highladyelain

[highladyelain]

Ness girl mom sketches 🧡

[highladyelain]

@nestaarcheronweek | Day Five: Wolf

House of Flame and Shadow, Chapter 22

Bryce describing Nesta as “the apex predator in the room” has been living rent-free in my head since I read it.

Bella is one of my favorite artists and one I’ve always wanted to commission an illustration from because I love her artistic style and she was so kind illustrating this scene for me.

Art by: Bella Souto (otuosbella)

Commissioned by: @podemechamardek

🚫 Please do not repost.

[highladyelain]

Starborn, Fireheart & Lady Death - CC, TOG & ACOTAR

Artist: renata_watsonn

[highladyelain]

no matter how terrible my day is. i can always end my day in bed imagining fictional characters making out sloppy style and fucking raw. and that's beautiful. there's some good in this world mister frodo and it's worth fighting for

[highladyelain]

do it weird do it scared do it shy do it anxious do it lonely do it cautious do it with shaking hands. but do it.

[highladyelain]

Illustration : Emelinc Pommery

[highladyelain]

I feel like it’s so odd ppl make fun of Lucien’s eye when he was the only one to stand up to Amarantha. Like not even Rhys did that lol.

[highladyelain]

Day 7: Free | Elain and Lucien at a dance.

Art made by: Leticiavazlart

Comissioned by: Clarxmor, Bjuliachs, Starswithsparks, p3ppermintt. (Twitter)

Link to Instagram post | Link to Twitter post

[highladyelain]

so i actually went and read that article (grazie sophia christie on the cut). its flagrantly self-obsessed - she goes on for paragraphs about how she's just one of the smart girls who got picked up by a fully-formed man (then 30 to her then 23) while passing on badly disguised barbed 'pity' onto the now 20-year-old girls.

the reason for this pity is that they're currently teaching men how to live - how to grocery shop, how to move into an apartment, how to do laundry, etc. she pities them because "statistically, they will not end up" with their current boyfriends, and the next woman will benefit from this now fully-formed man while never knowing who came before her.

for someone who incessantly proclaims their intelligence (says if her classmates AT HARVARD were supposed to be smart girls, why aren't they out here getting with older men, oh btw did you pick up that she went to harvard? her ba in literature is from harvard university?), she can't see the painful irony of her own situation. her husband (not partner, gods- can you imagine being in a partnership with your significant other?!) magically appeared to her as a fully-formed grown man, and for whatever reason she does not divulge, he is the singular statistical outlier of all men -- no woman formed him! she is not living off some poor discarded girl's unappreciated labour right now!

this sentence in her last paragraph just prove my point: "Last week, we looked back at old photos and agreed we'd given each other our respective best years." Because you, unlike all those women you pity and the women in his life you oh-so-easily forget, didn't have to grow into who you are with someone. You said it yourself "At 20, I felt daunted by the project of becoming my ideal self, couldn't imagine doing it in tandem with somone, two raw lumps of clay trying to mold one another and only sullying things worse" (emphasis added). That project still daunts her, and she never reconciled with it. She just exported that burden to someone who had already done that work and knew what kind of person he wanted, so she became that person. She's a fraud.

go fuck yourself grazie sophia christie. ig that harvard literature ba isnt worth shit if you're such a self-deceiving author whose critical eye only ever turns outward.

[highladyelain]

free my girl she did all that shit but the fandom is mischaracterizing her for it

[highladyelain]

This is not really a theory, more of a musing… I was looking at the cover art and realized that Silver Flames has the Mask (one object in the Dread Trove), which is an interesting choice. Technically Silver Flames could’ve depicted any of the three objects (Harp, Mask, and Crown) because Nesta uses them all.

But Nesta finds the Mask before the other objects. Nesta wears the Mask three times so far (twice in SF and once in HOFAS), more than any other object. Nesta gives the Mask to Bryce in HOFAS. These points are not unrelated. So I understand why Silver Flames depicts the Mask as Nesta has a special affinity with it. Which brings me to my musing.

