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pearblossommina · 11 months

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Last night I finished Kingdom of Ash (🥳)

I had a physical copy, but for a good portion of this read, I was reading an ebook I checked out from the library. Unfortunately, too many people were waiting for this book, and Libby automatically returned it when I only had about 30% left, so I had to lug around my gigantic dictionary-sized copy with me everywhere to finish. (😵‍💫)

I apologize for doing a bad job of taking notes, i literally stopped doing it about 20 chapters before the end, but if you’re interested, here’s some raw thoughts up until that point.

IT WAS QUITE THE JOURNEY.

And what a fulfilling end to an epic series!

ToG Read-A-Long, Kingdom of Ash, Day 11

Ch 79

I think Yrene and Elide are so compatible as friends, I like this combination actually. I definitely want to see Yrene work her miracle magic on Elide’s leg. Yes, girl! Get healed! Form new bonds and friendships!

Ch 80

Lol, Elide’s uncle is such a piece of shit. I love how rutheless Aelin is. She’s the best. And true to her word!

It’s all starting to come together. This fear, this hype, the whole adventure coming to its final conclusion. I’m very excited for when Dorian shows up like a total badass with all three wyrdkeys. I’m very excited for the demolition of Erawan, and maybe Maeve too if Aelin can find it in her.

Let’s go. Let’s win the war against evil, and save the whole world.

Ch 81

The scene with Evangeline and Aedion and Lysandra is so cute. My heart! Aw.

Um, I also really like Darrow; lmao, he’s such a shitty person but he’s not evil, he’s just a jerk.

and hell yeah

Hell yeah, Manon is here, to honor a promise made to a friend

Hell yeah, queen of the Corchan’s

Hell yeah, let’s kick some ass

Ch 82

“Freedom - freedom from the Matrons who had forged them into tools of destruction.”

I would have liked to see Manon take over ALL the witch legions, the crochans and the Ironteeth both, but if they won’t follow her, then they have to die. This is war! And we’re gonna win!

For a better world!

Aedion and Lysandra are finally declaring that they love each other. It’s about time for those two. No one’s ever asked Lysandra permission to kiss her before? Girl, my poor heart. You should let him, Lysandra! Just go for it! Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy something consensual at least once before you die?

Ch 83

Dorian you’re so sweet, aw.

I don’t want anyone to die!

I want to find another way. Why can’t we just be Elena, and seal Erawan away without dying to forge the lock?

I know it supposedly pisses off the gods - but - I can’t stand these gods - I’m pissed off that everyone’s talking about dying all the time

I’m sick of sacrifice

I just want to be happy

And I just want the characters to be happy, too

Ch 84

Building to another battle

Lysandra’s up to something fishy (har har)

Day 12

Ch 85

Right into it

It does make me sorry to see Manon killing Ironteeth witches. But not everyone can be saved. This is war.

Lysandra is a dragon again

Love her

Aedion is fighting the good fight! Love him.

Ch 86

Um!

Is Ren okay!

Aedion got knocked out - by something - but is Ren okay?

I think I said before how much I love Evangeline. It’s good to have diversity of characters, and someone like her, who is a literal child, getting to have perspective on some of these big moments, it makes the world so much richer.

I also like Darrow for part of the same reason - even though he’s extremely unlikeable, personality wise.

The combination of Darrow and Evangeline isn’t something I knew I needed, but I actually like it a lot.

Aedion will be alright, honey. We have to have faith.

Ch 87

Elorcan my whole heart!!!!

Do I hate the fade to black? Yes, actually, how dare you SJM, she worked so hard for this virginity loss moment, how dare you cut away!

I wanna be in there, I want to feel my heart fill up with feelings while Elide gets to experience sex for the first time and learn how good it feels!

Boo

Aelin having nightmares, boo

I love Rowaelin, tattoo me up, baby, let’s be lovers forever.

And yay!!!

Dorian’s finally back!!!!

We’re all together now, the happy ending is at hand, we can get there, I KNOW we can get there, it’s not far now!

Ch 88

I told you Aedion was gonna be alright. 🥰

It’s the kind of fight that just keeps going - but don’t worry friends. Aelin and Dorian are on their way, and it’s gonna be amazing.

Abraxos is gonna be just fine.

Ch 89

Manon bared her teeth. “I am.” She pointed at the shape-shifter. “You can carry me.”

Aedion snarled, “No.”

But Lysandra shook her head, sorrow and despair in her green eyes. “I can’t - the magic is drained. If I had an hour -“

Am I the only one hoping for Dorian-as-a-wyvern to dramatically turn up and give Manon a ride to the witch tower?

Omfg Asterin

All of them?

I want you to live, too.

Don’t do this to me

Ch 90

NO this is the WORST

Manon :(

Ch 91

YAY

DORIAN AND CHAOL, TOGETHER AGAIN AT LAST

That flicker of sorrow in Dorian’s eyes, when Chaol introduced him to his wife, I know it was probably just brotherly sorrow that he couldn’t be there for the wedding day, but I absolutely believe he was sorry that Chaol is off the market and he’ll never get his chance to make out with him now.

(I’m going down with this ship, toot toot, Dorian x Chaol, sinking beneath the surface)

Why! Why do we have to die! It’s so dumb!

I don’t want either of you to do it. I vote, we anger the gods, and do what we want, and live long happy lives and fall deeper and deeper in love. I vote we die of natural causes, at the ripe old age of 200 or whatever.

Ch 92

The issue of dying in place of your friends is so selfish. I especially love Rowan right now for fighting to keep Aelin’s heart beating.

She wouldn’t let him die to save her, so what makes her sacrifice any better?

I like the idea of both Aelin and Dorian giving “half” of themselves. Maybe they’ll only die a little bit. Only mostly dead, like in The Princess Bride. And what could be a better reason for living than true love!

Day 13

Ch 93

Ok you are kidding me

This is nuts

They’re gonna come back, right?

Right?

Ch 94

I’m sorry but I actually laughed out loud when no one knew Dorian’s dad’s name

#tog read along 2023 #kingdom of ash #Maddy plays catch up #this book!!!!!!#i’m so sad it’s ending #what am I gonna do with my free time now

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nikethestatue · 2 years

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Is it just me or is SJM a really hit or miss author, no hate to her, I was just rereading CC and was struck by how little it does for me compared to ACOTAR or even TOG despite the fact she seems to really love CC and those characters. Like day night are an absolute serve and carried the whole book…. How did SJM write such weak main characters and main relationship then? How did the same woman who’s writing Feysand and Elriel also write ACOSF?? I can’t put my finger on why I feel she’s so inconsistent but I wish there wasn’t such a big gap between her best and her worst

So I have a theory that SJM has to be actually sexually attracted to her characters in order to make them shine. It's a phenomenon that some writers have, but it honestly seems to me that if she is 'into' a character, especially a main, she'd make him and his presence and his story a lot more interesting?

