#pre-acofas

[thewayshedreamed]

The Hereafter

Nessian one-shot [post-acowar, pre-acofas]

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A/N: Some post-war, pre-acosf Nessian angst/ longing— because that's what called to me, okay? We got hints of the strained relations during that Nessian era, but we didn't get the full visibility. This was an attempt at a glimpse into one of those interactions— where the pull is there, but the barriers are, too. Nesta doesn't quite understand everything that comes with her new existence and is still trying to find her place in it all. Cassian attempts to stay out of her way and give her space, but their draw to the other has a mind all its own. Nesta is also very unfamiliar with Fae norms and customs, and that only adds to the unresolved tension between the two of them.

This is an angsty one-shot written for my wonderful and patient friend who made zero complaints about getting her Secret Santa gift in March 😅

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For a species considered to be superior in every way— proclaimed largely by their own, unsurprisingly— the Fae left a lot to be desired in their romance literature.

Different preternatural ability, same load of bullshit.

Nesta scoffed internally. It wasn’t as if she held any notion that these fictitious relationships were meant for her, or anyone else, really. And if she truly abandoned what remained of her prim, high-collar upbringing, she could admit to reading them for the more physical connections as of late. She held higher hopes for those experiences than the more wholesome ones. The thought was so bleak that it should have depressed her, but she would have needed to be anything other than numb for that to happen.

It was ironic, this new existence. All her senses firing beyond any reasonable ability, yet complete and total apathy for anything else. An almost painful sensitivity paired with the need for extremes to evoke any care at all.

The forced choice between emptiness and the pain that accompanied experiencing anything to its fullest.

The war had changed Nesta in many ways. Her general perspective and approach to life had been challenged by the low odds of her survival, and they were changed altogether when she’d managed it. Of course, she hadn’t been alone in achieving it, but that was another road entirely to travel.

A booming laugh sounded down the hall, and the abrupt lapse of silence made Nesta flinch. She was seated in a bay window off the side of her sister’s home, tucked among a few plush pillows and with a blanket draped over her lap. The quiet had made it the perfect spot to sit and read, and she scowled in the general direction of the offending noise.

It was his laugh, and she cringed at the realization that she knew it so well. Their interactions had been minimal before, but since the war, they had been nearly nonexistent. It seemed that neither of them had managed to figure out how to broach any casual interaction after Cassian’s words had settled into her bones during, what they’d assumed was, their final moments.

I regret nothing in my life but this.

Nesta snapped her book shut and leaned her head against the window. The way his words haunted her jabbed at a long-dormant buzz beneath her skin, down to her bone marrow. The subtle warmth came first, only enough to attempt to seduce her into leaning into it. But Nesta wasn’t one to give in so easily.

Discipline and strategic distraction had been her allies in tamping down what she’d stolen. Anytime her vigilance dropped, even for a moment, that warmth escalated to a sharp, bone-melting heat that left her feeling like her only option was to erupt. The alternative was implosion, she imagined.

Her will kept her safe. Everyone hinted at trying to understand the power and learning to wield it so that it didn’t control her or drive her to madness. Her response was always the same— cold indifference, perhaps a quick retort to mind their own business depending on the day. Either one was preferable to the truth.

The potential, both positive and negative, terrified her.

Laughter sounded again. Nesta wished it would have served as kindling to a lighter version of herself, one where her chest didn’t feel so heavy and her shoulders weren’t perched so high. All it did was point out how she didn’t fit, how everyone had seemed to heal in immeasurable ways in the months since the war. Ways that eluded her time and time again.

Amren had offered plenty of unsolicited advice. Feyre probably would have done the same if Nesta had given a shred of hope that her sister’s help would have been well-received.

While their High Lady— gods, would that title ever feel commonplace?— was keen to allow Nesta to set her own pace, Amren hadn’t been. Tough love didn’t begin to describe her approach in supporting Nesta, and frankly, some days it felt less like support and more like a begrudged job.

Apparently, merely existing wasn’t an acceptable way to pass the infinite time. Amren had challenged her to do something with it, and since the days after the war held fewer opportunities for an emissary, Nesta had been left to figure out what the hell she cared to do with her days.

Elain had her gardening, and while Nesta appreciated the dedication and focus her sister poured into it, it wasn’t something she was interested in practicing herself. Feyre had whatever High Ladies were tasked with doing, although she guessed Feyre was setting the standards as the first in Prythian’s history.

Nesta rested her book on the bench nearby and began folding the blanket she’d used. More commotion came from down the hall, and as the voices grew louder, she realized she’d spent more time than she intended lost in her thoughts.

That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.

Her eyes squeezed shut against the intrusion of the memory. It was always unwelcome and particularly ill-timed. And wasn’t that the fatal flaw in all of it— time?

She fluffed the throw pillows and tucked her novel beneath her arm. On silent feet, she padded to the stairs nearby and followed them down through one of the house’s several living areas, smoothing her skirts and making her way to the kitchen. A relieved breath whooshed out of her at hearing those same voices descending the stairs, and she thanked the Cauldron that she’d managed to avoid them.

A scoff escaped her. Since when had she started thanking that glorified pot for anything?

Cynicism greeted her like an old friend, albeit not a very good one. The reprieves were always too brief and lackluster in contrast, but Nesta's very essence clung to them all the same. All for naught, usually.

Sitting idle was guaranteed to allow for rumination over the previous months and the infinite ones she’d yet to live. Something had to compete with her thoughts, lest she lean too heavily into them and stoke that aversive thrumming in her veins.

She hadn’t put much thought into heading toward the kitchen, especially since her appetite was nonexistent most of the time, and she had yet to allow herself to indulge in much of the Fae cuisine.

The inspiration didn’t reveal itself until she crossed the threshold of the spacious area. The merry group indulging in each others’ obnoxious company would likely carry their festivities into dinner, and one thing was for absolute certain.

Nesta would not be subjecting herself to that.

The invitations always came, usually from Feyre. Sometimes, Rhysand offered, but he seemed as enthusiastic about Nesta’s company as she felt about his.

It was a double-edged sword. Accepting the invitation came with a myriad of inevitable, uncomfortable moments. Declining it was a sin all its own, as evidenced by Feyre’s disappointment and compounded by Rhysand’s disapproval of the decision. All it did was perpetuate Nesta as the cold, callused bitch— no matter what she chose.

Preparing her own dinner seemed like a creative solution that was tolerable enough, and it allowed her to eat alone to avoid the questioning gazes as she picked at her meal. She had little interest in the task and even less interest in the product, but she would have an out for any invitations. Cooking was a small price.

Choosing what to make wasn’t difficult since Nesta cared for so few things. The only dish she’d managed to tolerate in recent memory was a chicken and bean stew she’d been gifted from a Fae vendor along the Sidra. She had taken a short stroll through Velaris in the middle of the day, and sheer curiosity had made her browse the vendor’s cart. Before she’d blinked, they had recognized her as their High Lady’s sister, and they’d insisted on sending Nesta away with lunch— their treat. A gesture of thanks, they’d said.

The stew had been rich and flavorful, and despite herself, Nesta had enjoyed it. And since her appetite had been pitiful in recent weeks, she was grateful that it hadn’t sat too heavily in her empty stomach. The bar was low with regard to what she considered a win in her new life, and the lack of nausea had made the list until some other facet of existence brought it upon her anyway.

Nesta shook her head against the thought and retrieved the handwritten recipe she’d tucked into a rarely used drawer. The vendor had been enthusiastic in sharing it with her, insisting it was “too simple” not to try herself, but they had clearly overestimated Nesta’s domestic abilities.

Looking back, she’d questioned the vendor’s business sense in offering one of his dishes to her so openly, so they hadn’t been the only one leaning into their bias. He had explained it away somehow; something about doubting Nesta would have much time to return and the fact that she would have no reason to start her own food cart as competition with her other duties.

