stricken fool, incapable of seeing the ugly truth, wanting to believe the best of your partner. Love had turned her into the Court Jester. Playing tricks for them all until she had lost her balance and everything came crashing down around her while everyone laughed. A cascade of disaster.

Cardan took a step closer until they were sharing breath, every feeling she had forced down deep rose up again at the close proximity they were in. Cautiously, as if he didn’t want to startle her, he gently ran a finger down his face. “You could have returned any time you wanted. Until and unless she is pardoned by the crown, let her not step one foot in Faerie or forfeit her life. Are you not Faerie’s Queen? Are you not my wife?”

Jude felt the world closing in on her as she realized just what this meant. She could have pardoned herself. She was a fool, blinded by her wounded feelings. “Wife in name only. Who banishes their wife the day after they are married? You could have warned me, at least. Instead you let me go off into the mortal world, thinking I’d never see you again. I thought I knew better than to get involved with a Faerie, a King at that.” Now Cardan turned his attention to Lucas, still looking for all the world a love-sick puppy. “Is this mortal the better option?” Cardan’s lip curled. “A mortal who doesn’t even have decent fashion sense.” Cardan eyed Lucas’s clothes seriously, as if his very existence was an affront to everything Cardan stood for.

“Leave him alone. He didn’t do anything except get mixed up with the wrong person.”

Cardan roughly got hold of Lucas’s shirt and pulled him close in an intimate embrace. “Faerie leaves scars to everyone who passes through. You cannot pass through the fire unburned. So he shall suffer the consequences of trying to marry my wife.”

“Cardan what are you-” Faster than she could follow, faster than she knew he could move, he whipped out a knife from the folds of his tunic and slashed Lucas’s forearm, cutting through fabric - with her own blade for that matter. Lucas didn’t even flinch, the glamour erasing any emotion he felt.

Cardan released the boy, his chest heaving, blade dripping in blood, staining the golden flecks of sand a brilliant red.

She lunged forwards trying to sop up the blood with the edge of her dress that had begun to drip down through the torn folds of his shirt. The only thing she accomplished was soaking the blood into her clothes and skin. 

“Now the remnants of Faerie will forever be etched upon his skin. He’ll always possess the fear of the land and the retaliation he’ll receive if he decides to chase after you again.” He looked proud of himself, as though he did something worthy or noble. “Come back with me, Jude. Let us return, as King and Queen, as Husband and Wife.” 

How dare Cardan believe he had the right to mark a mortal like so, and expect her to be okay with it? Expect her to return to him with open arms. “I will only return with you if you promise to leave Lucas alone. No assassin’s sent after him, no poison in his cup. No harm ever to come to him.” Her heart bled for the boy who had done nothing wrong other than fall in love with the wrong person.

Cardan’s tail twitched back and forth as he contemplated her offer. “If that is what you wish, I shall grant it.” He waved his hand and Lucas lumbered away, arm still bleeding profusely.

They watched the boy stumble his way back to his home, listened to the shrieks that accompanied his arrival. Jude hated it. Hated that she was the reason for his pain. 

“You have me back, but I swear to you I will hate you until I die for what you have done. You will never have me as you once did. I’ll be your Wife and Queen in name only.”

“I brought your sword, Nightfell, back from Vivi.” He held out the gleaming blade, as some sort of peace offering. Blood still dripped from the metal. She took it, only because the sword gave her comfort.

“Thank you,” she replied curtly. “Take me back, Cardan.”

“If that is what you wish.”

Jude reached up and fingered the necklace that lay on her collarbone, comforted by the pearl that slid smoothly through her fingers. 

When they reached the bright green fields of Faerie, Jude was welcomed back with open arms. She smiled politely, accepted the congratulations, but felt an emptiness, as though she was missing a limb.

Faerie would never be her home again, nor would the Mortal Lands. She had been cursed to be a wanderer, never to have a place to feel safe. Once she had thought it was Cardan, but she was wrong. She was alone, just as she always was.

Cardan

As Cardan took hold of Jude’s arm to transport her back to Faerie, he wondered if he had done the right thing by glamouring her date and cutting him on the arm with Jude’s blade. He had thought she’d be proud of what he did, as she often resorted to more violent methods at Court. Perhaps he made an error, acted too rashly. Cardan did not know how he could make it up to her. 

