#also the vagueness with WHEN amarantha started being interested in him

[elentiyawhitethorn]

The Bet | Chapter Thirty-One

Andromache’s POV of this chapter here

Masterlist//Timeline//3134 words

Day 89

Feyre didn’t know what she had been expecting. After all, she had told her insane story to a mere local news reporter in a hospital waiting room. She hadn’t been preparing for a crowd of people gathering to listen or dozens of reporters at her door the next day. Still, some recognition would have been nice, as that was the whole point of sharing what had happened in the first place.

All she got was the attention of an elderly man in a wheelchair spooning out some green jello and an Asian couple that wandered over, only to keep glancing at their cell phones and sighing. Looking for some form of amusement in their boredom, most likely, and the only interesting thing in sight was a loon yelling at a reporter.

Feyre refused to be disappointed. If no one picked up on her story, then she would tell it again. And again. However many times it took until people started believing her and Tamlin was ruined.

Laying in bed the morning after, she thought back on the events of last night.

Feyre had told the reporter everything. Meeting Tamlin. Falling for him. His mental abuse. Trying to leave and being knocked out and locked up. Escaping. She’d made sure to add a few details here and there that only someone close to Tamlin would know, to add credibility to her story.

And then Feyre had described his appearance at her gallery opening, and Ianthe’s in the alleyway. The threats, Dr. Suriel’s murder, and finally, her hospitalization. Not to mention the lack of the flash drive containing their evidence.

She’d finished, and the reporter had looked mildly interested, but also conflicted. Just before she could turn off the camera and say Feyre wouldn’t be making any headlines, something very unexpected had happened.

Lucien had walked over.

He talked about Jesminda and what his family had done to her. How Tamlin had taken him in, and then spent the next few years treating him like shit. Lucien had detailed his account of Feyre’s presence and added his agreement to every claim she had made. He had also made a few claims of his own: claims of illegal activity in the company, such as tax fraud and shady dealings.

And then Mor. She’d verified getting the call from Feyre and added her own take on Tamlin’s ambush at the gallery.

Cassian had nothing to add, because he hadn’t actually been present for any of the events and any input would be mere speculation. So instead of continuing the allegations, he’d simply put his hand on Feyre’s back soothingly.

To Feyre’s eternal surprise, Rhys had started speaking next. His wounds were the deepest and his past the most painful, and Feyre never would have expected nor wanted him to make it public.

She’d tried to tell him he didn’t have to, but Rhys had only given her a sad smile and faced the camera once more. And, while keeping some of the worse aspects of his time with Amarantha vague, he had come clean about everything, as Feyre and Lucien had.

It had been like in some wacky soap opera when the main character gets a bunch of dramatic, unrealistic support from the friends on national television. Except this wasn’t national television. There had been applause when they finished, however; the old man set down his jello and clapped. It didn’t do much for moral to think he probably assumed they were actors trying to cheer up patients or something.

Once they were all done, the reporter had shut off the camera and said, “I’ll have to fact check before this goes anywhere.” Then she’d spun on her heel and left.

Feeling grossly inconsequential after the apparent dismissal, Feyre had suggested they all go home for the night.

Sensing her disappointment, Rhys had pulled her to the side while the others looked the other way as if they weren’t straining their ears to listen. Busybodies.

“It might work, Feyre.”

“She thinks we’re crazy.”

Rhys’ lips quirked. “Well I must admit, we surely sound the part. But really, Feyre, even if this goes nowhere… at least you’ll have some form of piece of mind in the fact that you didn’t give up. You did a very brave thing just now.”

“Me? Rhys, you didn’t need to…” Feyre trailed off.

“But I wanted to. You look tired. We should go.”

The abrupt change in subject was commonplace with Rhys, and Feyre accepted his desire to end the conversation with a nod.

Then the group had dispersed, Rhys and Cassian back to the townhouse in their car; Mor, Lucien, and Feyre to the apartment in Mor’s.

Feyre had thought it would be difficult to sleep, as was usual for her, but she drifted off quickly, still tired from the incident that had put her in the hospital.

Now it was the next morning, and Feyre was dreading the thought of getting out of bed.

Reluctantly, Feyre groaned and slid out of the sheets, nearly falling on the floor. What a week. Hell, what a year.

The smell of bacon had Feyre scrambling up, pulling on sweatpants over her underwear, and deciding her tank top was decent enough.

She opened the door and made her way down the hall, stopping quickly in the bathroom on the way there. By the time she reached the kitchen, the scent of bacon had taken over the apartment and Feyre was just about drooling.

“Fey!” Mor squealed when Feyre came in. Her tireless enthusiasm never failed to cheer Feyre up.

She smiled. At some point in time, her forced grimaces had turned into real, thoughtlessly brought about grins. This was extremely encouraging.

“Hey, Mor. Bacon almost ready?”

Mor whacked Feyre with the back of her hand. “That’s the first thing you say? Ungrateful bitch.”

Feyre grinned as a voice from the living room called, “She said ‘hey’ first, actually.”

“Semantics,” Mor grumbles, turning her attention back to the food.

“I’m sparring with Cassian soon. Try to make it snappy,” Feyre said, just to annoy Mor further.

Mor just threw a towel her. “Hooligans!”

Laughing, Feyre left the room and took a seat next to Lucien on the couch. “What are you looking at?”

Her tone was casual, but from the shady look Lucien gave her as she entered the room and the way he tried to subtly turn his laptop screen away from her line of sight, she was interested in what exactly he was doing.

“Just… ah… checking the channel of that reporter lady.”

Feyre raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected an answer that easily, and from the unsteady tone of his voice, she knew he was lying. “Oh, really? Anything about last night posted?”

“What? Oh, not that I know of. I mean no. There isn’t.” Lucien scooted his laptop farther.

Feyre dropped on the couch and stuck her head over to view the screen. With anyone else, she would have considered this rude, but Lucien was like a brother to her. She was allowed to be annoying and nosy at times.

Feyre only managed to catch a small glimpse of the screen before Lucien spun his laptop sideways, but it was enough to make Feyre gasp.

“Lucien Vanserra, are you and Azriel sexting?”

His blush confirmed it, and Feyre burst into laughter.

A startled squeal from the other room sounded. “Is he really? With my dear Az? He’s corrupted my bestie!”

Feyre just laughed harder and Lucien muttered something about Azriel starting it.

“Lies! Slander! He would never,” Mor exclaimed, coming in with a plate of bacon. “Azriel is the sweetest little man you ever did see.”

Lucien snorted. “There are many words I can think of the describe that man, and sweet is not one of them.”

Feyre giggled and Mor made a face. “I don’t want any part in this conversation.”

Feyre snatched a piece of bacon off the plate and munched on it happily. She knew how to cook the basics, and she’d made bacon plenty of times before, but Mor could somehow make even the simplest foods better. Living with a chef was a type of heaven Feyre had never anticipated needing.

“Andi’s coming back today. She thought I should let you know.”

“Great. How’s Weaver doing?” Feyre asked anxiously.

“A bit better, I think. She seems to have come to terms with Dr. Suriel’s death, or so Andi says,” Mor replied.

Feyre was glad to hear both that Weaver was improving and Andromache was returning. Mor had only had just over a week with her before the incident, and Feyre was longing to see the smile that Andi had caused return to Mor’s face.

They all finished off the bacon and Feyre grabbed her bag. Then she headed to the gym.

-

Cassian had asked her yesterday at the hospital if she was up to training today, and after doing absolutely nothing to defend herself from an attacker the day prior, she had given him an eager yes.

Now he was waiting for her at the front desk, chatting with Nuala, one of the two receptionists that alternated. Feyre had been confused shitless when, after weeks of thinking she was talking to Cerridwen (who she had initially been introduced to) every time, she saw the two of them together.

“Twins,” one of them - which, Feyre wasn’t sure - had said in response to her expression. Feyre was mortified but they seemed amused and used to the confusion.

For the longest time after that, Feyre had tried to find a difference between them. They’d eventually taken pity on her and pointed out a small and faint, but still noticeable, birthmark just below Nuala’s left ear.

This is the first thing she noticed today, and she greeted the woman, along with Cassian.

Cassian, who couldn’t believe that they had revealed their secret difference to Feyre. Apparently they’d let him make a fool of himself for years before telling him about the birthmark, that for some reason, you could only see if you were actively looking for it. To which they had replied by saying Nuala could just let her hair down to cover the mark and if they wanted to mess with Feyre. They were a lot more devious than their quiet demeanor first suggested, it seemed.

Feyre stopped reminiscing as she and Cassian reached their private room. She wanted to be focused today.

So many previous lessons had left Feyre frustrated at her lack of ability, but not today. She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Rhys yesterday. How Feyre had realized that she no longer blamed herself for what was happening. Perhaps that was the cause of her lack of self-pity, but whatever it was, Feyre was grateful for it.

Because she wasn’t distracted by the overwhelming sense on uselessness today. No, Feyre was kicking ass right now.

All Cassian did to acknowledge the newfound ferociousness was raise an eyebrow and keep swinging. Feyre sidestepped and dodged blow after blow. Not that she was at Cassian’s level now; he was definitely going easy on her. But Feyre was feeling a clear improvement, and it left her heart a little less heavy.

Apparently done with coddling her, Cassian knocked Feyre’s feet out from under her. No surprise there. But what did seem to surprise him was that instead of sighing in defeat, Feyre twisted her body on the floor.

Her feet used the momentum to sweep Cassian’s own feet right out from under him. He allowed himself a split-second of shock before moving his body enough so that even though he fell, he was able to roll and land back on his feet.

But Feyre wasn’t deterred. She had used the small amount of time to get back on her feet. Now she charged.

With a ridiculous yell fit for the battle fields, Feyre leapt at Cassian. He was still facing the other way, and while Feyre’s war cry had alerted him, he didn’t have the time to turn or sidestep before she made contact.

Knowing her small weight would likely not be enough to know Cassian down, she chose to jump on his back instead of attempting to bowl him over. Feyre now had her legs around his waist piggy-back style.

He let out a surprised snort. “Seriously? You have an opportunity and you decide to do that?”

Feyre scoffed. “Excuse me, I could strangle you.”

She let one arm go around his neck for emphasis, his neck in the crook of her elbow, but she decided against actually squeezing.

Cassian laughed. What nerve.

“What, you think I couldn’t? I could choke you to death. I could snap your puny little neck like a pencil.”

Cassian doubled over laughing. “Feeling a bit of bloodlust at the moment, Feyre?”

She almost yelped at the sudden change in position. “Stop it, I’m going to fall.”

Cassian tried to stop laughing. Barely. “Is that what you’re going to say to an attacker when they bend over in an attempt to throw you off? ‘Stop, please, I’m going to fall’?”

Feyre just about growled. Oh, she was absolutely feral today. “Excuse me, I already won. I’ve got my arm around your throat, you little fucker. I could kill you if I wanted-”

One moment Feyre was on Cassian’s back, the next on the floor. There was no in between.

She gaped up at him. “Fuck.”

Cass was smirking. “I didn’t know you could be so savage.”

Feyre scowled. “I almost had you.”

The smirk was replaced by a grin. “I won’t agree with that statement, but I can say you did good. Knocked me off my feet for fuck’s sake. I can’t remember the last time a student’s done that.”