I dont think she is into what we'd call himbos, I think and Hunt and Cassian and even Aedion all fall under that umbrella. Their stories and their portrayals always fall short. Whereas the tall, (usually) dark, mysterious ones like Rhys, and Rowan and Azriel and Ruhn get to shine.

I think she is also attracted to moral grayness, and Hunt and Cassian aren't all that gray. They are pretty good all over and may have done some bad things back in the day, but they've all been explained. There is no mystery or any surprises attached to them or their decision making. With Rhys and Az and the others, they are usually significantly grayer than just nice n' good.

That's just a pattern that I've noticed with her, but of course, I could be wrong.

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nomattertheoceans · 4 years

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I feel like I picked up on most of the racist tropes in Maas’ books but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the homophobia in them

Hi Non!! Thanks for the ask :)

Just an fyi if people didn’t see it, Anon is referring to my tags on this post about death of the author and the importance of criticizing media without taking into account the creator’s intent.

So yeah, regarding Maas. There’s a lot of ways in which I find her writing homophobic, I’ll divide them in different categories to try and make it clearer because my mind works in twisted ways x)

You should also know that I haven’t read Crescent City past the first few chapters so I can’t talk about this book (what I heard isn’t great regarding this issue but I haven’t read it so I won’t comment on it)

(this got long so I’m gonna use a read more)

worldbuilding

I think her worldbuilding tends to reflect a homophobia that she might not be aware of. Her entire world is built on heteronormative ... norms (lmao sorry I don’t have a better word I haven’t slept in more than 20 hours) that don’t leave any space for queer people to thrive in.

Throne of Glass actually got the less awful bit on this one, we’re shown that Hasar’s girlfriend Renia would become Empress if Hasar was crowned, and Aelin’s uncle was openly gay, so I guess compared to ACOTAR it’s better.

ACOTAR gets the worst of this: The fae society is painfully mysoginistic and by extend, homophobic. Mor is basically sold into marriage at sixteen, to a man, without regards of how she feels about it, because women are considered a breeding stock. The Illyrian women are viewed in the same light. Even Feyre is expected to be making heirs when she’s about to marry Tamlin. Yes, all these examples are painted as bad things in the books, but it doesn’t take away the fact that there are also considered normal within the society we are presented with. When the entire world is built around cishet dynamics (whether good or bad), it shows us that queer relationships are not the norm here, they’re outsiders from their own society (btw considering women as ‘baby makers’ is also transphobic but I’m not gonna open that can of worms).

The mating bond in itself is the biggest heteronormative concept in her books. As Rhys explains it in ACOMAF, it is literally intended for couples to make the strongest babies. It doesn’t care about love between partners, its primary goal is to perpetuate the species. It’s a natural instinct that we’re shown is basically impossible (or at least very difficult) to fight against. We’re shown that the woman has to make the man a meal to “seal the deal”, we’re shown that men become extremely violent towards other men they consider a threat when they’re influenced by the bond (by the way that’s toxic masculinity but it’s not what this post is about).

I believe that Maas didn’t intend for the mating bond to be a possibility between mlm or wlw couples, but that she retconned it in ACOWAR. Which in a sense is good, I’m all for queer soulmates! But the concept she invented here doesn’t have much room for non heteronormative relationships, and it becomes painfully obvious when you try to apply the mating bond logic to wlw/mlm couples. It brings many questions to mind: if it’s intended to make babies, does it mean that the mated mlm couple has one of the men be a trans man? If that’s the case, why didn’t she tell us? Why didn’t she spend more time on telling us their story? If they’re both cis men, then why would they have a mating bond, something specifically designed to help with species continuity by making babies? To me, it’s proof that she didn’t think it through, she thought it was cute to have two men be mates just like our main couple was, and didn’t stop to consider how the mating bond didn’t allow for this to happen organically because it exists in a vaccum of cishet privilege where she didn’t think about the consequences of including it in her books without elaborating on it.

We can also see that queer people aren’t expected to be the norm in that society. Feyre is genuinely surprised when Mor tells her that she likes women, as if it was this groundbreaking thing she never even considered. I’m not going to get into details as to why I hate Mor’s coming out (I love Mor being a wlw but really, really, hate that scene), but the fact that she hasn’t felt comfortable enough to come out in five centuries is very telling of how unaccepting the fae society is of queer people. So yeah, there’s a queer bar where she hangs out but like... that doesn’t mean it’s accepted. One of the main reasons why queer bars started existing in the first place was to become a safe space for people to be themselves, so you know, I kinda take it as another proof of how unopen-minded the fae society actually is.

lack of queer characters

Overall, we don’t have a lot of confirmed queer characters. Off the top of my head, I can think about (of course I might forget some so that might not be 100% accurate, I haven’t read the books in a long while):

TOG: Hasar and Renia, Aedion, Orlon and Darrow

ACOTAR: Mor, Helion, Thesan, Andromache, Nephelle

Note that I’m not counting unnamed characters. I don’t consider “x’s lover” as a developped enough character to count as representation, come on.

Out of all these characters, only two of them are in the main cast of their respective series (Aedion and Mor). The others go from “mentioned” to “secondary character” at best. I’m not saying that all of her characters have to be queer, but out of such a big cast of mains, one in each series seems very little.

construction of these characters

On top of not having many characters that aren’t cishet, the characters we do have aren’t very well handled by the story.

Hasar is repeatedly described as being ugly, despite most of the other characters being described over and over as breathtakingly beautiful.

Aedion compares bisexuality to forced prostitution.

Helion is basically shown as sleeping around with everybody.

Mor’s sexuality is kept so ambiguous that there’s debate as to whether she’s actually bi, or rather a closeted lesbian.

Renia barely talks, Darrow is a jerk. Orlon, Andromache and Nephelle are figures of the past that we never meet

This is a problem mainly because of how small in numbers the queer characters are. The more diverse cast you create, the easiest it gets to avoid hurtful tropes. I wouldn’t mind Helion being a bi man sleeping around all the time if he wasn’t the only bi man in ACOTAR. Nor would I mind Mor’s tragic backstory if we had other wlw characters. By reducing her cast to such little numbers, she’s creating problems in her writing. She’s telling us that bi men sleep around and never settle down, she’s telling us that sapphic women will only get tragic stories and never find love again.

In the end, the combination of a heteronormative worldbuilding and the lack of work put into the queer characters we are given makes it impossible for me to not consider her books homophobic.

To be clear,

I don’t think Maas does this out of malice. I don’t think she’s a homophobe who hates queer people or anything. I also don’t dislike her books. They’re a fun read, and there’s a reason why ACOMAF is one of only two audiobooks I always have on my phone! Hell, I even write fanfic with her characters. But I think it’s important to be critical of her books, particularly in regards to issues such as racism, mysoginy, or homophobia.

