#tcp spoilers

[summer-fruits-and-cream]

okay listen. listen. I've done enemies to lovers before. I've done enemies to lovers when one of the enemies was a truly atrocious person. I've seen the great and shipped catherine and peter which I could have never imagined in season 1!!

but I'm listening to the cruel prince right now, and I know how this ends, I know where this is going. and what the heck. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON. CARDEN? IS GONNA BE A LOVE INTEREST? HELLO???

[nnon-it-up]

Nicasia should be thanking her lucky stars that Jude and Taryn didn't have a triplet because you bet your ass that sibling would've murdered her too

[inkyskye]

moments from the folk of the air that are perfectly paralleled *spoilers* pt. 1

Here are some parallels that show how well-constructed The Folk of the Air is!!

Cardan and the prophecy. In the prologue of TQoN, Baphen divines Cardan's fate from the stars: "the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne." Cardan's destiny is written in the stars, and in the very first description of him, in Chapter 3 of TCP, he wears "a long black coat...the whole thing stitched with the pattern of constellations." Along with his "midnight hair", imagery of Cardan constantly likens him to the stars, maybe foreshadowing the role the prophecy will play...?

Jude, Queen of Mirth/Faerie. Less subtle, but... in Chapter 11 of TWK, Locke makes Jude the 'Queen of Mirth' to humiliate both her and Cardan. (I'll always be a bit annoyed Locke is unalived before he can know Jude's married to Cardan and therefore is Queen of Elfhame. Would've loved to see Locke's reaction to that.) Anyway, the parallel between the mockery made of her as Queen of Mirth and the power she gains in Chapter 29 of TWK when Cardan says "Marry me. Become the Queen of Elfhame" is pretty cool.

Snakes. The whole Cardan-becomes-a-snake thing is so utterly bizarre and fairytale-like. This one might be far-fetched, but I noticed it when I reread TQoN: In Chapter 5, Jude has a strange dream in which Taryn says to her "You're the sister who spits out toads and snakes. I'm the sister who spits out rubies and diamonds." As well as possibly foreshadowing Snake-Cardan (Snardan? Snakedan?), this made me think of this fairytale where identical twins end up enchanted, one with jewels falling from her mouth, the other with snakes.

link to pt. 2

[darling-im-the-queen-of-hell]

Jude when she kills Valerian and Balekin

[missroller15]

cardan’s “joke” and thomas’ “joke” feel like the same level of 😧 but in different fonts. i have no idea how to explain it well but yk-

[everdreamingstarqueen]

Has anyone made the river/sea comparison yet? When Cardan watched Jude in the river with cruelty vs when he felt like he was drowning while she was trapped in the Undersea? Idk maybe I'm not remembering it properly since it's been a while, but the thought makes me feel emotions??? Like in both cases she could have drowned but in the first one he could control when she returned from the river?

[letmedownslows]

Cardan you stupid idiot king I thought you were going to fucking die

[avelanlorelay]

Cardan in The Queen of Nothing:

How I imagine him ten years later:

Love, that force that compels us to be sometimes better and often worse

[agentof-chaos]

I am living for the parallels between Jude and Suren and how they each respond to Cardan/Oak being obviously in love with them.

They're both like "He hates me so much. Every nice thing he says is clearly a trick and he's trying to manipulate me. He looks at me like that because of how much he hates me."

Meanwhile Cardan and Oak are being the the most obvious simps in all of existence and the only ones who don't notice are the people they're simping for.

[maingh0st]

the main reason I like Taryn/the Ghost (despite the fact we get microscopic crumbs in the text) is that it’s thematically compelling for them as characters.

the best romances aren't just about ~vibes~ and ~spice~ but about two unique, fully realized characters becoming part of one another's lives. each character carries their lifetime's worth of formative experiences, beliefs about the world, goals, strengths, habits, wounds, coping mechanisms, preferences, etc—so inevitably there's conflict and change and (ideally) growth. this is why we love Jude/Cardan so much!

like, for just one example: Jude always resented the Folk, even as she admired and envied them. she talks about wanting to be better, to be worse, to excel beyond them and rule over them, and ultimately to conquer her fear of them. part of why Jurdan is so great (aside from being The Power Couple) is because falling in love with Cardan forces Jude to accept that sometimes, the Folk can be good and safe and worthy of her trust. in my interpretation, this arc culminates when Cardan is turned into a snake and Jude has to rely on others (Fand, Grima Mog, the Court of Shadows, etc.) rather than just her romantic partner. she does conquer her fear of the Folk—partially through her cunning and tenacity, yes, but also partially through learning to trust her heart and find those with whom she is safe.