If only she could have explained how undefined her role felt each day, how meaningless her presence seemed to the longevity of the Night Court. Maybe she could have shared how she remained in a perpetual, personal battle between relief that they didn’t need her and the sheer emptiness left where purpose should have been. Before the thought could discourage her, her reasons for cooking in the first place propelled her into action.

Her nose wrinkled against the smell of the raw chicken. Her movements had never been as efficient as in preparing it for boiling, nevermind her clumsiness along the way. She heaved a breath once she lowered it into the rolling water and turned her attention to chopping the onions and carrots, as well as the fresh herbs from Elain’s garden. Admittedly, the fresh thyme and rosemary offered a pleasant scent to combat the earlier one, and after some time, Nesta found temporary comfort in the redundancy of preparation.

The aroma came together beautifully once the various herbs, spices, and vegetables simmered with the chicken. Nesta allowed herself a moment to be pleased with her work and returned the lid to the large pot to allow everything time to cook together.

Voices travelled into the space from the other room— loud, although not entirely hostile— and resonated in the hollow area within her chest. Determined not to allow them to sour her satisfaction, Nesta settled into the nearby breakfast nook with her novel. She opened to her most recent page and lost herself in the space between the words, happy to immerse herself in some other life.

—

Fire.

Nesta smelled fire.

Her eyes leaped from the page to scan the immediate area. No smoke, no visible flames. The scent remained; however, and Nesta wondered about temporary madness until its source strode into the kitchen.

Cassian appeared— sauntered, as he usually did— around the corner, and the scent intensified. It hijacked Nesta’s senses, eclipsed all the other aromas she’d enjoyed earlier, until he was the object of her resolute focus. Against her will, to top it off.

He opened several cupboards in search of, only the gods knew what, until his eyes lit up at finding a package of dried meats in the pantry. Tucking it into the crook of his elbow, he opened another cupboard and pulled crackers, what looked like some kind of preserved fruit, and some nuts. Nesta fixed her features into indifference as she watched him move about the space, but it hardly mattered. Cassian didn’t seem aware of her presence in the slightest, but after several seconds, his voice traveled through the kitchen and clued her in to her naivety.

“Smells good in here,” he stated, his attention focused on which platter may have met his needs.

Nesta saw it for the olive branch it was, the attempt at casual and friendly conversation. The last thing she needed was his damned charity.

She hummed some semblance of a reply and turned to the next page with a soft snap. Cassian placed his haul on the countertop nearby and wisely withheld any type of retort at her dismissal. Well, he mostly withheld a reply if one ignored the unimpressed huff of a laugh he offered.

Cassian was a social creature in ways Nesta could never be, so ignoring him seemed the best way to have him stalking off to resume his grand time with the others. For the second time in mere minutes, though, he surprised her.

Without a word, he walked over to the large pot and lifted the heavy lid to peer inside. Nesta’s eyes bugged at his audacity to disturb her meal, doubling in size when he took things a step further and gave the stew a slow stir.

The book lay forgotten on the tabletop, and Nesta’s legs carried her over in a handful of long, purposeful strides. Cassian seemed unruffled by her proximity entirely, but Nesta’s bones thrummed in a delicate rhythm she wondered if she could ever understand.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped.

Cassian lowered the wooden spoon on the rest and looked sidelong at her. Half of his dark hair was pulled back into a haphazard bun, tendrils dancing around his face as if in step with the amusement in his gaze. Nesta’s breath caught, but she met his stare with equal intensity.

His mouth twitched at the corners, one side curling into a satisfied smirk. “I knew this smelled familiar. I’ve made it myself, more times than I can count.”

Nesta lifted the wooden spoon to stir the stew in some petty show of ownership. Doing so felt transparent, but Cassian needed reminding of boundaries, it seemed. He leaned his palms against the countertop and watched her without an ounce of offense in his posture.

They stood close enough to feel the other’s body heat, to hear the rhythm of the other’s breathing. Tension tickled every atom between them and permeated the space. The only saving graces were the erratic sounds of Nesta’s stirring and the occasional raised voice from the other room.

The silence within the kitchen wasn’t unwelcome or strained in its purest form, but the side effects of that silence became a beast all its own. Heightened pulse, the action-potential threaded through each cord of her muscles and the shallow breaths— they grew increasingly difficult to conceal with every passing second.

Cassian’s breath hitched, and since Nesta had already allowed herself the indulgence of his proximity, she lifted a small bit of stew to her mouth for taste testing. If her mouth was otherwise occupied, she didn’t have to be as concerned with it creating problems for her future self in a number of ways— ranging from scathing comment, all the way to something more physically indulgent.

The flavors flooded her tongue and filled her with an odd sense of pride at having produced something edible with no tools other than a slip of paper and social avoidance on her side. Before pure satisfaction could settle in, however, the glide over the back of her tongue fell flat, a little bland, and left her wanting. It was a test of her self-control that she lowered the spoon into the pot with a reasonable amount of force.

She cleared her throat. “So, you’ve made this before?”

The silence felt loaded with Cassian’s lack of response, but from the corner of her eye, she saw his head shake back and forth as if he’d been somewhere else entirely.

“Yeah,” he breathed, easing close enough that their shoulders overlapped. Nesta thought he would elaborate, saving her the awkwardness of fishing for information, but luck hadn’t been on her side in some time.

“How did I do?” she asked, more timid than she’d care to sound. Her goal had been teasing indifference.

Cassian’s hand shadowed hers on the spoon in permission, and Nesta nodded. The roughness of his skin ghosted over the back of her palm during the transfer, and usually, she would force herself to bristle. Too much time had passed with his body so close, and her commitment to the charade felt minimal at best.

“It smells great; looks right. Why?”

“Something isn’t right about it.”

He hummed in consideration. Nesta back arched imperceptibly before she righted herself. With her guard down, it was as though her body aimed to betray her in favor of pressing her shoulder blade against Cassian’s broad chest.

Cassian muttered a low curse and dropped the spoon against the side of the pot with a dull thud. Nesta’s gaze whipped over her shoulder, mouth poised around a reprimand or some scathing, rhetorical question, but the look on his face stopped the words short.

His wings flexed over his shoulders, and the effect the movement had on how light scattered through the membrane would have been dazzling if not for the way Cassian’s pupils seemed bottomless. They pulsed around the edges, seeming impossibly darker and devouring any hint of his eyes’ usual color. Nesta couldn’t look away, but in some distant corner of her mind, she wondered if she should have been more anxious overall.

Cassian’s hand gripped the edge of the counter, but he didn’t move away. That alone surprised her, and something like anticipation skittered up her spine and through her body like confetti.

That familiar, unwelcome warmth pulsed beneath the surface of her skin. Nesta had learned the signs so many times over, had developed numerous ways to cope and keep herself contained. None of them occurred to her, and for all she cared, they could incinerate her mercilessly.

His chin dipped, his eyes squeezing shut in an expression that looked similar to pain. Unbeknownst to Nesta, her head had leaned toward his shoulder by mere inches, but the way his body heat blazed the back of her neck felt like full, uninhibited contact. Cassian blinked, long and lazy, and the hazel of his eyes reappeared in a way that made Nesta wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing.

Cassian laid his free hand over the curve of her waist with a gentleness that seemed of someone else entirely, but the calluses that snagged the fine fabric of her gown identified him. It made no sense that she’d know that sensation anywhere, but somehow, it had been one permanently embedded in her memory from that final battle.

“Maybe it needs a little time for everything to come together,” he murmured, his thumb making a too-soft sweep over her waist.

That word again— time. Nesta had grown so exhausted with it, but she managed to keep that secret hidden.

She gave a curt nod and turned her attention back to the subpar meal, but Cassian’s hand held fast to its position. He occupied nearly all of her senses, and an impossible tightness gripped her ribs from the inside.