To go back to the original post from yesterday, this is why ‘death of the author’ is an important point here. I’m not saying that Maas intended to be homophobic or that she built her world expressedly to exclude queer people. But in the end, that’s what happened, and we can’t brush off the critics of queer people and people of color just by saying “well, the author didn’t mean it that way.”

I do think that she includes queer representation only as an afterthought in her books, and it shows. Mor’s coming out was poorly handled because she didn’t consider the ramifications of it, just like the mating bond suddenly applying to queer relationships. Her societies are based on cishet white upper class America and that leaves little to no place for queer people (and people of color) to thrive in her stories. From what I see, she doesn’t seem interested in consulting with sensitivity readers over these issues, and as long as she doesn’t swallow her pride and listen to the people that are affected by it, she’s not going to get better on these points.

#Anonymous #Asks #anti sjm #I guess?#I don't consider this to be anti it's just a discussion #but I get people not wanting to see negativity so I'll tag it #I'm not dwelling on the racism because that's not what anon asked #and also as a white woman I don't feel like it's my place to dwell on this #there are other bloggers that addressed it much better than I ever could #I hope this post is clear omg I rambled on for so long lmaoooo #I'm always opened to discussion by the way!! as long as you stay civil I'm willing to listen to any point of view #pinned post #sjm critical

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thewayshedreamed · 3 years

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Dani ❤️

1, 2 an 21? For the writer asks??

Hope you have the best Sunday 🥰

Thank you so much! I hope your Sunday is wonderful, too! 💕💕

1. What’s your favorite character(s) to write for?

I find that I connect the most with Nesta and love writing her. But I think in terms of Nessian, I actually like writing Cassian's POV the most. If I had to guess why, there are times where I resonate with Nesta a little too much, so some of the escapism gets lost in the process lol. Cassian is a really dynamic character with a lot of potential, so I like the creativity he sparks.

In terms of ToG, I have a soft spot for Lysandra and Aedion since OGL. Lorcan, too. I've written very little Manorian, but I have plans for them. I could see them creeping onto this list quickly! I like Rowaelin, too, but they intimidate me a bit. They're wonderfully thought out characters, and this fandom LIVES for them. I don't want to fuck them up, if I'm being honest 😂

2. What character(s) do you find the most difficult to write for? Why?

Keeping with the same order, I'll start with acotar. I find it hard to write much of Morrigan. Mostly because I feel like there's still so much we don't know about her. She's also sunshine personified, essentially, and that's a stretch for me to wrap my head around sometimes lol.

I've written a baby bit of Elucien and found Lucien hard to write. Not because I don't like or resonate with him, but he's another character that's pretty nuanced. I want to do him justice, and I get in my head about him.

For ToG: I mentioned Rowaelin already, but other than them, I would say the Tower of Dawn crew. Sartaq, Nesryn, Chaol, Yrene.

21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet?

A couple! I alluded to Manorian a bit before. I have a very rough outline for a modern au for them and have done some loose planning for chapter build outs. It's not necessarily around the corner, but it's a WIP I think of often.

I had an outline for a ToG and ACoTar crossover at one point, and I really liked it. It involved a proposed arranged marriage between Aelin and Rhys for political purposes and their plot to get out of it. Each of them know that Rowan and Feyre are their mates, but the latter don't know yet and are conflicted about the whole thing. That being said, I don't know if I'll ever get around to writing it.

A university au for acotar that I outlined, everyone's POV represented. I can almost guarantee that it won't see the light of day now! haha — I just have so many other things I'd like to work on before this one, so the likelihood I get there is low.

This is probably much more than you bargained for, but I appreciate you!! Thanks again for sending in asks!

#answered #twsd answers #over300books #writer asks #fanfic writer asks

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illyrian-tattoos · 4 years

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Get to know meme/20 questions

Tagged by the amazing @hellas-himself

Rules: answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers you want to get to know better.

Name: Jolanta

Nicknames: I’m always called Jola, but my idiot friends call me an awful variety of nicknames such as Parabjola because I hate parabolas in math, Hola because it’s how one might pronounce my name name if it was Spanish, and Holalala because as previously mentioned, they’re idiots, among others.

Zodiac Sign: Libra? I don’t really know, my birthday is October 8

Height: 5’6

Languages: English, and the barest bit of Polish

Nationality: Canadian

Favourite Season: Autumn! It has the prettiest colours, is associated with Spooky Season/Halloween (my favourite event of the year!) and my birthday is during it! Downfall: school starts in autumn and I absolutely hate school:(

Favourite Flower: oh I don’t really know, I don’t spend much time around actual flowers, just ones that turn into peas lol, growing them indoors in Canada is hard:)

Favourite Scent: foresty smells— the rotting of wood, the scent if rain and pine

Favourite Colour: teal and onyx

Favourite Fictional Character: well if you have time, I’d be happy to list hundreds! Here’s a few based in series because I couldn’t choose favourite of all time:

ToG: 3-way tie of Fenrys/Aedion/Lysandra

ACoTaR: Cassian

CAOS: Caliban

Harry Potter: Sirius Black

Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate: I don’t drink black coffee, normally hot chocolate, mochas, lattes with a ton of added sugar, or iced frappes

Average Sleep Hours: well that’s a good question... between 3 and 6 on weekdays and 4 and 15 on weekends and holidays??? Don’t judge me

Dog or Cat Person: DOGS! Cats don’t like me and I don’t know what to do with them!!! I like big dogs like my cuddly Saint Bernard mix, but my friend has little dogs I don’t mind— a Boston Terrier and a grumpy old Shitzu

Number of Blankets Slept with: normally just one, but with the -40C weather we’ve had lately, it chills you to the bone and I add my ACoTaR blanket on top

Dream Trip: is it cheating if I say a tour of the world?! If I gad to choose 1 place I’d probably have to choose Greece or Italy because I love Ancient Greek and Roman mythology

Blog Established: 1 or 2 years?

Followers: 41

Random Fact: I’m an olympic weightlifter— NOT like the Olympics, it’s a type of lifting with two different movements

Bonus: here’s my first snatch of last competition (you get three snatches and three clean and jerks to make your best total and win) please ignore my parents’ comment lol:

57kg

Tagging: @quakeriders @foxboylucien @highladyofthesith @rhysanoodle I’ll tag more in a repost, mobile is trash

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thewriterlyowl · 5 years

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Thoughts on ToG

OK, so @nickjgoodsell asked me why I don’t like this series anymore, and I promised I would write a post because how I feel about it is pretty complicated. I used to wholeheartedly love this series - I read Sarah’s blog religiously and even met her a couple of times (I think, I don’t remember, but it was at least once). However, some time after I read QoS, I stopped liking these books, for a multitude of reasons:

So basically, I thought that ToG was just OK. I liked Celaena well enough even though I didn’t think much of her assassin skills, but I liked the mystery parts. Nehemia and Dorian were my favourites, but I though Chaol was kind of dull, but I didn’t like Celaena with Dorian because it kind of felt like she was stringing him along and looked down on him throughout the first book and the second.