Although he had achieved his goal of bringing Jude home, the cost had been too high. Whatever love had been between them, was now squandered into the dirt, crushed beneath his crown. If he had simply been Cardan, and not Cardan, High King of Elfhame, would she still hate him as fiercely as she did? Was it the crown that made him act so impulsively? Or was it because he couldn’t bear to see Jude with someone else?

The awful feeling of jealousy was like a cancer, infecting his mind until he knew nothing else. All he saw was a boy courting his love, his Jude, and he had never wanted to kill a mortal so much before. He once swore to himself he would never spill blood by his own hand, but for Jude, he would do anything.

Yet now, as they were back at Court, Cardan noticed the distance now on Jude’s face as Oriana welcomed Jude back. Noticed how she kept touching the necklace at her throat.

When Jude looked at him, it was with a cold emptiness, a reserved impasse. He loved her still, but it seemed as though they were enemies once again.

Jude Durate, his wife, his Queen, hated him. He did not know if they could come back from it.

Tags: @webcraft4eveh, @illyrian-bookworm, @highladyofstoriesandmusic

[rhoditus]

Companionship Chapter Masterpost

The Consort 

Afternoon Tea, Evening Wine 

Correspondence: Rhoditus and Sephonine 

Conflict 

Resonance 

Correspondece: Sephonine and Rhoditus 

Caedes Manor - Part 1 

Caedes Manor - Part 2 

Caedes Manor - Part 3 

Caedes Manor - Part 4 

Correspondence: Sephonine and Zenos 

Tea, Letters, a Dream and a Funeral 

Their Gift 

Two Kingdoms and a Kingdom of Two 

A Gift, and a Request 

Power Granted, Power Discovered

The Most Important Thing

A Wicked Intention

Equals in Grief & Equals in Impropriety

Lovesick, Lovefool

A Rare and Lovely Thing

Solstice

A Very Impatient Letter

Love Could Save Us (If We Let It)

Touch and Endearment 

Letters and Nameday Plans

Pillow Talk and Train Rides

Desire, Magic, Joy and Pain

A Nameday to Remember

Impulse and Indecency

Proposals and Pearls

Rose Red 

Beauty and Pain

A Soft, Warm Darkness

Gold Leaves and White Sky

An Urgent Missive 

Foreign Friendships

A Lovely Notion 

Love 

An Engaging Party - Part 1 

An Engaging Party - Part 2

Bittersweetness 

Fanciful Notions 

Memories Old and New

News and Espionage 

A New Home and a Right Hand 

A Royal Rehearsal 

A Royal Wedding - Part 1 

A Royal Wedding - Part 2 

Palatial Changes 

[addictedforbooksquad]

B O O K  R E V I E W

╙ T H E  Q U E E N  O F  N O T H I N G  B Y  H O L L Y  B L A C K

genre: fantasy, young adult

publication date: 19th November, 2019

rating (1-5 scale):

writing:   ★ ★ ★ ★

characters & character development: ★ ★ ★ ★

could-not-put-it-down factor: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

general rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!

 “By you, I am forever undone.”

