#we said Nesta is going to have bigger role than the others bc of her tattoo's similarity with Bryce's scar

[romanticatheartt]

I mean at this point, it's inevitable even for me who has filtered, unfollowed and is staying away from the dramas that's happening in this fandom, to not know what's going on even if it's vaguely.

But I noticed one thing from this whole situation. And that's how every week ever since acosf there's a new theory from that side of the fandom...

Even tho I wasn't here since 2021 I've seen people's theories from then and what's clear to me is Gwynriel's and Elucien's theories never changes. They're solid, they're based on the text and they don't need to make thing up.

All I'm saying is even their prediction for hofas mostly came true... And that's all I have to say :)

[bookofmirth]

The one thing about the mask though is that the Night Court also doesn't have a right to make the decision either (and arguably shouldn't be the only ones in possession of such weapons). I see so many people saying that Nesta was being disrespectful of the IC by not consulting with them, but even if she did and they came to the conclusion to give it away, then the NC would still be in the wrong.

It opens such a big can of worms. You'd have to literally bring everyone in to make a decision including other HLs, Hybern, the leaders of the continent, etc in order to make that call even justifiable bc the NC wouldn't be the only one screwed over if things went wrong. And we all know how politics go... it'd take like a full century for things to be decided lol.

I'm also not arguing this therefore makes Nesta right to just give it up. But the matter is soo much more complex than Nesta should have talked to Rhys and Feyre first.

Oh I totally agree, that's why I never mentioned the IC specifically as being the people that Nesta should have consulted. This is a much, much bigger issue than just the Night Court's ego. It would make sense for her to consult them, considering they are the High Fae that she knows best in the world and they have a lot of world/political/magical experience, but it's not like they ever trusted her. There was also a sense of urgency when Bryce came through. But - like you said, and the reason I said it being an astronomical mistake is not a metaphor - the repercussions are much, much bigger.

I do think that including the other courts in this decision isn't likely because they are all very territorial and possessive. They all have a "my court comes first" attitude. Which... I get. They can't even get their crap together right now to face Koschei. I can't imagine the other courts learning info about other worlds and being able to come to a consensus about Made objects and how to handle Bryce wanting the mask, in a timeframe that wouldn't fuck Midgard over completely.

That's kinda beside the point of Nesta's role, but tl;dr I agree with you! I think that centering the IC and their feelings in what she did is... an odd choice, considering it's not all about them.

The whole thing feels very shoulda, coulda, woulda - but Nesta was faced with a choice, Bryce was in a hurry, and Nesta did what she did. None of the rest of them were faced with that same choice, so it's quite easy to judge Nesta after the fact.

And just to make some things clear, I have actually never been a huge Nesta fan. She's a really interesting character, but she has made me angry so many times. That fight she and Elain have in acosf, where Nesta throws Greyson in Elain's face and insinuates that Elain is to blame for their father's death? Fuck Nesta specifically in that situation.

However - Nesta has changed a lot from the beginning to acosf, through everything that happens in hofas. A lot. If I knew Nesta irl, I would not be her friend. I would honestly react the way that Mor does - I'd try to be nice, Nesta would be mean to me, and then I'd shrug and say okay fuck you too. But Nesta as a character has experienced a lot of growth and change, and while I do think that not reading hofas means acotar fans might not see that right away, I am excited for everyone to see it in the future.

With this fandom it's either the ship war or it's the IC versus Valkyries war or it's pitting the sisters against each other. Just let us have nuanced fucking takes, ffs. (not you anon, I am just ranting)

[dontcall-sleeping]

If I was to (negatively) review acosf on three things here's how it would go:

- usually I'd add a point for world building but this is like 5 books into the series so I'm not talking about that rn

- let me know if there's any plot points or characters or relationships you want me to talk about

- should I do a positive review of the book too? Like talking about things I liked?

1. Plot:

First off, the main plot seemed very repetitive when you compare it to the main trilogies plot. "Find the magical objects to stop the big bad villain". I realize that Nesta's recovery was a bigger focus of the book but this was just kind of lazy.