I thought CoM was way, way better - at first, which I’ll get into - because I thought the writing and plot was better, and the world was opening up. But I hated the way Chaol and Celaena treated Dorian, and I was devastated that Nehemia died because 1) Badass, magical, female character of colour that tricked all the other people into thinking she was an idiot while secretly spying on them and she’s the one who died? 2) Dorian/Nehemia would have been far superior to those other two. Imagine if they had killed King Haviliard and then just went around restoring magic and looking fine af.

But, whatever, I was intrigued enough to read the next too, and I loved HoF. Before I read that I read TAB, which I thought was a brilliant way to explore Celaena’s backstory. When I read QoS, I was still excited about it - or so I thought. When EoS came out, I read the first couple of pages and was inexplicably bored. Whatever. I thought maybe it was exam stress preventing me from concentrating. But then over the next few months it kept happening, until suddenly ToD was coming out and I still hadn’t finished it. Then KoA came out and I still hadn’t read it, so I decided to reread QoS again so that I could sail smoothly back into it. So I did. And then I realised that even though I thought I’d enjoyed QoS, rereading it made me realise that something in that book killed all my desire to read the next one. Which I will explain when I outline my reasons in detail:

1) Story

OK so remember when you read Prisoner of Azkaban, and Sirius turns out not to be a fink and the whole mystery surrounding the Potters’ deaths gets turned on its head and you realised that JK Rowling was a genius who put her all into her story? I originally thought that about Sarah, because you could see that she was thinking about her story from the very first story in TAB (obviously because she wrote this story when she was sixteen and then split it). From TAB to HOF, I could clearly see that she was building Celaena/Aelin into an epic hero/Chosen One, who had to go on this quest of discovery and accepting her past mistakes, before picking up allies and defeating the evil whatever it was. Right?

Except, when you get to QoS, it’s like the entire thing gets derailed. Arobynn Hamel, after being built up to me one of Celaena’s most complicated adversaries, is dispatched offscreen by a character that we’re not even introduced to in the main series (Lysandra). Instead of a clear goal and obstacles that derail them, the story is just a series of plans that Celaena/Aelin is keeping us in the dark about, so we don’t know until she’s won. The sense that we’re building to something is kind of lost, because we pick up new objectives every few chapters. What felt like an epic journey sort of tapered off into a bunch of scenes where everyone was up against it...until Celaena revealed that she’d been planning this all along.

Also, the retcons that apparently happened. Elena sent Aelin to Rowan for “happiness”. Maeve tricked Rowan into thinking Lyria being his mate because reasons. Elena and the gods have been manipulating everything because they had a spat a few hundred years ago.

I think that the reveal that Celaena was Aelin was planned from the beginning, but I think QoS was almost the start of a new series - and not just because of the name change. It’s like she just took the story in a completely different direction. I remember in an interview Sarah mentioned that she likes to see where the story takes her as opposed to planning, and even though I still haven’t read past EoS, what I’ve heard, the story ended up in a completely different place than where it was going.

2) Characters

Like I said, there was no one I hated - at first. In fact, by the time HoF was over, I was loving all the characters. I thought Sarah had rendered them so well that I couldn’t wait for all the different personalities to meet and all the banter that would ensue when they all realised they were working at cross purposes.

But then QoS happened.

Celaena, who underwent some incredible character development in HoF, turned into an absolutely horrible character in QoS. She was arrogant, violent, impatient, cruel, and selfish - with none of the redeeming qualities. She detested her old self even though that self got her where she is today. She treated her so-called allies like idiots or like downright enemies. She threatened to kill everyone who didn’t agree with her.

Rowan, who went from a misanthropic douche to loyal friend to Celaena, spent QoS completely obsessed with her and with growling at every man (sorry, male) who gets within spitting distance of her. I hear he got worse.

Chaol went from a well-meaning if not naive guy who loved his friends to an unrelenting douche who argued with Celaena for reasons, and then apparently disappeared.

I’m not even going to talk about what happened to Dorian and Manon.

And therein lies the reason I didn’t want to read EoS - because QoS had effectively made me hate all the characters. Not only that, but it starts with Celaena hanging out with Rowan, Aedion, Lysandra and Evangeline - four characters who were only introduced the book before, and who spent so long either basking in their own brilliance or being territorial over Celaena that they never got to form meaningful bonds with any of the characters that we did know before then. I couldn’t get through the first chapter because I literally couldn’t give a shit about a bunch of people I just met.

And then there’s the Chaolaena thing. I didn’t particularly care for them one way or another. I thought they were a well-written and well-matched couple, but I personally found Dorian way more interesting. And they were written like they were destined to be together. Even when they were talking about the fact that Celaena might not pick him when she became Aelin, there was none of the vicious antagonism in their relationship when they met again. OK, I expected her to be mad at Chaol for leaving Dorian, but to drag it out so long? And every other argument they had was artificially lengthened to justify them never getting back together so she was free to get with Rowan, where the two people from the last book would have worked it out like adults.

And this takes us right back to the retcon thing. I specifically remember an interview right before QoS came out where I noticed that Sarah was talking about Rowan a lot. So much so that he almost felt like a deuteragonist. When I read the book, I realised it was because she’d decided to torpedo Celaena/Chaol in favour of Rowan/Aelin - which I have no problem with. I just wish it had been done with more grace. Aelin and Rowan went from having a great platonic bond to suddenly wanting to rip each other’s clothes of whenever they saw each other. Aelin went from accepting that Chaol and her were over to wanting to kill him whenever she saw him. Rowan basically wanted to lick her whenever they shared a room, and turned into a giant baby when another guy got near her. The emphasis that their platonic bond was given was traded for them lusting after each other like horny teenagers.

3) Writing

Look, I’m just going to say it - QoS felt like fanfiction. There was just an abundance of similes and metaphors, and her writing got to be so overblown and dramatic that it was eyeroll-inducing to read. But that’s not even the worst of it.

I read ACOTAR when it came out. I liked it, but I really hate Fae/Faeries, so I wasn’t going to continue. Then when I read QoS I realised that all the guys in that and all the guys in ACOTAR are essentially the same character - territorial Fae males who constantly thought about the main female character, sex, or sex with the main female character. Aedion and Rowan were the same character in different colours. And all the girls were the same too - badass but vulnerable and always ready with a snarky comment. The similarities between the two were just too much.

Then there’s the actual structure of the book - like I said, it felt like fanfiction, and like a series of events strung together rather than a book. There wasn’t really any clear structure to speak of, which is why it felt so odd. There was no clear goal at the beginning, so there was no inciting incident, no first plot point etc. It felt like set up for the next book.

And finally, the style. HoF, QoS, and the little chapter of EoS are all completely different. One of the opening chapters has s Fae warrior (I forget which one and also I don’t care) trying to figure out whether a girl with big breasts is a virgin. I think it’s supposed it’s supposed to sound like high fantasy like GRRM, but it just sounds predatory and weird.