Exhilarating. Feels-inducing. Heart-attacking. I didn't just read this book. I devoured it. Inhaled it through my pores. Drank it in with haste and thirst as if indulging in faerie wine after a year-long fast. Perhaps from a storytelling point of view, this wasn't as good as “The Wicked King” but nevertheless, I revelled in every single page. I read it in one go, from cover to cover, and all I can say is that it was absolutely worth a sleepless night. And then it left me so satisfied and full of reflections and feelings, then I just cannot stop thinking about it. And aren't those books, which leave us content and sated, and yet somehow yearning for even more of a good thing, just the best? Now, onto the details, the good and (despite 5-star rating) the bad: I. the sister thing Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely hated Taryn in the first two books. Betrayal of her sister aside, I just found her utterly and unforgivably...boring. In "The Queen of Nothing" though, I was happy to discover depths to her character that weren't that fleshed out before. From killing Locke (YASSS!!!) to standing up to Madoc, side by side with Jude and Vivi, Taryn finally showed with her ACTIONS, not words, which side she is on. And look, this perhaps doesn't erase what she did to Jude in “The Cruel Prince” but I liked how the story unfolded between them in this last installment. This is not a series about pure-hearted good characters. They all did awful things. They all did some of those awful things to each other. So in the end, I'm glad there was no "grovelling" on Taryn's part, no act of "official" forgiveness. That's not how things work in Faerie. More than that, all the sisterly moments! Loved them! Whether it was Taryn trying to gossip about Cardan with Jude or the three sisters united against Madoc, it was great to see a positive sister relationship in a fantasy for once. I definitely prefer them together than apart and set up against each other. II. the trick thing I had lots of theories after finishing "The Wicked King" about Cardan banishing Jude from Elfhame and damn, do I have a satisfaction of getting it at least partially right. I know a lot of people hated what Cardan did in TWK but personally, I loved that plot twist. I thought it evened out the playing field between them and I always knew there was more to it anyway. And would you look at that, it was indeed a trick! When Jude and Cardan reunited and he was so utterly confused that Jude WASN'T proud of him for pulling one over her...priceless. He did it to impress her. He did it to protect her (and his kingdom). He did it to, let's face it, get back at her. It's so wonderfully twisted, my pitch-black heart rejoices and flutters. Added to that delicious cake of dark and twisted is a cherry of irony on top which is the fact that Jude did realize that she could pardon herself...and didn't. She, who is usually so smart and devious and quick to pick up on other people being smart and devious, wasn't able to see through the smoke screen and guess Cardan's true intentions. Which isn't that surprising to me, because when it comes to feelings, my daughter Jude is the most hopeless and oblivious person in that fantasy realm. That lack of trust in Cardan cost her and it only underlined what needed to change - to be able to rule together, Jude and Cardan need to lower their defences when it comes to one another. But more on that in the next point. III. the love thing Jude and Cardan's dynamic has been one of my very favourite things about this series from the start. I love them both as characters and I love them as a ship. I was happy to find out that what unravelled between them in this last installment was utterly (with some minor mishaps) satisfying. Their reunion, untangling the coiled web of mistrust and misunderstandings, learning to trust and be trusted...it was everything. I longed to see them as allies and a team, rather than enemies and reluctant/forced co-operators from the start (not that it wasn't fun to see them as enemies and reluctant allies, IT WAS SO MUCH FUN) and here I got what I wished for. Love scenes, their talk of lowering their shields, those that had been kept up for so so long, melted my heart. Cardan's love confession? Perfect! And so fitting for him in my opinion. Only he would say ILY in such an off-handed manner.

Basically:

"Hi you probably already know this because you're so smart (and I love you) but I've loved you for a long time, OK we got stuff to do BYE" Perfection 😍😂 Cardan was also, quite obviously, Jude's first stan, and I just live for relationships like that. And the longing between them was so palpable. Especially in Cardan's letters to Jude, I could feel how much he missed his Queen *ugly weeping* I'd say that Jude's confession could've been handled better, as in, there could've been even more build-up to it, considering how good she is at holding on to her walls and defences. Still, I loved it in its own way. IV. the character development thing I know there are some who were dissatisfied with the plot twist and the ending. Personally, I thought it was very fitting though. The decision that Jude faces? Between love and power, between her own humanity and the possibility of utter control over Cardan? That dilemma was the best way to capture the character development she had gone through throughout this series. Ever since the beginning, Jude had been wondering about one thing - where will she draw a line? Is there a line that she won't cross to get more power? She got her answer in this book. As Jude was making her choice between killing Cardan or killing her chances at ruling Elfhame, I was crying heavy tears of someone who had witnessed a painful yet utterly satisfying journey. Jude had always been scared. Jude had always resented being weak and human. Jude had always craved power and security for herself. Jude had always hated being vulnerable and relished in the control she gained over Cardan. And with her choice, she embraced so much of what she had once resented. She chose hardship and uncertain future and opened herself up to being hurt. She chose love. She chose being human and weak and what-the-hell-I'll-deal-with-it-because-I'm-not-weak-at-all. She chose Cardan. *this reviewer took a 5-minute break at this point to wipe off all the tears from her keyboard* The point is, I loved the character development this choice represented and yet, Jude also remained very much herself by doing this. V. the loose thread thing Not to be overly sweet on this book, there were also some loose ends, all right. For one, I wish the relationship between Cardan and his mother was explored more, same with more insight into Jude's biological parents, especially her mother. It seemed like it was teased a lot in two previous installments and yet, I didn't experience nearly as much delivery as I expected on those subjects. I just wish there was more on this. VI. other things