“Never underestimate your opponent, Cass,” Feyre cooed in a mocking replication of his instructor voice.

He chuckled and extended an arm, helping Feyre to her feet. “That was badass, Archeron. Those fuckers won’t know what hit ’em.”

Feyre let out a girlish giggle, excited by the compliment.

“Hey, class is just about over, but listen,” Cassian started. His tone got a bit more serious. “What happened yesterday, with the reporter, that was badass too. You’re so fucking brave.”

Feyre blushed. “I am no such thing.”

“You are, Feyre. And I don’t want to hear another fucking word of protest.”

“But I’m not-”

“La la la,” Cassian said, putting his hands over his ears.

“Stop that. You’re such a child.” Feyre crossed her arms.

Cassian just hummed louder. “What was that? Feyre Archeron’s the coolest bitch around? I totally agree.”

Feyre rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, I’m awesome. Stop being annoying.”

Cassian grinned. “Me? Never.”

She just smiled and headed toward the door. “You’re awful.”

“Don’t forget it!” he called after her.

Feyre laughed as she exited the room. Gods, Cassian was chaotic and ridiculous and downright impossible sometimes, but she loved him for it. He was a damn good friend.

Lost in her thoughts - Feyre? Distracted? What was the world coming to? - she ran into someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. That was my fault, I… Rhys.” Feyre ended that sentence rather awkwardly, at a loss of what to say. “I didn’t know you were… here.” Obviously. Feyre slapped herself internally.

He winced. “Yeah, I was working out.”

It was at this moment that Feyre realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. She’d just, like, pressed her body against… that. Fucking gods.

“And you don’t need to apologize, you’re totally fine.” Oh, he was still speaking. Feyre’s brain tried to catch up.

“And shit, that was my fault too. Did I get you all sweaty?”

Feyre froze.

Rhys seemed to realize what he’d just said, or so Feyre gathered from the reddening of his face. “I didn’t mean… um… you know what I meant.”

“Yeah.” Feyre’s voice was embarrassingly weak. “I don’t think so. Well I should-”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Rhys didn’t seem to have a lot of input at the moment. Not that Feyre was adding much to the conversation.

Feyre’s eyes were glued to Rhys’ face in an attempt not to look down at his glorious bare chest.

Glorious? Feyre thought. Jeez, I’m starting to sound like I’m writing a cheep porno.

She smiled. “Well it was nice seeing you.” Feyre didn’t know what she looked like right now, but there was no fucking way that sounded sincere. More like an awkward dismissal than anything.

Rhys smiled an equally false smile and said, “Yep.”

Humiliated and confused, Feyre turned away. Only to find Tarquin unwittingly walking up to the pair of them, his eyes on his phone. He glanced up and his eyes widened. “Feyre, hey! I was wondering if I would get to see you today.”

Feyre could feel the tension oozing out of Rhys, even though her back was to him. She thought back to the mysterious encounter they’d had and she wondered, for the billionth time, what had gone down.

She flashed a genuine, but slightly nervous, smile. “Hi.”

Someone cleared their throat behind them. Rhys.

“I should go. Have a nice day, Feyre. Tarquin.”

Feyre looked back at Tarquin, who looked absolutely stunned. The poor man probably hadn’t anticipated seeing his boss at the gym with his shirt off.

“Bye,” he half-spoke, half-squeaked.

Feyre winced internally.

As soon as Rhys was a healthy distance away, she said, “Hey, do you know what happened about a week ago with Rhys? I was on the phone with him while he was in his office, and then he had to hang up, and when he called back he said you delivered some papers. He seemed… I just wondered if something occurred that you know about.”

Tarquin looked honestly petrified, caught in the barrage of Feyre’s ranting questions.

“I’m not sure.”

He was lying. Feyre could be pretty oblivious, but she wasn’t so blind that she couldn’t tell he was lying. But this was Tarquin. Sweet Tarquin who fed her ice cream when she was upset. She had no right to pry, and he was entitled to a secret.

So Feyre just said, “Okay, just curious. I need to run, but it was nice seeing you.” She tried to keep her tone as sincere as possible; Tarquin hadn’t been anything but nice to her, and he deserved to be treated well by Feyre, not pushed to the side.

Tarquin looked immensely relieved to be let off the hook. “You too. Bye.”

Feyre smiled and headed toward the exit. Fuck, what on earth was happening?

She was so distracted by this troubling situation that she didn’t even notice all the glances she got in the street. Feyre marched right by the sideways looks and mutters, oblivious to the fact that last night’s confession on camera had not, in fact, been for naught.

———

Tag List:

@aelin-bitch-queen // @feysand-loml // @infernoqueen19 // @live-the-fangirl-life // @midsizewitch // @story-scribbler // @thebonecarver // @whythefuckdoiexist

#feysand #acotar #the bet #my writing

[angelathewitch]

Okay I just finished the ACOTAR series for the first time and I have so many thoughts so I'm gonna write them down.

Also I have not looked at any fan theories or been a part of this fandom very much so all these headcannons are straight from the noggin:

Literally what the fuck is tamlin doing.

Okay getting this out of the way cause its a hot topic. Azriel is my baby I love him but

I would have mixed feelings about him being with both gwyn and Elaine. I love the idea of Elaine being azriels sunshine he deserves light in his life (also their scene in ACOSF had me ejdjbdksks) but also all three bat boys being with all 3 sisters rubs me the wrong way idk.

Gwyn is amazing because she's a badass bitch and if azriel doesn't snatch that up I will. I feel like azriel almost gets bulldozed over by the other bat boys (like he will do the dirty work only because he feels inferior) And I want gwyn to help him stand up for himself.

Gwyn is an adult jfc. I'd be more worried about her trauma.

I am totally a elucien shipper I'm SORRY lucien deserves the world

But at the same time I would totally understand if Elaine couldn't forgive him for his involvement in the cauldron business. That shit was wack. I just want this relationship to be the biggest, most "period drama esqe" slowburn.

I have very mixed feelings about lucien. On one hand lucien has never had a home and when tamlin took him in I can see how that loyalty blurred the lines of right and wrong. But at the same time lucien messed up MANY times where the archeon sisters are concerned.

Nesta deserved her kick in the ass because it was needed. She did not deserve everyone to be a little bitch to her. It felt like feyre was the only one who wanted her rehabbed for nestas sake. I definitely would have preferred Nesta to hit rock bottom and choose recovery for herself (cause alcoholism and things can only be truly solved through self help) Everyone else was uncharacteristically nonempathetic. Idk how Cassian could be okay with her treatment after they mated.

I'm still digesting Rhys and nestas relationship. I like that they don't like each other for most of ACOSF. Nestas reasons for treating feyre poorly are valid, but not excuses. The feyre, Nesta, and rhys relationship thing is weird cause I see all sides. I need more feyre and Nesta bonding they always get interrupted.

I HATE what SJM did to Mors character. What the fuck is up with mor not liking Nesta. Maybe we will get an explanation in the next book but I feel like mor was set up to be a great LGBT character with himbo allies but SJM just dropped her off a cliff. Big mad.

However I do want eris and mor to end up together. Not necessarily romantically, but I want them to have it out and I want eris to support mor. Kinda want them to be mates. Kinda want eris to be gay as well. Kinda want them to get married and them have consorts.

WHY does everyone treat feyre like a porcelain doll when the IC has more collective trauma than anyone else in this universe. Don't get me wrong I'm all about the hurt/comfort but it was so inconsistently written LOL. When the IC was telling their stories the first night they met and then feyre told hers I cackled like sorry but she is a baby

Rhys's trauma is just as recent as feyres... yeah he's a lot older and seasoned but oh my GOD he was consistently assaulted for 49 years. Feyre does very little to comfort him. Idk I feel like it was SO glossed over.

Like in ACOWAR feyre admits that amaranthas hatred wasn't personal it was general, unlike Tamlins hatred. But amarantha and rhys had multiple personal vendettas against each other. Like his amarantha is vaguely feyres tamlin. Rhys didn't even get to kill amarantha. His trauma is untapped. Rhys is the main character feyre is the love interest idc

Idk what yall say rhys is my baby my lovebug my everything. He's got his flaws but you can't love Nesta and hate him at the same time without being a lil hypocritical

But he's fucked in the head for thinking he was justified in drugging feyre every night for 2 months. Almost more mad about that than the SA (I dont really blame Rhys since it is not cannon to me. SJM just messed up 😌 it was so out of character) did he ever really apologize for that??

ALSO I know smj wanted to write like #consentking but half of what he allowed was so unnecessarily dangerous (like the first AND second weaver encounter- if my SO ran off in the middle of a battle to track down a mysterious creature when the task could have been done after the battle I would have be livid. Mor was justified in being mad.)

I'm so mad rhys didn't flatten tamlin during the high lord meeting. Either it will happen in the future or I will burn these books.

THE BAT BOYS HAVE CONNONICALLY BEEN IN THE SAME ROOM WHILE HAVING SEX. the foursomes in my head gets clearer by the day

I HATE the fact that rhys almost had an existential crisis over feyre being so young when she found her mate and not having "lived" and THEN GETS HER PREGNANT??? Are you kidding me. I'm so mad. I don't wanna deal with babies. I hate babies.

But I DO have a fun headcannon that since the bone carver is a death-god or whatever he KNEW nyx wouldn't survive and that is why he appeared as him. Also when the bone carver offered to take feyres first born in exchange for help rather than the oroboughs I think that was also foreshadowing. The only reason nyx survived was because of Nesta and the bone carver had trouble seeing the cauldron.

((Maybe nyx should have died during the birth idk))

Literally I would have enjoyed ACOSF if instead of the pregnancy feyre was busy looking for bryaxis. Literally what happened to him. Wtf

I know the plot armor is crazy thick around the IC but it would have been nice if one of them died. Well, not nice, but more believable. Maybe thats why nyx should have died. Lol I need therapy.

FREAKING HEADCANNON: the archeon sisters are partially fae. Their mom was definitely a descendant and that's why all three sisters have mates. It was hinted that the sisters had mated because they were powerful and cauldron made but Cassian and rhys could feel the pull before the sisters were turned.

Tarquin is the hottest high lord

The whole blood rite thing was stupid. I would have loved if it was spread out over a longer period of time but it was so unrealistic

You know we all love a good #girlboss🤢 moment but the whole valkarie thing seemed 1. Out of no where 2. Really quickly forced (ACOSF should have been like 2 books) 3. If emerie and mor get together life=complete

The inner circle and ther archeon sisters would not get along if they weren't mated to like 50% of the gang

They're too whiny

It's so weird that the mating bond can only be felt by guys??? Lol wut

Okay I know this is a complicated subject but having LGBTs in a universe with mates based in evolutionary advantage seems more homophobic than having a universe without LGBTs LOL. Like their connection can't be as deep cause they can't procreate?? I did like that SJM made up for it a little by saying not all mates are complementary souls.

Hybern was so powerful and for WHAT. I don't understand

Vassa, lucien, and jurian being a trio is so weird 😐

I WANT A NOVELLA ON THE STORY OF AMREN AND VARIAN. They are my otp. If anyone has made it this far and knows of some good amren and varian fanart pls let me know

Okay that is all for now thank you if you read down to here xoxo gossip girl.

