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isure-hopeso · 4 months

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12.31.2023

48 books this year. My hunger never ends. I am insatiable. Here's my reviews:

Five Classics by Agatha Christie 8/10 Started the year off strong with a handful of Christie's shorter classic mysteries

The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack 4.5/10 Super super cool story idea with very poor flow and had a cheating trope

Mountain Mama by Axsom & Pelham 6.5/10 A depressingly realistic look at life on the frontier for a single mom

A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler 8/10 Alva Vanderbilt was so incredible

Followers by Megan Angelo 6.5/10 One of those books where you really don't care the first 2/3 and then you can't get over it for the last 1/3

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien 10/10 my annual reading of one of the Big Four, as always

"Kitchen Princess" Omnibus 2 by Ando & Kobayashi 9/10 I'm pretty sure I learned my love languages from the Kitchen Princess series as a kid

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 5.5/10 A little tropey and the riddle was stupid easy, but I love me a Beauty & The Beast retelling

Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt #1 by R.A. Salvatore 5.5/10 It really didn't need to be that long, but Salvy loves his extra DnD context

The Black Poets by Dudley Randal 10/10 When I tell you how often I think about the poetry from this book. When I tell you.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 6.5/10 Witty and wild for it's time, like all Austen novels, but she's boring and falls in love with her cousin

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas 7.5/10 Turning the Beauty and the Beast retelling on its HEAD and using tidbits from the previous novel to change everything - but also very very smutty

Tithe by Holly Black 7/10 Rereading an old book I love in high school and finding that I still like it quite a lot

The Big Four by Agatha Christie 8/10 One of her biggie Poirot heists, super thrilling

"Kitchen Princess" Vol. 6 by Ando and Kobayashi 9/10 I have dreams, actual dreams, about these stories for weeks after reading them. Good dreams.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chianani 7/10 Decided to read this after watching the movie -- it might not be incredible storytelling but it's a fun story-world, so I decided to read it all

A World Without Princes by Soman Chianani 4/10 S for G&E 2 -It had some good bits, but was overall way too clumpy

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien 10/10 This was actually my first time reading it, and I LOVE getting all the universe context!!

To Weave a Web of Magic by Delacroix, Kurlana, McKillip, and Shinn 8/10 This series of short stories had some real bangers and some ehh

On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius 7/10 the deconstruction never stops, love that for us

Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien 8.5/10 It was so cool reading some of his last unfinished works, it was really not cool reading a bunch of stories with no ending

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn 5.5/10 Where the first Bridgerton book was much better than it's season, the second book was exactly as whatever as the second season.

"The Tempest" by William Shakespeare 7.5/10 really very odd, but the overall vibe was so good and exactly what I needed after Quinn

The Last Ever After by Soman Chianani 6.5/10 S for G&E #3 Thus begins my attempt to finish the whole series because I bought them and they were sitting there

"Sophist", "Statesmen", "Parmenides" and "Philebus" by Plato 10/10 What's the difference between is and is not? Is 'is not' a state of being? lol I dunno

Quest for Glory by Soman Chianani 7/10 S for G&E #4 Okay finally these stories are getting interesting again

A Crystal of Time by Soman Chianani 6.5/10 Really pulling out some wackadoodle things for this one, but I wasn't against it too much

One True King by Soman Chianani 6/10 An alright wrap-up, but my boi Hort deserved a more thorough ending

In the Flo by Alisa Vitti 6.5/10 I learned more about my period in this book than in any health class, but it also got a little woowoo with moon phases

The Green Witch by Murphy & Hiscock 7/10 I had a late-night book buying stint where I bought like 7 witchy books and this was the first to arrive

Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa 2/10 I have nothing particular against this author, but this was the book that convinced me that I could get a book published

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas 7.5/10 Hoo boy does a lot of stuff go down in this spicy, spicy book.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas 6/10 Just a fun little story about wildly traumatized characters

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody 9.5/10 One of the coolest things I've read, I learned so much about reading and writing

Walden and Others Writings by Henry David Thoreau 10/10 So much beautiful writing, this is going to be a regular reread for me

A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult by DK 8.5/10 Naturally one of my favorite books of the year was a literal textbook

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas 8/10 Apparently I didn't hate this book as much as I was supposed to, but also please mind your manners in shared eating spaces

American Brujeria by J. Allen Cross 6.5/10 It turns out Hispanic witches are super super Catholics, which I bet would make some non-Hispanic Catholics real angy

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman 7/10 Practical Magic #1 it was such a lovely writing style, like an actual witch telling a prophecy

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas 8.5/10 A really cool story, standing ovation for Lehabah every day, but also weird that the big bad killer guy wears hats and watches basketball

Nevewhere by Neil Gaiman 9/10 Hadn't thought much of it while I was reading it, but this story had stuck with me like a bad cold baby

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simmer 5.5/10 This one had been sitting in my TBR for too long, and it wasn't too bad

Well of Darkness by Weis & Hickman 8.5/10 Getting to read a fantasy story in the perspective of the bad guys? Heck yeah. So cool.

After the Funeral by Agatha Christie 6.5/10 This one had alllllllll the rich family drams

Ironside by Holly Black 8/10 my first time reading this finale of Black's trilogy, and I just feel like the main character could have been more logical or taken more action

A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher 2/10 I pretty much learned nothing, got nothing out of this

Search the Sky by Pohl & Kornbluth 8/10 Only took off points for misogyny, but it was from the 50s, otherwise a really cool story

The House Witch by Murphy & Hiscock 5/10 A follow-up from the first witchy book to arrive, this one didn't teach me as much about witches as I hoped it would

Approximately a 7/10 average for the whole year! I went out on a limb for a lot of books this year, and that was rewarding just about as often as it was disappointing, but I can at least say that I haven't DNF'd a book yet. I largely write these for myself, and I don't expect anyone to take the time to read it -- if you did, then you are a saint and a hero. May your pillows be cool, your blankets warm, and your eyesight always clear enough for reading.

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acotartogfan · 3 years

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Send a ship and #!

New year, new prompt list!

Since I getting bored of the first one, I made an entirely new one with new prompts.

Some Things to Note: [Read]

pick a prompt(s) and a ship*and send it to my ask box and i will write a drabble for you!

PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH PROMPT LIST YOU ARE ASKING FROM***

*i specialize in Nessian (angst) from A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I write for Throne of Glass too)

Links in case you need them: Askbox | Prompt List #1 (fluffier prompts)

If you like my work, send me more prompts! It inspires and encourages me to keep writing, and it gets the creativity juices flowing as well :)

1. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

2. “We could have had a future together.”

3. “Absolutely not. That is way too dangerous.” - “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

4. “Calm down.” - “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!”

5. "you're not broken"

6. “You’ve changed.”

7. “I’m leaving.” “Of course you are, that’s all you know how to do.”

8. “But it’s my fault right?”

9. “I don’t want to feel this. I want to be numb again.”

10. “You’re lying to me again. Why can’t you just tell me the truth for once?”

11. “I can’t lose you.” - “You already did.”

12. “Did it mean anything to you? Did I mean anything to you?”

13. “Maybe they were right, you never did change.”

14. “How was I such an idiot, to believe that you, out of all people, could ever love me?”

15. “What gives you the right to just waltz back into my life after all the pain you’ve caused.”

16. “Don’t you dare walk away from this!”

17. “Any other lies left to tell me?”

18. “Let me go.”

19. “I would’ve done anything for you.”

20. “I loved you. I loved you so so much but you hurt me.”

21. “Sorry doesn’t fix everything.”

22. “Leave.”

23. “I can’t keep playing pretend.”

24. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t leave.”

25. “It’s pouring rain why are you here?”

26. “I love you.” “You shouldn’t.”

27. “Where were you when I needed you?”

28. “Take my hand. Just trust me.”

29. “You’re safe now, I’m here.”

30. “You made me a better person. Thank you.”

31. “I’m pretty sure (you’re/she’s/he’s/they’re) my soulmate”

32. “You are my family.”

33. “Kiss me.”

34. “Can we take this home?”

35. “You look happy.”

36. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

37. "What are you smiling about?"

38. "Do you even care anymore?"

39. “Are you ok? You sound like you’ve been gargling glass.”

40. “She/he/they was nothing to you, was she/he/they? Then prove it.”

41. “He’s the only person left! He’s the only thing I’ve got, the last good thing in my life!”

42. “I had it under control! I had a plan!”

43. “So none of it was real? You didn’t mean any of it?”

44. “I could kiss you right now!” - “You’re very welcome to do it.”

45. "Whoa. Easy, easy. I've got you."

46. “what about us?”

47. “And that makes it okay?”

48. “How is this my fault?”

49. “Let go of me.”

50. “Your eyes are really pretty now that I’ve gotten a closer look.”

51. “Can you just make a decision? Please?”

52. “Don’t look at me! I’m a mess!”

53. “If you want to leave, we can leave.”

54. “Stars pale in comparison to you.”

55. “I would give up everything for the chance to see your laugh again.”

56. “Everything about you is amazing to me.”

57. “are you sure this is legal?”

58. “You're supposed to be washing my hair, but this feels more like a massage.”

59. "I trusted you."

60. "You're dead to me."

61. “Sleep is for the weak.”

62. “Need a ride?”

63. “You can have Manhattan. I’ll go somewhere else?”

64. “That’s a terrible book,” - “What are you talking about? It’s my favorite!”

65. “Running doesn’t matter. I’ll hunt you down if I have to.”

66. “Are you going to stop me?”

67. “Did the power just cut so?” - “I think so. Help me look for the candles?”

68. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

69. “Do you really need all that candy?”

70. “Why are you here?”

71. “I can’t keep doing this anymore.”

72. “We're falling apart and you don't even care!”

73. “Do not call your child a raisin!”

74. “I’ll choose her happiness over mine every time.”

75. “Kind of a pretty boy, isn’t he?”

76. “What is that?” - “A cake, obviously.” - “Does it taste like cake?” “...No.”

77. “Can we take it home?” - “It looks more like a rat than anything.” - “Please?”

78. “You and me against the world, remember?”

79. “I can braid your hair for you…if you’d like.”

80. “I will always choose you.”

81. “You can’t have her and it’s killing you inside.”

82. “Just a few…more…lines…” - “You’ve been at it all night. Take a break.”

83. “He is very dreamy, but he is not the sun. You are.”

84. “You have yourself wrapped in thorns, and then you hate everyone who tries to touch you.”

85. “You loved her…that’s not a weakness, that’s a virtue.”

86. “Being like this, it’s torture. Sometimes I wish I could just turn it off. Turn it all off.”

87. “You don’t have to carry the weight of the world all by yourself, you know?”

88. “(Name)?” - “Yeah?” - “I’m gonna kiss you now.” - “Okay.”

89. “We’re a mess, you and I.”

90. “Just stay. We can figure everything else out later. Right now, just stay.”

91. “I prefer the view from up there.”

92. “Away you three inch fool.”

93. “Tell me a lie.” - “I love you.”

94. “Please, I am begging you. No more lies.”

95. “You’ve suffered through enough.”

96. “You think you gave me some sort of gift? You took a messed up girl and turned her into a broken woman.”

97. “I’m eating because I’m very uncomfortable.”

98. “Here, let me hold that for you.”

99. “It’s over. They’re not going to hurt you again.”

100. “___, please come. I’m sick.” “You’re what? I can’t hear you.” - “I said I’m sick!”

Send these into my askbox and I’d be more than happy to answer them!

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theladyofdeath · 4 years

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Rags & Riches {15}

Summary: An A Court of Thorns and Roses Fanfiction. 19th century AU. Based on the prompt sent in by @cat5313 All characters belong to SJM, I am just a fan with a plot.

Warning: Mature content strung throughout.

A/N: totally cried while writing this chapter, and i have no idea why. so, take that as you wish..

Leave a comment to be tagged & tell me what you think! :)

They had been on the ship sailing to the continent, for Hybern, for four days. Nearing the port, Rhysand was near death.

“Who would have known that the Lord of Velaris had such seasickness?”

Rhysand groaned, opening his eyes to find Cassian, humor dancing in his hazel eyes.

“I hate you,” Rhysand murmured. “And your ability to be on the water without vomiting every five minutes.”

Cassian chuckled. “Well, we should be there within the hour, they say.”

Rhysand rolled over on his cot. “I do not think that makes me feel any better.”

Cassian nodded, fully in agreement.

The journey had been tense, except for when the ale came out. When the ale came out, everything became better, if only for a little while.

“Training begins tomorrow at dawn,” Cassian continued. “They say they expect the first attack to happen soon after. So, tonight is our last night of freedom. For some time, at least.”