Cardan calling Jude his wife, THE FEELS ARE REAL

the not-so-subtle hinting at the possible Taryn-Ghost romance, I dig it

loved the conclusion to Jude and Madoc relationship, he got exactly what he deserved

onto punishment topic, I also loved that Cardan left that responsibility solely within Jude's power

underlining the fact that Cardan is very stable in his feelings, very un-faerie-like was very much appreciated, I love one (1) Faerie boy

Vivi and Heather getting their HEA as well, YESSSS

the symbolism of Cardan creating two thrones from one, my heart stopped

Cardan in the mortal world (P.S. I NEED MORE OF THIS, approximately 483949 pages more)

I could go on and on but there was just so much - and in such a (relatively) short book too. What I will say is this - The Folk of the Air had been shaping up to be one of my favourite fantasy series, and "The Queen of Nothing" made it into a fact. Which it could have very well failed to do, as it often happens with final books in a series. Because ever since I finished "The Wicked King", I've been holding my breath, waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop and for this final book not to live up to the very high expectations I've had for a conclusion not only to a great series, but also some of my very favourite characters and relationships. But after reading this, "I feel as though I can finally breathe again."        

[saviourse]

i want to make it known that i believe the two maleficent movies ( 2014 + 2019 ) are perfect as they are. they told the story meant to be told well and i would not change a single thing about them. however, i am a  book-based maleficent.  there are four books: the first two take place in the first movie. book one is quite literally the movie script with a lot of cut content and information. book two is about aurora, the pixies, and a faerie named robin. book three is the biggest book and has  no parts of it told  in the first or second movies. it takes place in the five years between aurora becoming queen of the moors and marrying prince phillip. most of the stuff you see in this post is from that book. and finally, the fourth book is the second movie.

below are things from all four books that i am adopting as part of my canon and that i am sharing with you as someone whose read and loved all four of them. this is how i will write maleficent. the books are a treasure trove and equally as funny and enjoyable as the movies are. i will be keeping this post brief and with bulleted information, too.

BOOK ONE / TWO, 

young stefan never returned the stolen stone. he had two - and he took the second one and eventually gave it to queen leila as a marriage gift.

leila loved the fair folk. she didn’t agree with king henry, and its important to note because she would’ve never hurt maleficent or any of the fair folk. she is very much your 1959 sleeping beauty’s ‘briar rose’. 

king henry wasn’t killed by maleficent, but by stefan. he brought her wings to him and henry laughed and said he would never make a servant king. stefan smothered him with a pillow and forged the document declaring him king.  

maleficent’s parents are named lysander and hermia.  they were killed in the war against humans, but they truly believed in peace between the humans and the fair folk.

because lysander and hermia were killed when maleficent was young,  a faerie named robin raised her  and she was raised under the rowan tree.

the whole story takes place in scotland. aurora, stefan, maleficent are all scottish. 

BOOK THREE,

aurora’s kingdom ( or what was stefan’s ) is called perceforest.

keeping perceforest part of my narrative is crucial because the peace in the moors and perceforest aids the future peace of ulstead and the moors. the fair folk would’ve never entered ulstead had perceforest not come first. 

maleficent had a role in perceforest: she helped brighten it after stefan’s reign in exchange for protection against outside threats in the moors; and curiously enough, she often travelled alone through it’s vast lands - through weaverton, summerhill, and beyond.

when aurora is in perceforest and maleficent in the moors, they have a dove named burr ( who is all white dove with a black head ) who exchanges correspondance between them.

the movies gave aurora a throne in the moors ... i will be ignoring this. in the books maleficent gives aurora an  entire palace of flowers,  stone walls, dreaming spires, glowing lanterns, and blossoming boughs.