P. S. Also I am starting throne of glass and am having a hard time getting into it. Can anyone vouch for this series please I'm conflicted.

Edit: omg I was zooted when I wrote this and didn't realize my phone autocorrected cassian to Caspian RIP

#acotar #acosf #acosf spoilers #elucien #gwynriel #azriel #pro nesta #a court of thorns and roses #a court of war and ruin #a court of frost and starlight #a court of silver flames #a court of mist and fury

[mamadoe]

🍁 The Forgotten Sister - Chapter 5

The group searches for more information in regards to Mother’s disappears and find more than they expect.

~~~

Complete Masterlist

Also on AO3

Warning || brief description of physical abuse (whipping); discussion about affairs; some emotional damage

Word Count || 4044

~~~

The days that follow my meeting with Eris blend together like paint mixing on a palette. Moving from the tower to a small room in the west wing has thoroughly freed up my time. My days once preoccupied with isolation have turned into buzzing activity. Being able to just leave my room whenever I want is freeing in the most blissful way. But with my impending date to leave set in stone, all my waking hours are preoccupied with the search for more of Mother’s letters.

From the moment I wake up well into the afternoon, I spend my time in Mother's room with one of my brothers, finally getting the one-on-one time I only ever dreamed of. Each has their own sense of humor and a different brand of awkwardness as we navigate figuring out each other. We all have come to the understanding that just because Father doesn’t want us interacting doesn’t mean we can’t try to connect in the short time I have left here. A couple of my younger brothers are more open-minded, and it makes it easier to talk with them; the others aside from Eris have chips on their shoulders, but we manage to figure out how to communicate and learn what to talk about to occupy our time together. I quickly realized they are on some sort of rotation - each day I spend some time with someone different. Eris explained on the first day that they had their own schedules around Father’s and each of them had to be available to him when he called. Their lives are far more complicated than I dared try to understand.

After the first few days, though, I realize Lucien hasn’t come to take part in the letter hunt, and one of my younger brothers confirms that he left the castle to live with an old friend of his, the High Lord of Spring, a male by the name of Tamlin. He vaguely speaks of something that had happened recently regarding a curse, something about the Mountain I could see from my tower’s windows facing the west, a diabolical woman named Amarantha, and a human woman who became one of us fae, but when I ask more questions, he recoils from the subject. I get the feeling that Father doesn’t like them talking about it, so I don’t push for answers. I’m sure I’ll get the chance to ask later. Though I would be lying if I didn’t say my interest is piqued.

As the days trickle by and we idly recall stories of our childhoods, we work by flipping through the pages of each and every book from Mother’s extensive collection. She loves to read so much that she has an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and since Eris had originally found a couple of her letters amongst some pages, we have been tasked to hunt for more. Since starting a few days ago, we have found three more letters, but their meaning is still lost on us.

“What does this even mean?” Eris growls as he reads the letters. He finally managed to slip away to check on our progress. I shrug, having read them multiple times by now and still don’t understand what her scrawlings were referring to.

“I don’t know,” I call from a stool in front of one of the far bookcases as I thumb through what feels like the millionth book. My fingers are ever so slightly calloused from the edges of the pages skimming past their sensitive tips for hours on end. “It’s obvious she wasn’t happy, but otherwise, none of what she wrote rings any bells for me.” The muffled tap of Eris’ foot on the rug-laden floor carried through the room as he contemplates. The soft shut of a book signals my other brother’s leave. I guess it is about midday already, and he has to meet Father. After he slips from Mother’s cluttered, dark room lit with only a few fae lights, it’s just the two of us. We work silently for a while before Eris stands from Mother’s bedside and comes over to join me by the shelves.

“I know we are missing something.” A book falls into his hand, and he begins to thumb through it. I close my finished book, reshelve it, and move onto the next. “Surely, there has to be something else here.”

“Well, let’s think about it. We know she wasn’t happy. Father has been awful to all of us, and she had no way to stop it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it all just… became too much,” my words drift off as we page flip in silence, both contemplating what that would mean.

“Still… If she were to do that, you would think she would have left an easy-to-find note or something, so we wouldn’t worry.” I can tell; he’s tense and his voice is drawn tight.

“That’s true. I mean, she was keeping secrets, too. Her effort to hide these letters proves that much. She knew Father wouldn’t find them in the books,” I pause and look at the finished bookcases to my left. As we discovered the letters, I made sure to mark the books, just in case they were clues themselves, and the three little paper flags sticking out from between the books almost glow against the darkness of the book spines.

“Right,” he agrees and moves onto the next book. “It’s my understanding that their courting was an arranged one. She was still young when they joined. Well over five hundred years with a male she doesn’t like, building a whole family with him…,” he trails off as if lost in thought. “I can’t imagine that kind of torment, the confusion that would conjure.” I nod and put my book back in its place. How long had I been sitting here? At least an hour, I think. I carefully find my footing and stand, giving my entire body a good stretch, eliciting a loud groan.

“At this rate, we won’t make it through all the books before I leave.” I take a few steps to the nearest paper flag and look at the spine of the book it marks. It’s dark red in color, old, with gold leaf embellishing the indented details on either end of the spine. I can’t read the title; it must be an old language I was never taught when I was getting tutored. “Can you read this?” I point to the spine. He stops and comes over, tracing the letters just as I did.

“No. But I can tell it’s old, probably from a few thousand years ago,” he speculates, his fingers brushing the underside of his chin as he thinks.

“But the book isn’t that old, is it?” I carefully pull the book free from its seat on the shelf and eye the binding, which looks fairly crisp and fresh as if it were just bound and only read a couple times.

“Not necessarily. The pages look about that old, but the covers and binding look like it was redone recently, relatively speaking.” His eyes narrow as he catches what I’m throwing out. “She had this rebound.” I nod in agreement.

“I think so, or she got it from someone who did. It’s a shame we can’t read it,” I click my tongue and return the book to its spot on the shelf, before stepping a couple shelves down to the next one. This time it’s a vibrant emerald green spine, silver leaf detailing, but this time, the title is clear. “Adamant, Amethyst, and Opal,” I read as I pull it from the shelf. “Gemstones?” As I’m thumbing through, my eyes catch ink illustrations jumping from the pages.

“Depending on the use, I think,” he states as he takes the book from my hands and skims until he finds a large title page with “Adamant” penned in detail and then turns the page to read. “Adamant is an old word used for diamonds, but more recently we use it to describe indestructible stone.” He sucks on his teeth as his eyes scan the page. “This writing,” his brows furrow in frustration, “doesn’t really say how it’s being used here, but I think this might be an older depiction of using it in spell work. I can’t be sure, though. I’ll have to reach out to a friend to check.”

“Like the friend looking into Farren?” I nudge his arm with my elbow lightly as I turn to go to the last paper flag.

“Actually, the same friend,” he laughs lightly, my nudge taking him out of his seriousness if only for a moment. “Speaking of whom, I should be hearing back from him in the next day or so about our little scholar.” He continues to skim through the pages of the second book as I reach for the first. This was the book we found the first letter inside when we started our obsessive search a few days ago, an old, worn journal, but the pages were empty. No title, nothing on the binding. Just an empty leather journal she never used. I skimmed the pages quickly, fanning them out in front of me, just doing a quick check. Sure enough, not a word is written inside.

“You might want to just give him that book then. See what your little spy friend can dig up.” I return the journal to its spot and turn to Eris, who’s still looking through the pages attentively.

“I will. In fact, I think I’ll give him both of these, just in case. He might know a friend of a friend who can decipher that one,” he gestures to the ancient book, and I step around him to grab it off the shelf for him.

“Think he will be able to get it all back in time?” I question as I slide it under the gemstone book in his hands.

“I hope so, but we will see. If it takes longer, you know I’ll keep in touch,” he smiles and sets the books on the bed before turning to the shelf with me to continue our search.

“Something is bothering me, though,” I pause as I sit back down on the stool to continue my search through the books on the bottom shelf, “In one of her letters, she said she was scared of the consequences of something. What was she so scared of that she couldn’t even write it?” My hands busy themselves with flipping through pages, but after a moment I realize Eris has frozen beside me. I glance up at him, and his expression is that of surprise, eyes a little wider than normal. “What is it?”

“I found another letter,” is all he rasps before he sets the book down and unfolds the piece of paper, his eyes wildly skimming the page. At first I remain perched on the stool, looking up at him waiting for him to tell me it’s just another dead end, but the words that slip from his lips surprise me.

“By the Gods,” Eris whispers as he reads. I quickly stand and press close to try to skim the page. My eyes widen as I get to the part that must have caught his attention. My eyes pinpoint the words - I miss my love.

“What does that mean?” I question, eyebrow raising with my own surprise. I guess technically she could be talking about anything, but in context with the rest of the letter, it sounds more like a person. He doesn’t answer right away as he continues to read. “Eris?” I nudge him. All I get in response is a strangled laugh.

“I always had a feeling, but I never said anything,” he chokes out. When I meet his eyes, I can see a swirl of emotions there - confusion, relief, terror. When he looks at me, it shifts to sadness and concern.

“What?! What is it?” I whisper as if someone is listening behind the door.

“Mother had an affair,” is all he manages, and my blood stills, but my heart feels like it is about to beat right out of my chest.

“With who? When?” I quiz him, but when he doesn’t say anything and instead just stares at me, I realize why. “You don’t think…”

“Well, I-... I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense, you-,” he stutters out before he bites his tongue, processing this revelation. My heart sounds like a drum beating in my ears. Surely, that can’t be true. “You have Father’s fire. I mean, I saw it at dinner, in your eyes! You may not know how to wield it yet, but it’s there. You must be his. At the same time, based on this letter… We need to figure out when she wrote this.” He can barely catch a breath, his mind racing as he spits out his connecting thoughts. We both stare at the letter in silence, reading and rereading her scrawlings. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around the idea of Father not being mine biologically. And yet…

“You don’t think… You don’t think Lucien…?” our eyes meet again as we both arrive at the same assumption.

“That would explain why Father hates you both so, if he even has the slightest idea,” he breathes a heavy sigh. “This complicates things. If he has even a shred of evidence that this is true, you both are in serious danger. Even if it’s not true, if he even just thinks this is the case, he will act on it.” I swallow hard as the memory of him whipping my back flashes before my mind’s eye and makes my scars ache. An uncontrollable tremble rocks through me at the thought of facing his wrath again. My shaking draws his attention, and his emotion-filled face eases. “Breathe, Althea.”

“Where were you that day? The day he-,” I cut off my own words to keep a sob from bubbling up in my chest. At first he doesn’t respond as if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about, but as he recognizes my terror, his lips press into a thin line.

“I wasn’t here. I only found out when I returned that night, and I could hear your screams and cries from your care room.” He lightly touches my hand, seeing I’m no longer present with him, the memories replaying in my mind. “You did nothing wrong to deserve that.” Trembling like a mouse about to be stepped on, I look up at him, and the gentle face looking back at me hurts. Where was this tender, caring brother when I was just a child and needed his protection?