There’s actually way more that I now dislike about this series, but I’ve spent too much time on it. I’ll always love the first four (I include TAB) and parts of QoS (”Witchkiller is still the best thing ever), but I’ll never finish it.

#anti sarah j maas #anti sjm #anti throne of glass #anti aelin

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elliepassmore · 5 years

Text

Heir of Fire Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: fantasy, magic, Fae, training montages, brewing rebellion, enemies-to-friends,Throne of Glass, strong female leads, multiple POVs I'll admit right now that Heir is my favorite book in the series, followed closely by Blade. I'm pretty sure this is the one I've reread the most, so I've pretty much have it memorized at this point (it's also the only one I also have in German, even if I haven't read that edition yet). Just, be prepared for lots of 'I love's. Keep in mind, the reveal from the ending of Crown of Midnight is going to be addressed in this review, so be warned. I love that, like in Blade, we get to see more of the world ToG is set in. Celaena goes to Wendlyn and hangs out in the mortal capital city, Varese, for a little bit. During the brief bit of time she's there, we get an understanding that it's a hot city that's pretty similar to Rifthold, only without the history of oppression and fear (read: it and its people are a lot happier). We also get a nicely painted picture of the misty, tree-covered valleys and mountain sides as well as some of the fishing towns. Mistward, the fortress she trains at, seems like it would be an awesome vacation spot if it weren't so close to Maeve, and that was honestly what I thought about most of the time when I deemed to analyze it. One place I definitely wish we got to see more of, but understand why we don't because of plot reasons, was Doranelle, the Fae capital city. Maas painted it as a city island of stone and water. The way she stone and the palace was described makes me think a little of how Ahdieh describes the palace in Wrath and the Dawn, while the waterways make me think of a more magical Venice. The monsters and creatures throughout the realm were also pretty cool and seemed to have well-developed lore. In terms of character development, I love Chaol in this one. If you've read my other reviews, you know I'm not the biggest fan of his character or his relationship(s) with other people. However, we get to see him questioning things he knows, questioning what he thinks he knows, and even getting questioned by other people. Dorian flat out calls him out on his beliefs regarding magic and gives one of the best (and I think one of the most quoted) lines of the series: "You cannot get to pick and chose which parts of her to love" (344). Aedion also questions Chaol's beliefs, pointing out that Chaol is avoiding choosing a side and still has a bit of that blind obedience going through him. Both of those instances, combined with some of the other stuff Chaol learns and sees in this book really helps him start to question what the fuck he's been doing these past ten years and the man he's been serving. Chaol actually starts becoming a likable character in this one, despite his lingering prejudices about magic and even some reservations. This is definitely peak Chaol, at least until we reach Tower of Dawn. Another character who goes through a big change is Celaena. She starts of as Celaena, the assassin, and is dragged to see Maeve where, for the first time in the book, she is instead addressed as Aelin, the princess. Rowan, the person assigned to train her, calls her Aelin throughout the book, but you can tell there's a division in her, not just because of the way she feels and acts and what she says, but because of what she calls herself when it's her 'turn' to narrate. Rowan calls her Aelin, but she still calls herself Celaena. There's a lot of rage and desperation and fear in her, from her far- and recent-past, and it runs her. She's obviously depressed for most of the book, something that Maas wrote wonderfully and portrayed as something human and real and painful. That's the mindset she starts in, and we see her descend further into it before rising back up, but it takes a while.

During that time, it's clear she still has some hope, still has some sense that she wants to live for something, again because of her name. Rowan calls her Aelin, she calls herself Celaena, but she has the other demi-Fae living and training at Mistward call her Elentiya, Nehemia's name for 'spirit who cannot be broken.' Names mean something to her (and to the other characters, they are a motif throughout the book that I could probably write an entirely separate review on), and they signal where she is in her journey. From an arc perspective, Aelin struggles and fights and becomes, and by the time the book is over, it really does feel like Celaena and Aelin are two completely separate people. As a bonus, we get a lot of background information about Celaena/Aelin and SO MANY Easter eggs. As a side note, not really related to character development, but this is the first time since ToG when I felt that when Celaena/Aelin got beaten in a fight it was an actual testament of the other person's skill rather than Celaena/Aelin getting watered down a bit (not counting when she was poisoned in the duel w/ Cain). In Blade, we saw her strength and abilities, and then in ToG and CoM, they were kind of a let down and I felt she got beaten too easily, but here it feels more like an even show of power like it would've been in Blade.