the fair folk used to be called the ‘shining ones’; in the days before king henry there used to be peace between the races. king henry destroyed it and the generations that followed had people grow up only believing the fair folk were dangerous. old people in perceforest, like nanny stoat, remember when the faeries and humans were kindly to one another.

the fair folk are immortal.  the word ‘old’ is not part of their language. maleficent will outlive aurora.

there are many scenes with maleficent and prince phillip. he did earn her trust and she gave him free reign in the moors. he can come and go as he pleases. this step is crucial in her coming to accept his marriage to aurora in the second movie.

another scene had maleficent protecting phillip. lord ortolan and count alain set a trap for the both of them and maleficent tried to save him. here is the quote from the book, ‘”phillip, run!” maleficent called to him. he had to get away. he had to find aurora.’ they worked together to free themselves from the prison.

prince phillip is bisexual  and i directly quote from the books, ‘with his caramel curls and a careless smile he bestowed on everyone, he turned the heads of most of the women and half the men in the room.’

maleficent signed the peace treaty between the moors and perceforest along with nanny stoat, who served as the representative of the humans. 

BOOK FOUR,

maleficent’s emotions and magic are inherently connected to the moors. the moors are also the birthplace of all fair folk. 

unicorns used to exist but no more, the last killed off by humans in recent years. 

after aurora lives in maleficent’s palace of flowers, maleficent decides to live in the old cottage that once belonged to the pixies. she has left it exactly as it is, even the baby cradle is still there. 

the centre of the nest is called the great tree. when a dark fey dies they become part of the tree, and in the centre of the tree are the bones of an old phoenix. 

lickspittle was queen ingrith’s prisoner and was promised freedom if  he killed every faerie. 

maleficent absorbed conall’s spirit when he died. she is able to absord the spirits of deceased dark fey and make them her own, making her stronger. and the great tree tree absorbed what was left of his body.

diaval has a romantic interest ... it is a cat named arabella who maleficent transforms into a human. get out of here with your maleficent / diaval stuff. this blog does not ship maleficent with anyone! leave her alone! 

[faerytalesfromtheabyss]

For the ship thing: Jurdan ofc!

I love Jurdan! It’s probably the most interesting romantic relationship I have ever read.

I don’t think anyone would argue that it’s a healthy relationship at this point.  Especially since the series is about the two characters who have grown up in an extremely toxic society who are locked in a power struggle against each other. Up to this point, the power balance in their relationship is like a pendulum--either Jude or Cardan has all the power in the relationship at any one time. But it's fascinating to see how their relationship and the characters develop--for good and for bad.

Also, I have a lot of respect for how Holly Black wrote this relationship. First off, it’s the perfect slow-burn enemies to lovers romance. And even though the narrative is in first-person POV, Holly Black is very careful in how she approaches the relationship. She doesn’t fall into the common pitfall of many YA authors of presenting an unhealthy relationship as healthy, such as ignoring the abusive behaviors of one or both of the characters because they “love each other.”

Perhaps most importantly, Jude is critical of Cardan’s actions throughout the series. Her feelings for him don’t cause her to forget the cruel things he has done. His toxic behavior is never glorified and Cardan isn’t automatically forgiven because he was abused. For instance, when Jude sees Cardan whipped by Balekin, she thinks: “It doesn’t make me like him any better, but for the first time he seems real. Not good, but real” (TCP 118).

And on Cardan’s part, he acknowledges he was cruel and doesn’t make excuses for his behavior: “Why was I cruel to Folk? Why was I awful to you? Because I could be. Because I liked it. Because, for a moment, when I was at my worst, I felt powerful, and most of the time, I felt powerless, despite being a prince and the son of the High King of Faerie” And throughout TWK, we see how he changes his behavior--up until you know, he banishes Jude. But we had a good run!

I hope Jude and Cardan learn to trust each other and become truely equals in The Queen of Nothing. I’m also putting my faith in Holly Black that she does this relationship justice.