The sideplot of Rhys and Feyres pregnancy pissed me off to an extreme level. First off, pregnancy is supposed to be rare in this universe and the fact that within a year or so they're already pregnant makes me uncomfortable. Especially since last time we checked in with Feysand they said they weren't planning on getting pregnant. The fact that in such an advanced world the baby had wings and Feyre didn't was a major problem is ridiculous. "she'll lose too much blood with a c section". That was incredibly unbelievable but I won't rant too much about it.

Then Rhysand keeping the fact that Feyre would die in the pregnancy was ridiculous because regardless of his reasons he had no right to keep it from her. And the idea that even their doctor wouldn't tell Feyre was also infuriating. This was just another example of Rhysands actions being excused on the basis of "I was protecting her" or "it was better for her" or whatever. I don't wanna hear it I despised it.

2. Characters

Let's start with Nesta, she was written pretty well for a character that was struggling mentally but any of her interactions that weren't with the Valkyries or sexual with Cassian always framed her as the bad guy even though it was written from her POV.

Feyre showed zero development since the past books and I was disappointed that her amazing powers didn't play a bigger role in anything at all. Her pregnancy basically prevented her from showing the growth I was hoping from her. And I feel like even though she was the MC, she's been reduced to Rhys' mate which is kind of sad.

Elain is still pretty bland to me and I have no desire for her to be mated with Az and I hope she doesn't doesn't a romantic relationship with Lucien bc I love him. That's all

Cassian seemed very eager for a Feysand like relationship but when the chance came I feel like he could've done so much more. I also feel like there was no addressing his previous actions where he insulted Nesta multiple times. *more in the romance section

I didn't read the Az bonus chapter but I got the gist. Tbh I feel like him wanting Elain is like a phase and he'll be over her soon enough. He's one of the only people I think who hasn't badmouthed Nesta so he's still good in my books. I don't see him being shipped with Elain at all and there's potential with Gwyn but I still haven't developed too much of an opinion yet.

Amrens character was really fun for me in the earlier books but looking at it now I could do without her. Her pressuring Rhys to take the high king title kind of ruined her for me and I feel like it was just an opportunity for sjm to make Rhys seem like a better guy when he refused. Also it made no sense anyway since the high king thing was something they were trying to prevent in the previous books.

Mor wasn't too present in this book, I know she wasn't the biggest fan of Nesta but I don't completely hate her yet. I feel like maybe if we saw more development with her in her assurance in herself, rather than a love interest I'd be more interested in that. I'd also like to uncover more about her past with Eris because I actually really like him.

Speaking of Eris, all I want to say is that I hope he becomes friends with Nesta because there are so many parallels between them and we already know Nesta isn't gonna become besties with the IC. At least I hope not.

Gwyn and Emerie were great I'd love for them to be Nesta's support system and continue as major characters in the books. I don't have any complaints about their characters or the House.

Last is the villain, I know the name started with K but that's about all I remember. That's how memorable they were. (I can't even remember the pronouns, we'll go with he) is it koshei? Something like that anyway. I'm sure you can already tell I didn't find him interesting. Similar to Hybern, there wasn't a lot of depth in the character or in the motives.

3. Romance

We're not talking about Feysand because I'm sick of them and I've already forgotten about them thank you.

Nessian had so much potential but looking back at the way they were written I'd be better off without the ship. I feel like we get nothing from Cassian about actually appreciating Nesta and her personality and her company and all of the things couples do. They were kind of just reduced to sex buddies if yk what I mean. I feel like sjm heard the word sex and just kind of went overboard and just forgot about everything else. It felt like she'd set them up at the beginning and just kind of ran with it and forgot about details and why they actually felt attraction towards each other and why the two felt they were right for each other. For nesta after a major mental health journey a relationship seemed like the last thing she needed but it was all put out to be as simple as "she needs a love interest and she loves him because I said so". I guess what I'm trying to say is Nesta is such a deep character but her relationship with Cassian was so surface-y and black and white.

I still ship Az with no one and Lucien with no one. Ngl Eris for Nesta is looking pretty good rn.