#tfota series

[reu8ell]

Locke saying this and getting killed by taryn is so funny lmao taryn said you're the problem and solved it by murdering him

[thepencilgirlsv]

🍂The Spy and The Prince🍂

"Playing hide-and-seek under the table? Crouching in the dirt? Typical of your kind, but far beneath my dignity" (the words of someone about to be punched to the ground)

Jude and Cardan from "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black.

[starrynightsxo]

[slarxsa]

It's actually so sad that when Jude finally confessed her love to Cardan he thought she was saying it out of pity because he believed he had made himself unlovable.

[roslynn777]

she’s a fairy taleee 🧚🧚

[graaaaaayy]

jude: don’t worry I’ve got a few knives up my sleeve.

taryn: I think you mean cards.

cardan: she does not.

jude, pulling out knives: I did not.

[dreaming-in-daylight]

vivi: lets escape to the human world !!

taryn: *marries a faerie*

jude:*marries a faerie*

vivi: 🧍‍♂️ 

[somewhereincairparavel]

Gentle reminder that Cardan, who could usually tell Taryn and Jude apart, mistook Taryn for Jude when she was wearing the beautification earrings. Meaning Cardan sees Jude as the hotter/prettier twin.

[flueroses]

cardan’s letters to jude in a nutshell

That’s a waste of pap— that’s a waste of grief, begging, love and I quote, “indiscreet promises”

the “I expect you to come back now that everything is settled” letter

lol the “I want you to come back but I don’t want to say it so just come be angry at me closer” letter

The second half part though- 😭. the “just come home I don’t care what you do to me but just COME BAAAACK” letter

Cardan be like: tf does this queen think she is not responding to my letters, AKA the “YOU HAVE NEVER DONE MORE OF A SIN THAN THIS JUDE DUARTE” letter

Also cardan: yeah I’m doing something wrong, how about I address this to The High Queen of Elfhame, ha this will definitely work AKA the most heartfelt, poetic and longest letter

At this point cardan just gave up and started doing what he does best: writing Jude’s name in an angry, passionate and grieving fashion. This is called the, “ I give up you win” letter.

[tothestarsinvelaris]

Cardan trying desperately to get salt into Jude when Valerian is shoving the faerie fruit into her mouth is just such a good scene.

like, yes, he takes the vial of salt from her -- but he throws it in the air to sprinkle it all over. I feel like he was almost hoping and praying some would land on her or the fruit or the damn dirt and save her.

and then he takes off his shoe and tells her to kiss his toes. like, he's trying to act like he's degrading her along with everyone else, but he also knows that his sweat has salt in it.

and when that doesn't work and Locke is about to walk her home, Cardan gets desperate enough to do something fairly obvious, risking that his friends and everyone else will see that he's helping her but not being willing to let her go alone with Locke while she's so intoxicated. So he pricks her finger and pokes it into her mouth so she gets the salt from her blood.

I feel like he does this partially because of his growing feelings for her, but also because at this point he has already decided he really doesn't like how humans are treated, has seen the way they look when they're ensorcelled and has already helped some of them escape faerie.

he's just so great okay?!

[dorcasmckinnonn]

how dare cardan greenbriar casually drop a number like "yes, my sweet villain, my darling god" and kiss jude duarte on the mouth in front of basically the whole damn kingdom

[reu8ell]

Cardan being self-deprecatingly honest

[mia-nina-lilly]

Holly Black's fairy universe is so rich, expansive, and solid that one can have some certainty about the nature of her fey without it being affirmed all the time.

For example, one thing that seems clear is that fairies feel, and they feel intensely. If they hate, they can hate for centuries. If they love, they will love eternally and be willing to give their life for their beloved. In "The Darkest Part of the Forest," this is told as a horror story. In "Modern Faerie Tales," Kaye's entire adventure is based on her desire to become Roiben's consort.

In "The Cruel Prince" trilogy, Balekin hints at this difference when he talks strangely about how humans love — this is all without mentioning Tiernan and Hyacinthe, who became enemies and still love each other enough to fight for each other, or Lady Nore with her late husband's hands around her neck.

We see this firsthand with Cardan not once, but twice! The first time occurs when he throws himself in front of Jude to save her from being hit by one of Grimsen's traps, and the second time is when, similarly, Cardan throws himself in front of Jude to save her from having a blade buried in her body.

The first time, he shows surprise with himself. It was the moment he realized he loved her on that level — in fact, he just loves her as is natural to his species. The second time, any surprise seems to have vanished, as if he had already accepted that he would do it for her a thousand more times if necessary.

That is, the fairies indeed love as described in the poems, and that is simply fantastic on the part of the author because, let's face it, it makes perfect sense considering the aesthetic of the fairies and everything else. Yes, all of this is about how much I love Holly Black and her skill in creating such wonderfully subtle wonder-filled settings ✨✨

[starrynightsxo]

cardan:

[slarxsa]

Two most uncuddly people in Elfhame cuddle at literally every possible opportunity. Two negatives make a positive.

[blessedchaosgod]

if he doesn't write my name a thousand times in anger because he's supposed to hate me but can't stop thinking of me then is it even worth it