[hetalialoverwrites]

Ways to be Wicked

Part 10

First  -  Previous  -  Next

        With another laugh, Uma sat down in front of Ben on one of the ledges of her ship, "Well since Harry is just itching to hook you right now, you better hope your partner comes through for you." She chuckled, giving Ben a look. Ben stayed quiet for a few moments, "I get you don't deserve this..." "Ha! This? This island is a prison thanks to your father. How interesting of him to force this onto us when his castle was his prison. But I guess all villains think alike." She smiled. "My father isn't a villain," Ben said, no heat in his voice, only confusion. Uma's eyebrows rose, "Oh really? Wasn't he a prince who thought too highly of himself? Threw many grand balls and taxed the people of his land to pay for them? He was selfish and cruel and was turned into a beast for it. He even kidnapped your grandfather after taking one of his roses in a garden. And then, he traded him out for your mother." Uma explained, "The only reason your story is a happy one is that your mother was open-minded about a beast." Ben narrowed his eyes slightly before Uma sighed and shrugged. "But onto more important fairytale, like the one we're in now. I'll get the wand and everything will finally start going right for my story." 

        "So this isn't your mom's plan?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. Uma scoffed, "No, she couldn't care less about me unless she needs someone to work the night shift. This is all me. So don't you start your heroic pitying, okay?" She gave him a tight, irritated smile. "I don't need it." "No, you certainly don't. You're very resourceful. I don't see you tied up." Ben nodded, looking around. Uma looked at him oddly, "No shit, it's my ship... But since you want to play nice, let's trash talk Mal." She smirked, standing up. "I'd rather talk about you," Ben said. Uma paused and looked at him cautiously, "Funny and a gentleman?" She said sarcastically, "I hope I don't have to feed you to the fishes. It would really suck for me." She said, turning around and moving to tighten one of her boots as she started to get irritated with the king. But she just told herself that she couldn't throw him overboard unless she wanted to be killed by you. "Well, you don't! Set me free and we'll go back together." Ben offered. Uma froze, her eyes widening and her eyebrows shooting up. Did he just...? With her mouth open and an expression of 'I didn't think you could be this stupid', Uma turned around with a tilted head and looked at him incredulously. "Are you an idiot?" She asked, her voice just loud enough to carry to her crew members. They all stopped to see what was going on. 

        "What?" Ben looked confused. Uma was shocked, "Oh my Posideon, you are an idiot!" She laughed in amazement before reeling back and slapping him. Ben winced in pain and looked at Uma in confusion, "Wha-?" "No, shut up." She snapped at him. Ben closed his mouth and she continued, "Do you realize what you just said? What could have happened if (Y/n) heard that? Or Mal? Or Posideon forbid, Maleficent or Diaval!?" She asked with increasing disbelief. "I don't... Understand..." Ben said, glancing around nervously. Uma let out a surprised breath and sat down, staring at him like he's the biggest idiot in the world. And then she took a deep breath and attempted to explain, "You. Are. King. Ben." She stated and he nodded hesitantly. "You. Are partners with (Y/n), daughter of Maleficent, princess of the Dark Fae, and the Moors." She stressed and he nodded once again, still not understanding it. "Do you seriously not know anything about her species!?" Uma shouted and Ben slowly shook his head no. Uma had to get up and start pacing because of this dumbass. "Oh my Posideon, I can't believe this." She muttered to herself before turning sharply and looking at him with her hands clasped and tried to get him to understand. 

        "Okay, let me spell this out for you because you are a dumbass," Uma said and held up her hand as Ben went to protest. "I can't even believe that you know nothing about your 'girlfriend's' species and yet you go around saying you love her." She rolled her eyes, "Even Harry had the decency to ask someone and do some research. Look, (Y/n) is a Dark Fae. This means, that she is a faerie. With me so far? Faeries don't date. They start a courtship to get married. A human has to get permission from the Queen of the Fae to enter a courtship with a faerie. That is what you've done. You're in a courtship with the Princess of the Fae. The moment you asked if you could enter a relationship with her, you basically proposed with the intent to get married." Uma explained slowly, her voice laced with irritation. "And I just slapped you because you just said that we would go back together... As in as a couple... When your fiance is the Princess of the Fae." She stressed. Ben took a few moments before that sunk in and he didn't know how to respond. Uma pinched the bridge of her nose, "You are an idiot. I hope she dumps you. We already know all about the hiding of her wings and horns because we actually watch the news. We already know how you've been trying to change her. And to not even bother looking up her species and trying to get to know her? I don't even like her that much and I hope that she dumps you like week-old catfish." Uma said, shaking her head and walking away from him. She couldn't deal with this right now. 