As if the shift in the air had thrown him off-kilter in a similar manner, a too-familiar drawl weaved its way into his next words. Their familiar ground, built on loaded silences and provocations, felt less like a foundation and more a slippery slope as of late.

“I wouldn’t be hard on yourself, Sweetheart.” His sweet, teasing tone choked her, like trying to breathe through syrup. “None of us got it on the first try.”

Her temper flared with an eerie sort of quickness, one that left her without balance and too vulnerable to what she spent most minutes of her days choking into submission. Her bones burned white hot, and she narrowly evaded her power’s proverbial claws. It would have been cause for celebration if the cost wasn’t her viper’s tongue and the annihilation of any peace they’d found.

“You try it, then,” she snapped, turning quickly enough for his hand to fall from her waist. “You could use your mouth for something useful rather than drone on as you do.” Without the pressure of his hand against her, perhaps her mental faculties would come back.

Cassian blinked a couple of times, and his gaze leaped from hers to the spoon in her hand. The other was poised beneath to catch any spill, and she held it toward him like something precious— anything to absorb some of the intensity flowing through her bloodstream, to keep her hands and focus at a safe distance.

“What?” he croaked. His eyes repeated their dance between her own and the spoon she held between them.

“Try it,” she ordered again, but her voice had lost some of its sharpness. “Tell me how to fix it, since you’ve got it all figured out.”

Cassian blinked again, and it could have been her imagination, but his chest seemed to heave with the effort of breathing. A chill was all that remained when he took two slow, small steps away from her. The change in him was as obvious as it was swift, but Nesta couldn’t fathom what had flipped the switch with such effectiveness.

“I— I can’t,” he scoffed. “The others are waiting for me.”

Nesta narrowly resisted a roll of her eyes at his sense of servitude. She watched as he snapped into action, locating a tray and piling his haul on top without taking even a moment to lay them out properly. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth, his brow furrowed, and his attention seemed to bounce all about the space while managing to miss Nesta’s general vicinity entirely. His movements were efficient in locating the last couple of items he needed from the cabinets and cooler nearby, and in seconds, he had the haul balanced in his arms once more.

Shaking her head against such a brutal shift in their conversation, Nesta turned toward her dinner and tapped the spoon lightly on the edge of the pot to return the contents. She tossed it into the trivet nearby with little grace and even less concern, and the loud clang seemed to echo in the too-silent room.

Cassian’s shoulders bunched under the weight of everything he carried; either that, or the abrupt change in their conversation felt uncharacteristically heavy to him, too. The thought that it might feel such a way gave Nesta some ill-placed sense of comfort, but considering she knew very little of it, she allowed the small bandage it applied to what felt like an ancient wound.

She made the way over to her book without any acknowledgement of Cassian’s existence. She had entertained it enough already, and if she settled back into where she’d left off in the story, she could finish two or more chapters by the time everything was finished. A much more productive use of her time, she thought.

Cassian paused at the threshold, and she hated that she even noticed. Her body— every sense it possessed— seemed bent on sabotage. Rather than look at him, she trailed her finger down the edge of the pages and turned to the next with delicate precision, but the words all ran together in a chaos she was trying so vehemently to keep private.

“Nesta,” he said, his voice low, “it’s sage.”

Her head snapped up before she thought better of it. “What?”

“What you’re missing, why your meal isn’t working. It needs sage.”

Nesta fixed him with an unimpressed glare. “Oh?” Her attention dropped to the page in front of her, the portrait of inconvenience. “I hate to offend your superior senses, but I added it already.”

She hadn’t. In fact, she cursed internally for the mistake. It was written plain as day in the recipe she followed, but she’d been so preoccupied with the other prep that it slipped her mind. Giving him the satisfaction, especially without his willingness to try the damned soup in the first place, didn’t appeal to Nesta.

Cassian cleared his throat. “I don’t think—”

“I’ll give it time,” she hissed, her eyes betraying her again by flying to his face. “All the time it needs.”

His dark eyebrows drew together in challenge, and Nesta could nearly see how his brain weighed the different strategies on how to proceed. His mouth opened, shut, and opened again. To her surprise, his lips ticked up at the corner, and she hated the hold that small movement had on her breathing.

“You can give it all you want,” he drawled, “but it won’t help.”

Her nostrils flared in irritation, and it was enough to tempt her to finally allow that boiling feeling to take over completely. To incinerate the moment, the two of them, and anything else in its wake, if only because she could. But mostly, it would have saved her the production of these conversations and the ever-present tug she felt toward Cassian, no matter how infuriating.

Nesta took a deep breath, warring with what to say, but he saved her the trouble.

“I helped Elain bring everything inside,” he murmured. The low volume did very little to disguise the satisfaction in his voice. “The bundle of sage in the cooler is untouched from this morning.”

Her heart leaped to her throat. Whether the rasp of his voice or the way he called her on the blatant lie was to blame, she wasn’t sure. She forced her gaze back to her open book and feigned the most casual tone she could conjure under the circumstances.

“The others are waiting.”

The very excuse he’d made for his intended departure was a safe dismissal. Cassian was many things, but clueless was not one of them. Nesta was confident he would see it for the clear signal it was that their conversation was officially over.

“Right,” he began, adjusting his haul in his arms. “I’ll see you around.”

Nesta catalogued each of his steps, annoyed that she knew the cadence so well. Her shoulders relaxed, and she blew out a long, heavy breath. She stared into the negative space of the room, a room that felt too large upon Cassian’s absence, yet too small when they had shared it.

Her gaze bounced from the pot perched over the small flame, to the cooler, and back to the novel in front of her. She was on her third attempt at reading the same paragraph when resolve abandoned her completely. Snapping the book shut, she huffed an undignified breath and stalked over to the cooler.

The sage wasn’t going to prep itself.

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--

Nessian + ACoTaR taglists [General tag list in reblog]:

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@pyxxie

@story-scribbler

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@towhateverend87

@vasudharaghavan

@valkyriewarriors

@wannawriteyouabook

[batboys-cumdumpster]

Me: minding my own business, getting ready for work

Brain: Feyre x bat boys foursome

Me: sighs, not right now ffs

Brain: Rhys sitting calmly in a chair with a drink in his hand while he slowly loses his mind with lust watching Az and Cass worship Feyre

Me: .... I'm listening

[velarisdusk]

god i hate the narrative that cassian is just some dumb bumbling brute and it’s all sarah janet’s fault with acosf. like idk abt yall but i remember him being pretty well spoken before that book?? like i remember my voice for him while reading was like,, not quite regal but like NICE IDK, and during sf bc of the way he was speaking it turned into like,, a bimbo jock idfk

and i mean he literally studies and implements war strategy for a living, that’s his life’s work, that takes BRAINS. and listen, have we seen things go wrong on that front more often than not? sure, yes. but i urge you to remember that the war against hybern and the queens was unprecedented for ALL of them. they’d never fought in anything as batshit as that before, sure the War, BUT WAS THE CAULDRON IN PLAY?? NO

ON TOP OF THAT, a point i’ve seen many times is that he literally helped feyre process her trauma SO WELL in acomaf, and you mean to tell me he had to be TOLD nesta, HIS MATE, was scared of fire??? when he literally saw her flinch and wince every time they were around fire?? be fucking for real dude.

in short, sjm i don’t know what you did with the real cassian, but bring him back right the fuck now. i don’t like the dumbass you brought in that you’re trying to pass off as him

[ae-neon]

Remembering when I said Silver Flames was an Incel Revenge Fantasy

where the dude got to break down the woman who rejected him and mold her into a copy of his idol alpha's wife

And then the whole thing was screenshot and posted on reddit and they got angry at me and flooded me with hate anons

And actual Feysand n sjm fans sent me private messages to say Nessians were reacting badly because they weren't used to criticism lol

And then various Nessian mutuals started posting about pre-acofas Cassian being great

Then I posted about MAF, wings and embers and WAR Nessian being bad and SF Nessian being the natural progression of that

Then those mutuals unfollowed me

Then them bonus scenes came out of the ccity books lmaooo

I actually feel bad about that

Don't get me wrong I still hate Nessian but I understand better now that many people were emotionally invested in them working (somehow)

As a different sort of Nesta fan, I knew canon ended at acofas for me because sjm wouldn't know what to do with Nesta and her nuance but I didn't realise most of yall actually like the books

I never did. The only reason I carried on reading after book 1, years and years ago, was because I was having a great time making fun of them with my friend

Anyways, I forgive you for having bad taste

jk jk jk, jussss kiddinggg

Just sort of understanding why so many Nesta-centric antis still write so many Nessian fics instead of alt ships

Woe is me, it makes fic finding hard but power to yall for trying to fix it again and again

That sounds more condescending than I intended, lemme stop

[achaotichuman]

LINK FOR PALESTINE The free clicks help generate donations from sponsors. All donations go to UNRWA to assist Palestinian refugees

Hello everyone, I am A Chaotic Human, call me Chaotic, Lord of Darkness, My Liege or Asher, this is my fanatic blog dedicated to A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah.J.Maas. My pronouns are He/Him/His.