but that's not a lesson Taryn needs to learn. she wants to fit in with the fae; she craves their approval. in tcp, Locke's whole shitty test is based on Taryn's ability to prove that, even though she's human, she can live like the fae. and in twk, while Jude is isolated, exhausted, and (rightfully) paranoid about being betrayed, Taryn is constantly surrounded by the Folk. she seems to find belonging among them, yet she almost loses herself in the process. from a story perspective, Locke isn't that interesting of a romantic partner because he only confirms what she seems to already believe: that to belong in faerie, she will have to change and abandon certain parts of herself (represented most starkly by her betraying her sister). she will have to learn to love differently and live by different rules. and she's quite good at it, as we see—but it makes her miserable. so Locke's murder is narratively important (beyond just being Very Fun) because it represents her rejection of the life he insisted she live.

but the Ghost (for as little as we know about him) is half-human and spent part of his life in the human world. I think there is so much potential for the most delicious narrative tension to arise from their dynamic. they both, for their own reasons, straddle both the human and the faerie worlds, yet fully belong to neither. both of them make choices they regret (killing Liriope / betraying Jude) and both of them are harmed as a result (the Ghost's true name being used / Locke being straight-up emotionally abusive). there's a lot of common ground there, but also potential for great conflict considering the very different lives they live.

after the events of tqon, I get the sense that they're both kind of... recalibrating. of course, the Ghost is still part of the Court of Shadows, but the monarchs he serves are very different than Dain, and he's also been freed from the abuse of his true name. and Taryn is a widow, pregnant, the daughter of an exiled general, the sister of the new mortal queen, and seemingly a bit of a phenomenon in the social scene of Elfhame. who are they, and what is their place in this world that isn't built for them? how do they find belonging without losing themselves? what does living a good and fulfilling life even look like for each of them? how do they adapt to their environment without crossing into the territory of self-betrayal? truly just so many questions that are so fun to chew on

[clockworkbee]

when he thinks about her too much:

it's disgusting (the cruel prince, holly black)

it's like a fever (sword catcher, cassandra clare)

[its-ya-boi-kaz]

Relationships should be 50/50. I tell her that I think of her, often, it's disgusting and I can't stop, and she puts a knife to my throat

[agirlwiththoughtsandnegativity]

this is so real oak

[filmnoirsbian]

A middle aged cuckolded man headbanging in the family car to last resort by papa roach as he reminisces about fucking his wife in the art studio of the lover she murdered is something that can be so relatable

[sncinderdoodles]

Jude Duarte and Cardan Greenbriar

[tothestarsinvelaris]

My unhinged reactions to the chaotic ride that is The Folk of the Air series ((first two books only bc I'm only 30% through The Queen of Nothing soooo ---- no spoilers plsss))

The Cruel Prince Worst Betrayals:

TARYN - MA'AM!!?????!??? You knewww?? you knew Locke was playing both of y'all??? and you weren't even ensorcelled or whatever?!?!? GIRL?! "if you let me seduce your sister in front of you and keep your mouth shut it proves that I love you" I'M sorry?!?!!??? I absolutely cannot. Someone will need to give me some serious break down of why tf I shouldn't jump in there and smack the bitch myself for being so stupid and betraying her sister like that smh ((more on this bs later bc i've made it far enough through TQON to know things))

JUDE!!!!!!!! - Girl why tf are you gonna do my boy Cardan dirty like that???? He finally TRUSTED YOUR ASS okay?! he is clearly a lil bby who has never had a hug and never felt loved and is v much into you so maybe you should be NICE TO HIM (or mean bc hes into that obvs) but like -- you put the damn crown on his head when he SPECIFICALLY ASKED YOU NOT TO?!??????? oof

The Wicked King:

I sat there really trying to figure out who tf betrayed Jude already when Nicasia's jealous ass said that and like I knew it was not my boy Cardan bc he has never done anything wrong in his entire life and he has a plan and reasons and you can't tell me any different okay!? someone ((JUDE)) just hug the damn boy and pat his lil head and tell him everything is gonna be okay pls?? and I knew that boy Locke and stupid idiot Traitor Taryn were sus. Obvs Madoc is a dumb murder bitch so like?? DUH he was gonna do something stupid since you know, he already fucking committed treason. I just sat there from page one waiting for those three to pull some stupid shit to betray Jude and OBVS I WAS RIGHT ! those stupid idiot dumb dumbs can't help themselves but betray Jude! hate them allllllll hate hate hate

but the scream i screamed when the Ghost of all damn people - (me picturing him as some kinda cute lil spy cutie) - called for Jude in that tower and was like "naaaahhh I worked for Dain bitch, not your ass" I'm???? sorrryyy??? betray ME?! the READER OF THIS BOOK?!??! excuse you!

but also the way Cardan was like "tell me you hate me" and "i want to tell you so many lies" and "i'm a sad lil bby and nobody has ever cared about me" and "i trusted you" and "marry me" and "crawl to me" crawl to meee????? sir. and he sent her ass to the mortal world but did not deny her and did not revoke their marriage so likeeee??? jude girly use your damn brain okay babes i know its in there somewhere so pls just get back to your 4D chess game you had in book 1 and realize this man loves you and is trying to PROTECT YOU OKAY ugh!!!!!

Currently reading The Queen of Nothing so like.... doing my damn best to fly through this book so I can finally look at fanart and fandom shit okay? gh