“I don’t care what happens,” Rhysand mumbled. “As long as I get off this fucking ship and back onto dry land.”

Trying not to laugh at the miserable bastard in the cot next to his, Cassian took a clay pipe out of his sack and packed it with tobacco. “Have a smoke. You’ll feel better.”

“Every time you say that I do it,” Rhysand mumbled. “And every time I do it, I do not feel better whatsoever.”

“Not even a bit?” Cassian asked, igniting a match. A moment later, their end of the cabin was clouded with smoke.

“Well,” Rhysand began, opening his eyes. “Perhaps a bit.”

Cassian passed his pipe across the way before leaning back against the wooden wall of the cabin. “One day I’ll be able to afford cigars.”

“Yeah?” Rhysand asked, passing it back. “After the war, you think you’ll give the business a shot?”

Cassian shrugged. “I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ll send some of my soldier’s pay back home to my mum and sister, but, I’ll be able to save some. Not a lot, of course, but enough.”

Rhysand nodded, resting on his hands intertwined behind his head. “And what of Lady Nesta?”

Cassian remained silent for a minute, bonding with his tobacco. “I will keep my promise. Of course, we will see if she still wants me. We do not know how long this will last. What if years go by and I return then? She will most likely be already married. To a Lord. I am fully aware, no matter how I feel, that I am far outside her social class.”

“But you love her?” Rhysand asked, staring at the ceiling.

“Yes,” Cassian said. “I told her as much.”

“Did she say the same to you?”

Cassian snorted. “I do not think that Nesta has ever told anyone that she has loved them. But, she made me promise to come back to her. I like to think, in Nesta’s own way, that was her telling me that she loved me, too.”

Rhysand nodded, taking the pipe from Cassian’s outstretched arm and breathing it in, before handing it back. “Feyre tells me Nesta is a difficult woman.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“You like that about her?” Rhysand grinned. “That she’s difficult?”

“Apparently,” Cassian laughed, keeping the pipe close to his lips. “She never bores me, that’s certain. She is wild, and passionate, behind a cold mask. But when we are alone...she is fierce.”

“Are we talking about in bed?” Rhysand asked. “Because I could see that.”

Cassian opened his mouth to say no, but then he reconsidered. Rhysand, seeing his hesitation, laughed.

“Ah,” the violet-eyed Lord continued. “I suddenly see Lady Nesta in a whole new light.”

Cassian rummaged through his sack, pulling out a novel that was snuck into his bag the night before he left.

The works of William’s Wordsworth.

It was a beautiful book, pristine condition. She had placed it next to his old, beat-up copy of Keats.

He ran his fingers over the cover, taking another puff from his pipe.

“When we make love, she takes the mask off,” Cassian said. “The only time she takes off her mask, completely. Her eyes grow soft. She unclenches her jaw. Her shoulders are no longer rigid. She lets herself feel when we fuck. She never lets herself feel anything, but she lets herself when we make love. Before I left, she was starting to take the mask off when we weren’t fucking, too. When we were together, no matter what we were doing...the mask came off.”

Rhysand watched him, having rolled onto his side. He nodded. “Feyre told me that she feels too much, much more than most people, so she pretends she feels nothing and cares for no one.”

“She is very good at pretending,” Cassian said, a smile growing. “But she does not pretend with me.”

Cassian had told Rhysand of he and Nesta once they left days before, after Nesta had kissed him goodbye. Rhysand had not asked much about it then, surely not wanting to pry.

“We will come back from this,” Rhysand said. “You will keep your promise to her.”

Cassian nodded, leaning his head back as he blew smoke into the air above. He cleared his throat. “What of Feyre?”

Rhysand chuckled. “Are we back to talking about in bed? She is mad, but I am sure you assumed as much.”

Cassian laughed, finding the eyes of his friend. “I do not assume anything of your wife in bed.”

“She’s very dominant,” Rhysand purred. “She likes to be on top.”

Cassian swore. “I’m sure you love that.”

“What’s not to love?” Rhysand said, sighing affectionately. “I just lay back and relax. She does all the work. Very sharp nails, though, my chest still looks as if I was attacked by a wild animal.”

Cassian laughed, so loudly that a few others looked from their cots to the back corner where the two sat. “She is a good woman, Feyre.”

Rhysand’s eyes softened. He nodded. “She is. Perfect. I had to leave her too soon, my wife. We fucked all through the night, after the wedding guests left. No protection.”

Cassian looked sideways at his friend, passing his pipe along the small gap between them. Rhysand took it as Cassian said, “Trying for a child?”

Rhsyand blew smoke as he passed the pipe back. He shrugged. “I know we keep saying that we will come back from this, but if we do not….I know she has my estate, everything I have is hers, now. But...if she is with child, although I know that it is not a certain thing….I know it often takes time to get pregnant.” Rhysand cleared her throat, eyes shining in the dimmed light of the cabin. “We wanted to try, in case I do not come back. If I do not make it out of this, she may have a child to look at, and love, and think of me.”

Cassian listened with a heavy heart. There were no words to say, none that would make a difference. They could laugh and joke and drink and smoke all they wanted, but they both knew what they were forced to leave behind.

Cassian opened the golden-bound book of Wordsworth to a poem that had been bookmarked. She had underlined the first half, eight lines, from I Travelled Among Unknown Men.

Cassian put his pipe down as he read:

“I travelled among unknown men,

In lands beyond the sea;

Nor, England! did I know till then

What love I bore to thee.

'Tis past, that melancholy dream!

Nor will I quit thy shore

A second time; for still I seem

To love thee more and more.”

He unfolded the note, the note he had read countless times since finding the book within his bag. The note she had used as a bookmark.

Dear Cassian,

I hope you find this soon. I know you only have Keats to read, and I thought you would like something else to help you pass the time. Wordsworth is one of my favorites. I think you will enjoy him.

Do not worry about me while you are away. I will be fine, I have Feyre to keep me company, as she also has to send away someone she cares for. But I will be worrying about you, every minute of every day. I fear for you, for what you will have to endure, for what you will have to see.

But when you find yourself in despair, remember that I am thinking of you. Remember that I am at home, waiting for you to return. As Wordsworth reminds us in this poem, sometimes we do not realize how much we care for someone until they are taken from us. I have always known that I care for you, Cassian, but now, on the eve before you leave, my heart aches. The thought of you leaving me leaves a hollowness inside of me that I have never known.

(Even though you are snoring obnoxiously behind me. Try to control that. Surely the other men in your camp will poke fun at you for it.)

I assume you will wake again soon, and we will make love once more. When you are lonely, remember what it feels like to have my hands on your skin, to have my mouth against your own. I know that is what I will be thinking of when the loneliness consumes me. Of how it feels when you are inside of me, holding onto me as if I am far more precious than I am.

I pushed you away. And because of that, we did not have enough time. So you must promise me, Cassian, every day, that you will come back to me.

Write to me.

Promise me.

Come back to me.

Nesta

Cassian folded up the note, and put it back in the book to mark the page. He had just put the book back into his bag as Rhysand grabbed a bucket from under his cot, and wretched.

Cassian reached across the way and patted his friend on the back. “We’ll be there soon, Rhys. Almost there.”

He just didn’t know if that was a blessing or a curse.

~~~~~

Feyre found Nesta in the library. She sat on the bench by the window, a book open on her lap, but her eyes were far away. As Feyre sat next to her, she realized her sister was staring out at the stables.

“Hey,” she said, quietly.

Nesta met her eyes but said nothing.

“We got a letter from Elain,” Feyre continued, and smiled. “She has news.”

She handed the letter to her sister, who read over it quickly. Her eyes were wide as she neared the end. She looked to Feyre, and laughed. “She’s with child?”

Feyre nodded, excitedly. “She’s with child.”

Nesta’s laughter faded and her eyes welled up with tears. She quickly looked away, back out the window.

Feyre leaned back against the glass, her hand resting on top of her eldest sister’s. She had given Nesta plenty of space, she knew how she operated. She had not said a word about Nesta’s goodbye to Cassian days before. They had eaten their meals together, but in silence. Otherwise, they had kept to themselves.

“Azriel had to go,” Nesta said, quietly. “Elain is now alone and with child.”

“She is strong,” Feyre said. “Stronger and far more brave than we ever gave her credit for.”

Nesta nodded her agreement. “It just is not fair, that is all.”

“I know,” Feyre agreed. “My husband left the day after we wed.”

Nesta nodded, eyes distant beyond the glass. “I am truly sorry.”

“It is alright,” Feyre said, although she did not truly feel that way. Nesta knew it, too. “And what of you?”

“What of me?” Nesta breathed.

“Is it alright?”

Nesta met her sister’s gaze. They shared the same eyes, the eyes of their mother. “I have yet to decide.”

“Are you in love with him?” Feyre asked.

“He said he was in love with me,” Nesta whispered.

“That does not answer my question,” Feyre said.

Nesta shook her head. “I could not say it back.”

“Because it is not true?”

“Because once you say it,” Nesta began, voice breaking, “it’s out there. And there is no taking it back. If I said it, and he dies in this bloody war….I could not say it.”

Feyre nodded. “I understand that.”

Nesta snorted. “How so? You married Rhysand the day before he left!”

Feyre sighed, not phased by Nesta’s rise in anger, by the emotion shining in her eyes. “Yes, I did. Because I wanted to be his wife. Even if he does not return, I will still be his wife. I will always be his wife. But, that does not mean that it does not scare me, Nesta. I gave my heart away, and he took it with him to the continent. The thought of my heart never coming back is terrifying.”

Nesta shook her head.

“They will come back,” Feyre said. “Both of them.”

Nesta nodded, staring at their hands.

“Until then, I am here,” Feyre promised. “I will not go anywhere.”

“Nor will I,” Nesta said, jaw clenched.

Feyre smiled, a comforting gesture that Nesta did not return.

But she did not move her hand. Neither of them did.

~~~~~

Elain sat in an old armchair she had purchased from an elderly woman across the hall who no longer had any need for it, a black cat sitting on her lap.

She had found it, a stray, searching for scraps in town. Elain had immediately picked the underweight cat up, and taken him home.

“Well, Knight,” she said, “we now have an armchair and a bed.”

She looked to the thin, rickety bed she had gotten after selling her jewels. Big enough for two, if they liked to cuddle.

Which she and Azriel surely did.

Until his return, Knight would be curling up with her every night. For how many nights, she was not certain.

She had written to her sisters, telling them she was with child. She knew they would be overjoyed.

“Well, Knight, how shall we spend our evening?” she asked.

The cat meowed, softly.

“A lovely thought,” Elain agreed. “Perhaps we should read for a while, or go downstairs to the shop and talk to Miryam downstairs. She should be closing up soon.”

Miryam’s aunt owned the candy shop down below, but her aunt had grown ill so Miryam was running it for her. Elain and her had become quick friends.

Knight did not respond. When Elain looked at her lap, his eyes were closed and he was breathing softly.

With a laugh, Elain put her palm against her stomach. “Well, I suppose we will just stay in, then. The three of us.”

Elain closed her eyes and prayed to whoever was listening that Azriel arrived on the Continent safely.

And she hoped that he knew that she was thinking about him, and that she loved him fiercely.

Elain sat in the armchair in their quiet, little apartment, until she drifted into a deep sleep.

~~~~~

It had taken Azriel a moment to steady his legs once stepping off the ship. He was not sure what time it was, but the sun was beginning to sink. He looked around. The continent did not look much different than home.

Three ships had docked, and untrained soldiers were unloading.

Azriel hadn’t gotten far when he heard his name being called. He quickly scanned the crowd until he saw Cassian and Rhysand, hurrying toward him, the latter pale and stumbling.

“I am glad to see you both,” Azriel said. He had just spent days alone in the middle of the ocean. “How was your journey?”

“Not bad,” Cassian said, as Rhysand doubled over and puked among the grass. “For me, at least. Rhys here gets seasick very easily, apparently.”

Rhysand stood up and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. “Fuck.”

Azriel nodded, trying to rein in his smile. “Well, at least we are on land now.”

Rhysand groaned.

“We are meant to gather at the foot of the hill,” Cassian said, gesturing behind Azriel. “We will begin setting up camp, hopefully by the time it gets dark.”

Azriel sighed, hiking the strap of his bag up higher on his shoulder. “Shall we, then?”

Cassian clapped Rhysand on the back, who nearly fell over from the impact. “Do we have a choice?”

“Afraid not,” Azriel grumbled.

“I’m going to die before I even reach camp,” Rhysand mumbled.

Cassian met Azriel’s gaze with a grin. “I have also learned that Lord Rhysand is quite overdramatic.”

“Fuck you,” Rhysand crooned.

“Only if I get lonely enough, then I suppose you’ll do,” Cassian promised with a wink. Rhysand laughed and shook his head, pushing his hair back. “Until then, soldiers, we walk.”

Azriel nodded, keeping next to the others as they joined the line of men.

It had begun.