This account is Pro-Palestine, call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. Free the lands that have been occupied for 75+ years.

I take writing requests for ACOTAR! I do any kind of request, according to my tags here!

Here is the link for my Masterlist where you can find all of my writing works!

DNI if you are a zionist, transphobic, or homophobic

If you do not like Tamlin I highly suggest blocking my account!

Pro For ACOTAR fandom

Tamlin Lucien Vanserra Nesta Archeron Gwyneth Berdara Emerie of Illyria Eris Vanserra Everyone the IC has harmed pretty much

Anti for ACOTAR fandom

Rhysand Feysand Cassian Amren Morrigan

Others

Feyre Archeron: Pro Feyre first book, and heavily critical/anti later on Elain Archeron: Heavily critical/anti Elain until we get more answers in her POV Azriel: He's a fuckboy, but I think a good fuck with Eris will fix him.

Ships

Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra Tamlin/Nesta Archeron Azriel/Eris Vanserra Nesta Archeron/Eris Vanserra Elain Archeron/Gwyneth Berdara Tamlin/Rhysand (Mostly in regards to pre-ACOTAR, or angst later on) Tamlin/Feyre Archeron

Rants/Rambles/Opinions

I do love and appreciate responses to my arguments, I consider these an open discussion of ACOTAR. However, any responses insulting my person, or made in bad faith will result in me swiftly hitting that block button.

A list of Rhysand's abusive actions throughout the series next to Tamlin's

Tamlin and Lucien cannot just swap the power imbalance in their relationship

My thoughts on Tamlin vs Tomas, and complex characters vs writing devices.

Tamlin's depression is not a result of Feyre leaving him

Nesta is not mean or cruel unprovoked.

Not liking or not being interested in Elain is not misogyny???

Tamlin and his relationship with his brothers (+moodboard)

What Rhysand did to Feyre was NOT for her protection

Rhysand's SA of Feyre is not justified in any way

Lucien is not going to be High Lord of Spring

Rhysand had no right being Tamlin's Court in ACOFAS

Elain is selfish, and that's what makes her interesting

Moodboards/Fanfiction Boards

The Dark Spring Court I

The Dark Spring Court II

A Witch A Warrior And A Reckoning Masterpost

Tamlin x Lucien Vanserra

Gwyneth Berdara x Elain Archeron

Tamlin x Nesta x Lucien

Tamlin x Nesta Archeron

A Court of Song and Desolation

[wishcamper]

Class is in Session

Welcome to Prythian University, where I intend to write many unhinged long-form essays on cultural issues in the ACOTAR world!

Disclaimer: You will see me at times reference my credentials as a licensed mental health professional. Nothing I say is a substitute for real therapy or mental health care. To the best of my ability, I will reiterate my credentials on every post when I am intentionally speaking from a professional perspective. All other posts are personal and should not be regarded in a professional context. I am always happy to answer questions!

Almost all posts contain sensitive topics, and while content warnings are included, this material is generally not fit for anyone under 18.

COMPLETED

Nesta, Interrupted: gendered perceptions of alcoholism in ACOSF

Don't Worry Feyre, Darling: the relationship anxiety to coersive control pipeline

Gone Baby Gone: birth control and the ethics of risky sex

All in the Family: ACOTAR and Bowenian family systems theory, PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV

Heavy Lies the Crown: Rhysand, greatness, and the pressures of power

On Nesta and Alcoholism

Models for writing believable trauma

FICS

A Court of Vice and Victors - ACoSF rewrite. pro nesta, pro healthy nessian, ic critical, everyone is capable of change ft alcoholism taken seriously and family dysfunction examined. 23/40.

ACOVAV Bonus Chapters - missing moments from my main fic, usually from side character POVs. 5/?

Killing Amren - Killing Eve-inspired one-shot where Nesta and Amren have an Eve/Villanelle dynamic. COMPLETE.

Dark Matter - Gwynriel modern grad student AU where Gwyn runs a sleep lab. 1/?

NON-ACADEMIC THOUGHT LOOPS

meditations on motivations at the beginning of acosf

the culpability (or not) of mor

on the politics of healing while loving, and loving while healing

Why is pre-acofas nessian compelling

Just and unedited thought dump about Mor and The Buffer

IN THE PIPELINE

Your Epidermis is Showing: bias, culture, and when authors accidentally tell the truth

Daddy Issues and Daddy Issues: the aesthetics of female trauma

We Need to Talk About Kevin Azriel: sanctioned violence and private atonement

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Trauma: birth order, family roles, and why siblings have different childhoods.

[whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk]

How Could You Think, Darling, I'd Scare So Easily? (ao3)

The moment I heard this song, I just knew I had to write a Nessian drabble, and so here it is for day 3 of @nessianweek !

Set post-acofas and pre-acosf. Each night Cassian sits on the roof of the building across the street from Nesta’s apartment, waiting for a light in her window.

There was a light in her window.

A flickering flame, almost swallowed by the darkness, a candle fighting hard to stay lit in the draughts that slipped through the cracks in her window frames. 

Go home, Cassian.

The words she’d spat on a darkened road laden with snow, with venom on her tongue and agony in her chest. That Solstice night - weeks ago now, months - when she’d pushed him away so thoroughly he thought it a wonder there was any part of himself that remained unbroken, he’d taken it in his stride, let her walk away, only to follow her at a distance to make sure she got home safe.

Go home, Cassian.

Didn’t she realise that he was home? Wherever she was, whenever he was by her side— he was home. And it didn’t matter that she hissed and spat and clawed at him with that sharp tongue of hers. Fuck, it didn’t even matter that she had been out tonight, in a bar with other men. It killed him, but it didn’t matter when she took them home, didn’t matter that it wasn’t him waking up in her bed in the morning, or bringing her tea as the sun broke above the horizon. 

It didn’t matter, because no matter how much she tried to make him run— here he was.

Sitting on a rooftop across the street from her apartment, waiting in the darkness for a glimpse of a light in her window. A sign that she was home— that she’d made it back safe.

She was broken and hurting and trying desperately to find some way to mend, and gods, didn’t Cassian know well enough what that was like? Didn’t he remember his own anguish, his own agony, after his first war? So how could he judge her now— how could he fault her, when her heart was breaking as much as his?

And how could she ever think it would be enough to make him turn away?

His love was not feeble or fickle or fragile— it was unending and uncompromising and unwavering, and gods, how he wished she saw it. How he wished she knew that she was the beginning and ending of his everything, that which his entire world seemed to now revolve, and it was her name he whispered in the darkness each night, her face he saw behind closed eyelids. What was he, without her? Who had he been, in all those centuries he’d endured not knowing her name?

So it didn’t matter that she pushed him away.

None of it mattered.