I think Gwynriel and Elucien books will depict the other two Dread Trove objects in the cover art. I’m not sure which comes first (leaning Gwynriel but I go back and forth). I also think the Harp will become extremely important. Koschei is trapped in his island and wants to get out. Nesta uses the Harp to winnow wherever she wants, including the Prison and warded River House. Koschei isn’t done chasing the Trove, and his top priority is the Harp. The Crown is also useful, but he needs the Harp first.

***

Gwynriel Cover: Harp

Nesta found the Harp in the Prison when she heard Gwyn singing in the choir. Can’t get more obvious foreshadowing than that. I also LOVE the secondary meaning to Gwynriel’s love of music and Shadowsinger powers. Plus the way that Az always hears music around Gwyn. 🥹

From a meta perspective, I think Koschei becomes free by the end of this book. If he’s going to become the main villain in the final Elucien book, then he needs to become an actual threat. Can’t be a threat if he’s still trapped in his island.

Color of Paperback Cover and Hardcover Font: Dark Blue. After the bright orange of Silver Flames, I think we’re going to a darker color to match Az’s broody nature. I can also envision a black color as an alternative to match the shadows.

***

Elucien Cover: Crown

Honestly, this is more vibes because we don’t know that much about the Crown. But thematically, I like that it connects to Lucien as the secret heir to Day. I think we’ll also get a resolution to the Spring Court situation. Elain is Cauldron-born and potentially has the ability to wield the Crown to help battle Koschei’s forces. It fits.

Color of Paperback Cover and Hardcover Font: Yellow. We’re going back to a bright color after the dark color of the previous book. What better than Yellow, symbol of sunshine and the Day Court? I can also picture a lighter green as an alternative. While I would love Pink to represent Elain, I don’t think it’ll happen because the new ACOWAR cover is a purplish-pink. But maybe if it’s a light pink?

***

Of course, I could be totally wrong and the cover art isn’t the Dread Trove. Maybe Az’s book is Truthteller. Who knows? But I like the meta-narrative and themes surrounding the Dread Trove.

[highladyelain]

"No one remembered my birthday-" Well, but did YOU tell anyone it was coming up and you wanted to celebrate it with them?

"I wish someone would see through it when I tell people I'm fine-" Well, but have YOU considered not lying when people ask you how you're doing?

"I am so resentful of my friend because they keep doing this thing that really bothers me-" Well, but have YOU directly communicated that the thing is bothering you?

"I am burning out because my friend keeps expecting me to help them with serious struggles-" Well, but have YOU tried to establish the boundaries you need to feel okay?

"No one ever asks me about this thing I really care about-" Well, but have YOU brought it up yourself?

"I miss my friend but they haven't texted me-" Well, but have YOU been reaching out to them?

Sometimes people are mean, uncaring assholes, in which case you get to be mad. But sometimes you just need to communicate better. Try communication before you assume someone doesn't care!

[highladyelain]

sorry for acting batshit crazy I was feeling a little unwanted

[highladyelain]

Happy @gwynrielweeksofficial!It's my first time participating and I'm super excited to show off my vision for Gwyn and Azriels first mission together. The shadowsinger is an excellent perch for spying...and the priestess a comfortable perch for tired shadows.

Major thanks to @witchlingsandwyverns for doing this for me last minute.

[highladyelain]

Azriel stiffened, an outright sign of temper from him as he said quietly, “There is an innate darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to.”

How fortunate that Elain's mate is the heir of the Day Court with fire in his veins, ensuring she will never be without light when she is with him.

[highladyelain]

It’s crazy how low self-worth fucks with peoples lives

[highladyelain]

All I’m sayin is that we’ve had a lot of broody, dark-haired love interests. It’s time for the ginger to have his moment in the sun. Yes this is about Lucien. Rise up, king.