“You know that wasn’t the only time, right?” I choke, and his eyes widen in concern, his mouth opening as if to speak but the words fail to come. After clearing my throat hard as if swallowing down the memories themselves, I continue.

“If he finds out, he won’t stop at just a whipping.” A sob threatens to take me, but I persevere. “He won’t stop until I’m dead, Eris. He can never know about either of us.” Shaking like a leaf, I start to fold in on myself, wrapping my arms around my core, making myself small.

“Of course,” is all I hear before he pulls me close, holding me tight. The tears come in waves as he comforts me, his hand stroking my hair. “He will never know, not if I can help it.” He holds me for I don’t know how long, but my shaking frame finally releases its tension and my tears dry up. When I pull back and wipe my tears, his face looks just as pained as I feel.

“The letters, where are you keeping them?” my voice is just a husk of what it was before crying as I compose myself.

“Well, I was keeping them in my study, but now I think it would be wiser to just leave them in here for the time being. He never comes to this side of the castle, so it’s the safest place.” Nodding, I agree. “First things first - we need to find out when she wrote this letter. That is the key to determining if our assumption is right in the first place.” Again, I nod, glancing at the book the letter came from. I recognize it immediately. Damn the Cauldron. My trembling fingers grab it, the maple leaf on the front familiar.

“Mother used to read this to me when I was a child. I would trace the leaf on the front as she read,” I whisper as I hold the book close. Eris lets out an almost disgusted laugh.

“Of course she did,” he scoffs. “That confirms a theory, at least. These books, they mean something to her. It’s why she picked them. Probably so she could find them if she needed to.” We both look at the remaining bookshelves, puzzling how many more days it is going to take to finish going through them all. With the deepest of sighs, Eris brushes back his hair. “We better get to work then.” After stacking the letter with the others on the bed, he rolls up his sleeves and sets to work on the next bookshelf. Taking a moment to just breathe, I grapple to gather my composure more. Gods be damned, we are going to be here all night. After placing another paper flag with the story book, I return to my stool and get to work on the bottom shelves.

As the day ticks by, we work in silence, both processing our revelation in our own time. With renewed vigor, we make it through three more bookshelves but do not find any more letters. As evening approaches, Galena arrives. She is the only maiden entrusted to serve us in here while we search. Thankfully, Eris hasn't said anything about Galena spending her nights with me since the dinner, even if it were just for the comfort of having her there, so he seems to trust her enough. When she brings in the trays with our dinner, our hands are tired and our eyes ache from our search. Her arrival heralds a break, but it is short lived. We set back to work on the books once more, but this time Galena joins the search. Eris raises a brow at her but when she removes her apron and shoes, she insists, and he doesn’t tell her no, so the three of us search well into the night. Eris calls it quits first since he was awake before either of us, leaving Galena and me alone.

“Have you had any luck?” she whispers from a couple bookshelves away. So far, we have only gone through half the shelves, despite our efforts. My hands rub my exhausted eyes as I try to rejuvenate them for a final push.

“We found a letter earlier,” I whisper in return, shaking my hands out before grabbing a new book. “It caused more questions than answers, as usual. We are hoping another letter will clarify.”

“Ah,” she glances at the letters still stacked on the bed. “Do they seem connected somehow?” she questions as she sets her book back in its slot on the shelf and approaches the letters, fanning them out on the bed so she can read them all together.

“I don’t know. Alone, they seem pretty incoherent, jumping from thought to thought. I would think there has to be at least a couple more letters in here, but who knows? Maybe she just wrote them when she was feeling some sort of way to vent and then just stashed them away because she was afraid to throw them out of fear of a servant handing them off to Father.” My tone comes across more stern than I intend because of how tired I am. She hums softly as she analyses the papers side-by-side.

“Well, they’re all written on the same kind of paper, so theoretically they were all written around the same time,” she contemplates, and I hear her pace along the side of the bed, looking at each of the letters in her own time. She is silent for a few minutes as she thinks, and I keep my eyes down at the pages flashing before me. “If that’s the case, they may have come from a journal where she wrote these back-to-back,” she eventually whispers. Galena mulls over this information as I continue the search. Her soft gasp upon reading the newest addition we found today is the only sound in the room aside from the shuffling of the letters and her bare feet crossing the room to meet me. She quickly kneels to my left, pages in hand.

“I don’t want to talk about the letter,” I whisper, figuring she’s about to ask about the new one. I’m too tired to deal with all the emotions that sprout around that entire situation. Instead from the corner of my eye, I see she is holding the original letters Eris found.

“Althea, I think I’m onto something. Look.” She kneels and points to the letter on top of her stack. “In the first one, her writing is extremely vague. She could be talking about anything. The next gets a little less vague, but it’s not much better.” She flips the letters as she whispers to me, but my eyes are on the pages of the book in my hand as I thumb through. However, her nudge pulls my attention to her. “It’s dark in here, so it’s hard to see, but on the other letters, I can faintly see that these were stacked, indentations from writing on the page before imprinting on the next.” I watch her fingernail trace the edge on what looks to be a blank part of the page, but as my eyes focus, I vaguely make out the ghost of a partial letter indentation.

“Huh, good eye,” I compliment as I take the page and hold it closer to my face to get a better look. She smiles proudly from her discovery.

“If we are gentle about it, we may be able to take another sheet of paper and shade on top to get the ghost of the writing imprint. At the very least, we could figure out the order or how many letters are missing between the ones we already have. I doubt we will be able to decipher a whole letter this way, but it would be a start,” she says as she rubs her neck, her bashful nature kicking in. I nod again and pass the letter back to her.

“Think you could do that in the morning?” My voice is dry, my eyes are sore, my back aches. I’m thoroughly exhausted.

“Sure thing.” She nods, giving my shoulder a light caress. “The one from today…” she trails off, gauging where I’m at with it.

“I know. We aren’t certain yet,” is all I can say. I am too far gone to think of a more coherent thought. I want to tell her everything we theorized, but I just don’t have the energy. She nods and gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze to pull my eyes from the book in my hands, and she smiles when I make eye contact.

“Let’s stop for the night. Pick back up in the morning, alright? You already made so much progress today.” She takes the book from my hands when I protest, but I quickly realize my will to fight is gone. Maybe I do need to get to bed. With a sigh, I take the letters from her other hand and go to tuck them beneath the cushion of the arm chair in the corner. Eris took the gemstone book and ancient text when he left, so he would have them on hand when his spy friend reports to him tomorrow. After turning off the fae lights, I let Galena lead me down the hall to my room, and when I see my own bed, I don’t even take the time to change my clothes. The call of sleep draws me into my covers, and I don’t even remember falling asleep. ~~~ Previous Chapter --- Next Chapter

#acotar #acotar oc #acotar fluff #acotar world building #autumn court #vanserra sister #the forgotten sister #acotoar series #sjm trash #sjmaas #fanfic #surprise motherfucker #we're here for the plot

[bookdorp]

Getting back into reading!!!!

For about two years now reading has been hard for me. Even though for most of my life, ever since I learned to read as a kid, I have devoured book after book after book, usually several per month. But for some reason for the past two years I could bearely get through one book every two months.

But two months ago I finally got my reading fire back. Huzzaah! And the book that got me fired up again was (to my utmust and complete surprise and even a little frustration and dissapointment) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. One of my best friends was doing a re-read and ofcourse the re-read bug bit me too.

When I read this book for the first time 4 years ago, I read it like a masterpiece and loved it so much that I immediatly ordered the second; A Court of Mist and Fury. Which at the time also felt like a masterpiece to me. The second time I read these books was right before the third came out; A court of Wings and Ruin, a book I’d been waiting for and marked in my dairy and even pre-ordered. 

So the second time I read ACOTAR, I was slightly dissapointed because I no longer got the rush from it like I did the first time I read it. And to my memory it felt bland next to how I remembered how ACOMAF made me feel, which read like a train the second time I read it, even though I started noticing some small things that bothered me. So eventually I got to the third book; A Court of Wings and Ruin. Which was definitly disapointing to me, even reading it for the first time. I was expecting to love it.

Now, we are a few years later and I’ve just read ACOTAR and ACOMAF all over again. And I’m grateul to these books for getting me into reading again. And to my surprise, this time I preferred ACOTAR over ACOMAF. (MINDBLOWN!)

I no longer think this series is a masterpiece (anything but) but it’s an easy read, you don’t need to think too hard, the writing is pretty simple and sometimes even pretty. The plot is never complicated and, honestly, I do love myself some good smut. 

ACOTAR

So ACOTAR Round 3: I really liked it best this time. Especially because the plot is so much smoother than ACOMAF and ACOWAR, and most important, it’s THERE, it’s visible, it’s noticable. Every little thing the characters do, especially Lucien and Tamlin, make sense at some point. Things just click once you get to Under The Mountain. And I love that in books! Books that leave hints for you to pick up on (or not), so nothing seems like its a sudden *gasp* suprise! I mean, plot twists are fantastic, but only if they’re executed well. When you feel something coming or you pick up the bread-crumbs left througout the story, and even though you don’t know how to put them together yet, you know they mean something and it will make sense in the end. And ACOTAR gave me this! It all made sense in the end:

-The mention of Tamlin’s heart of stone several times

- The vague mentions of a plague or blight on the land

- Lucien and Tamlin purposely letting her spy and figure things out on her own

 You know, those little things, that all become more logical at the end. I really appreciate that in a book. 

The Love story between Tamlin and Feyre was also nice. It’s wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. I’m still not sure if Tamlin truly loves her but I do believe he cares about her a lot in this book. After all, he is being nice to her on purpose and that purpose is to save his people and ending a curse. So does he love Feyre or does he love what she could represent for the future of his people? But I am convinced he cares about her lot, otherwise he wouldn’t have send her away before UTM to save her and so condemn his own people. So maybe there was some love in the end.

The ending itself was great. I loved that Feyre ended up solving the riddel, I only thought the riddle was a little obvious? I mean, I figured it out before Feyre did (even at the first read), but being good or bad at riddles isn’t something I can judge a person for. I think it was amazing Feyre died before being Made Fae, even if, secretely, I would have loved for her to have stayed human. That would have been an interesting story too.

There were definitly consequences for the main characters to work through at the end of the book. Something I looked forward too in book 2. And each character has their good parts and bad parts and the writing accepts that and doesn’t apolagize for it. No one loves perfect characters (looking at you ACOMAF Rhys and Feyre!). 

So I finished ACOTAR with a happy feeling.

ACOMAF

On to ACOMAF, knowing that I loved it in Round 1, was dissapointed in Round 2. And in Round 3 I found myself somewhere in between love and disapointment.

Things I loved (because you always start with the positive:

- The slowburn romance building. Was it eye-rolling at times? Definitly. it’s not my favorite romance couple of all books (Phèdre and Jocelin from Kushiel’s Dart *chef’s kiss*) but I liked how it build slowly and how both of them were given the time to get to know eachother. 

- The Inner Circle. Always nice to welcome new characters into a story. I love their love and friendship, their banter in amusing, and I’m a sucker for found family.

- Learning more about Prythian. We go to so many more places then in ACOTAR. In ACOTAR we only got the human realm, Tamlin’s Mansion and Under The Mountain. In ACOMAF we get Spring Court, Human Realm, Night Court, Velaris, The Prison, Weaver’s Hut, Illyrian places, and (most importantly!) Adriata. So many Courts out there and we are now on Court 3! So much more to explore!