Nesta was his, the one he’d almost died for, and when he promised her they’d have time he meant it— meant every fucking word he’d uttered as he lay there close to death. He wouldn’t turn from her now— not even with all the distance between them, all the words spoken in anger. 

And as that candle continued to flicker on her windowsill, he ran a hand through his hair and rose to his feet. He turned away, knowing that he’d be back tomorrow night. 

And the next, and the next. 

For however many nights it took until she was okay again… he’d be here, sitting on that rooftop. Waiting.

And with each tremble of that fragile flame in that distant window, he’d picture it— the day he’d wake with her by his side, her fingers woven tight with his, her eyes no longer stricken with the kind of grief that stole his breath, endless in its magnitude. The day he’d hold her again, kiss her the way he had in those last few moments on that battlefield, the kiss he’d thought would be his last. His heart ached behind his ribs, some piece of him shattering with every slam of her door in his face, but still—

It didn’t matter.

He wouldn’t break, could take anything she threw his way, and good gods, he’d been through enough to know that he’d go through it all again if it meant that at the end of it all, he got to hold her in his arms.

So he’d wait. 

He’d sit in the darkness and make sure she made it home. He’d stand back, waiting on the sidelines with his heart bruised black and blue, because he’d promised to find her and he’d meant it, and even if it took her a little longer to find her way back to him…

Cassian would deal with it. 

Because he was hers in every way imaginable, and oh, he loved her. And there was not a single thing in the world she could do that could shake the love from him, make it vanish from his heart. Nothing, no matter how hard she tried.

He’d wait for her. For a week, a month, a year. A century or a millennia. It didn’t matter. She was his, and he was hers, and someday, he knew, they would have the kind of forever that the poets and the bards sang about, the kind that made everything else cease to be. Someday, he would love her the way she deserved, cherish her the way she ought to have been cherished all along.  

It was just a matter of time.

[360iris]

Was finally brave enough to start ACOSF and put my fear aside of this one being where I’d begin to legitimately hate the IC because I really like Nesta, esp in ACOFAS—

but the book got a lot easier when I decided to take their anger towards her with a grain of salt. PLUS I accepted that Feyre understands her sister better than anybody else in that fucking universe (Pre-Valkyries of course, because I haven’t gotten to them yet.)

Nesta loves, and hurts, and hates too much…. She is both unintentionally overly sensitive and purposefully ruthless.

A key note about Nesta though, is that she spits vitriol at everyone because it is safer and easier for her to have every single fucking person in her intimate vicinity hate her, than it is to love AND TO LOSE THEM!

She gets to the point where she even does the heavy lifting for them, she presents herself in her worst form and internally goes: “See? Aren’t I awful? Don’t you hate even the mere sight of me? I sure do. I am a piece of shit that doesn’t deserve your time, or your care, or your consideration. I hate me. So you should hate me too and fuck off already.”

At the end of the day, I wish people gave more grace to people who purposefully self isolate, self harm, and forceably push others away.

It is a defense mechanism. A shitty but odd, sickly form of a self-soothing coping strategy for control and power when you have none else in the most meaningful areas of your life.

And on a lighter note, I wish people actually enjoyed bitchy women more in media! Nesta is so fun without even trying to be.

And it’s even funnier that these immortal beings, who have lived 500 to 10,000 YEARS, manage to let a 25 year old with the size and attitude of a wet, 3 week old kitten get them so fucking unreasonably angry at her.

She’s a baby in comparison to you, dude. You are basically beefing with a toddler, my guy. That isn’t funny to you? It’s funny to me.

[princessofmerchants]

Hey ! first of all: I recently discovered you blog & totally fell in love with it🥺, especially after my "Nessian Hangover".

I know this might be a bit off-topic from your usual content, but there's something about Cassian's relationship with Mor that really irks me...and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

His actions, like pulling away from Nesta's hand in ACOWAR, left me feeling frustrated and sympathetic towards Nesta. And then there's that whole thing in Wings and Embers where he's all secretive about Nesta with Mor and doesn't wanna tell her about Nesta, which gave off major mixed signals?? I mean, describing Mor as something between a lover and a friend, while also being like family? That was so confusing, how can she be all three to him? it just felt so ... inappropriate and I felt so bad for Nesta bc obviously she deserves someone who has only eyes for her.

But then in SF he says all romantic feelings turned into familial bonds after the incident so what was that about then in WaE and pulling his hand away in ACOWAR?

Also in WaE it sounded like he primarily slept with Mor out of jealouy but in SF it does seem like he did had romantic feelings towards her ? :/ ...

And when he thought in SF about how hauntingly beautiful Mor is and how it takes his breath away and that she is lovely and perfect .... it just drove me mad tbh because this sounded very romantic coded to me which made me feel so bad for Nesta.

it has been all so confusing and inconsistent to me and also just frustrating how he talked so poetic about a woman he slept with (or did he also call Nesta also hauntingly beautiful or lovely or perfect and I'm not remembering it?), or how he didn't wanted to show Mor that he has feelings for Nesta?? :/ - so I just wondered what you thought about all of that, in hopes to calm me down or clarify bc it really almost ruined him for me (maybe I was misinterpreting stuff?).

hope that's not a weird question bc of how spesific it is haha

BTW I love your love for Nesta bc same🖤.

I love this ask, Anon, and how detailed and specific it is. It is a question after my own heart! My response is long so it's after the break.

Thank you for saying you love my love for Nesta - that means the world to me. What I especially like about your ask is, it is about canon Nesta, who is the Nesta I most treasure, and by extension about canon Nessian. I sometimes feel like a lone voice in the drafty moors of Tumblr with my deep and abiding love for canon Nessian, so the fact that this ask lets me talk about them in canon makes me happy!

I have given this a lot of thought since receiving your question, and I'm not sure how satisfying parts of my answer will be, so my apologies in advance for the fact that I am not actually going to offer an explanation for how and why all the details you listed can co-exist in a single, utterly comprehensive whole for the Cassian-Mor relationship when Cass is unquestioningly Nesta's by the end of ACOSF.

Instead, here's why the lack of things utterly lining up for these three doesn't bother me in the long run, and only slightly bothered me during the pre-ACOSF / post-ACOFAS era.

It is clear to me as a reader that SJM pivoted in a significant way between ACOMAF and ACOWAR when it comes to Mor.

I came across a post recently that explains exactly my thoughts on this. The post focuses on the current ship war but the evidence in it describes how during ACOMAF it was clear Moriel (Mor and Azriel) was likely to be endgame, but then SJM shifted Mor's arc to where she was more attracted to women, which meant needing to retcon a lot (and unfortunately a lot of Mor's charm and nuance was collateral damage that I am still hoping SJM repairs).

I think Cassian in ACOMAF needs to be read in the context of a planned future love triangle of sorts between Azriel-Mor-Cassian, into which I do think SJM planned to throw Nesta as a big bomb that beautifully blows up Cass's corner of the triangle. But the parts in "Wings and Embers" where Cass says to the reader he is worried about what Mor will think about his fixation on this human woman, I think were meant to preserve some kind of angsty triangle for the next book, which SJM (thankfully) jettisoned. I hate love triangles so I honestly would not have been a fan if that had been where SJM landed.

Now, in ACOWAR and ACOFAS, I think the Mor stuff with Cassian gets a bit more confusing, so I agree with you there. Cassian doesn't know for sure Nesta is his mate until she screams for him during the Battle of Hybern at the end of ACOWAR, so the stuff before that - e.g., him removing his hand from hers - I read in a few ways. I think being buffer to Mor with Azriel all those years messed with his head a lot, and in a way, Mor finally coming to terms with her sexuality is a really solid catalyst for her beginning to distance herself from the triangle dynamic she was a part of for 500 years, which I think was more healthy for everyone involved.