~~~~~

@throne-of-ashes-and-beauty @mariamuses @a-happybird @amusicalbookworm @manoncrochanblackbeak @alifletcher2012 @candid-confetti @fandoms-everywhere-united @mis-lil-red@littlehoneyybee @abillionlittlepieces @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @awesomelena555 @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @tswaney17 @jemma-nessian-and-elriel @rhysandsrightknee @gendryaforthemasses @dayanna-hatter @thebluemartini @welcometothespeaknowworldtour @julemmaes @christiashadows @sleeping-and-books @itsme-malin @agnez312 @cat5313 @amren-courtofdreams @chemica @empress-ofbloodshed @islamonna @illyrianbeauty @sleeping-and-books @queenofxhearts @sleeping-and-books @aedionashryver-wolfofthenorth @queenofillea1 @mynewdreamwasyou @levivlio @hellolenas @burritowithfeels @that-other-pineapple @girl-who-reads-the-books @raghad-50725@musicmaam @rowaelinforeverworld @negativenesta @welcometothespeaknowworldtour @gloriouspaintercreatorbandit@sannelovesreading @nerdperson524 @ireallyshouldsleeprn @nerdperson524 @mariamuses @gorl-power @booklover242 @rowaelinforeverworld @regular-nessian-trash @izou1204 @aelin-rowan-whitehorn @opheliatheemerald @eversincebeirut @musicmaam @ladybookwrm @santas-dwynwen @starryandbooks @candid-confetti

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #fanfic #fanfiction #sjm #nessian #feysand #elriel

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tardytothepardy · 3 years

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My Review of "A Court of Silver Flames" (because it's too long for Goodreads)

~`,Spoiler-free summary/review idk,`~

In "A Court of Silver Flames", the story centers around two characters that were previously in the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series, Cassian and Nesta. As far as I can tell, this story takes place about a year after "A Court of Frost and Starlight", where Nesta is in a bad mental state. To cope with the events in "A Court of War and Ruin", she has taken to excessive drinking and sleeping with random people. The members of the Inner Court allowed her to do this for a while, but as the book begins, it is made clear that they won't let her do that anymore. It is decided that she will be taken to the House of Wind, along with Cassian and Azriel, so she can be separated from everything and heal. The reasoning behind putting Nesta in the House of Wind is that the only ways anyone can easily go to or leave the house is by flying or winnowing, neither of which are things she can do. There is a set of 10,000 stairs that she can take, but seeing as they are 10,000 stairs, it's pretty difficult.

Throughout the story, Nesta is forced to come to terms with her difficult memories and her powers, which she has pushed away in an effort to retain as much of her prior humanity as she can. It is soon revealed that her powers are connected to three ancient magical items, collectively called the "Dread Trove", and Nesta is tasked to find as many as she can to keep Briallyn, one of the human queens, who has a similar connection to the items, from obtaining them and wielding powers that could completely destroy the world.

While all of this is going on, it is revealed that Feyre is pregnant. It isn't all happy news, however, because it seems that complications (of the deadly variety) have become known, and no one knows what to do to save her (let alone herself because she's not even aware of it hooray Rice Hand you're doing fabulously).

I think as a whole, one thing that this book struggled with is pacing. For the majority of the book, I didn't feel that the characters were actively trying to stop The Bad Guys, it almost felt that they took action every so often, as if they randomly remembered that these events are happening. Most of the book is focused on the development of the relationship between Cassian and Nesta, and everything else falls around that, which would be fine if the other events were of a smaller scale, like planning a party or something (idk lmao), rather than the fate of literally the <i>entire world</i>, both the Fae and human world. A lot of the things that happened in this book seemed like they were resolved within the last 50 pages of the book, one after another, it just felt odd.

(spoilers for the entire book below the "keep reading"!)

~`,Spoilers from here on out,`~

So like I said in the beginning, it starts with Nesta in her house. It's from Cassian's point of view, so I got to endure two things that really fucking irritated me: first was where she was living. It was a similar line of thought from the "ACOFAS" description, that Velaris doesn't have slums, but if it did have a slum, Nesta would be living in it. But it doesn't have slums, but this place is still icky. Cassian acknowledges that he's stayed in worse, but this place is still icky, yucky, blecky, and gross. Second thing that irritated me was when he first saw her. He describes her as having "long bare legs, an elegant sweep of hips, tapered waist--too damn thin--and full, inviting breasts that were at odds with the new, sharp angles of her body" (10). She was thin, very thin, but not her boobs. Nope, those badonks were still (somehow) plenty large. This might be the fault of me trying to understand Fae bodies by comparing them to human bodies, but I simply do not understand how that is supposed to work. Boobs are made of fats and tissues, if you're losing weight, you're gonna lose boob. Whatever.

Cassian proceeds to take Nesta to one of (apparently 5. Rice Hand and Feyre have five houses, why) Feyre's houses, where it is soon made clear that an intervention is being staged. This has to be one of the worse ones out there, because oh my fucking god everyone is so goddamn hostile towards Nesta. Amren and Nesta were previously friendly, then they had an unresolved (and unexplained) falling out, and now holy shit Amren is constantly baiting Nesta, making snide remarks. Rice Hand seems to be offended by Nesta simply because she doesn't like him or Feyre, like I don't get why he's so aggressive towards her (and that shit continues for the majority of the book it's so annoying), but somehow everyone there is surprised when Nesta is aggressive, that she throws insults, that she's rude.

Anyway, after Nesta is toted to the House, she instantly tries to find a way out, and that's when the 10,000 stairs come in. (Tangent, in the book it says that the stairs are about a foot tall each. 10,000, 1 foot tall stairs. That would mean the House of Wind is at least 10,000ft tall, but seeing as the House has multiple levels, it's even taller than that. This building is so goddamn tall, did Maas even think about that? It's nonsensical! Anyway) She tries to go down them, but she fails miserably. She's underweight, I wouldn't be surprised if she's malnourished, she's in no state to climb down 10,000 stairs.

So that's where the training comes in. Cassian takes her to Windhaven, an Illyrian camp (place thing idk), to train, but she just refuses. After 3 days of her not doing anything, Cassian is ready to throw in the towel (I thought,,, I would think that since he's had to discipline out-of-line soldiers before he'd do better than 3 fucking days but whatever), but then he remembers what she's said about it all three of those times, that she's not gonna do it in front of everyone (because if you didn't remember, the Illyrians are massively sexist and so of course no one has anything better to do than gather round to see some random woman attempt to train but whatever), so he just has her train within the House. One top of the House, it seems. I don't know how big this House is supposed to be, but the roof at least would have to be huge to allow for multiple people to train and work out, spaced out evenly, and not be at risk for falling off. But he has her train there, issue resolved.

What is this training, you may ask? It's just basic stuff, like stretching, balance, strength training, and eventually grappling with so much sexual tension you can barely see your hand in front of your face (it's like a fog as far as I'm concerned), casual stuff.

Along with this training, Nesta is also assigned to work in the library, which is also a sort of refuge or something for a bunch of priestesses who have survived various forms of abuse or assault. It's one big safe space that also has old ass books. Sounds great. She has to work there for six hours, I believe, everyday, along with the training, and at the library she meets someone named Gwyn. Gwyn is a priestess, she's been there for a little while (it doesn't actually say how long, now that I think about it) and fun fact, she's a quarter river nymph. The person she works under is shown using that fact as an insult, but only once, because then Nesta lets her eyes go silver, which freaks them out, and then Gwyn doesn't have to deal with it anymore.

Speaking of silver eyeballs, let's talk about her powers. What are they, how do they work? What are the limits of her powers, etc.? It's not really stated, beyond vague stuff of her powers being derived from something ancient, before the Fae's time, and that she's really powerful. At one point in the book when Rice Hand had to go into her mind (she was having night terrors), he described her powers as "pure death". On one occasion as she was trying to go down the 10,000 steps (which is a recurring thing throughout the whole book), she fell partway down and when she caught herself, she saw that she somehow burned her handprint into the stone. At another point when she's a good way into her training, she's punching something and it is later shown that she again burned through the wood (it was a piece of wood wrapped in cloth which sounds like an absolute delight to punch for a sustained period of time), but somehow the burn mark was cold? Much later in the book she literally un-alives someone, like she didn't kill them, she regressed their age so much that they were un-alive. (She basically hit the "undo" button on their life) Additionally, since her powers that she got from the Cauldron have connected her to the "Dread Trove" items, she is able to find them very easily and use them without issue. With all this information, it's still not clear as to what the limits to her power are. I suppose she is the limitation, because she could choose to use her power to gather the items of the "Dread Trove" and use them to manipulate worlds and time and fucking death itself, but she doesn't. And honestly I'm not sure how I feel about that, I'm kinda iffy on the idea of a character having seemingly unlimited power (especially when they only use it a handful of times, if at all), but I suppose it doesn't really matter because by the end of the story, she gives back most of her power to the Cauldron anyway, so any questions about that are just,,, thrown to the wind.

The characters in this story were a pretty mixed bag. I can say full-heartedly that I did not like Rhysand (there, I said his actual name instead of Rice Hand, Rice Hand is funnier to me). I don't think I've ever particularly liked him, he was too smarmy for my liking, and then when we got a look into his mind courtesy of ACOFAS, all I got out of it was that whatever is going on in his head does not match his outwardly appearance and demeanor whatsoever. (On the outside, he seems like he'd be the one to smirk a lot, probably use lots of sarcasm, on the inside it seems like if someone said "boobs" he'd start laughing uncontrollably. Like, it's weird. Idk what was going on in that book, it was weird.) But in this book, I did not like him, from the beginning. He was so hostile, so aggressive towards Nesta, at any given moment. I don't know if he had any sympathy at all for her situation, because he certainly didn't act like it. At anything Nesta would do, he would push back.

For example, when Gwyn decided to join Nesta in her training, Rice Hand said in her mind to not do anything (in the book, he said, "You are to treat Gwyn with kindness and respect." (pg. 304)), and the whole thing angers me for two reasons, the first being that Nesta's kindness was the reason that Gwyn was there in the first place. Which leads to the second reason, that it seems that Rice Hand is so convinced that Nesta is an unlikable person that she couldn't have possibly made friends (or at least friendly acquaintances) during her time at the House and working in the library.

Following that remark, Nesta noted that it seemed that Rice Hand didn't particularly like the fact that she and Cassian were a thing, which also ticks me off. Am I a huge fan of Cassian and Nesta being together? They're fine, but it's again that idea that she couldn't have possibly warmed up to someone that she has to be around the majority of the time, and maybe someone that doesn't default their mentality of her as "whatever she's doing, it's wrong/bad". To give credit to Cassian, he did figure out that Rice Hand said something to her and chided him for doing so. He actually caught Rice Hand doing it a few more times within the book and got after him about it those times, which is nice.

But that's not the only reason why I specifically did not like Rice Hand in this book. There's another thing he did which I feel is so much worse than what he did or said to Nesta. That thing would be that he kept information about Feyre from Feyre, specifically about her own pregnancy. Now, I said in the beginning that she had a troubled pregnancy. Basically, her baby had wings, but her body wouldn't be able to safely deliver the baby because of those wings. Before you ask "Hey, doesn't Feyre have shape-shifting powers?" or "What about a c-section?", Maas tucked away those easy solutions by saying that Madja, the person overseeing Feyre's pregnancy, told her that shape-shifting might put the baby at risk for more complications, and as far as the c-section thing goes, they just uh, they just haven't seemed to figure out how to do that. These Fae people live for hundreds of years and no one has ever figured out how to properly do a c-section, I guess. Additionally, it seems that Illyrian wings are particularly special, compared to the wings of the other two groups of winged Fae, Seraphim and Peregyrn, because whereas the wings of the Seraphims or Peregryns can move, allowing for an easier birth, apparently (for some fucking reason) Illyrian wings are bony? Like, in utero, they're already bony and difficult to move, which is where all those complications come in.

He told none of this to Feyre. All she knew about her own pregnancy, was that there might be some complications, she didn't know that there was a gigantic mortality rate with pregnancies like this, nothing like that. He purposely kept this information from her, it seems that the whole fucking Inner Court voted on it, or some shit. When Feyre was told of this whole thing from Nesta, Amren said it was to protect Feyre, to keep her from getting stressed or scared, which could worsen things further. But I counter that Amren, with this: How fucking scared do you think Feyre would have been, when she was in labor and everything, and things were rapidly spiraling out of control? She would have been terrified! Don't you think that would've affected something, because I fucking think it would have! Was there ever any intent to tell her about this, or did all of them just decide to never tell her?