- Lucien. I just really like his character. He’s both a good guy and a bad one. He tries. He wants to be loyal to his only friend, support him and help him, and that is so admirable, but at the cost of Feyre. Which is bad. He is just so conflicted. The right thing to do is not so easy from his point of view. For Feyre it’s easy: yes, he should just help her and stand up for her. But from his own point of view he sees a Court, his Court, that has been devastated for 50 years, his friend comes back broken and in pieces, and in the end he’s only known Feyre for 6 months or so? I understand him chosing the Spring Court and Tamlin before anything else. Even if it’s terrible for Feyre. And it does makes him something of a coward. But he tries to the best of his abilities, even if it’s not enough. I love the duality of Lucien. This is what makes a character interesting: the good AND the bad. Because he did, UTM, help Feyre as much as Rhys did. He healed her, warned her during the Myddengard Wyrm thing. He tried. But he’s not al all powerful High Lord who has somewhat gained the trust of Amarantha.

And in ACOMAF he still tries though it’s obvious he’s chosen Tamlin. He’s allowed to do that, even if it makes him an awefull friend towards Feyre. It doesn’t make him a terrible villain monster. 

The only thing agree with does make him the worst, is him trying to force Feyre to go back with him in the woods. And yet he did that for Tamlin. All of it, all of what he does, is (in his mind) in the name of friendship and protecting his Court. The goal is good, the means are wrong. 

Anyway I like Lucien, even if we didn’t get much of him in ACOMAF.

The things I was dissapointed in (because hate is too strong a word):

- The drama of everything. Everyone gets a sob story, a horrible painful sobstory, because that’s the only way to know if you can like and trust someone I guess? Rhys’s father, mother and sister are murdered, Mor was tortured and brutalized by her own family, Cassian is a bastard that had to fend for himself nearly to starvation, Azriel is a bastard brutalized by his borthers and ignored by his family, and Feyre fits right in I guess. I know it’s fantasy, but please, does no one get a happy childhood in this book? I’d like to include Amren but we really don’t know much about her at this point and we don’t learn much more either.

- Taking away Rhys’s bad boy points??? It made him as interesting as Lucien in my book, the bad he’s done. Why does everything that he did Under The Mountain have to because a ‘Mask’ now. What made him so interesting was because he did all those things thinking he maybe liked them. Now we need to find out he was suffering all along and didn’t want to do it. He just had to to protect his people. I mean, make some things a ‘Mask’ but maybe leave us some bad things because he enjoys them?

- Which leads me to the third things that I disliked: the constant comparison to Tamlin. Suddely, all the good things about Tamlin in ACOTAR disapeared, and Tamlin becomes monster villain number 1 with no good qualities whatsoever. I totally agreed with Feyre staying away from Tamlin for awhile, but to just never go back again? Once she felt like she was strong enough to talk to him, she should have. Was Tamlin in the wrong with how he treated Feyre, YES ABSOLUTELY. But she could have gone back, with Rhys and the Innder Circle for back-up, and sat down with him to talk to him about it. I wish an attempt was made. But I think we all know that Sarah just needed us to hate Tamlin to make Rhys look more perfect. Feyre shouldn’t go back to Tamlin, after Under The Mountain, they’rr not good for eachother. But Tamlin doesn’t know Rhys is secretly a good guy. Feyre got to know him but no one else in Prythian knows Rhys is just pretending. So it’s incredibly ridiculous to assume that Tamlin knows Rhys is good? Rhys behaved like a villain in public on purpose and it worked. And now they are surprised eveyron thinks Rhys is a villain? Of course Tamlin and Lucien believe Feyre is being controlled or manipulated. It’s why I can understand why they want to force her to come back. they truly don’t know any better.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY. Feyre complains how Tamlin never asked her how she felt or how he never wanted to talk abou what happened UTM, but she never asked him either. So this shit goes both ways. I feel for Tamlin and I feel for her. They BOTH couldn’t talk about it but everything gets blamed on Tamlin because his behaviour is more outrageous. She should have gone back (WITH BACK-UP) and talked to him. Would have prevented the weird ending

- And that leads me to the ending. Did anyone really think it would be that simple? Just sneak in and out and that’s that? Like. I love clues in books, but this really screamed TRAP AHEAD *Leliane voice is DA Origins*. Also, Rhys is supposed to be the most powerful High Lord ever, but he’s really easy to subdue and trick. I mean, the King of Hybern is supposedly a warlord of masterful cunning....

 And the fact they left Amren in Velaris. Everyone seems to agree she’s even more powerful than Rhys. They should have left Mor and Cassian in Velaris and taken Amren and the King of Hybern would have died then and there. Making stupid decisions to further the plot is not fun to read. Write better! But then again, ACOMAF was never really about the plot so if you read this book accepting it’s all about romance building and some smut, it’ll be easier. It’s what I did :P

And some minor annoyances:

- I feel liked everyone’s going to find love in these books. Because being single is BAD I guess. It’s too convenient.

- I would have loved for one weaker character to be in the Inner Circle. Not everyone can be overpowered. Where are my bookworms that make plans and don’t have flashy powers that can make mountains tremble when they orgasm?

- Velaris was too modern? I miss a more fae place? Less with bars and dancings and stores selling lacey underwear? Feyre in leggings and an over-sized sweater annoyed me. Seriously.

And that’s that.

I’m so happy to be reading again! And writing about reading ><

Next is A Court of Wings and Ruin. 

#A Court of Thorns and Roses #ACOTAR #A Court of Mist and Fury #ACOMAF #Feyre #Rhys #Tamlin #Lucien #Amren #Morrigan #Cassian #Azriel

[missbrightsky]

I didn’t know where else to go

Fics Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Chapter 11: Feyre

Prick: Meeting at the compound tonight, 8pm

Darling: I’ll be there. Any particular way you want me to arrive?

Prick: Well I’d never say no to you wearing a coat and nothing else

My vision turned red for a second, ready to tell him to go fuck himself and defeat Amarantha alone. Only my desire to protect my city from her had me texting instead

Darling: No smartass, I mean how do you want me to get there? I can’t exactly walk right in the front door.

A verbal lashing can come later, hopefully somewhere semipublic where I can berate him but not be too tempted to also make out with him again.

Prick: Oh

Prick: I can come pick you up

Darling: Fine, but only because it’s too cold to walk

A cold front had swept in the past few days, causing more leaves to turn brown and fall. The crunched underneath my shoes, a small satisfaction on my daily commute to work.

I gave him my address, cringing slightly that he now knew where I lived. Granted, he could find out on his own by tailing me. Azriel probably already had and passed the information along to him and he was only asking out of politeness.

Prick:  See you then, darling

A string of curse words streamed from my mouth, taking a slight edge off my frustration with him. Lucien looked up from his report, a worried look on his face.

Shit, I held up my phone, “Landlord problems,” I lied. A believable lie at least. Lucien knew where I lived and the landlord I had to deal with on a regular basis. You’d think being a cop would deter the man and force him into action, but Gabe cut from a gelatinous cloth of indifference and alcohol.

Lucien gave me a sympathetic look and went back to his work. The past two days, he had been in and out of the precinct tracking down his CI’s to see if they knew anything about the shooting at the docks. Anytime he brought it up, I forced my face to be carefully blank or vaguely lost in thought, as though I was perplexed too by who could have been behind it. Thankfully, most of the time Lucien was looking at a report or his computer when he talked about it. Even though it was my case too, I hadn’t done any real investigating on it yet. I would need to soon so that people didn’t start asking questions.

Throwing my phone back into my bag, I turned to my screen again, pulling up a search bar. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, poised to type in Amarantha. It would hardly be the first time I had Googled her name, but the precinct was a too public place to risk it.

The first time had been on the subway home from Rhys’s after I slept with him. All it took was her first name.

Search results: 502,000 for Amarantha Bast

The first link was a Wiki page (thank you internet). Clicking on it, I held my breath as it loaded (service was slow underground). The first thing I saw was her picture. Red hair pinned back in an elegant twist. Sensuous red lips twisted up in a small smile. But her eyes, it was her eyes that sent a shudder down my spine. Blacker than night, they absorbed all light, all joy, everything. Scrolling down, I scanned over the basic information, my eyes catching on her age.

Born October 14th, 1982

I counted backwards from the information Rhys gave me. She had been twenty-one years old when she took over Rhys’s country, holy fucking Caldron. What little warmth was left in my body disappeared. If she was capable of staging a coup at that age, what could she do now?

I continued down.

Queen of Hybern

Assumed Office February 3rd, 2000

Over twenty years ago, she wasn’t even eighteen yet. How the hell did she manage that? I skipped the rest of the basic information, wanting to read her bio.

Amarantha Bast was born to King Malcolm Bast and Princess Mara Bast on October 14th, 1982. Her mother died soon after the birth of her only child. Bast assumed her father’s title on February 3rd, 2000 following his death the month before. She was born in Hybern’s capital city of Zensa and continues to reside there to this day.

From birth, she was given the title of Princess Regent, poised to inherit the country on her father’s death. As such, from childhood she was educated in the laws of her country and how to lead upon his death. After assuming the title of Queen, she shut down the borders of her country citing that the Green Death, a variation of the Black Death, had broken out must be contained. It was the same disease that took her father’s life and a third of her citizens.

In a press release at that time, she is quoted saying “The loss of my father and my people have been a devasting blow for me and my country. It is in our best interests to close the borders until the disease is contained. When we have it [the disease] under control, we will consider reopening our borders for travel and trade.”

A few months after Bast closed Hybern’s borders, she also assumed control of a neighboring country, Illyria. In another press release, she stated “Due to the carelessness of some Hybern citizens, the disease had spread beyond our borders into Illyria. In the unsuspecting country, the disease spread like wildfire and has taken out the majority of government officials and a quarter of Illyrians. The prevent the collapse of their economy, I have annexed Illyria into Hybern so that we may share resources in these hard times.” Bast was hailed a public hero in Hybern, Illyria and other nearby countries for her swift and compassionate actions.

From what Rhys had told me, I knew the majority of what she said was bullshit. I had clicked on the link for Illyria, but its page was barebones. Since it had gotten annexed into Hybern, it seemed that most of its history had been erased or forgotten about.

I made mental notes to ask Rhys about his country when I next got the chance. I could do it over text, but the pain in his voice from his lost country and family made me think it was an in-person conversation. Maybe tonight after the meeting.

I closed down the web browser, instead, pulling up the report from the shooting. The file had barely grown in the last few days. Ballistics came back from the site. Your basic 9mm and handguns, fragments from a sniper bullet (that would be Az’s) and… blood. I had forgotten about that. Az had shot one of Amarantha’s men so that Rhys could getaway.

I pulled up the medical report. There had been no body, at least at the scene. DNA tests were still being run, if the guy was in the system, we would know by the end of today. Odds are that he was just some common criminal that got hired for the job. Another dead end.

I stood from my desk stretching and willing blood flow back to my legs. Lucien barely glanced up from whatever had him so entranced. I strode into the briefing room, scanning the board with the Veritas case on it. It was information I had gone over a thousand times in my head, with Lucien and the captain, with half the precinct but before, we were no closer to any answers. Now, I could look over everything with different eyes.