But remember, Nesta is still proud and surly in ACOWAR, not in any inherently bad way but in a way that probably didn't signal to Cassian she was particularly interested in him, even as he was drawn to her like a magnet and couldn't keep away because part of him loves her claws so much. Cass rightly protects his own heart when he has the foresight to do so in ACOWAR and ACOFAS. I always knew they would work their shit out eventually, but during the messy process of doing so I don't begrudge him a little distance when Nesta, in her trauma response to what was happening to her and around her, sometimes lashed out at the strongest individual in her vicinity who she knew could take it like a boulder weathers the storm - that person was always Cassian for her.

When I first read ACOSF, I absolutely assumed going in that Mor was going to be catty about Nessian finally starting to get together. When she wasn't, it was jarring to me. But once I finished my first reading of ACOSF, I came to a striking conclusion about Mor, ACOSF, and SJM:

The story SJM needed to tell in ACOSF would not have been aided or forwarded by Mor intervening in the Nessian dynamic in a catty way, or being a foil to anything about Nesta in that story's arc.

In other words, SJM could have written a version of Nesta and Cassian's book that included Mor challenging Nesta's right to be with Cassian, but that was unequivocally NOT the book SJM wanted or needed to write (hopefully my double negative landed correctly here, lol).

So, SJM pivoted, and sent Mor to Vallahan, so SJM could write the story she needed to write. As a writerly choice, I adore everything about it - Nesta didn't need to be fighting with another woman over rights to her mate, she needed women friendships that were pure and gloriously blank slates upon which and with whom to write and tell her and their collective story - so SJM introduced Emerie and Gwyn. SJM even brought in Mor later to teach Nesta the waltzes, and their brief exchange in which Nesta called her Morrigan and Mor invited her to call her Mor, and Nesta accepted the invitation to do so, is another breathtakingly vulnerable moment for Nesta that fills my heart right up. To this end, the promise that Mor will begin to train with the Valkyries in the next book has me so excited.

Now, there are two lines in ACOSF I still want to comment on (then I'll reign in this very long post, lol). First, I agree that Cassian's observation in his pov of how breathtakingly beautiful Mor is at the cafe toward the start of the book can come off romantic coded, though for him at this point I don't think it is. But whether it is or not, we need to remember he and Nesta still have a whole book's worth of stuff to work through with their romantic relationship.

I suspect SJM included that moment in part to set up some stakes for the Nessian arc - that, although Cassian hasn't had sex since he met Nesta, he is still a man who is drawn to admiring a beautiful woman inside and out. If Nesta had already won his exclusive attention in this regard before any of their arc began in that book, what would be the point of the book? (By the end, I do think Cassian only has eyes for Nesta, and it is absolutely because they claim each other - I don't think in the long run he would have been able to settle for less, and nor should he have.)

And, since Nessian aren't in a relationship at that point in the cafe at the beginning of the book, I'm not mad at him for admiring Mor's beauty per say. I think if Nesta invited it then, he would admire hers a lot more, and with a much more deep seated attraction. ACOSF is about them both letting their inner barriers down to allow the other to love them, so that kind of attraction still needs to be earned between them at that point in their story. His observation about Mor's beauty is in a different category entirely from where Cassian eventually lands with Nesta, so there is nothing threatening about it for me.

The other line that feels weird to me most times I read it, is when Mor baldly tells Nesta early in ACOSF that she would have sent Nesta to live in the Court of Nightmares. The only explanation I have for this moment and exchange is that for SJM it was more in service of Nesta's arc, and less about making sense coming from Mor. What I mean here is, at that moment Nesta feels wretched and all things terrible about herself, and it's a feature of that kind of disordered thinking that others around you either seem to echo what you're thinking about yourself, or sometimes do echo it in reality, if through a trauma response you've hurt those around you (*she says from personal experience*), or if through their own trauma response those around you respond in kind (as I think may have been happening with Mor in this scene).

Do I love that Mor says something so cruel to Nesta in that moment early in Nesta's healing journey? No, I do not. Do I see why it helps to heavily charge these early scenes for Nesta as she truly hits rock bottom regarding her feelings about herself? Yes, I do.

Which leads me to how I'll conclude this. I hope SJM intentionally develops Mor's story so she isn't just a device in the story arcs of others. For better or worse, some kind of reckoning between her and Az needs to happen, likely in the next book, for either to truly move on. But I hope Mor gets the attention a character like her deserves in future books.

I am A-OK with her mostly-absence from ACOSF because I don't think she would have been a productive part of Nesta's healing arc, and at the end of the day that is the heart and soul of ACOSF for me - Nesta healing.

The reason ACOSF-Nessian has my whole heart is because, it's so clear to me the ways Cassian supports Nesta's healing and is the catalyst for a lot of her growth into a person who loves herself and sees herself as worthy and deserving of love and happiness.

If he was a bit of a hot mess in the period between first meeting Nesta and getting to finally be with her as accepted mates, I don't begrudge him that.

[acourtofthought]

regarding your previous anon I just wanted to say that in a fairly recent livestream/interview deal she did in the last few years she said 'not much has changed since my initial drunken ramblings in the beginning' I'm paraphrasing there, but I don't think she's gonna make any big ship changes when she's close to wrapping up the series (also it was so funny to see e/riel's being all over that like it was ever planned from the beginning lololol)

YESSSS!!!!

If you ever find out exactly which one that was, I would love to know because I remember hearing that but have since forgotten where so I was never able to include a screenshot or link in my posts. She said "not much has changed from that initial pitch but the world has now expanded".

If we think back to that drunken rambling and when she pitched her ideas to her then editor, we were told a few things.

She said she knew who the first two spin-off books would be about but she was keeping the third open. For the third, she was debating between 5 possible ships and was considering a book set Pre ACOTAR.

That particular drunk lunch took place in 2016 (I'm guessing) as she was still drafting ACOWAR.

If, in 2016, she knew who the first two spin-off books would be about then logically, who did that mean?

Nesta and Elain. Especially when she says in multiple interviews she would love to tell the sisters stories one day and we know she had already done research for Elain's book while pregnant with her first child who was born in June of 2018.

Who also had the most buildup as a possible love interest for the sisters in ACOMAF / ACOWAR? (around the same time she said she knew who she wanted the first two books to be about?).

Cassian and Lucien hands down. Lucien's ENTIRE story in ACOWAR was based around worrying for Elain's safety, fighting his way to be by her side, helping her through her depression, going after an army based on her vision, giving her time to deal with her engagement to Graysen, running all the way from the shore to find her after battle, his having met her father, her inviting him back to Velaris, him standing beside her during the meeting at the end of the book.

Az and Elain might have had a few "moments" in ACOWAR that E/riels use for their proof of endgame but Az was still 100% in love with Mor when you consider that he still looked at her with hunger in ACOFAS while Elain was sitting in the room with him. The question at the end of ACOWAR was not "will Elain and Az get together" but "what will Elain and Lucien do about her mating bond now that she invited him back to Velaris". When the author wasn't sure who was getting the third book and everything suggests Elain was getting the second, all signs pointed to Elain and Lucien as the main POV especially when you consider that as an individual Lucien also had way more buildup than Az in ACOWAR. He was SA by Ianthe, chased out of his home in Spring, was feeling sadness over not having a home when Feyre slipped into his head, guilt over Jesminda, the pull to Elain, the reader (but not Lucien himself) finding out Helion is his actual father, and he fought in his first war. SJM left us with too many unresolved plots for Lucien to not give him a book.

It wasn't until after the release of SF and she was discussing it that she made the comment above "my plan for the intial spin-offs didn't change but the world expanded."

And you know what expanded?

Az suddenly got a bit more of a mysterious background, he got a bonus with hints of a possible mating bond, and SJM introduced the possibility of time-travel what with Merrill's research and the Trove's ability to open doors between worlds. Az ended up connected to the crossover.

THEN it was later announced that she was contracted for additional books (and maybe a new series).