The reason why Nesta told Feyre about it was to hurt her, initially, but it was also because she found out that the Inner Court had made a decision about her, personally, because she had accidentally made more "Dread Trove" items by imbuing her power in three swords that she made while at a blacksmith. She found out (via Cassian's absolutely terrible way of bringing up the swords she made) that they were planning to take them away (or something, I don't specifically remember), and that's when she went to Amren's place and demanded more information. When Feyre was brought to intervene, Nesta told Feyre what Cassian had told her (despite the fact that he was totally supposed to keep that a secret but whatever dude). Feyre was shocked, understandably, but she wasn't angry at Nesta for that, and I can't tell you how happy I was about that, I am so happy that Feyre wasn't angry at Nesta for telling her about this. She actually was angry at the other people for deciding to keep this information from her. I just,, I'm really happy that she wasn't angry at Nesta. Everyone else, on the other hand, was fucking pissed at her, including Rice Hand. He was absolutely livid, but the funny thing is, that I don't give a shit, honestly. He should have never kept that a secret in the first place.

I think as a whole, his behavior is explained away because "his mate is pregnant", so I guess he has full clearance to be obnoxious and aggressive and withhold information without the knowledge of all parties involved. What happened to always giving Feyre a choice, Rhysand? What happened to that? Did she only get a choice when you decided to give her one? Because that is certainly what this felt like.

Another thing that Rice Hand did that I would place in between his bullshit against Nesta and his bullshit against Feyre, is another thing that he did to Feyre. So, back in ACOTAR, I believe, when Feyre was still with Tamlin, Tamlin infamously trapped Feyre in a huge magical bubble, where she couldn't leave Tamlin's house. Everyone agreed that that wasn't the best thing for Tamlin to do, and Tamlin's punishment was completely equal to the evils he committed, one-hundred percent. (Not really, now he's stuck in his beast form, roaming the Spring Court in a state of anger and pain. Sympathy for him is quite the commodity in the books.) But what does any of this have to do with Rice Hand? Well, he basically did the same thing to Feyre, except rather than being stuck in a building, the shield is on her, and it's so strong that even her friends can't touch her without being hit by the shield. And when she's asked about it, Feyre just says that Rice Hand learned how to make shields from Helion, the High Lord of the Summer Court, and like,,,, is testing them out on her?? And we're all supposed to think this is fine? The shield is so intense that they can't even smell her (which is a thing, in this series. Fae people can smell other people, they have scents, idk man I'm just going with it), so effectively he's masking her entire existence, and no one has a problem with it. It's weird. It's not as bad as the pregnancy thing, but it's still not great.

I suppose since I'm talking about characters, I should talk about Cassian and Nesta, seeing as they did totally, undeniably become a Thing in this book. Idk how to really go about it, honestly. For the majority of the book, at least one of them was sure that the other didn't like them, or that they weren't deserving to be with the other, so that was fun. I don't particularly remember when, but at some point they both just,,, decided? to have casual sex, that it meant nothing (when it did, in fact, mean something), and it was like,,, a way of distancing themselves from the other. That is particularly the case with Nesta, who felt guilty for constantly pushing Cassian away at basically every turn. Apparently her attention was caught on him from like,,, the first time that she even saw him, way back when she and Elain were still human, in their cottage. She didn't love him or anything, but it was a Notice.

Despite that Notice, she still pushed him away, as I said, because she just didn't feel like she was good enough. Over the course of the book, Nesta quickly became ashamed of the life she had been living since being put in the Cauldron, which was all the drinking and sex (and that's it? Like, a lot of people in this book made it out to be this whole thing but I think that's basically all she did. Part of me feels like the main reason the Inner Court was so bothered by it in the first place was that she was billing it to them, who really wouldn't even notice the money spent anyway, given how much money they seem to have but whatever), and this was another thing that caused her to push away. (And then violently yo-yo back it was incredible) She also has been harboring a fuck ton of guilt over her father's death, which I think was something I worried about after reading ACOFAS? Idk, but it wasn't terrible. She acknowledged that she couldn't really do anything, that it was all over before she could move, but the main reason she felt so horrible about it, was because all this time, since her mother's death (and kinda before it?), she had been mean towards her father, constantly snubbing him, acting with disdain, etc., but during the war (in ACOWAR, it's so helpfully acronymed), he came to help with a fleet of ships, and the one he was on, he named after her. It showed that, despite all that she had said and done to him for all these years, he still loved her, and she felt that she didn't deserve that.

She felt guilty about what had happened to Elain, and felt angry that she wasn't able to do more. Her relationship with Elain kinda soured at a point, because it went from Elain being the withdrawn, sallow, underfed and distant one, to her being that, except with Elain, she would just sit in a chair in an empty room and wallow in her own misery, whereas Nesta used other aforementioned ways to try to forget. Throughout a lot of this book, Nesta and Elain are at each other's throats, and they did, apparently, make up, but I don't know when. For how much of the book is spent about them being at odds with each other, there's an odd lack of them actually making up with each other and settling all that. It's weird.

As a whole though, the center of Nesta's issues stem from the fact that she feels helpless. As she put it, all these things happened to her, she didn't do anything about it. She didn't (in most cases, couldn't) do anything to get herself out of those situations. She felt she lacked agency, in essence. I believe that is mostly why she acted the way she did, because then she could control how others felt about her. The other reason why she acted the way she did, is that her mother trained her to do so.

When her family was still rich (and their mother was still alive), Nesta was trained to be absolutely vicious in the ballroom. She knew how to win people over with small gestures or expressions, and how to read people with a glance. She also knew how to dance, ridiculously well it seems. There is a point in the story when, to make sure that Eris, a member of the Autumn Court that they had been using for information, was still friendly with them, she was chosen to dance with him, to make sure that the Night Court was still in his favor. So, she danced with him. By the end of it, Eris apparently wanted to marry her, and you can fucking imagine how pissed Cassian was about that (I do think that at this point in the book, Nesta and Cassian were most assuredly a Thing, whether either of them acknowledged it or not), but the whole point of it was to show that Nesta was really in tune with music, and that she knows exactly how to meddle in the politics to win in her favor.

Her mother raised Elain to be a perfect princess, to be married off to someone with lots of money. Her mother raised Nesta to be powerful (but, from Nesta's own thoughts, she remembers asking her mother if she was going to marry a person the same way Elain was, but her mother didn't respond). As for Feyre, Nesta says that their mother seemed to mostly forget or avoid Feyre, because she wasn't quite right or something. I'm not sure.

There is a little thing where Nesta thinks of herself as a caged beast stuffed in a pretty dress, because she remembers that she's always had to restrain herself to make sure that nothing went wrong. When her mental health declines, it is equated to wolves encroaching her space, snarling her doubts and fears, and how she used to deafen them using people or alcohol. It wasn't ever enough, but it's what she did.

One thing that did help with the wolves was something she learned from Gwyn, called Mind Stilling (cough cough it's just meditation cough wheeze), a practice used by an extinct group of female warriors called Valkyries. (Yup, just like the Old Norse Valkyries.) Throughout this book, Nesta, Gwyn, and another Illyrian woman named Emerie (along with a few others but they basically only are present in theory) all trained with Cassian (and Azriel, he showed up later on, just in case Maas thought you forgot about him) to become the new Valkyries. It turns out that Cassian knew of them, I think most of the Inner Court knew them or at least knew of them (which is what happens when you're over five hundred fucking years old jfc) before they died in battle. There are a couple portions of this book that are mostly just training montages, with added notes of "it would have taken forever to build muscles as a human, but being Fae meant that Nesta could get stronger much faster", just in case you thought that 3 training montages was a lil too fast.

All this training does culminate into something by the end of the book, almost literally. I feel like a lot of this book is just watching Cassian and Nesta bounce off one another (in more ways than one lmao), and then Maas at some point realized, "Oh shit I have to actually make these things mean something!" and so the payoff for all the training, so to speak, and Feyre's pregnancy are both resolved by the end of the book, just barely.

The training thing is resolved by Gwyn, Emerie, and Nesta (in that order, it was specified that Nesta took like, three days after Emerie and Gwyn to complete her training because she was so busy probably staring at Cassian and thinking about... stuff. That's basically what both of them were doing for a healthy portion of this 700+ page tome) cutting a white silk ribbon that was tied up to a pole. I guess the idea was that if they are able to cut a piece of ribbon fluttering in the wind, they have mastery over themselves and their weapons. Personally, I get it. Ribbons are evasive as fuck and will gain enough sentience to move away from you just enough so you can't grab them. I know for certain that I would not be able to do this.

Now, I've mentioned Emerie a few times now, who is she? During the three or so days at the Illyrian camp, Nesta comes to know an Illyrian woman named Emerie. She's a shopkeeper in the village, and she likes keeping her store neat. Her family doesn't like that she owns the shop, and wants it to be carried over to one of her relatives. One of the times that Nesta visits her, one of Emerie's cousins is there, spewing stupid nonsense about how she can't run a store on her own. (He ends up dying, in case you were wondering.) She seems like a pretty interesting character, and she and Nesta bond over their shared interests in books, and that they've both been through some shit. In Emerie's case, her wings were clipped, so she can't fly. It is(or was?) a practice that was(is?) pretty common in Illyrian society, because clearly no one wants the wamen flyin around, who else is gonna do the cookin and cleanin and child rearin? Emerie ends up joining Nesta and Gwyn in training, with her main motivation similar to Nesta's: that she never wants to feel or be powerless again.

I've talked about the training a few times now, and I've mentioned how it led to something, without saying what it leads to, so I'll say it here: it leads to the Blood Rite, which is an Illyrian coming-of-age sorta thing, where the participants (typically the male Illyrians, like I said they just can't have the wamen beating them at anything it'd hurt their wittle egos) are put in this forest and they are tasked to scale a mountain (at least one) within a week, and fight off any monsters trying to eat them, or opponents trying to beat them. It's pretty common for people to die in these.

Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie landed themselves in this Blood Rite by being kidnapped, that's apparently how the participants are put in the Rite. There was something unusual about this one, however, in that someone (I think it turned out to be someone under the control of Briallyn) planted weapons all over the forest, which isn't allowed. Something that also isn't allowed in the Rite is magic, so the magic that Nesta has become accustomed to and now has a decent relationship with, is gone. Cool.

In the process of getting up the mountain, Gwyn nearly dies, she got shot in the leg by an arrow, and Emerie nearly drowns in a river. Nesta nearly gets stabbed by Emerie's cousin, the same guy who showed up in her shop that one time, but then he gets killed. Woohoo, violence!

Right as Nesta is fighting with Emerie's cousin, Cassian shows up, which is surprising because he wouldn't normally be able to be there: if outside forces help a participant get through the Blood Rite, it is then considered invalid, and both the participant and the outside person are promptly killed (Woohoo, violence!). Turns out that he's under the control of Briallyn, who shows up as well. She orders Cassian to kill Nesta (because of course), and rather than stab her, he stabs himself. This is when the un-aliving thing happens that I mentioned earlier. Nesta was so caught up in the rage and stress of being in the Rite, then the sheer fury of what was going on, and it was an instance of her mind going, "I will not let this happen to me" and so she slammed the "undo" button on Briallyn's existence. (Woohoo, violence!) All is well though, because apparently Cassian did not, in fact, stab himself.

All is not well though, because as this whole thing ends, Feyre's pregnancy issues begin. I won't go over in detail because I've already talked about it earlier, but basically she went into labor way too early, and things have only gotten worse. She's bleeding out, everyone is certain that she will die. And thanks to the fact that, in ACOWAR, Feyre and Rice Hand made a vow that, if one dies, the other will, there's also the risk that Rice Hand will die, and since the baby is so premature, so will the baby. So there are three lives at risk, and no one knows what the fuck to do about any of it.

Except Nesta. Well, she doesn't really know what to do, but she's trying something. She takes the items of the "Dread Trove" (remember those?) and she uses them to pause time, right before death (kinda like pausing right before your Sim's death to save your game), and pleads with the powers in the objects and within herself, to show her how to save Feyre and the baby, and she will give her powers back to the Cauldron from which she took them. The powers are basically like "k lol", and she saves Feyre and the baby (his name is Nyx, which is just,,, it's so fantasy fiction omfg), and she tells Cassian later that she also altered her fucking body so that it can carry an Illyrian baby. Has she, at literally any point in the series, let alone this book, ever even thought she wanted a child? Nope, but everyone gotta have babies. (I get that people change their minds, and Nesta seems to have a fuck ton of time ahead of her to think about it, but idk it just kinda came up out of nowhere. How about beginning research into situations like that and maybe learn how to safely perform a c-section, in this case, so that future situations don't turn out as they seem to have previously. Nesta fixing her own body won't affect the who-knows-how-many other people who might get into this situation. Then again, it's not on her to solve everyone's problems,,, idk man)

Rrrrighttt at the end of the book, it mentions that Cassian and Nesta are going to have a mating ceremony, which for all intents and purposes, might as well be a wedding they talk about it like a wedding some of the practices and traditions are reminiscent of a wedding, it's a wedding. But for some reason, they don't actually have the ceremony in this book, even though I imagine Maas could've totally done it. What's another few pages in a 700+ page book, right? So I imagine that the ceremony might come up again in the next book, because Something is going to happen then. I have no idea what that Something is going to be, but that's my guess.