The kidnapping of doctors to find a way to stop the horrible disease that she could release on our country.

The raiding of warehouses to find where Amarantha was storing supplies and weapons.

Last night’s shooting wasn’t supposed to happen and then it was only in self-defense.

I heaved a massive sigh, feeling tired in my bones, in my soul. I was hiding things from my captain, from my partner. I was breaking the law every second of every day for an attack that might not even happen. Yes, Rhys and the others have found weapons they think might belong to Amarantha, but she could just be supplying local gangs. There has been no evidence, no sign of an imminent bioattack with that disease. I had also looked into the Green Death more, but little was known about it since Amarantha had shut down Hybern and Illyria borders so tightly, saying that it was too risky to release to the world’s doctors eager to study it.

More questions than I had mental capacity swirled around giving me a headache. I decided to let Lucien take point on this, staying in the background for as possible. I refused to destroy or alter any police documents but maybe I could give a heads up to the Veritas if anything pops up.

With one last look at the board, I walked out of the briefing room to mentally prepare myself for being in the same car as Rhys, even if it was for twenty minutes.

Next Chapter

#acotar #feyre #feyre x rhysand #rhysand #rhys #sjm #sarah j maas

[parchment-and-petrichor]

Look, publishing community. We need to talk.

About ten years ago, you let the Twilight series take over the world, and with it, naive young girls’ belief that overly protective stalker boyfriends were something to strive for. Since the series’ completion, readers and moviegoers alike have vowed to do better. We hoped to put these toxic ideals behind us with every conversation we had about the problematic nature of Stephenie Meyer’s books. We hoped in doing so, we could finally move forward to read and support more wholesome, meaningful content.

Yet somehow, you chose to invest your money in Sarah J. Maas, and unleashed a whole new, far worse beast upon the world.

Why are we still letting toxic romances dominate the YA genre? Have we learned nothing from the likes of Meyer at all?

Let’s take a step back for a moment. As with her first series, Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas set out to write another fairy tale retelling in her latest A Court of Thorns and Roses series. By the time Mist and Fury begins, we’ve all but cast the Beauty and the Beast pretence to the wind. In perhaps the most dull first third of any novel, Feyre is suffering extreme depression and PTSD following the trauma incurred at Amarantha’s wrath. I am wholeheartedly here for portrayals of PTSD in YA. In fact, I encourage it. And given how much of a non-entity it is in Throne of Glass following Celaena’s pre-series traumas, this almost seems like an improvement on Maas’ part. But not when it goes on and on and on for 200 pages. Reading about any protagonist moping in self-pity is a 50-page deal at most. I get we’re supposed to see Feyre’s lack of self-worth at the start of this novel. I get that her trajectory is clearly one of her realising her value and gaining empowerment. Fine. But you can tell that story in 150 less pages. Believe me, as someone who has opened a novel with significant scenes of abuse and trauma, I know what it means to cut back. It pays to trust your reader and rein it in sometimes.

Which comes to one of the most blatant transgressions Maas commits: her lack of editing. Sure, at this point, she’s kind of well-known for her signature long sequels. But larger word counts do not good writing make. This novel could have easily been a solid 400 pages without the faffing about she does in the beginning.

There are some books that really excel in being split into distinct acts. Separating segments via setting or plot shifts can really solidify the narrative, but Maas’ acts can be separated out according to isolated moments sliding along a scale of boring, great, horrifying, and dire. Which is not what you want out of a narrative arc.

I actually thoroughly enjoyed the middle of this novel. For 200 pages, it seems like Maas has begun to atone for all her grievous harm done in her previous works. She introduces some interesting female characters for Feyre to befriend. The friend dynamic of Rhysand’s council is easily one of the strengths of the series and I wish she could have introduced them by the end of the first book. Amren in particular is a fascinating character, who, for a hot second, seems like she might kick some ass in a dark, ruthless, gory kind of way. She and Feyre have a great scene where they’re given permission to go out on a mission and be badass. I was excited to see where this would go and I looked forward to seeing these new battle sisters doing some serious damage together. Unfortunately, there are once more, long interludes where Amren keeps herself locked up, decoding things while the others go out and do the exciting stuff. Until the climax of the novel, the best, most dynamic addition to the cast has been shafted. As are all of the female characters in this series.

Here’s the thing.

For the most part, I like the girls in this book. At face value, they’re great. Nesta, Amren, Mor, and Feyre could all hold their own in battle as easily as they could all have a slumber-party style ki-ki over wine together. But the patriarchal world they’re placed in does no favours for them. Maas’ faerie world is build up by patriarchal traditions, where the men are led by their territorial, violent animal instincts:

“What’s normal?” I said.

… “The … frenzy … When a couple accepts the mating bond, it’s … overwhelming. Again, harkening back to the beasts we once were. Probably something about ensuring the female is impregnated. … Some couples don’t leave the house for a week. Males get so volatile that it can be dangerous for them to be in public, anyway. I’ve seen males of reason and education shatter a room because another male looked too long in their mate’s direction too soon after they’ve been mated.”

This hyper-masculine tradition also happens to heavily feature treating women like commodities they can use and throw away whenever they like. Rhysand, a character Maas tries so hard to pass off as a celebrated feminist, even tells Feyre in the heat of passion that, “I want you splayed out on the table like my own personal feast”. Every single one of Maas’ male characters, including, and especially Rhys, is a product of this tradition. But instead of engaging with commentary about how toxic such a worldview is, Maas just lets her characters carry on in this reality without consequence, self-awareness, or rebellion against it, as can be seen by Rhys’ explanation of women’s place in the kitchen, and Feyre’s subsequent acquiescence to that role as Rhys' partner:

“It’s an … important moment when a female offers her mate food. It goes back to whatever beasts we were a long, long time ago. But it still matters. The first time matters. Some mated pairs will make an occasion of it– throwing a party just so the female can formally offer her mate food … But it means that the female … accepts the bond.”

This old-fashioned, dare I say, archaic misogynistic ideal is just treated as the norm, effectively cementing every other male fantasy writer’s depiction of patriarchal societies as the ultimate world-building feature of the genre.

I don’t know what Maas is thinking, but whatever it is, it’s not cute.

Why are we still putting fantasies set in patriarchal worlds on such a high pedestal? It’s fantasy! What’s more, it’s 2017! You can’t tell me it’s more realistic to write a patriarchal society than literally any other kind in a fantasy world. When Maas, a woman writer creating her own world from scratch, has the chance to do whatever she wants, this is what she gives us?

One of the most horrifying scenes in A Court of Thorns and Roses (which is also shockingly overlooked) is Rhysand drugging Feyre and turning her into his slave whore without her consent. Maas sweeps this under the rug with a quick explanation that is all justified to a.) save Rhys’ fearsome reputation among the other realms, and b.) protect Feyre from the horrors of Amarantha’s kingdom. Just when I thought this particular plot was given its much needed closure (shut it down, Sarah. Shut it down right now!), the slave whore plot rears its ugly head again:

“I had heard the rumours, and I didn’t quite believe him.” [Keir’s] gaze settled on me, on my breasts, peaked through the folds of my dress, of my legs, spread wider than they’d been minutes before, and Rhys’ hand in dangerous territory. “But it seems true: Tamlin’s pet is now owned by another master.”

“You should see how I make her beg,” Rhys murmured, nudging my neck with his nose.

Keir clasped his hands behind his back. “I assume you brought her to make a statement.”

“You know everything I do is a statement.”

The only difference is, Feyre’s aware and consenting this time. Still, the skimpy dress and incredibly graphic touching on Rhys’ part all in the name of creating a diversion isn’t good enough to justify his actions. Rhysand’s created a thinly-veiled excuse to once again, objectify Feyre, touch her inappropriately in front of everyone, and lay claim to her when she’s not his to claim:

“Try not to let it go to your head.”

…I … said with midnight smoothness, “What?”

Rhys’ breath caressed my ear, the twin to the breath he’d brushed against it merely an hour ago in the skies. “That every male in here is contemplating what they’d be willing to give up in order to get that pretty, red mouth of yours on them.”

…His hand slid higher up my thigh, the proprietary touch of a male who knew he owned someone body and soul.

His eyes on the Steward, Rhys made vague nods every now and then. While his fingers continued their slow, steady stroking on my thighs, rising higher with every pass.

People were watching. Even as they drank and ate, even as some danced in small circles, people were watching. I was sitting in his lap, his own personal plaything, his every touch visible to them.

This isn’t romantic, this isn’t sexy, and it’s straight up not okay!

At what point did this series just turn into a horrific Princes Leia/Jabba the Hut smutfic? I know the only ones imagining what it might’ve been like had Leia been chained to Sexy McSexMachine instead of a giant blob are usually the pervy weirdos. Meaning no one in their right minds would want that mental image. Absolutely no one. In fact, the moment that image popped into my head, the final implosion of Rhys and Feyre’s sexual tension was made all the more cringe-worthy. There’s a reason Carrie Fisher spoke so strongly against Jabba and the gold bikini. She knew what it meant to be objectified, something Maas does not succeed in exploiting with Rhys’ choice to put Feyre in these skimpy outfits not once, but twice in this series. While yes, putting her in these outfits is ultimately a con-game, why should he be lauded for still playing by patriarchal rules in the first place? Shouldn’t the correct course of action be to break down those gender barriers?

All I have left to say about that is, I’m sorry, Sarah. You wrote that Leia/Jabba fanfiction. You made your bed. Now lie in it.

I suppose it’s about time to address the elephant in the room: Rhys. Oh boy… I don’t know how someone can pull together a character’s development so offensively, but Maas somehow wins the prize. He spends the entire first book as a lackey to the villain, doing the best he can to humiliate and emotionally manipulate Feyre. Now, we’re expected to believe he’s not only Feyre’s true love (oh, sorry… mate), but a feminist icon? I’m sorry. No. Did we already forget that he drugged her and made her dance for him in Leia’s gold bikini? It happened. I’m not about to let people forget it…

Readers fall all over themselves over him for coming to Feyre’s rescue when she begs to be saved from her wedding to Tamlin. On the surface, he’s set up to directly juxtapose Tamlin’s controlling over-protectiveness by letting Feyre do whatever she likes. Yet there’s still an unhealthy amount of Rhys manipulating situations in order to do what he feels is best for her. Not what Feyre thinks is best for herself, but what he thinks is best. Every single decision Feyre makes is based on Rhys’ influence. Nothing she does is for herself. By making Rhysand’s word law, Maas effectively strips Feyre of her agency, ironically, the one thing Rhys has attempted to help her regain in the first place.

What’s more, I don’t know who any of these characters are outside of their relation to Rhysand. They all revolve around him, because in Maas’ paraphrased words, he’s the most beautiful, powerful, strongest male in the kingdom. I honestly don’t need this overcompensation to make up for how toxic he is as a person. Not to mention, his male friends are nothing but carbon copies of him. Cassian and Azriel share his colouring and Ilyrian wings. I’ve seen plenty of fanart out there depicting the full cast of characters and I can never tell one male character from the another, nor one female character from another. The men (Azriel, Cassian, and Rhysand) are handsome and dark haired, the women (Feyre, Nesta, Elain, and Mor), beautiful and blonde. Again, the only stand-out is Amren, who is woefully underrepresented and poorly used in the novel. When you have a white cookie cutter template for every character in your patriarchal world, you’ve gotta step outside your box to deliver some diversity at some point. Otherwise, everything’s just vanilla with a side of racism.