If her intial plan didn't change then Nessian and Elucien were always going to be resolved first and now Az's romantic arc / journey is the direction she decided to take things after finishing the main story of the Archern sisters.

Yes, Az and Elain nearly kissed and had a harmless flirtation going on but it never got off the ground did it?

Ever since the Elucien bond snapped into place, the real question has not been "will Elain and Az end up together" but "will Elain and Lucien end up accepting their mating bond?" And just as SJM had Nesta share experiences with others before ending up with Cassian, she had Elain attempt to have an experience with Az but I don't think he was ever meant to be more than a slight detour in the Elucien journey so as to make their path to one another a bit more tension filled. And I think the reason SJM introduced Az's possible mate in his bonus is that she didn't want readers to feel bad for him for too long because even though she's on track for an Elucien endgame, we know that Az isn't going to be sad for very long as he's got his own mate waiting in the wings.

[nikethestatue]

Hi! Love your blog and how rational you are in your posts and responses.

I joined about a year ago and it's been a clusterfuck so far. My question is, how were things before ACOSF? Before there was such a thing as Gwynriel? I understand you've been in the fandom before all that started and I am wondering if it was quiet and peaceful or still like it is right now?

Thanks so much!

Before ACOSF--literally BSF (the era Before Silver Flames)--most people were talking primarily about Feysand and Nessian. No one was talking about Azriel. No one was saying he was their favourite and they wanted to have his babies and he was the best shadowbaby. No one really cared about him all that much. There were Eluciens and there were Elriels. I think Elriels staked their claim pretty solidly after ACOFAS--when it became 100% which way SJM was going.

I think the biggest conflict was Feyre vs Nesta actually. People who strongly liked Nesta and wanted to see her story, and those who loved Feyre and couldn't forgive Nesta.

Couples conflict--and so much.

I don't really remember any fights between Eluciens and Elriels. I think Elriels basically pointed out that yes, there is a mate bond, but there is something funky about the Elucien dynamic. And why is Azriel so entrenched in that pairing? And why is there Vassa? And why is Lucien living with her and....well, you get the point.

And Eluciens pretty much stuck with 'haha, we have a mate bond!'

But this was all pre-TikTok too, which I blame for so much discord, just in general. You had your opinion, you could debate it. You didn't spew incorrect opinions for clicks and views. That was a drastic change.

[rosanna-writer]

Ok, but in this scenario is there a boating accident in which mermaid!Feyre has to rescue the idiot prince from drowning? Has she secretly been in love with him for years from afar and longs to walk among the other Fae of Velaris? Can mermaids even shift form to the appropriate parts needed for sex!?

Ok. So.

Do I have any plans to write mermaid!Feyre? No. Have I thought about this too much? Yes.

Putting this under a cut because I think it'll get long.

You CANNOT convince me there isn't weird shit living in the Sidra. River that passes through a magical city??? There's no way it's just some normal fish and plants in there. And since we know the Spring Court has water-wraiths living in at least one of their lakes, I think it stands to reason that there are some river mermaids living there. (Love at First Sight's for Suckers almost had Feyre as a Sidra water-wraith instead of a shadow-wraith!)

IN ADDITION

SIDRA. RIVER. BOAT. RACES. ARE. CANON. (In ACOFAS Rhys says, "I’d grown up in these houses, attending the parties and feasts that lasted long into the night, spending bright summer days lazing on the sloping lawns, cheering the summer boat races on the Sidra."). Drunken party boy prince falling off a boat and into Feyre's arms??? It's a perfect meet cute. There's even potential for a childhood-friends-to-lovers story if Feyre's a Sidra mermaid (just the thought of her being the first person Rhys seeks out every time he gets a chance to visit Velaris during breaks in his training in Illyria......it's so cute)

Look at the boathouses of Philadelphia and tell me they don't give you Velaris vibes:

But if you're a mermaid purist and insist that Feyre needs to live in the sea? As @thesistersarcheron would remind you, the Night Court is bordered by the sea on three sides. There is a LOT of untapped potential with things like pre-High Lord Rhys serving in the Night Court navy during the war, mermaid!Rhys and NightCourtSailor!Feyre, and the general aesthetic of the cold, icy sea in the far north Night Court.

Mermaid sex just requires some imagination:

I think a dude from Crescent City also has a pouch that opens up??? I'm not really a Crescent City fan so idk for sure, don't quote me on that. But in general, I think the concept of a hidden pouch (with or without a dick inside and regardless of gender, mermaid!Feyre penetrating Rhys would be hot, for example) more or less solves the mermaid sex conundrum.

And finally, we can't talk about Feysand and the sea without a mention of MB's lovely tentacle sea monster Rhys Feysand fic: High Tide Came And Brought You In (and in addition, if you're interested in a non-oceanic Feysand story about lesser fae Feyre secretly being in love with Night Court prince Rhys, Bejeweled is one of my favorites)

[gwyns]

E/riel’s are saying they can’t wait for Gwynriel’s to be disappointed when the E/riel book is revealed. If SJM said it’s one couple getting together per book, and it’s confirmed both Elain and Azriel are getting their own books, then how does that make sense? There is no way Elain isn’t going to be the MC in Azriel’s book and vice versa. And I like Elain, but there is no way she’s getting two books. As for Nesta, I don’t think she’s getting another book either, but I do think she will play an important part in Azriel’s book. The eight-pointed star/the Prison/Gwydion, but it’s still Azriel’s book. I think the other pov for his book will be Gwyn. It would make sense with Nesta/Valkyries/etc. The other book isn’t going to be Vassa/Lucien or Mor (I really think the novella will be hers) or even Helion/LoA. If it’s one couple getting together per book and Azriel is getting is own and Elain also, then the math isn’t mathing. I think that’s why some E/riel’s are so against/angry Azriel getting his own book. They keep denying it, because Sarah doesn’t write male povs (laughs in Tower of Dawn).

to be fair to the gremlins, sjm has never officially confirmed anyone's book outside of elain's, but she has said that in addition to elain, she's excited to write mor and azriel's journeys so to me that's basically a confirmation lol. she also very recently said she's been digging into azriel deeper or something, i believe she was on set for her today show interview so uh yeah!! seems like she's inside az's head right now. yes, i agree! people have thought for years that elain and az will get the two final novels and mor will get the remaining novella. i feel people often forget that we got a mor pov in acofas so like... she's going to have some arc, we still don't know wtf is going on with her

like picture it, acotar 5 is gwynriel feat the valkyries with emorie as a subplot that then carries over into the novella. then we have elucien for acotar 6 with a jassa subplot. see how it all fits together?

i will never understand the "sjm doesn't write male povs or male leads!!!" thing. she's been doing that since her debut. are you going to sit there and honestly tell me that chaol and dorian weren't male leads? be so for real. not to mention that cc was like 95% male povs. this argument is so stupid lol no decent writer would have issues writing from the perspective of the opposite sex

i remember pre acosf when his bonus chapter was announced they were all so excited for an az book (funny how they didn't scream about elain getting a book then) but once gwyn entered the picture they vehemently denied the possibility. it's so amusing how fast they switch up

[lily-thesuriel]

Some Thoughts post ACOSF and pre HOFAS

I have just finished my re-reading of the Acotar saga and I come to make a "brainstorming" of data and ideas that I want to put down in writing before HOFAS

there is a lot of repetition of the dates "more than 10000 years ago" and especially in Acosf "since 15000 years ago" I suppose that they will be to match the dates of the world of Acotar with the world of CC, although there are certain things that do not fit at the moment.

There are several data that change from ACOWAR to ACOSF , why ? Because I believe that they will be relevant in the future, these data are (that I have seen) 1 that in ACOWAR Lucien does not arrive until the lake of koschei but in ACOSF it is said that yes he has arrived / 2 the recap of what happened in Sangravah / 3 the subject of Illyria and the difference between the teaser of ACOFAS and the first chapter of ACOSF

to this day I still don't understand Rhys's "you-always-have-a-choice" behavior in ACOSF, sorry I don't

The secret winged baby and Renesme 2.0 plot continues to be horrible.