I don't think I have many issues with this book in particular, it's more with just the series as a whole. I just have a lot of questions with this series, and I got even more questions from this book. Most of my questions circulate around the powers of the characters within the Inner Court, such as how does literally everyone's powers work?? Throughout this book, it kept referring to Cassian's magic, that he wears a bunch of thingies (they're called Siphons but they'll always be thingies to me) to contain that magic, but it never actually says what his magic is. As far as I can tell, there are like,, idk how to describe it but like kinda threads?? of magic, I guess, that come from his Siphons, but other than that it's just that he,,, punch? He fight good? I really don't know. From what I can gather, his abilities could stem from his life rather than any magic he has. (I think that could actually be more interesting, him not having any magic, and kinda lend another reason as to why so many fucking people in this book shit on him for being the way he is. They all throw "Prince of Bastards" or some similar title at him, as if he's the only bastard to have ever existed in Prythian like, bad guys, please come up with more insults. Call him a shithead or something like be creative I'm really not feeling it)

With Nesta, it also does a poor job of explaining her magic, it's just repeated that it's old, it's ancient, it's from another time, a time before the Fae, a time long forgotten, but like, bro, what is it. I guess I'll never know. Elain's power, which also stems from the Cauldron, is barely mentioned in this book, aside from them saying that it's either gone away, or gone dormant, so she's treated as though she has no powers (that is, whenever she actually shows up in the book. Elain is just,,, rarely in the series. What is she doing at any given time the world may never know).

I don't really think that Maas understands how many stairs 10,000 stairs would be. I don't think she gets how long 500 years would be, and what you would even be doing for the majority of that time. I don't think she has a scale for how much power she has flung at her characters, to the point of it all being nonsensical. Everyone has so much power, we're told that Rice Hand has a ridiculous amount of power, somehow Feyre has double his power, but Amren had even more power, but Nesta has even more power than that and it's just,,, can I please have a frame of reference because I simply do not understand. I don't think she even has much of an explanation for the powers she has given her characters, and two examples I can immediately think of are Mor and Azriel. Mor's powers have simply been stated as "truth", but have we ever seen her use that power? What the fuck does that even mean, does she have a freakin lasso of truth or some shit like I don't understand. Then with Azriel, he got some kind of shadow magic thing going on, but like even within the story, the characters don't seem to understand how it works. Even the people that have known Azriel basically their entire lives (Rice Hand and Cassian) don't understand it. So how the fuck am I suppose to understand?

I'm just going to end it here because jfc this thing is so long, it's 10 pages long in Google Docs, and I heavily doubt anyone is going to read this far. If you have, much thanks! To clarify, I do like the series (to some extent) I just,, I have a lot of questions. So many, I couldn't fit them in here because they didn't really have any answers in the books (any of them, as far as I'm aware). Idk. How do people write conclusions? It's beyond me. Agh, anyway, thanks for reading this.

#i write so much sometimes like where do these words come from #i didn't even know i thought about this series that much #but yeah this thing is wayyyy too long for goodreads but i didn't want it all to go to waste so i'm putting it here #also on goodreads but it's painfully shortened on there #it's tragic #wait lmao how do you tag these books i've never done it before #acotar #a court of silver flames #acosf #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #elain archeron #rhysand #cassian #azriel #gywn berdara #emerie acosf #acosf spoilers #long post

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queerchoicesblog · 4 years

Text

A Remedy For Melancholy

Hiya folks, here’s a new chapter of the wlw story set in the Italian Renaissance suggested by @scottishqueer for the wlw writing project...hope you will enjoy it!

If you do happen to like this miniseries, please consider spreading the word!

Previous chapters: After The Storm, The Florentine Lady

Previous series: Ancient Greece

____________________________

I keep thinking of her words and the sadness in her voice and eyes. That lady is suffering: the thought haunts me for days before I can come up with a plan. She reminds me of a story I used to hear as a child: a wolf terrorised a village, howling and hissing at whoever dared to approach him, but one day a brave young girl ventured to him when he was sleeping and discovered the reason of his wrath: a thorn stuck under his paw. When she removed it, the wolf stopped being a threat to the village. Now, I have no idea what kind of thorn is hurting Cristina and if I can cure her melancholy, which -I know- is a matter for phlebotomists, but I want to help her.

She's a lonely foreigner in a most extravagant city: she needs help. And she feels lost: she spends too much time in her head, I need to find a way to distract her. I realise I know basically nothing about her tastes, I only recall her talking of attending poetry readings in Florence. Well, it's a start.

I decide to send her a copy of a poetry book we own: she can borrow it and return it to me whenever she pleases. We can discuss it together, if she wishes, I add. I conclude that she must come visit me: I doubt she has any idea of what a Masquerade Ball means here yet she can't commit the capital sin of coming unprepared. I'll gladly help her choose the right costume if she allows me.

Her answer arrives sooner than I expected: she thanks me for my kindness and agrees to visit me whenever it suits me. My plan is working, at least for now!

As I wait for our meeting, I gather ideas: I like designing costumes. And drawing but it's a pretty useless talent for a lady: the fair sex is not made to be called artists. We may be musicians, playing and singing during court gatherings, but nobody has ever heard of a woman painter. Maybe in the world to come?, I think and the thought pleases me.

I'm sewing in the garden when a servant informs me my guest has come. She's waiting for me in my apartments, he says. I collect my work and needles and head back there.

The first thing I hear approaching is the sound of laughter. I would recognise his laughter anywhere. When I open the door and look into the living room, I see my little Tommaso covering his face with his hands before taking them away laughing. Cristina is sitting on the couch facing him and as soon as my son uncovers his face she hides hers behind my book for a moment. When she lets it fall on her lap, Tommaso cheers and jumps excitedly before resuming their curious game.

I smile, amused and touched. It's a joy for a mother to see her son happy. She first spots and makes to stand but I gesture her to sit. I greet her, joining them into the room and Tommaso runs at full speed towards me, hugging my knees. I take it into my arms and pepper his face with kisses.

"Hope the welcoming committee didn't bother you much" I say to my guest, still smiling. "I forgot I sent my maid to run errands for me and this cheeky little one was supposed to be sleeping now"

My son shakes his head as if he understood what I just said and we both laugh.

"Your son?" Cristina asks, a hint of shyness in her voice as if she caught a glimpse of my private life she wasn't supposed to see.

"Yes, Tommaso" I confirm, kissing his cheek, red from all the fun he had. "My little prince, the light of my life"

Cristina smiles at the two of us.

"He's beautiful. He has your eyes"

"Do you think so?"

I look at my son's smiling face to check. It's the first time someone noticed a thing like that.

"Why, yes. The shape, the color...he took them all from you. Your husband's eyes are smaller in size and a nuance darker than yours and his. Maybe it will be more evident as he grows up"

The idea of sharing something with my son makes me unbelievably happy.

"Do you have children?" I inquiry, taking a seat as Tommaso adjusts in my lap.

"No, no...t yet"

I think I spot a blush forming on her cheeks as she diverts her eyes. Maybe it's a topic that makes her uncomfortable. I'm not surprised in the least that she immediately changes the topic of our conversation.

"I came to return you the book you kindly gave me"

"Did you like it? No, Tommaso, away with that paw" I say, patting my son's hand and placing the book out of his reach on the table.

"Yes, I didn't know this poet"

"He performed last year at court. A pity you missed his reading...but maybe he will come back soon. Duke Alfonso is an admirer of his work and the poet is young, I'm sure we will see and read more of him"

"I'll look forward to it, and I'll tell my friends in Florence about him"

Florence is an ever-fixed thought in her head. She must feel so homesick, poor thing.

"In the meantime, you can focus on the upcoming ball" I suggest chirpily.

"You're quite fond of the masquerade ball, aren't you?"

She sounds amused by my excitement over the ball, but there are no hints of mockery in her voice.

"But of course! How could I not be? It's the main attraction of the whole year at the castle! You'll love it too, I'm sure of it"

"We'll see..." she teases.

"Oh hush, even Venetian guests have gaped in awe through the years" I silence her, giggling but proud. "Speaking of the ball, you must come prepared though! What are you gonna wear?"

Cristina shrugs.

"I haven't decided yet"

"But the ball is just round the corner! It's too late to order a costume!"

"I'll modify a dress I already have then"

I frown at her words.

"That's a risky move...but after all you're new, no one will notice you adapted a dress" I consider. "Cristina, the whole point of the ball is to impress: disappoint the guests and you'll have a miserable time"

"This masquerade certainly sounds thrilling" Cristina laughs but I can tell she's hiding a certain nervousness.

"But I'm here to help you" I smile encouragingly, remembering my plan. "Would you mind...?" I add, gesturing her to help me with Tommaso.

I gently place him into her lap and he makes a cute surprised sound. I search for my sketches in my bedroom then go back to my guest. Tommaso is quiet now and he's brushing a hand on her cheek, adoring.

"It seems my little prince took a liking for you" I smile, sitting next to her.

A hint of pink colours her face when she mirrors my smile and flashes one to my son who cheers and rests his curly head on her shoulder.

"There, I made this for you. If you need inspiration for your costume"

Cristina wraps an arm around my son and takes my sketches in her free hand. She examines them, her eyes wandering over the sheet.

"You...did this for me?"

She's genuinely surprised someone has a kind attention for her...it's sweet and sad at the same time. I regret being rude to her when we first met. I nod.

"They're...gorgeous. Thank you, Emilia"

I like the newfound softness in her eyes as she smiles at me.

"What are you wearing at the ball?" she adds.

"Oh, as if I would tell you now! You'll have to guess...that is, if you can find me. It's a masquerade, no?"

#wlw writing #wlw writing project #wlw miniseries #original work #lgbtqa+#italian renaissance

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erin-bo-berin · 4 years

Note

hi hi, i’m the anon that asked about book recommendations:) i actually read a lot of genres but i think i’m mostly into: - thrillers - (true) crime - mystery - fantasy - drama - coming of age

Oh I’m gonna have fun with this one!

I’ll start with true crime.

True Crime:

I Will Find You by Lt. Joe Kenda. I watch his show on Investigation Discovery and love hearing about his career in homicide and he wrote a book that I really enjoyed.

Anything by Ann Rule honestly. My favorites have been The I-5 Killer and The Stranger Beside Me. The first one is self explanatory but the second is about Ted Bundy (who she actually knew in real life and it’s creepy and shocking at the same time)

Zodiac by Robert Graysmith. This is like THE book on the Zodiac killer. I really enjoyed it.

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara. This one is about the Golden State Killer case, one that I wasn’t initially familiar with when I read it, but she—a regular citizen although one very interested in true crime, along with an online community of like minded peers—worked to solve the case.

Thrillers:

Oh man this is a genre I read A LOT of. I just love thrillers. I have a few authors I pretty much read all of their thrillers they’ve put out—I’ll highlight some of my favorites.

Anything by Riley Sager. I loved his two latest—Lock Every Door and Home Before Dark.

Anything by Ruth Ware. The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Turn Of The Key.

Anything by Lisa Jewell. Then She Was Gone has been my favorite of the two I’ve read from her. I own her more recent ones, just haven’t gotten around to reading them yet.

Anything by Shari Lapena. I loved Someone We Know.

Anything by Peter Swanson. The Kind Worth Killing and Her Every Fear were my favorites.

Anything by Megan Miranda. All The Missing Girls, The Last House Guest and The Safest Lies are the ones I enjoyed the most.

Mystery:

Truly Devious trilogy by Maureen Johnson.

Stalking Jack The Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. (4 books)

The Diviners series by Libba Bray. (4 books)

These are young adult, but they’re some of my favorite recent mystery reads.

Fantasy:

A Court of Thornes and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas (this is classified as YA but it probably should be new adult cause there’s lots of sex scenes lol)

Sorcery of Thornes by Margaret Rogerson. This is a stand-alone fantasy which is something you don’t find too often.