        After the song that you decided you didn't care to be a part of, you and Uma stood face to face on the bridge from the dock to her ship. You handed over the wand and Uma backed up, "No, too easy. Cast a spell with it." She said, crossing her arms as she waited. Glancing around, you spotted Dude, who you found out just a few minutes ago could speak. So turning, you pointed the fake wand at the dog, "Turn your bark into a word." You 'cast', flicking the wand at him. After a few moments of silence, Dude spoke up, "Does this vest make me look fat?" He asked and Uma grinned while her crew cheered in restless excitement. "Alright, so it's real. Give me the wand." Uma said, holding out her hand for it. "Give me Ben." You narrowed your eyes at her and pulled the wand out of her reach. But you were surprised to see a disgusted look cross her face at the mention of your partner's name. That made you a little curious. "Harry." Uma called and Harry brought the tied up bed over to kneel next to Uma. "What a disgusting reunion." Uma said, glaring at Ben before looking at you, "You know, being completely truthful, I suggest you dump him." Your eyes widened at the sudden declaration, "What?" "Just think about it. Now, the wand." Uma said, holding out her hand for the wand. You held out yours for Ben. Uma nodded to Harry and Ben as cut loose. 

        You took Ben's hand in yours while Uma grabbed the wand in your hand. And with a nod, the two of you pulled away with the items you wanted. As you shoved Ben to go behind you and he was dragged back by Mal, you noticed Uma still didn't leave.  The two of you were still standing there looking at each other. "Why did you say that?" You asked, wanting to know after how she has been reacting today. Uma's face twisted up in disgust, "We all know how you were being forced to change. But that's not the only reason why." Uma said, her voice quiet enough that only you, Mal, Harry, and she could hear. And Mal could only hear because of her heightened hearing. You looked at her curiously and she continued, "We had him tied up earlier. That's when I learned that he didn't know a thing about you, the Fae, and he didn't even realize he was engaged to you. Of course, I found that out after he told me that if I let him free, we could go back to Auradon together." Uma said. Your eyes widened and your shoulders dropped, your mouth falling open. "W-What?" Uma gave you a slightly pitying look and took your arm assuringly, "Just... Think about it." She said a little awkwardly before letting go and going back to her ship. You were dragged away before Harry could say anything to you or you could change your mind about the wand. 

        Once Uma found out the wand was a fake, the others ran to get Ben to safety like you told them to and you grabbed Mal's arm. Uma's crew was grabbing swords to come after you all when you spoke, "Mal, I... You heard... I don't..." You couldn't get the words out, but Mal knew what you meant. She might not like it, but she knew. So swinging around to look at Uma, your expression caused her to stop and hold up her hand. Her crew froze at the sudden command, looking wary and cautious, not knowing what was going on. You stepped forward and stood a foot away from the captain, "Uma. Thank you for telling me what happened... Mal and I know what life is like on the Isle and..." You trailed off and cast a glance at Mal, wanting to know if you had her support on this. She nodded and you were relieved, turning back to Uma you continued, "Mal and I are going to talk with Ben and our sister Aurora when we get back. If Auradon won't let you all go, we will try to get Ulstead to take everyone in. All slates will be wiped clean and as long as no laws are broken, none of you should have to worry about being on the run. Just give us some time, okay?" You offered, the look of sincerity swaying Uma. Slowly, Uma lowered her sword and looked at you for a moment before smiling a little, "And what do you want in return?" She asked. "I know Faeries like to make deals." You smiled back, "You've already fulfilled your half. You returned Ben and you gave me a warning about my partner. So now it's our turn to grant you your freedom." You said, bowing your head graciously before holding out a hand to her, "Deal?" Uma nodded back and shook your hand, "Deal. Guess I now know why people make deals with Faeries." She joked and with that, all scores and playful fighting over the years disappeared. You smiled kindly at her while Mal gave her a polite nod, "Thanks Uma. We'll get you all out of here soon." And with that, you and Mal went back to the limo and opened the door, stepping inside the enchanted interior. It was not bigger on the side to make room for your horns and wings. Sitting down, Mal called to Jay, "Alright! Let's go!"