If you think Rhys is the only male character abusing women in this novel, you would be dead wrong. Every single female character in this series has an honestly triggering backstory involving rape, whether emotional or physical. This novel is undoubtedly the sort of thing that should come with a warning. I’ve seen copies with warnings that the series is not suitable for young readers on the back cover, but it’s both irresponsible to then market it as YA, and not discuss rape and abuse responsibly. In fact, given how frequently Maas uses the rape card and how non-existent any discourse concerning the consequences is, I’d say this is a dire case of romanticising rape. And I’m tired of seeing readers obsessing over series like these en masse. It's doing nothing but perpetuating rape culture.

Mor in particular has a brutal rape backstory. This is made all the more upsetting by how eager her father is to sell her off to the highest bidder, and her desperation to lose her virginity on her own terms:

“I wanted Cassian to be the one who did it. I wanted to choose … Rhys came back the next morning, and when he learned what had happened … He and Cassian … I’ve never seen them fight like that. Hopefully I never will again.I know Rhys wasn’t pissed about my virginity, but rather the danger that losing it had put me in. Azriel was even angrier about it–though he let Rhys do the walloping. They knew what my family would do for debasing myself.”

“I wanted my first time to be with one of the legendary Illyrian warriors. I wanted to lie with the greatest of Illyrian warriors, actually. And I’d taken one look at Cassian and known. … He just wants what he can’t have, and it’s irritated him for centuries that I walked away and never looked back.”

“Oh, it drives him insane,” Rhys said from behind me.

What’s worrying here is that while the men are praised for playing the patriarchal system to protect their women, female characters like Mor aren’t shown the same respect for protecting themselves. Mor’s entire character arc is punishment for her female sexuality, kept completely out of her control. Not once does a female character speak out against her sexual abuse, nor do they seek justice for it.

In a recent interview, Maas has stated that she only writes sex scenes if they further the plot. When literally everyone’s backstory hinges on sex, whether consensual or otherwise, I find that doubtful. If there’s one positive thing i’ll say about Maas, it’s that i’m glad she’s leading the charge for sex-positive female characters. But empowering are these characters really, when they’re defined by their desirability to men and their past sexual traumas? Sure, Feyre has sexual agency, but what else does she have? Especially in a patriarchal world where this is expected of her, and she doesn’t even use this “power” to her advantage…

Look, I’m glad Feyre’s getting pleasured the way she wants it, when she wants it, and the detailed depiction of her sexual stimulation might help girls become more aware of their own bodies and sexuality. But when this is the highest profile series featuring female sexuality in the YA market right now, what kind of example are we really setting here?

Feminism doesn’t begin and end with sexual expression. It’s more than that and Maas’ characters have to join that fight. Especially given it’s one of the highest selling fantasy series in the market right now. Sarah J. Maas is not the feminist role model we need for this generation of girls.

We need more than this.

In short, I’m absolutely shocked and appalled that so many people blindly gave this book 4 and 5 stars. Even those who acknowledge how problematic Maas’ writing is. Is it really worth overlooking blatant normalised rape culture to call something your favourite series? As I said from the outset, we’ve already been there with Twilight. An entire generation of girls fell head over heels for Edward Cullen, a 100+ year old stalker who dictated Bella Swan’s ever action and motivation. Now, here we are again, encouraging a new generation of teens to swoon over this sexy, emotionally manipulative product of rape culture, without any acknowledgement of the consequences.

We need to do better. Starting with readers. Starting with authors. Starting with publishers.

It’s time to hold ourselves accountable for the content we praise and allow kids to read. Because toxic masculinity and rape culture are not values to uphold. We live in a world where the President of the United States can brag about grabbing women by the pussy without recourse. Where old, white men are constantly dictating women’s reproductive rights. Where women are catcalled in the streets and victim blamed for the clothes they wear. Where girls can’t even go out at night on their own without the threat of sexual assault.

Is this really what we want to teach our daughters, sisters, students, friends? That it’s okay, to allow passing men to objectify us, just because they have power over us?

Listen, girls. This is the thing: men have power over us so long as we give it to them. So long as we keep laying down and accepting that we’re weak and in need of defending, they’ll keep doing it. And people like Sarah J. Maas will keep holding to those gender expectations. They’ll keep defining romantic ideals based on hyper-masculine overprotective, possessive men.

It’s up to us to redefine romantic ideals. To tear down toxic masculinity and uplift healthy, equal relationships based on mutual respect.

Because you’re worth so much more than that. You deserve better than Rhysand. Align yourself with people who value you for who you are and not just your body. Listen to them when they praise you for your talents. Accept their recommendations when they stumble across media showcasing aspirational women rising above the status quo. You are more than just an object holding a man’s attention. You are yourself and you deserve the world.

Look beyond the smokescreen of Sarah J. Maas’ works and aspire to be something more.

#sarah j. maas #acotar #acomaf #anti-acotar #anti-maas #fantasy #feminism #YA #young adult #toxic masculinity #female sexuality #rape culture

[baaabyjane]

Who are the descendants of the Fae Warrior from the Bone Carver's Story? Queen Vassa? Archeron Sisters?

We keep trying to find connections between ToG to ACOTAR. And we thought the Bone Carver’s story was a goldmine for the crossover we all want.

Many theorize that the Fae Warrior the Bone Carver was talking about is Aelin Galathynius.

At first, I believed it was Elena Galathynius Havilliard because the Carver said that her blood now traces to a human line, so I thought about the Havilliards and how they are human, except that Dorian inherited Elena’s raw powers. Then the Bone Carver also said that he knew the Fae warrior wouldn’t be able to defeat them, only entomb them, so I thought he was talking about Elena trapping Erawan.

But boy oh boy was I wrong! What can I say? I WAS YOUNG AND STUPID. I WAS THIRSTY FOR ANYTHING THAT CAN VAGUELY BE CROSSOVER MATERIAL FOR TOG AND ACOTAR.

But reading ACOWAR for the second time, I realized THE STORY ABOUT THE FAE WARRIOR HAPPENED LONG AGO IN PRYTHIAN. Not in ToG World, and not where the Carver and his siblings came from.

When they came upon this world, it was new and they were Death-Gods. The Bone Carver had hidden in The Prison long before that Fae Warrior managed to bound Stryga the Weaver in The Middle and Koschei to the lake in the Continent because Carver knew that the Fae Warrior wouldn’t be able to kill or banish them, just entomb them. WOW THAT FAE WARRIOR MUST REALLY BE POWERFUL TO HAVE AT LEAST BEEN ABLE TO “TRAP” THOSE DEATH-GODS. We’ll talk more about “trapping” in a bit.

The Fae Warrior’s blood traces into a human line. Oh, I don’t know? MAYBE QUEEN VASSA OR THE ARCHERON SISTERS?! Because why would SJM have the Bone Carver mention all those details to Feyre at all if it wasn’t important?

WHY I THINK THE FAE WARRIOR IS THE ANCESTOR OF THE ARCHERON SISTERS:

• Fae Ancestry mentioned in ACOTAR. Remember at the beginning of ACOTAR when Feyre was describing their home, the runes for protection around their door was made by someone claiming to have distant Fae Ancestry in exchange for her father’s wood carvings. When I first read about that, I keep thinking: “Oh yeah that’s possible? Maybe the main character MUST BE A DESCENDANT OF SOME REALLY POWERFUL FAE.” Looking at it now, it all seemed so funny how suspicious I was.

• The sisters dealing with ancient powerful creatures and stuff. We get that the Suriel kept coming back for Feyre once each book to help her because of her kindness. But remember that first time when she was still human and she managed to “TRAP” the Suriel in her first try. And everyone’s like shocked because that shit ain’t easy, even High Lords can rarely do that and most not at all.

Nesta didn’t get brainwashed by Tamlin effectively.

Remember Amarantha’s first test with the Middengard Wyrm, Feyre managed to “TRAP” that into death real good. She was still human back then!

Then in ACOMAF, Feyre visited the Bone Carver with Rhys and the Bone Carver was curious about her being Made so he was willing to talk to her. He told her about his story and his siblings. In ACOWAR, he also willingly bound himself into an Illyrian form and left his haven in the Prison to fight in the war when Feyre managed to look upon Ouroburos and didn’t go bat shit crazy because that meant to him that she would be worth it.

Don’t even get me started when Rhys sent Feyre to the Weaver during ACOMAF so she could retrieve the ring his mother gave him. That shit was creepy af. Even the High Lords don’t mess with the Weaver but Feyre took the ring and managed to get away. I don’t think anyone has ever really gotten away EXCEPT THE FAE WARRIOR WHO MANAGED TO BIND OR “TRAP” THE WEAVER IN THE MIDDLE. But I loved how in ACOWAR, Feyre tricked Ianthe and her Hybern bodyguards into entering The Weaver’s cottage. I wished we could’ve seen what the Weaver did to them, I’m very curious with how the Weaver does the whole process.

Bryaxis. That adorable scary af whirlwind of nightmares and shadows from beneath the library at the House of Wind in Velaris. He made deals with Feyre. The first one was that it will kill the Hybern messengers who attacked the library in exchange for someone to tell it stories. Second, he’ll fight in the war for a window in its place in the library so it can see the moon and the stars. During the battle though, he disappeared. We don’t know where Bryaxis went or what the hell happened but other than that, I think Feyre handled Bryaxis pretty well.

Then there’s that whole deal with The Cauldron and the Archeron Sisters. Feyre and the Book of Breathings. Then Feyre with Ouroborous.

• The process of transforming into Fae varies from the strength of a person. Feyre is different from the two because she died breaking Amarantha’s Curse before she was made into a Fae by the Seven High Lords of Prythian, and she was unknowingly given some of their powers. The other Archeron sisters were both made into Fae by the Cauldron. Elain had been gifted the power of foresight while Nesta took more power than it was willing to give. THEY ALL SURVIVE.

• Mates are equals and it is rare. Feyre is mated with the most powerful High Lord of Prythian. Elain has a mating bond with the only son of Helion Spell-cleaver, High Lord of the Day Court. And Nesta MUST be mates with the most powerful Illyrian Commander because the signs are there.

Made into Fae? Check.

Awesome Powers? Check.

Equally Powerful Mate? Check.

The Archeron Sisters didn’t just receive a Fae Starter Pack, they got like the Ultimate Fae Life Package. Maybe it’s because they already had Fae blood to begin with?

I KNOW YOU’RE ALL THINKING THAT THERE WERE OTHER REASONS WHY ALL THAT HAPPENED. BUT MAYBE THEY ALSO HAD DISTANT FAE ANCESTRY AND IT WAS A FACTOR THAT HELPED MAKE THIS ALL HAPPEN.