This made me realize I haven’t read as much fantasy as I thought I had in these last few years huh. One of my ultimate favorite fantasy series is the Shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare but there’s so many books I wouldn’t suggest that unless you have the dedication to read 3 completed series within the world with two ongoing series and 1 upcoming one 😂

Coming Of Age:

One that stands out in my mind really is With The Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. I really enjoyed this one.

I hope this all helps!

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buttercup-of-kaer-morhen · 4 years

Text

Of Thorns and Buttercups

~Ch 5/?~

(Beauty and the Beast AU, Kiiiinda. It has definite elements of the original story cause I’m a sap for Fairytale AUs. I hope you enjoy. Also shout out to @sophiakuso1 for being my beta. Here you can find Beginning or Previous) Geralt tries to figure out how to break the curse while battling with his feeling this time.

Note: Lew is pronounced Lef because it is polish just as a heads up.

Primary Tags: Beast! Geralt, Belle! Jaskier, Memory Alteration Via Curse, It really only affects Jaskier right now Also on AO3!

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Geralt sat in the destroyed room that night after dinner, staring at the cage. He was specifically trying to not think about the fact that not only was the bard trapped in the cursed castle with him, but the bard also somehow lost his memory, most likely due to said curse… and it was all Geralt’s fault. The guilt swirling around in his chest was sickening and unwelcome. He just kept dragging the bard down with him. Geralt ran circles through his mind trying to figure out what he should do about the whole damn thing. After a while, he decided that it would be better at that point if he were to just stay away from the man as best as he could. If he did, then Jaskier would slowly realize he was wasting his time on a monster like Geralt, just like on the mountain. Geralt just had to figure out how to get Jaskier past the thorn vines keeping them imprisoned, but the witcher had a sinking feeling that it would require the curse being broken.

Geralt sighed, finally looking away from the silvered metal vines trapping the cluster of buttercups and realized the moon was high in the sky, much further in its journey than when he had fetched the bard to eat. It felt like he was not only losing time, but it also couldn’t move any slower. Watching the clock or trying to solve a problem in his head to pass the time was like watching tree sap drip in winter, but if he got lost in his thoughts, it flew by without him realizing. The memory of the almost completely dead rose and the warning of petals falling had dread creeping up his spine. He had a limit on his time, whether it was choosing to go fast or slow, until who knows what would happen, and it was all very similar to waiting in a dungeon for his own execution. Except this time, he had a bard to drag to his death with him and he had no idea where to even start to try and stop it… Except the weird journal!

He wanted to smack himself for almost forgetting about its existence. He quickly collected the small book again and settled back onto the edge of the bed. He first flipped through, discovering that it was a journal of someone of the castle rather than magical notes or something of actual use, and oddly enough it only had the first few pages written in. Although it was just a journal, it reeked of magic, as did everything else in this place, which irked him a bit. Would nothing be easy?! A magical personal journal was most likely useful, but he didn’t know how yet until he actually read the damn thing. He sighed before settling further into the nest of fabric so he could at least be comfortable while slogging through the first entry that was most likely fraught with exaggerations he’d have to weed through. He did hope that more pages would fill as he read however, because perhaps there were magical inscriptions and spells on later pages… He could only hope.

[The Date is Unreadable]

The years grow long since I came to my lord’s court and was given the honor of my knighthood. We have fought many battles side by side and I have completed every task, be it political or mundane, which he has given me. Although this life leaves me fulfilled, I feel as though I am missing something. I crave the companionship of another outside that of my fellow knights, my lord, and the countries that seem ever present now. Although the ladies I have been introduced to as of late are fine of figure and mind, none fill the hollow feeling that has steadily grown in my chest.

I almost thought all hope was lost when while I was in the village today, I came upon the fairest maiden I had ever laid eyes upon. Her delicate features and poise rivaled that of any woman I have encountered across the lands on my travels. Her timid and delicate disposition only lends to her outward appearance, for as soon as I caught sight of her eyes, I could see the wild freedom that burned within. The fierce look called out to me and it lit my soul ablaze, but before I could make my way to her across the market, she was gone. Now I am haunted by the ethereal grace the lady has left instilled in my mind.

It is not my will to cage or steal away her free spirited nature. I only wish to partake in it with her so I may feel alive like I once did while seeing the world in a new light provided by her fire. I plan to go to my lord upon the sun’s arrival and I will beseech him to help me find her so that I may earn the permission from her family so I may be allowed to court her. I pray this evening for everything to work in favor of us all.

Geralt sighed heavily through his nose as his head fell back against the plush and he looked at the elaborate ceiling above. So far it was exactly what he feared it would be, the over-dramatized tellings of some Knight’s life that reads more like one of those sappy romantic tales Jaskier would constantly rave or sing about rather than an actual succinct telling of events. He couldn’t understand how any of this connected to the curse, but he begrudgingly decided to read on and see where he ended up.

[The Date is Also Unreadable on this Entry]

The leaves on the trees have turned to the colors of fire, and the world looks as though it has been set ablaze. I have only just returned from meeting with a neighboring lord, during which time I have gone nearly half a season without even a name of my lady love. Oh how she still torments my heart day and night with her absence. It is as though she has bewitched me, and I have no hold over my own self at present. My mind is filled almost entirely by her, and my only wish, if I am unable to win her affection, is to formally meet her.

My lord sent word that he would make enquiries on my behalf while I was away and now that I have returned, anticipation steals my breath. My fellow knights jest that I should have followed the path of a bard for how I constantly prattle on at them, waxing poetic of her spirit and sketching her form from memory, as we travel between our destinations. Although I know it is only light fun on their part, I find myself getting sentimental as I ever grow closer to the middle of my life. I wonder deep in the night whether I would have been more suited to another life but, it is quickly dismissed as nonsensical at this stage. My lord has also made mention, as we are good friends, he feels as though we are practically brothers with how much trust he allows me, and he will be glad to hire me as the official court bard if a change of profession ever truly struck my fancy. They all mock kindly but it warms me at my core to know there are those in my life who indulge my whims.

Still, Sir Gregor questions why I will not simply give my heart to one of the many ladies of the court who fancy me, and proclaims me mad in the head for not doing so. I have given up on trying to explain the incredible sensation she has left within me. He will never understand such yearning and passion that has filled me since I took the sight of her in for the first time. I feel pity for the man, but as I rest tonight, I hold hope in my heart for what my lord has to say come morning.

Geralt found reading this to be akin to dying slowly. Plodding through someone’s desperate yearning was the worst torture he has had to endure yet but at least there was something that hinted at magic in this passage. Geralt also observed that several pages were sketches of a beautiful woman with light hair, tawny skin, and dark eyes. He could not tell if the drawings were exaggerated by the knight’s besottment or if the woman could have possibly been fae or magic of some kind, glamoured just enough to hide the obvious parts while maintaining unnatural beauty. It could have explained why the curse magic was so strong and tricky. Magic was tricky in general, but fae magic was notoriously known for being a bitch, and he had been warned off from meddling in their affairs a long time ago for that exact reason… Now, here he was, knee deep in the shit. He’d have to figure it out one way or another. Deciding he’d be better off just reading the damn thing to completion rather than dithering on about what it could be, he turned his attention back to the book.

To his frustration, the rest of the pages remained blank. Unable to hold in his anger from hitting one road block after another, he threw the damned thing across the room with a growl and it landed with a satisfying rustle of paper before sliding somewhere out of sight. Unable to stand laying around anymore, he got up and began pacing through the quarters barely containing his aggravation. He wondered what to do now. That had been his last lead other than the meaningless riddle the beast had given him. He wanted to go out and train so he could take his frustrations out on something, but no, Jaskier was out there thinking he was just some random beast, and Geralt really didn’t want to add to the image his form presented currently. He wanted to break the curse, but he kept hitting wall after wall! He wanted… No. He needed someone to help him fix this entire mess, but there was no way for him to contact anyone other than the man who no longer remembered him. No wolves or powerful witches or plucky bards who glued themselves to Geralt’s side day and night were there to help him this time around.

“Fuck…” The defeated syllable slipped from his lips as he sank to the cold stone floor while holding his face in his hands, the fur feeling strange but increasingly familiar under his touch… Jaskier had called him a beast. Geralt had never thought the bard would ever-- He had been the only one who hadn’t ever called the witcher a monster or recoiled at the sight of him. On the contrary, he would often defend Geralt from villagers who called him vile names, and even went as far as to attack the truly aggressive offenders… But now the Witcher was a beast with no name. The bard’s voice uttering the word kept repeating over and over again in his head. Geralt only had himself to blame. If he hadn’t yelled, if Jaskier had still been by his side, then maybe the troubadour would have never lost his memories.

He had been so caught up in his own spiraling thoughts, Geralt almost didn’t notice the other voice suddenly filling the room. “Oi! Mopin’ about are we?” The warbled feminine voice cleaved through the once silent space but it came from seemingly nowhere as he scanned the area. Getting up, he searched as the squawking continued up until the point he came into view of a fractured mirror that had been hidden behind a moth eaten drape. As he looked in confusion at the mirror, due to the fact that the reflection was certainly not his own, the visage of the old hag from the town moaned in disappointment and shook her head at him from behind the reflective silver backed surface. “You fool Witcher! I-- I sent you to break the curse, not become cursed yourself, you nitwit!” She scolded with an exhausting scowl. If she were in her youth, he was sure she would remind him of Yen in some ways.

He couldn’t help growling in frustration as he met her steely scowl with his own. “How was I expected to break a curse you refused to give me proper information on?! And you seem to still have some magic, so why not do it yourself if you knew how to?!” He tried to keep himself from snarling at the hag, but she was infuriating and the worry, as well as the earlier frustrations, were just compiling together.

She took a moment to settle herself before sighing and gathering her thoughts, he assumed. In a calmer tone, she spoke again. “I cannot tell you about the curse in depth… Only pieces, and I cannot go there like yourself.” Her voice slowly became graver as she spoke and looked him directly in the eye. No lie then…

He grit his teeth before saying anything else, more civilly as Jaskier would have called it. “Why?”

“I just can’t… but I can help you as best as I can. This ain’t your curse, but you’re stuck with it--” It suddenly occurred to him that her accent was different from when they had met in her old shack which was… Odd.

“I know. I’m the making of my own curse. The beast said it before he died. Also, why do you sound different now?” He interrupted her as his annoyance rose again.

“Shut it, you daft tit! Don’t interrupt me when I’m trying to help!” She spat at him, shaking a frail fist at him from behind the glass while once again scowling at him. Then after a beat, she continued. “Came to these lands years ago from far off and regretted it. Folks don’t take kindly to those different, so I glamoured my voice.” She clarified with an eye roll. Yup. Definitely Yen if she were to ever age.

He chewed over the words as he felt some of the tension seep away. “Fair… So what can you tell me that will actually be useful?” He asked, sagging slightly, the memory of Jaskier looking at him in fear and no recognition was still a fresh would in his mind.

“Hmmmmm… Though the curse is harsh, it’s not cruel. Born of grief it was…” The hag looked as though she were fighting her own mouth before she sighed once again. “Although it imprisons, it’ll give you everythin’ you need to break the curse. Don’t be a fool. If anythin’ appears there, then it’s for a reason. Make use of it or dither till you die in a prison of your own design. Only you can figure why you’re cursed.” She spoke critically but at least it was something useful to which he nodded in thanks thinking that her image would fade then. “Witcher! If you’re in dire straits, knock thrice on the looking glass and think o’ where you wanna see, or to whom you wish to speak. Only I’ll be able to answer back, however.” She offered hastily and after he nodded again, she was gone in a blink of an eye. The mirror now only held his own beastly reflection.

He mulled over the words, realizing the night had grown long after that disaster of a dinner and it was now the witching hour; If he didn’t try to sleep now, then he would be tired and upset the next day, and he really didn’t need himself snapping at the bard again in misplaced irritation. So, he laid in the shredded nest of a bed and thought more on Jaskier. If he was brought here for a reason, then why steal his memories? And why would Geralt ever curse himself? Perhaps the magic was twisting a subconscious thought from the back of Geralt’s mind into something strange and problematic. But still, why the bard of all people? He drifted into an uneasy sleep thinking about all the new information.

When he woke, the world was bright outside the crystalline windows, and there was a fuzziness to the world that followed waking from a deep sleep. The room was better around him, healed of the scars of broken and shattered furniture. He supposed this had been what the hag had spoken of; the keep was providing things slowly. He moved through the morning muzzy headed, letting his body rely on muscle memory as he went through several tasks of morning preparation. His head was clearer by the time he visited Roach in the stables where she waited patiently to be tended to and given exercise. He saddled her and checked it twice over before seating himself in the saddle… which was odd, seeing as he was so much bigger now that he was cursed, but she made no indication that he was too heavy or bothersome. The fogginess was back and his concerns evaporated as he rode out into the fiery forest. The foliage in hues of red and orange rushed past as he went further and further, nearing the small hidden lake between the castle and the town. Its waters shone gold as though the water were a dragon’s hoard of coin and riches in the early hours, but the beauty of it could not compare to the figure standing at it’s banks.