I felt Dorian was a more stagnant character during this book. He slowly worked on his powers and tried to hide them, but for the most part he was shut out of the scheming and major events that were occurring in the book. That's not to say he doesn't have an arc, he does, I just think it was mostly set up and completed in the first two books, with this one serving as the conclusion for his Part 1 arc (in terms of development, ToG is pretty evenly split with Part 1 arcs going from ToG to this one and part 2 arcs going from QoS to the end, with both parts serving the overarching Arc for each character). Dorian really feels like he could become king in this one, with the way he talks and the decisions he makes, especially regarding things he doesn't 100% understand or get. Though, to be honest, he's always been the character out of Celaena, Chaol, and him that handles big reveals and twists best. Anyway, his behavior has markedly matured, even when it comes to his romantic relationships. We saw that he was mopey in ToG and even parts of CoM after the whole thing with Celaena went down, and how he was willing to give frivolous gifts, but here we see a shift to him understanding, or at least starting to understand, why certain things occurred the way they did as well as a shift toward him working more seriously when in a romantic relationship. He's also quicker to disavow the king and what he's doing than Chaol is, which is both unexpected and probably difficult. But like I said, these changes are subtle and small compared to the changes in the other characters, which is why I called his arc mostly-stagnant, even if I like his character. Manon is an awesome character. I think I tended to skip her chapters the first time I read this book, but ended up really liking them in Queen, so I started paying attention during my rereads. I think my main issue with her was that she was new and didn't have a connection to the other, already established characters, because she's a really bad ass character. She's an Ironteeth Witch, like Baba Yellowlegs, only she's colder and more hardcore. Manon is brutal and beautiful and dangerous and knows it. More than that, she knows how to use it to her advantage. Every move is about clawing her way up and eventually getting back to the Witchlands (now known as the Western Wastes). Manon has some stunning development in this book, going from cruel and cunning and uncaring to cruel and cunning and caring a little. I like how her relationship and leadership roles within the Thirteen was established, and enjoy the power-house that group is. I also really like her dedication to getting Abraxos up and in the air. In terms of who mirrors Manon, I think it's Abraxos. No one really thinks Manon is the underdog, but their similarities throughout this book and the rest of the series are, I think, probably too many to be coincidental (or they are and it just works out really well). Aedion Ashryver is a fun addition to this book. Cousin to Aelin, he too has been serving the king for the past however-many-years. He's a lot like Aelin, only more male and with a different kind of darkness. Where Aelin's darkness is quick and wicked, Aedion's feels slower and honey-like. Either way, I thought he was a funny character and it was nice to get up close and personal with someone who has been actively working against the king for some time (and who has narration). He can be a bit misguided re: Aelin at times, but his heart's in the right place and it's obvious he not only cares for her but for his country. Can't really say much about character arc here, since I think his comes more in Part 2, but I have really liked his character since the first read-through. Rowan's another good addition, even if I hated him the first time I read the book. He's a mirror to Aelin mentally and developmentally, similar to how Aedion is Aelin's mirror physically. Both Aelin and Rowan are in dark places when they meet and they both have to deal with hauling themselves out of that space during the book. Rowan's brutal, but once Aelin (and we as an audience) warm up to him a little, he's a much better character. He's not the sadistic bastard someone (I think it was Luca) claims him to be, again, once you get to know him, he seems downright playful. He opens up to Aelin and begins his own ascent from darkness, and I think that comes through in the moments when he is playful, when he is caring, when he does look out for the people around him. I think he has the bond with Maeve weighing pretty heavily on him, and I have to wonder if some of his coldness and distance isn't because he doesn't want to get close to someone and have that taken away by Maeve, either directly or indirectly. I also think he's seeing Celaena grow into Aelin and realizing that Maeve is not the kind of person she should be, not the kind of person Rowan really believes in. Some other characters of note include Sorcha, who has a pretty good (and then a pretty bad) twist in her story. I liked her interactions and relationship with Dorian, I thought they were cute together. Emrys is another good one. He's a demi-Fae who works in the kitchens and is the story-teller at Mistward. He proves to be a good friend and ally to Aelin, as well as a god catalyst for Rowan. I wish we got to see more of him and Malakai (his mate) together. Luca was cute, sort of like a chattery younger brother type. The Cadre were intriguing, even if we didn't get much of them. Ren and Murtaugh we met in Crown and we see again here. I like Murtaugh and I like his and Ren's relationship, but I don't like Ren (at least until a bit later). I love the Thirteen and their loyalty, and I can't wait until I can talk about them more in the next review. Overall (obviously), I like the book. I think there's some great character, world, and plot development going on here that incorporates previous things and brings in new ones. I know ToG is a cohesive series, but, as mentioned a bit above, I tend to think of it in parts, and Heir closes out Part 1, both plot-wise and in terms of character development. I think this book rivals Blade for how many hints and clues about future things/events were dropped. So, five years later and it's still my fave.

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rhysand-vs-fenrys · 5 years

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5,19?

Thank you for the ask!

5. Think back to your first read of ToG. Did anything NOT happen in the series that you really wanted to happen?

Nah. See, after I read ACOTAR/MAF I joined the tumblr fandom (WAR hadn’t come out yet), and every now and then I’d see ToG stuff in the tags because of sloppy tag-whores (this is a peeve, can you tell?).

I knew I was going to read ToG, but did my best to ignore the posts until I’d caught up with the series. But as of reading the first book, ToG, here is my understanding of what the series would be (up through EoS):

Celaena dies or something, because the story actually follows Aelin, who is a fae princess that was trapped in Elk form by an evil witch and taken to some far away land. Her lover Lysander was in sea-monster form looking for her when the King of Adarlan stole magic and he was trapped like that for 300 years. He’s prince of some windy kingdom with a lot of hawks.

So... I held onto the belief that was the series until like... the end of CoM? My predictions after reading TOG were so off the mark it’s not even funny.

19. If I could make one major plot change to each series, what would it be?

ACOTAR: I’d make Elain Tamlin’s mate. I *love* Elucien, don’t get me wrong, but this is more about Feyre and Nesta’s reaction to that happening (and also Elain- as we’ve seen so far- is kind of Tamlin’s ideal woman. Her hobbies include doing whatever she’s told and gardening).

Throne of Glass: More Fenrys earlier on, Nehemia doesn’t die, cut Vaughan and Mort from the series entirely, and drastically reduce the page-time of Nox (basically cut him from KoA), Arobynn, all the various Ashryver cousins, all the various Whitethorn cousins, and like erase Aedion’s whole “Northern rebel” QoS sub-plot (oh, and most of the Witch stuff). Just trim the character list down a bit, basically.

#ask #ask thing

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sockmonstergotstyle · 5 years

Text

300 Pages into Empire of Storms

Have I ever mentioned that I just really love Aelin Galathynius

I just. She’s a queen. We don’t deserve her.

When she was being Celeana pretending she didn’t know who Rowan was and they had that whole ‘she must be really amazing’ talk about Rowan being off the market skdjsksja this is the content I need

Then the whole dramatic reveal with Aelin introducing herself as Lysandra came in disguised as her wow we don’t deserve either of them

Also someone please enlighten me on how I’m supposed to picture Fenrys. First he was described as having “bronze” skin so I was like k he has brown skin. Then it mention him having blonde hair? So do the fae dye their hair or am I going wrong somewhere? Is “bronze” just another vague term the way sjm describes people of all skin colours as “tan” so u have to guess at what colour their skin actually is?

There’s so much info being thrown around and my smol brain can’t handle it all. Also they keep referring to backstory info explained in previous books but I can’t remember the details of that info so I’m just slightly confused at most things

Every time Chaol is mentioned it reminds me I have to read Tower of Dawn without all the parts of tog that make it a good series and just yikes

Why do people talk about Lysandra’s boobs so much omg

Aelin sauntering out of the bathroom ready to get it on with Rowan only to find him asleep skshsksjaka she tried

Aedion’s sudden and passionate dislike for Dorian tho yikes bit steep coming from someone called Adarlan’s Whore

In fact pretty much every Aedion moment these last 100 pages has been yikes

I feel bad for Dorian. He’s quite obviously every other character’s least fave member of their party either bc he isn’t one of their love interests or bc he isn’t a trained fae warrior and like,,, he’s doing his best guys

Overall this is Loving and Supporting Aelin Galathynius and Dorian Havilliard hour thank you for your time

#sockmonster reads tog #empire of storms

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pearblossommina · 1 year

Text

ToG Read-a-Long, Queen of Shadows, day 2

Ch 8

Manon, omg she’s here omg

and so is DUKE PERRINGTON that mf. never ever thought I’d see him again.

This stuff with Kaltain really upsets me

In the first place sexual violence really upsets me - even if it’s just implied and not directly on screen - I am soft, and I am EASILY DISTRESSED - and I don’t like to read novels where stuff like this happens. It upsets me even more if this is supposed to be her comeuppance for being unlikeable in book one. Nobody deserves what this poor woman went through. (The addiction. The dungeons. And forced to marry the Duke, of all things.) (now she’s a mindless minion wearing one of those collars)

Why does Kaltain have to wear a collar, though…?