If the Archeron sisters aren’t the descendants, then MAYBE QUEEN VASSA? I kinda feel like this is more likely? Because why mention that part about the Fae Warrior at all if it wasn’t significant to the story? And why was the Fae Warrior story just mentioned when Feyre’s POV was about to end? Maybe it’s a setup for the spin-offs and it will only be significant when it comes to the Nesta and/or Elain’s plotline? OR MAYBE QUEEN VASSA IS THE DESCENDANT OF THE FAE WARRIOR, AND NOT THE ARCHERON SISTERS!

WHY I THINK THE FAE WARRIOR IS THE ANCESTOR OF QUEEN VASSA:

The Bone Carver said that his brother, Koschei, was bound to a Lake in the Continent. Queen Vassa was betrayed by the other Mortal Queens, cursed and held captive by a sorcerer-lord at a Lake in the Continent. WE ALL BELIEVE THIS IS CONNECTED, DON’T DENY IT.

And although it was mentioned by Elain that in her vision the sorcerer-lord had a habit of collecting girls and turning them into white birds, Queen Vassa seemed to be different and special because she was turned into a firebird. Interesting. But why was she different? Was it because she was a Queen or is there something more?

Just think about it. If Queen Vassa is the descendant of the Fae Warrior, cursing her must be like Koschei’s revenge in a way. And also, maybe he needs Queen Vassa to unbound himself from the lake so he can prounce around the Continent, destroying people like in the good ol’ days before Prythian even had High Lords. Of course, we only know so little about Queen Vassa and her kingdom but we can’t deny the possibility!

I also have suspicions about Jurian but I’m leaning towards the ladies being the descendants.

I KNOW I’M RAMBLING LIKE BAT SHIT CRAZY BUT I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME AND I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT THIS JUST MAKES SENSE TO ME.

I’m not sure I explained myself well because I was speed-typing just so I don’t forget what I was trying to say but I hope I got my point across.

I hope we get our answers in 2018! For now, we theorize. Help a female out and tell me what you guys think!

#acowar #a court of wings and ruin #feyre #nesta archeron #elain archeron #queen vassa #fae warrior #bone carver #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #acomaf #a court of mist and fury #sarah j maas #sjmaas #baaabyjane #baaabyjane talks acotar series #court of dreams #high lady of the night court #rhysand #high lord of the night court #cassian #azriel #morrigan #amren #night court #jurian #mortal queens

[moiraineswife]

16 and 23 for ACOWAR asks.

16) Mor’s power - what would you like it to be?

I’ve made a theory about this before but I like the idea of Mor having some kind of foresight. The truth magic is more complicated but also interesting. Feyre has a few superstitions about the fae in ACOTAR and I think most of them are foreshadowing:

‘That was the first rule we were taught as children, usuallyin songs or chants: If misfortune forced you to keep company with a faerie, younever drank their wine, never ate their food. Ever. Unless you wanted to windup enslaved to them in mind and soul.’

This bit obviously foreshadows the mating bond and the way that it’s sealed - the female offers the male food and this seals the bond. So this superstition is definitely rooted in fact. 

‘And faeries couldn’t lie.’

I think this part might hint at the Suriel and its truth when captured (something Lucien mentions as a throwaway comment in ACOTAR before we see it) but I also think it speaks to Mor/the Vertias’ truth magic. There are a couple of ways I could see this manifesting - she can’t lie to humans if she’s invoked a certain piece of magic ‘You know I speak the truth’ OR: 

“You try to break the bargain, and you know what willhappen,” 

[…]

“He said there were consequences for breaking a magicalbargain.”

There’s quite a palava made over bargains in this series, specifically magical fae bargains. Rhys mentions several times the consequences of breaking a magical bargain - Tamlin seems incapable of breaking this one or finding a way to break it (apart from going through the King of Hybern) and Amarantha we saw was compelled to hold to her bargain - the magic broke when Feyre answered her riddle as she had no loopholes worked in there to save her. 

I wonder sometimes if Mor’s ability is something along the same lines - if she can compel people to hold to their truths, even if it’s not made in the form of an official bargain, or if breaking a bargain bonded by her carries even stronger penalties than Amarantha breaking her word. In that case the magic simply circumvented her will and granted what she had promised. 

I don’t think she can compel others to speak the truth to her (otherwise she’d probably have Azriel’s job tbh, magic is a heck of a lot easier and more reliable than torture) but maybe she can sense lies? Or maybe she can see/sense other people’s truths (the Bone Carver can do something like this so we know it’s possible) Or maybe she can state things/people exactly as they are - and the people she speaks to really do know that she’s telling the truth and that she isn’t lying to them. ‘I am the Morrigan, you know I speak the truth.’ maybe she’s literally told us what she can do. Or maybe she can compel people to believe that she’s speaking the truth even if she’s not (though I doubt that - she gets called out on lies and too much stock is placed in the Veritas which is said to carry a similar kind of magic to Mor) The truth is (ha) that SJM is so vague about this that tbh she could do pretty much anything even remotely related to truth, we don’t have enough to properly guess, or even have a reasonable stab at it. 

She probably also has a serious amount of power there too, beyond her truth magic, given that she survived a fight with Amren and that everyone was so desperate to breed said power into their bloodlines (ugh). And she’s a war veteran, she actively fought in the war and she’s more powerful than Cassian and Azriel and...entire armies of Illyrians SO. Someone give me the goods, please and thank you. 

23) Babies - yea or nay? If you had to pick one couple to have a mini, who would it be?

No. I have Strong Opinions on this topic. You didn’t ask, but you’re getting them anyway: 

Moriel: No. None. Never. Not now. Not in ten years. not in a hundred years. not in a thousand years. Never. A)- I don’t think either of them would actually want them? They want to be free, they want to just be with each other and enjoy each other and just be allowed to do what they want and neither of them really feels that urge. B)- I don’t think Mor actually can have children. (This is one of those headcanons were at this point I don’t care what canon does because this makes too much sense to me for me to let go of it.) But it just..it’s horribly fitting in a twisted way - she took away her value to Keir, her ability to marry Eris and gain him wealth and power by association, so he took away the only thing he saw as giving her any value or worth - her ability to bear children. Which probably upsets her a little bit when others start having smalls but...She and Az are quite sure. They are enough for each other, they don’t need children to be happy or to love and want and need each other. So. No babies here ever. Moriel are a baby free zone on this blog. 

Feyrhys: tbh....I can go with them never having any really easily. Like...they’re immortal?? They don’t need them in theory? I mean...Tarquin inherited his position as High Lord as the cousin of the previous one. So the previous one died without issue so it just jumped to the next suitable dude in the family. It’s not essential is what I’m saying. Rhys would never pressure Feyre into having them and to be honest...I can’t see Feyre wanting them. She parented her family for most of her childhood and every time she’s considered pregnancy/children it’s been a case of ‘do not want them’. She makes it very, very clear she’d have nothing to do with Isaac without a tonic ensuring that she can’t get pregnant; she implies she was taking a tonic while she and Tamlin were together (she tells Rhys at the cabin that she isn’t taking one anymore - implying that she was) despite Tamlin’s mentioning them having children/heirs some day. She deliberately speaks to Rhys about it after their sex marathon chapter 55 and makes it clear that the only way she’d thought about having them would have been as an obligation. If she’d been obliged to provide him with children as his mate which Rhys shuts down. She then admits that she wants Rhys to herself for a good few centuries. 

This is not a girl who can’t wait to have children and honestly, I’d like it if she never did. Yes, yes she might change her mind but tbh I hate that line of thinking the ‘oh you’ll feel incomplete without them some day!’ Fuck that. A woman can be entirely complete without children and without the societal pressure/expectation to have them..I honestly don’t think Feyre would fancy it. (They will probably have a baby in canon but in my head...they’re baby free.....at the very, very, very, very, very least for like 500 solid years. Maybe more. Probably more. But not like 50 years after the war just N O. Let the girl live.) 

Nessian: Nessian are funny. I can see them going either way but...I think I’d like them to have maybe one or two, actually. I think Cassian would be pretty up for it, with some proper talking and planning. It’s not something he’d rush into impulsively but...I think he would get quite broody and I think this would happen before Nesta. I think Nesta might feel a little guilty almost that she doesn’t want this at all but Cass, like Rhys, is very firm in that he’s not pushing her into this at all and that she has absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. He’d like kids, maybe, some day, but they are not necessary at all.

 I think Nesta has a bit of a turning point with them and she genuinely goes from ‘over my dead body’ to ‘Cassian knock me up immediately’. I think maybe elucien are onto their third, maybe fourth, and she holds this little one in her arms and she just...bonds with it. And then she starts feeling things that she’s never, ever felt before and she looks up at Cassian and she knows that she loves him so much and that....She wants this. She really, really, really wants this. She wants a baby. She wants to be a mother.  

I think the thought of it still kind of terrifies her and she bottles this up for a while thinking it might go away (it doesn’t. It just gets worse.) Finally Cassian coaxes it out of her and she admits she’s been thinking about it and he’s overjoyed and they agree to start planning and preparing and then trying. Nesta is probably quite insecure once she does actually get pregnant but Cass is very gentle and reassuring and it’s just something they both want so desperately after a few centuries together. 

Elucien: Probably get pregnant during the mating bond sex marathon tbh. No, no not quite but I do think they talk about it early on and both agree that they want it. They probably, very sensibly, agree that they have plenty of time, no need to rush anything, they can wait, just enjoy themselves, they don’t need little ones, they should just calm down. They probably give themselves a time restriction of like a century to just be. I don’t think they make it through half of that before they’re actively trying because they just...Need to be parents, it doesn’t feel right otherwise. 

They have a large brood, they just keep having more, it just feels right. And then once they get to the point where they stop having little ones of their own they just start adopting other little ones. (Right, listen, I’ve definitely talked about this before but I love the heck out of this headcanon so have it again: Azriel is grudgingly in the war camps for some time and while he’s there he finds a little baby girl being mistreated by her family. Obviously given Azriel’s history and his general...well self he’s not too happy with this so he just. No. I am taking her away (he really doesn’t think this through at all, bless him, but he’s trying to do the right thing) So he scoops the little one up and takes her away and basically Mor comes home like.........Azriel.....why exactly are you trying to quieten a screaming baby?? So Az explains and Mor is very touched but also a bit o.O Az we cannot keep her, this is a child, not that stray cat you adopted last week, okay, it’s a bit different. So, naturally, they do the only sensible thing and they send for Elain. Elain who has only recently found herself with an empty house that just feels entirely too empty and too quiet. She goes to see them and within seconds the baby is quiet and happy in her arms and she’s in love and taking her home. (Lucien is a little bit !!! about this plan because ‘uh, dove, she has wings.’ but Elain insists happily that they’ll just have to figure it out because they simply must take care of her. This sparks a little tradition of them taking in unwanted little ones from all over Prythian and taking care of them.) 

So, to summarise and actually answer the question: Moriel: no. Feyrhys: if you put a gun to my head. Nessian: after many, many, many centuries. Elucien: why do they not have babies already!? 

#elucien #moriel #nessian #feyrhys #acowar #UNPOPULAR OPINION FOR THE FEYRHYS BUT IDC #i just cannot see her /wanting/ them. i can see her feeling obliged/compelled somehow. but not actively /wanting/ them herself #acotar series #ask game answers #answered #lauren answers