Geralt barely remembered getting down from Roach or silently moving forward to observe the figure more closely, but then his mind cleared again and realization washed over him that the figure was in fact Jaskier. The bard was peacefully gazing out at the calm waters, but he wore odd clothing that Geralt swore he had never seen him in before. Instead of his usually short doublet, he wore a well fitted jacket of some sort that trailed all the way to the floor in the back and the front, but had slits up to the hips to show his well fitted trousers and tall boots. A part of it irked Geralt to no end, because it looked good, but strange and unlike the man at the same time. It was all reminiscent of a dress yet not. It was almost a coat he could imagine Yen wearing, but the garments were a soft blue trimmed in accents of red. It was a nostalgic reminder of Jaskier’s outfit from when they first met.

The situation was so bizarre that Geralt wanted to question what was happening but before he could think, his body took an unconscious step forward snapping a twig under his heel. Jaskier’s coat whirled around him as he spun and caught sight of him, but there was no fear in his eyes, only confusion and curiosity. “Apologies my lady, I did not mean to frighten you. I was merely curious when I spotted a figure as I rode passed. Are you all right?” What the fuck was that? Geralt understood that it was his voice that spoke but the words were not his own. Icy understanding filled his gut and he knew now that this obviously had something to do with magic.

“Very kind of you sir. I was just wanting to enjoy the still beauty of the morning and happened upon this lake.” Jaskier smiled brilliantly at him, his voice sounding exactly how Geralt remembered but there was an edge to it that sounded off. Unnatural. This was definitely not Jaskier.

“I… I’ve seen you in the town but I’ve never had the pleasure to meet your acquaintance in person. I hoped to speak with you, if not just hear your name. I am Lew.” Geralt introduced himself with a foreign name. That was definitely not his name, and he hated how it felt coming out of his mouth, but he seemed to have no control over himself. With dawning horror, Geralt now understood that this was someone else's memories that he was now occupying. It could have been Jaskiers, or someone else from the castle, or even the writer of the journal. Geralt couldn’t be sure yet, and the bard couldn’t be ruled out immediately since the witcher realized he knew practically nothing of Jaskier’s past… It just kept getting messier and messier as he was dragged further into the spell. Whoever wove the threads of this magic somehow got it completely tangled into a ball of shit.

“Ania. I have only come to live here a year or so ago, which is why we most likely have yet to meet formally.” Jaskier spoke in an amused tone, but Geralt was pretty damn sure that was not his bard’s real name. It was Jaskier. Maybe it wasn’t the bard’s memories after all. Geralt was going to have a difficult time remembering this was not actually the bard himself then but only the spell filling in a face with someone he knew. It was already getting so confusing in his mind, so Geralt decided to just keep using the name attached to the face he knew instead of using the ones he’d heard. Deciding it wouldn’t do much good to fight the memory, he settled in and let everything happen around him. The troubadour looked so much softer now than when they were ever on the road though. It made something in his chest flutter, but he was unsure if it was actually him or the owner of the memory feeling it.

The witcher found himself wanting to say more, ask more about Jaskier, but the words had left him and his mouth refused to work. It felt like it was his only chance and it was fleeting right before his eyes. The strange visage of the bard suddenly looked off into the distance behind himself before returning a sheepish look to Geralt. “I… I have to go.” His voice was hesitant as Geralt slowly reached a hand out to the man, as if not wanting the bard to leave, but still unable to find the words. Jaskier smiled gently, before biting his lower lip as though he were trying to decide something. The witcher didn’t understand why he was paying such close attention to everything Jaskier did but he was. “I hope our paths cross again, Lew.” And with that, the man fled into the forest with his jacket fluttering behind him. Geralt would have followed, curious as to if this person was human or not and get answers, but it would appear that the original “Lew” had been frozen with indecision in that moment. His heart raced, which felt strange to Geralt, but then things melted away and the Witcher was once again opening his eyes to the sunlight streaming through the windows. This time however, the room was still destroyed and the light was the cold shine of a winter morning. Geralt found himself staring up at the ceiling in complete bafflement, unable to really understand what the curse could have possibly thought he’d glean from that experience. He sat up in a huff and couldn’t help the puff of agitated words that slipped out of his throat. “What the fuck…” Then he was out of the chambers and headed for the stables to tend to Roach. If anything calmed him down and helped him to organize his thoughts, it was quality time with the mare.

#geraskier #Witcher #the witcher #witcher netflix #fanfic #geralt x jaskier #gerlion #Beauty and the Beast AU #beast!geralt #Buttercup's Writings

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faerytalesfromtheabyss · 5 years

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Faerie Books For “Folk of the Air” Withdrawals

In my opinion, Holly Black is the gold standard for faerie books. She writes faeries in a way that draws on folklore, yet makes sense in the common day. She has concrete rules that her faeries never break (eg. aversion to salt and iron, their magic can’t work against charms, they can deceive but can’t lie, etc.) Faeries seem different than humans and we are constantly reminded that they are alien creatures (Eg. Performing monstrosities, their morality, the way they speak)

When faeries use magic it seems so natural to the universe Black has created that it doesn’t really feel like magic. The one time someone uses a spectacular display of magic that could be perceived as overpowered (at the end of The Wicked King), it’s someone coming into his powers and truly accepting his role as a king.

I’ve already written a pretty extensive post about the other books in Holly Black’s faerie universe (Modern Faerie Tale Series, Darkest Part of the Forest, Spiderwick, etc). Check that out if you’re looking for more Holly Black books and want to learn about my suggested reading order.

Under the cut, I’ll talk about other YA faerie books and some resources if you want to learn more about faerie folklore. You should also take into account that I’m super picky about books. Even though I gave a lot of them low ratings, I don’t regret reading any of them. I’m just overly critical, and there are specific trends and tropes that really bug me. Definitely look on Goodreads for a more detailed summaries and other reviews.

Let’s address some of the most popular faerie books first:

The Dark Artifices by: Cassandra Clare

If you like Holly Black, you’ll probably like (and probably already know) Cassandra Clare. They both write urban fantasy and they're both part of the same writing group. They even went on tour together.

The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices have faeries in them, but faeries don’t become a central point in the Shadowhunter universe until The Dark Artifices.

I’m still slowly trekking my way through Mortal Instruments Part II so I haven’t gotten to The Dark Artifices yet. And since events that happen in Mortal Instruments directly affect the characters in Dark Artifices, you can’t really skip directly to this series.

Throne of Glass by: Sarah J. Maas

I honestly can’t address the faeries in this series because I’ve only read the first 3 books, but I assume they’re going to be pretty similar to the fae in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Luckily, I heard this series picks up in book 4, so we’ll see. I honestly haven’t been very impressed with the first three books.

Okay, so here are some books I can give actually give insight into:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by: Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses (3/5 Stars)

A Court of Mist and Fury (5/5 Stars)

A Court of Mist and Fury (4/5 Stars)

A Court of Frost and Starlight 2/5 (Honestly, there was no plot in this novella)

This talking point doesn’t have to do with faeries, but it’s something I think people should be aware of before picking up this series:

There are a lot of issues with consent (or more accurately, the lack there of) in A Court of Thorns and Roses. I don’t want to go into that here so I’ll link to a Mostly YA Lit blog post that points out the issues I have with the first book. I think A Court of Mist and Fury started to broach the issues of consent in ACOTAR, but it didn’t explore this topic as thoroughly as I would have liked.

Personally, I wouldn’t call this a good faerie series. Most of the faeries act far too much like humans. So much so, that I sometimes forget that they’re fae. They just act like humans with super powers. Folk lore elements—like faeries not being able to lie and aversion to iron—are thrown right out the window. All the characters (especially in the later books) are way overpowered. For you writers out there, this book is a good example of how to not employ a soft magic system.

While I wouldn’t call this a good faerie series, I would still call this an alright series. A lot of people love this series.

SMJ’s strongest skills are writing characters and exploring characters’ emotions. Although I a ton of issues with this series, I would be lying if I didn’t say that A Court of Mist and Fury is one of the best YA fantasy books to explore PTSD, pain, and healing.

The Scorpio Races: by Maggie Stiefvater (5/5 Stars)

Unlike the other books on this list, this book doesn’t focus on faery courts. The Scorpio Races focuses on one very specific type of faery, the eich uisce, a type of man-eating water horse from Celtic folklore. Every year on the island of Thisby, people capture and train these water horses in order to race them.

Like Holly Black’s books, Stiefvater incorporates folklore but adds her own twist. She’s very consistent with the magic rules she sets on water horses. (Eg. Bells and red ribbons can calm them, they have an aversion to iron, etc)

Now some less popular faerie books: An Enchantment of Ravens: (3/5 Stars)

This book takes place in a fantasy world with humans and faeries.

Here’s the downside: The heroine and love interest are very typical YA characters. (It was written in 2017, but it feels like it was written in 2007). There really isn’t anything unique about the main charters, and they didn’t have much chemistry.

Now, here’s the good stuff: The book has a very interesting interpretation of faeries. If faeries try to make anything (even cook), they will start to crumble away and die. The faeries find humans valuable because humans are able to make crafts. Humans can become fae... at a price—they have to give up their art. One of the interesting things though is that the heroine, an artist, is opposed to becoming immortal because she would have to give up her art.

The Wicked Lovely Series: Melissa Marr

Wicked Lovely 2/5

Ink Exchange 3/5

The Wicked Lovely Series is an urban fantasy series where the fae live invisible among humans.

The first book is very preachy at some points. And there’s a disconnect between the feminist values that the author attempts to display and what is actually in the story (how the characters behave, the plot, etc). Also, the author breaks the rules she sets up in her universe. (Eg. Faeries aren’t supposed to be able to go near iron… Oh wait, the strong ones can. Oh wait, it looks like pretty much all of them can with little affect.) Both books have issues with consent and women being controlled by fae.

Why do I continue to read this series? I like the world Marr created. It’s dark and intriguing so many authors forget the manevolent nature of faeries. Marr also has an interesting interpretation of how fae would live in cities. It reminds me a bit of Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tale series. Also, I like that the endings of these books are different than most YA. To avoid spoilers, I’ll say there’s some subverting of tropes.

Wintersong by: S. Jae-Jones (2/5 Stars)

Wintersong takes place somewhere in Austria or Germany during the late 1700s. It’s like a combination of Pan’s Labyrinth, the poem Goblin Market, alderking folklore, and some Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone thrown in.

One of the things I like about this book is that the main character is ugly and that never changes. Seriously, YA has too many jaw-droopingly-beautiful heroines. Being pretty has nothing to do with your value as a person. Can I please have some average or ugly heroines with good self esteem or that achieve good self esteem?

The goblins and their home are dark and twisted ( think Under the Mountain if you like SJM or unseelie court or )

While the writing is beautiful, this book is riddled with plot holes and things that don’t add up. The first half of the book is great and has to do with the main character saving her sister from the Goblin King/Alderking. Then it drifts off into never-never land. The plot diminishes. You can also tell that this book was originally going to be written for adults and was changed (seemingly at the last minute) to YA.

Also, there’s a lot of weird issues about sex. The main character is fixated on the idea that having sex will make her a woman. Also, it has that shitty misconception about women bleeding when they have sex for the first time. No, that shouldn’t happen. Fantasy books (especially YA which is aimed at young women) need to get rid of that trope. There’s also some shit that the heroine will die if she has sex with the Goblin King too often because it draws on her life-force or some shit.

Seriously, why is sex handled so poorly in so many of these books? How hard is it to have consensual sex that is handled normally. Hint: It’s not!

I would like to take a moment to thank Holly Black for writing Jude as a character (and even Taryn) with agency in her sex life.

The Iron Fey Series by: Julie Kagawa

I’m currently reading the first book in this series. Let me tell you, it feels very circa 2010 YA. A half-human-half-faerie girl goes to a magical land to save her brother from faeries. It leans a lot on characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Resources for Learning More About Faery Folklore

Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee

This is a really good, quick resource if you want to take a crash course in faerie lore. (Eg. Common types of fae, charms and protections against fae, the courts, faerie hills, etc)

An Encyclopedia of Fairies by: Katharine Briggs

If you want to know anything about the faeries of Ireland and the British isles, you can find it in this book. There’s a lot of fun stories about different fae, too.

Abbey Lubbers, Banshees, & Boggarts by: Katharine Briggs

If you find Briggs’s other book overwhelming, try this one. It’s a lot of the same information but more condensed.