I do not understand how people do not shipe Vassa and Jurian, simply with the phrase "do not call her queen that goes to her head" (not the literal phrase, I'm writing from memory do not eat me) I'm already sold, I can understand the ship of Jurian-Vassa-Lucien, I do not share it but I understand it but leave out the banter that has Vassa with Jurian? No,sorry

I don't want Rhys as High king, and I don't know why I think that because of the decline of Tamlin that it will happen.

Bryaxis hello ??? Where is he? He appeared in ACOFAS and then was never heard from again , and who or what was he before he was Bryaxis ???? Fionn??

I need to know the full story of Eris, I need to know what she hides, right now you tell me that ACOTAR5 is from her POV and I'll be happy to read it (very unlikely I know).

Why the carved beasts of hewn city are the same as the "beast form " of Rhys and at the same time are the same as the Hounds of the Great Hunt ?? And why is no one talking about this? I need answers

Narben, where are you ??? (maybe it is Danikq's sword ???)

Nesta can still use the 3 trove ???? Yes ? No? Will Elain use them ? Will Bryce use them ?(I think so ) what will happen when the 4 troves are united ????

The shipons and invoke stones work with firstlight, that "pure" and raw magic that the Illyrian have is actually firstlight, are they a failed experiment of the Daglan/Asteri ? Yes

Daglan= Asteri

Enalius died in a battle against the Daglan trying to protect Ramiel's black stone (or monolith), what is that???? Whyyy?

Ramiel is hollow (and has the Daglan palace??)

Touching Ramiel's stone when winning the great rite heals all the wounds of the one who touches it, Emerie's wings are healed ???? Will she fly again? I hope she will be healed (by Ramiel stome or by Thesan) because she said she was in pain from time to time.

The only thing this fandom agrees on is that Mor and Emerie are going to end up together and they haven't even spoken to each other (that we have seen) just because Emerie called Mor beautiful.

Controversial topic, I understand partly the Elriels. Does Azriel like Elain? Yes, in Acosf that is clear, in Acofas it is intuited although he still likes Mor. Does Elain like Azriel ? Yes, she does. Now I think they will end up together ? No. Why? Because of the scene in Acosf where Az says that the troves have a darkness that Elain shouldn't get close to and Cas responds but Nesta should ? (Not literal phrases, I'm writing without looking at the book ) sorry but what I like about the Maas guys is that they give you options, do you want to do something dangerous ? I don't really like it but if you do I support and help you , the ultimate example of this is Rhys. If you take away that possibility of choice for me that couple loses all appeal (that's why I haven't put up with Rhys half of Acosf) now well if the book ends up being Elriel ?(Which I don't think so and as of today I don't want to ) congrats to them, sure Mass makes me fall in love with their story too. (But at the level of the overall plot if what was said in 2021 is maintained, that the two remaining books of acotar were to be narrated each by a couple, it makes no sense that acotar5 is Elriel because then the trilogy closing ? Whose is it? Lucien's and Vassa's ? And you spend the last book (confirmed for the moment) without any POV of the IC, sorry but it does not attract me at all)

Elain, I really want Elain Book i need her Pov, I still think that Elain is going to end up with his mate ? Yes, that Elain doesn't want anything to do with Lucien ? Yes too. Why do I think they will end up together ( and that their story will be a sort of marriage of convenience / force proximity ) because when Cassian reveals his mate bond to Nesta, Nesta resents the word Mate because it would mean giving up the last of her humanity, Nesta. Now imagine the trauma of Elain who not only didn't want to be Fae but was also engaged and the first thing she learns is that she has become FAE (and therefore goodbye to her life as a human ) and that she has mate (which takes her away from her engagement ). To me Elain doesn't reject Lucien because of her persona, but because Lucien means accepting 100% that she is FAE and I think that's something Elain has not yet done.

Maas highlights interactions where Gwyn and Az appear and does not highlight any interaction between Az and Emerie (compare the two scenes when they go to cut the ribbon) why does she do that ? Well, let everyone draw their own conclusions

ACOTAR 5 : Azriel +gwyn

ACOTAR 6: Elain + Lucien ( koschei dies here , in charge of killing him Elain and Vassa )

Characters that I think are going to die in this saga: 1 Helion (sorry I love you but you have all the ballots to die ) 2 Amrem and Varian, I explain myself, I think the IC is not going to survive whole again, I think Azriel and Cassian are not going to die, Mor has a story to tell (from what is sensed in Acofas and Acosf) and the novella I think will be hers, so the options to die are Feyre and Rhys (who could because they already have an heir, but Mass loves Rhys so I doubt it) and finally Amrem who I think is the one who will die (this time for real) and Varían will also die because separating lovers is very cruel.

Sorry for any mistakes english is not my first language

[acourtofladydeath]

11 & 12?

OOF both of these babies are SUPER angsty so TW assault (sexual and physical) and medical trauma below the cut.

11. Who Have We Become: Takes place post ACOFAS/ pre-early ACOSF. Nesta is brutally assaulted during one of her nights out and Feyre/the Inner Circle is informed by healers since they are her closest family. Conversations are had and the IC (especially Rhys, Cassian, and Mor) have to deal with their judgements of her actions, given the fact that they've all handled their traumas in a very similar way to her.

12. The Process of Progress: This is an Azriel centric fic that focuses on him as a child. Many times scars will have to be cut open to help them heal properly so the skin doesn't get too tense and you can still move that appendage. Az is ashamed so he tries to do this to himself when he realizes his hands are so tight he can't hold a sword when he starts training with the Illyrians. He continues to do it because that's what it takes for him to be able to use his hands properly. One night Rhys and Cass fid him and he explains it to them. In the end they wind up helping him with it.

[ae-neon]

Imagine if Ricesand had a whole family (like a wife from arranged marriage and kids when he met Feyre) before meeting Feyre. I would have laughed at that situation. (I know it's said that he never wanted to marry someone who wasn't his mate or whatever, but mates are supposed to be rare and a HL needs an heir in this universe so how come no one tried doing that to solidify Rice's reign?)

I really wanted to know about his life before UtM but SJM likes the idea of centuries old Fae but has no idea how to write them

Let's think

Rhysand becomes HL at around 30 (baby age for a Fae but I guess she forgot??)

So between 1 and 30:

He grows up with his mom and sister

He goes to Illyria to train as a child soldier and meets Cassian and Azriel

They age super fast or something then do the Bloodrite

Maybe the Mor/Eris/Cassian/Azriel thing

(He befriends Tamlin somewhere here??)

The bat boys become The Strongest™ then get separated

Sometime here I think he meets Amren and tries to fuck her? But she shoots him down

The war against Hybern

Befriends Drakon and Miryiam (?)

(Somewhere here?) Tamlin's dad kills Rhysand's mom and sister then Rhys' dad kills Tamlin's dad then Tamlin kills Rhys dad???? Something like that

Rhys is HL. Pre Amarantha.

So from 30 to about 480 years old:

He does nothing except ban wing clipping

Amarantha. Then Hybern.

From 480 to 530 :

UtM with Amarantha

Senses presumably underage human Feyre is his mate

Supposedly working to undermine Amarantha (this is never proven)

Meets Feyre

Kills the Winter Children (he did it, let's not lie) and terrorises Spring

"Helps" Feyre UtM

Realises, in shock at the end of TAR, Feyre is his mate (even though acomaf him says he was already in love during the wyrm fight, then later it was actually at the rite when they first met then later he felt her when she was a presumably underage human)

ACOTAR

ACOMAF

ACOWAR

ACOFAS

ACOSF

That middle bit, the biggest bit, is the emptiest

Now we know that it's because # Sjm Is A Bad Writer

but it also means we can fill it with fanfiction 😏