Is she a magician like Dorian? Is she secretly a princess, is she actually his sister and he didn’t know it? IS THAT WHY THE QUEEN DIDN’T LINE HER UP AS A MARRIAGE CANDIDATE FOR DORIAN IN BOOK 1

Maybe not, lol, she’s probably only wearing one so we’ll get to learn a way to free someone from a collar without beheading them… I refuse to just accept now that Kaltain is probably going to lose her head…

Anyway, I feel awful seeing her like this, it feels real icky and I hate everything about it.

ch 9

I formed some private opinions on Lysandra while I was reading The Assassin’s Blade but I wasn’t sure if she was going to be a returning character or not.

I think she’s fine????

And

I don’t

Understand

Why she and Celaena hate each other

Like - is it just because of Sam????

Sam wanted you to be friends! So! Stop hating each other it doesn’t MAKE ANY SENSE you’re both victims of the same twisted system and you could murder Arobynn together if you could get over your petty grudge.

“Not the sword-no, she wanted the intimacy of a knife, wanted to share breath with the courtesan as she ended her.”

Hot

PLEASE share breath with her

I mean

(I know - I’m sorry - but my brain is like (maybe they should kiss) end this tension the good old fashioned way)

"Unfortunately for you, I don't have any interest in women. Even when they're paid for." My ship sinks, womp womp

(Screw you SJM can’t I ever have anything I want)

(Let Aelin kiss a girl damn it)

The ending of this chapter is so fast

But yeah I agree! Quit dismissing people, Aelin? You’re not better than everyone else. You could have been friends with Lysandra instead of enemies, you could have been friends with Kaltain instead of judging her instantly, you could have GOTTEN TO KNOW Sorscha instead of just letting her fade into the background like she was beneath your notice.

IS THIS CHARACTER GROWTH oh my goodness (I am rooting for you so hard honey) (MY QUEEN)

Ch 10

“The least you could do is take me to dinner before looking at me like that.” I love you Aedion lol

But AHHHHHHHH this villain! I hate him

I hate him when can he die

Ch 11

Hehe

I kinda like Nesryn too

I hope she saves Dorian, I really do like him, and I’m team save-his-neck. Would like to see Chaol and Dorian get reunited as best-bros-who-are-totally-platonic-and-not-in-love.

Ch 12

“Humans were for sport and blood and the occasional, very rare siring of witchlings.”

I still wanna know if there’s any such thing as a male witch

Ok - so there seems to be some plot happening. Duke wants to implant stones in their belly buttons to make new soldiers….

And witches are already partially valg?

I swear to god I was paying attention before but this feels like brand new information.

(I don’t care. The more SJM makes them seem like scary unredeemable villains the harder I simp)

“Witchlings were so rare, and all of them female, as a gift from the Three-Faced Goddess.” Oh so the witches ARE all female

That’s pretty nifty and I like it as worldbuilding. I don’t like Harry Potter anymore, but it reminds me of the Veela. It’s just fascinating to have a fantasy race that can only be passed through female lineage, like they can have sex with human men, and procreate, but a male child will never bear the full features of the race. For some reason this sort of thing is really engaging to me. Also I just like high fantasy lesbian allegories, fight me.

“Manon poked an iron-tipped nail beneath Elide’s chin, tilting her head up.”

I am so down bad, Manon, PLEASE

(she- SHE!!!!) (i’m so gay) (I’m gonna lose it if she keeps being so effortlessly sexy)(I’m sorry) (guh) (she’s very hot though)

I’m like, really having a hard time not devouring this book

The struggle is real

#tog read along 2023 #queen of shadows

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jackie-attackie · 5 years

Note

Thoughts on KoA?

OH BOY! MASSIVE SPOILERS BEWARE!

I don’t know how I’m at ever going to be able to formulate coherent thoughts about this book but bere with me.

First off, I loved this book so much. With my entire soul. My best friend was way more obsesssd with the ToG series than I was but she isn’t even 200 pages into the book and I blew through it so quickly (not really I keep taking breaks where I wouldn’t read for months but that’s besides the point). I read from just before the Thirteen Yielding (Fuck me up) to the end all today. And I was crying the whole time.

Second, I am such a slut for finale books. My favorite book in most series’s is the last one (Harry Potter, Infernal Devices, Mortal Instruments, Lunar Cronicles). So naturally I knew I was going to love this book especially because Sarah J Maas is such a talented author.

Now here is a list of scenes that Fucked Me Up, in no particular order:

Obviously when the fucking Thirteen yielded and left Manon there helpless, (also shout out to the scene with Manon and Abraxos not moving from the empty field even as everyone around them leaves)

When AELIN ASHRYVER WHITETHORN GALATHYNIUS FUCKING TOOK ON A VLAG KING AND QUEEN WITH ONLY A FLICKER OF HER POWER LEFT! The entire scene from start to Maeve’s death is now rooted in my core forever. When Aelin said the words “Then go to hell” I Felt That in my bones. I love her so much she is such a queen (literally)

The entire scene with Dorian and Aelin forging the Lock but Dorian’s dad shows up and Aelin kicks Dorian to the curb to forge the lock on her own, then when the gods betray Aelin and she fucking murders them, God-Tier

When Elide goes to save Lorcan by herself just before the Dam breaks and Lorcan is telling her to let go of him but then Aelin uses all of her power that she has been reaching into to save all of them from the water

The entire encounter Dorian had with Maeve in Morath. I was reading that like “oh Dorian, this is how you get yourself killed sweetheart. I know Aelin is cool with all her secret plots but not everyone can be like her” I was actually scared that his plan would backfire on him the whole time

The entirety of Aelin’s escape, I was so excited and heartbroken because she didn’t know that Rowan was there and that the collar was a lie so she tried to pull that same “escape=death” move that she tried in Endovier. And I was also scared that somehow because Aelin was running and Rowan was trying to find her there would be this whole confusion and miscommunication that would cause them not to find each other.

Oooh the fight scene between Manon and the Three Matrons was legendary and iconic.

LITERALLY I ALMOST FORGOT, (I was putting on the tags to finish this post when I remembered) I LOVE RHYSAND SO MUCH, he sees Aelin falling through the sky to find her world and he just causally waves to her and saves her. What a guy. What a main man. He’s the dream.

Overall I loved this book so much and I thought it was a wonderful end to such a great series.

Something I didn’t like was all the war strategy in the book, low key whenever it got to an Aedion or Lysandra chapter I would get bored because it was all war and no fun. Don’t get me wrong I love those two characters with all my heart but they never did anything interesting except fight for most of the book until they were about to die. I also understand how if it’s a book about a war it needs to be more realistic but I don’t care for the battle strategy and the long drawn out battle scenes. That’s just me.

There are some flaws to everything and I don’t care for how predatory the guys are in this series but I do enjoy everything else.

I probably left some things out that I really enjoyed so if you want to know my reactions for more specifics about the book let me know!