The Lore Podcast by: Aaron Mahnke

This podcast talks about folklore and everything paranormal (from ghosts and clairvoyants to vampires and werewolves). I recommend the entire podcast but here are a few episodes with information about faeries:

Episode 5: "Under Construction”— Folklore about the huldufolk (elves) of Iceland

Episode 11: ”Black Stockings”— Folklore about changelings. I’m going to warn you, this episode is very done but very, very sad

Episode 14: "The Others” — Folklore about “little people” in various cultures, including púcas (one of my favorite fae)

Some YA Faerie Books I have on my TBR:

White Stag by: Kara Barbieri

The Perilous Gard by: Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Folk Keeper by: Franny Billingsley

The Goblin Emperor: Katherine Addison

Glimmerglass by: Jenna Black

Wings by: Aprilynne Pike

Bitter Frost by: Kailin Gow

Tam Lin by: Pamela Dean

Fablehaven by: Brandon Mull

That was a long post, so I thank you for taking the time to read it! Please reblog and add your favorite faerie books (especially if they’re similar to Holly Black’s books)! And feel free to DM me or slip a message in my ask box if you have any questions or want book recs.

Hopefully something on this list will hold us over until Queen of Nothing comes out!

#the cruel prince #the wicked king #tcp #twk #the folk of the air #folk of the air #Darkest part of the forest #modern faerie tale #tithe #ironside #faery #faery books #book recs

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mneiai · 5 years

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So recently I read the two books out for The Folk of the Air and also the whole Throne of Glass series.

Here’s my quick review type things of each, with some vague spoilers (like mostly what you could figure out by reading the book descriptions) (also wow the descriptions of the Throne of Glass books are actually super spoiler-y lol). These are my personal thoughts and feelings.

The Folk of the Air (The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King) is really good. Way more time spent on faery stuff because, well, it’s almost entirely set in their world. Some child abuse and a shit ton of bullying, and torture, murder, sexual assault, and stuff like that. It can be a bit much at some points, ngl.

The main character is a girl who was taken from the human world and raised by the dude who killed her parents, along with her two sisters. She’s very isolated, both because she can’t really trust even her own family and because she’s a human, and therefore faces a ton of prejudice. But she manages to get power through wits, daring, and an unyielding need to survive (the world itself is dangerous for her, let alone the people in it, but she doesn’t feel like she has a place in the human world). Basically the one power she has as a human is that she can lie and she uses that to its full potential as much as she can.

The main romance is incredibly slow burn and very interesting imo. A sort of enemies to reluctant allies deal that’s fun to watch unfold and has a ton of foreshadowing. It’s a very faery-esque type of relationship, so involves trickery and betrayal and whatnot, which fits perfectly into that world.

The main other relationships are...not many. The main character basically has her complicated relationships with her family, a few allies who become friends in some regard, and then a massive amount of enemies. But each relationship is very unique, so I never had any confusion over who did what or who is what, etc.

The representation in the book is fairly good. The main character (and her twin sister) is Latinx, her older sister is a lesbian who is in a romantic relationship, there’s a fair amount of at least vague references to other people being some sort of queer, as well, including the last King.

I think one of my favorite parts of the books is that the main character is the protagonist, but we know she’s not really a hero. That no one in the books is really a good person. So we want her to get what she wants, but we aren’t being forced to think everything she does is morally good.

The third book comes out in November and I am so excited. The last ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger and I’ve read the released early chapters of this next one and already I can see what I think might be foreshadowing for some very cool shit.

Throne of Glass is by the same woman who wrote Court of Thorns and Roses which I found mindnumbingly dull, but this is much better. However, it has all the dark fantasy stuff, and also it gets like disturbingly anti-choice in the last two books. It also builds into being super, like, cissexist with some weird masculinity worship as the books go on, which I think may coincide with an increase in smut.

The main character is of that standard romance-fantasy Chosen One trope where they were The Best Ever at their skill (assassination) when they were a teenager and they’re The Most Powerful Ever basically after that. There’s a lot of “ooh, our main character just outsmarted everyone!” with a tell instead of show explanation for how they did it which started to wear on me, especially in the last book. Like the foreshadowing will be “she sent a letter!” which like...that’s not actually how foreshadowing is supposed to work lol

The main romance starts out as a love triangle between our heroine and two best friends. And then eventually that’s not a thing and she’s with some other dude. Who is...I don’t think half as hot as we’re supposed to find him? At least not for me. Their relationship also starts off with a lot of violence/threats of violence between them that isn’t actually necessary (like they could have started off cordial and it would have made no difference to the plot, unlike in The Folk of the Air where them being enemies was a major plot point). The other romances are way better, though, and somewhat make up for it.

The main other relationships are very good, much better than the main romance, and include a ton of really meaningful friendships and building a found family.

The representation in the books is kinda blah at first. We’re told a few of the more main characters are bisexual, but are never shown that and they all end up in het-looking relationships (over and over again) so bi/homophobic readers can largely ignore it. Most of the characters are written in a way to make them seem white if the readers want that, even if they don’t necessarily have to be, and the first character who definitely is not is fridged for a white person (like basically a major part of the entire series kicks off because this person gets fridged). I think it’s the fourth or fifth where they first introduce a definitely gay character who has definitely been in a gay relationship, who is a bitter, awful old man who fucks over our heroine a bunch. The sixth book has a new part of the world with a bunch of new characters who are definitely not white, but there’s like some exoticism and bullshit like that around them (and that’s also where the disturbing pro-fetus stuff starts, so, like, weird trade-off).

My favorite parts of these books is the world building and the supporting cast, for sure. The mythology that’s been built up is fairly cool, even with the derivative parts (omg, they use a term that GRRM literally made up for ASOIAF at one point and my secondhand embarrassment is huge lol). The main character I stop caring about so much like halfway through, but a lot of the other characters, including new ones that are introduced later in the series, are super interesting. And we get their POVs, because the books slowly start doing less and less of the main character’s POV as they go on (the sixth book doesn’t even have her in it).

The ending was just shades off of Harry Potter epilogue bad and way too neat and happy for me, but that’s what fanfic is for lol I’m skimming some of the books now just for that purpose.

#personal recs #the folk of the air #throne of glass

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epicfics · 5 years

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She’s Back: New Works & WTFs

Hi friends!

So I put my novel on hold for a while - I can only finish one project at a time and surprise! I’m working on a scripted series with an independent production company. The guy in charge has pretty much given me free reign and creative control, on the condition that we’ll be ready to cast and film by February. This approaching deadline is stressing me out slightly - I mean it was my idea. It’s a musical program, and it turned out to be too pricey to hire actual musicians and composers, so I’ve got like six weeks to figure out how to Lin-Manuel Miranda the shit out of it.

Meanwhile, I neglect dumblr for a month or two in favor of this project and it decides to evaporate the iOs app, and yes I’ve been using this site mainly through my iPhone. This is ridiculous af. No way am I going to look through every thing I’ve ever posted to make sure it’s all Disney-fied.

Anyways, the musical. Something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s based off my first story, started over sixteen years ago. Fresh from seeing Lord of the Rings, I really really wanted to create an epic fantasy. The Hadrilian Chronicles is a story about a kingdom that banished a race of people that were begifted elemental powers from a fallen star. Their magic comes to life with Music, which has become a sort of religion to them - they sing, their broken pieces or the star absorb the magic, and then they can control the air, water, etc.

Here’s a bit of the rough pilot:

“OVERTURE”

Fade In:

Carly’s Bedroom

DREW is tucking his five year old daughter Carly into a bed of ruffled pink sheets. Around the child are stuffed toys and fairy tale books.

DREW

Alright. Sweet dreams, Rapunzel.

CARLY

I don’t wanna be Rapunzel.

DREW

But we just read about her. And I always get to call you the -

CARLY

Can I be a new princess, Daddy?

DREW

And which princess would Carly like to be?

CARLY

What about the princess from Mommy’s book?

DREW

Hmm, I’m not sure Mommy wants you to even read her books.

CARLY

How come?

DREW

It’s not a fun story. Your mom says Princess Shauna doesn’t get a happy ending.

CARLY

Just read the beginning, please?

DREW

The Hadrilian Chronicles. First Chapter, Overture. In a land where a splash of sun kissed green valleys -

Pauses, picks up his guitar and begins to play and sing.

(OVERTURE)

In a land, where a splash of sun kissed green valleys til the day was done

And the moon graced a cloak of stars over a people very much like ours.

Then fell one. The legend of one fallen star, cast out of the heavens from afar;

So bright, so fast, it tore the valley apart

As the people gathered round, they heard an ethereal sound

A voice singing; a glowing woman bringing a message to all

“I am a Muse for The Song,” she said

“See this star that still burns, it isn’t dead. And you are all now blessed. This rock before you is a gift.”

She said, “Love, live in peace, pray with music. Its power shall take care of the rest.”

This was how the Jians were born

The Song gave them magic from the earth.

But the king of Hadrilia began to spread hate like thorns.

He thought, What would happen to my line if the Jians wanted what was mine?

He wanted to drive them away, but first to go turned out to be the little girl he’d raised.

Her name was Shauna, and she never smiled

the whole ten years while she was a princess of the court.

She was cursed even before prophecy called her so…the Ender.

When under a night without stars,

the real threat revealed itself to be The Silence.

Adversary of The Song, killed all Music and its power

Wanted nothing but for its messenger

A Reaper, to steal the souls of The Song’s servants

For purposes unknown.

It’s okay, Carly

Let’s skip to the ending.

Before the Jians could be harmed, the princess found out, was alarmed.

She took them away, to a place without bad kings or Reapers.

They could sing and stay keepers of the ways of the Song.

CARLY

What happens to Shauna?

DREW

Happily ever after.

CARLY

I’ll ask Mommy to write one for her.

DREW

Okay. Goodnight, Princess Shauna.

switches off ceiling lights, turns on night light

transitions to DREW at a nightclub, playing for a half empty bar,

(NEVER HOME)

DREW

There’s something in the air

An aching thirst

It reminds me

Of why I’m never home

Pick your poison

Just know a pair

Of wide blue eyes will see

And you’ll have to choose

Whether you or she

Has the nightmare tonight

Could you really kill her light?

Never go home

cuts to BRODY at his apartment, opening a letter.

BRODY

My son, I’m just writing to say

You’re nearing your final day

Use what’s left of your time

To save our kind

There’s frost in the air out there

Always a sky, no matter where

I may be cursed to live here

But I don’t wanna die

Oh the death-black night is waiting

To take me to the unknown

Some texts are better left on the shelf

Cheap fairy tales, don’t even bother

Trash the letters from a bailing father

I was an orphan before he vanished

I was homeless before I was banished

And now the death-black night is waiting for me

But not go anywhere I know

Not that it hardly matters

Because I was never home

outside the apartment SHAUNA is watching.

SHAUNA

I can taste the tears in the air

Will the sky cry first, or will I?

I may be cursed to live out here

But to live I must try

Whether or not I believe in destiny

It still calls, waiting

But what can I do

When the beginning is you

And the ending is me

The Ender is coming for the throne

Or else I’m never going home

DREW

Are the sins of the father taught

Or are they in the blood?

Can redemption be bought

Or is it up to God?

cut to TAM in a field under the stars

TAM

Oh, what has gone wrong?

I pray to The Song

Haven’t I don’t all that is needed?

Why haven’t you heeded

Or helped me with my quest?

Why where we sent here?

What’s happened in Hadrilia?

How can we go back?

Oh how can we go back?

Why are we not welcome –

DREW/BRODY/SHAUNA/TAM

Home

DREW

The sins of the father

BRODY

The curse of the son

SHAUNA

Destiny of the daughter

TAM

The will of The Song

DREW/BRODY/SHAUNA/TAM

Every time I wonder from where so much pain can come

My past provides no answer

DREW

Because I’m never

BRODY

Because I never had a

SHAUNA

Because I’m never going

TAM

Home!

#@epicfics #musical #coming soon!#opening scenes #in production

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camryndaytona · 4 years

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Books with Queer Happiness

Since today marks the last day of Pride Month, I thought it might be fitting to share a list of LGBT books that have happy endings.

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on September 8, 2015 Pages: 352

Seventeen-year-old Aidan Lockwood lives in the sleepy farming community of Temperance, Ohio—known for its cattle ranches and not much else. That is until Jarrod, a friend he hasn't seen in five years, moves back to town and opens Aidan's eyes in startling ways: to Aidan's ability to see the spirit world; to the red-bearded specter of Death; to a family curse that has claimed the lives of the Lockwood men one by one…and to the new feelings he has developed for Jarrod.