#koa spoilers #kingdom of ash spoilers #kingdom of ash #koa #i know this isnt my fandom blog but this is where i got my ask so fuck you its my blog i can do waht i want #this isnt coherent at all but i just finished and i only have the most recent scens fresh in my mind #so like the last quarter of the book #let me know your thoughts #jackie speaks #ask jackie

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battlestar-royco · 5 years

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Firstly I wanted to say I love you and your blog. It make me realize all those problematic things about tog and acotar. Also I started to read h0f and am I the only one who find aedion so annoying? He looks so obsessed with aelin (Specially when he implied he would accept if aelin wants to marry with him in future) I mean I know she is his beloved cousin and queen but still... Sometimes I want to quit in his chapters. Also he is so rude. Is he getting better in other books?

Hi, thanks, that means so much!!! I love the anti community, and I’ve learned a lot from everyone here as well about different struggles and different problems that I didn’t pick up while reading these books and others. As for A/edion, I only started warming up to him after coming into the anti community because of other antis who liked him when he was first introduced. I initially didn’t like him when he first appeared because he was just soooo boring compared to other characters I wanted to hear from. I’ve always been a big C/haol and Man0n fan, so A/edion was a dull waste of time compared to other characters I was already connected to. Plus, his main Thing was that he was cousins with Alien and he was willing to marry her if need be, and that he was a general. Both of those qualities immediately turned me off. First of all, it was really unnecessary to imply the possibility of an inter-Assriver marriage, second, if he was Alien’s cousin then why wasn’t he introduced earlier at least in Alien’s T0G-H0F thoughts? His introduction gave me a very retcon-y feel and I didn’t really understand who he was and why he warranted a POV because SJ/M didn’t foreshadow or explain him very well. And third, he just seemed like a copy of C/haol but with less internal conflict. He was another broody fighter type with a connection to Alien, but his only goal was to find Alien and pledge allegiance to her when at that point in the books the blood oath and the Assriver family hadn’t even been sufficiently explained yet. C/haol meanwhile had all this angst with finding out Alien’s heritage, fierce lifelong loyalty to D0rian surging back up because Alien was at Mistward, his fear of magic, whatever was going on with his father, etc. My personal peak enjoyment of A/edion’s character was in Q0S because he was less obsessed with Alien and I actually did at one point like the idea of Ly/sandrion, but he turns into a fuckboy in E0S due to SJ/M’s messy habit of ruining characters one or two books after they’re introduced. Overall, I was at best neutral to him and in later books I don’t like him. It seems like you and I have similar thoughts on him as a character so if you don’t have trouble skipping over certain characters’ chapters/POVs when reading books, I think A/edion’s story is one you can skim and recap on the T0G wiki.

#anti tog #anti sjm #incest tw

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darling-cas · 6 years

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Mischief Managed (Rowaelin)

Anonymous asked: “ToG and ACoTaR Hogwarts AU?”

I re-wrote this 3 times and it still didn’t come out the way I wanted it to and I couldn’t get the ending right but oh well. I hope you guys still enjoy.

Note: It was actually hard placing certain characters into a Hogwarts House. But in the end, I did what I thought was best and worked for this fic, so I’m sorry if a character is in a house you don't believe they belong in! Also, though the TOG and ACOTAR gang are all in this, it is heavily Rowaelin focused. Send in a request if you’d like to see another ship and what kind of Hogwarts situation you’d like to see them in!

My Writing Masterlist

Send A Request

Aelin was greeted by the happy chatter of students and the phenomenal smell of different foods and spices the moment she walked through the doors of the Great Hall. She couldn't help but sigh deeply as cinnamon, baked pumpkin, and bacon wafted around her.

If there was one thing she was going to miss from her seven years at Hogwarts, it was going to be all the delicious food (especially the chocolate caldron cakes).

"Did you finish the DA essay last night?” Lysandra asked, a yawn slipping past her lips as they made their way towards the Slytherin table. “I was up all night trying to get it done.”

“No.” Aelin casually shrugged her shoulder. “Something came up and I didn’t get a chance to finish it.”

“It’s due this afternoon.”

“I’ll get it done before then.”

Lysandra stared at Aelin for a moment, suspicion with a hint smugness coating her features. Almost as if she knew what Aelin had been up to.

“And what exactly were you doing...” Lysandra started to ask but trailed off with a sigh as they approached the middle of their table. “Merlin help us.”

Nesta and Kaltain were sat across from each other, the tension around them thick as they both looked just about ready to hex the other. Unspoken words hung in the air around them as if they were in the middle of a heated argument. It was a sight Aelin and Lysandra - plus the rest of the Slytherins - had grown accustomed to. The two girls never got along and probably never would.

“No stabbing each other this early, please,” Aelin smirked, sliding next to Nesta as Lysandra sat next to Kaltain.

Kaltain snorted, breaking her gaze from Nesta to pour some pumpkin juice. “That’s rich coming for you.”

Aelin popped her elbow on the table, resting her head on her fist with a sweet smile. “You’re so funny, Rompier.”

“Someone’s in a good mood today.” Nesta raised an eyebrow at Aelin, noting her bright eyes and pleasant smile. “Did you get laid last night or something?”

It was meant as an emotionless joke, coming from Nesta. But Aelin made no comment. She simply shrugged her shoulders as she reached for some bacon.

A devilish smile appeared on Nesta’s face. “You totally did.”

“That’s why you came back to the dorm so late,” Kaltain noted with a mix of amusement and disgust. Along with Nesta, Aelin also wasn’t Kaltain’s number one fan.

“She’s not going to confirm or deny,” Lysandra pilled eggs onto her plate, looking up through her lashes with a smirk in Aelin’s direction. “But I’ll get the answer out of her sooner or later.”

Again, Aelin made no comment. She simply sent Lysandra her own grin before digging into the food on her plate.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to switch and soon Nesta and Kaltain were arguing once again, with Lysandra trying to play buffer between the two. But Aelin paid no attention. She looked past Lysandra, her eyes sweeping over the great hall. It was slightly more crowded now then it was a moment ago, but it still didn't take Aelin long to spot him.

He was sat next to Dorian and Amren at the Ravenclaw table. His white hair untidy, blue and silver tie hanging loosely around his neck while his robes were wrinkled. It was as if he woke up late and didn’t have time to look in a mirror or get properly dressed.

And yet, he still looked so damn good.

Aelin felt a pull in her stomach, food on her plate forgotten as Rowan Whitethorn looked up and his green eyes crashed into her blue-gold ones.

It was as if all the air had been squeezed out of her lungs. Every time she looked at Rowan, she got the same feeling. The same want and need and desire. And as Rowan’s eyes darkened slightly, causing a smirk appearing on Aelin’s lips as she winked, she could tell he felt the same way and suddenly she was craving for his touch.

"Well aren’t you two just the cutest,” Lysandra smirked into her goblin, drawing Aelin’s attention around from Rowan as she felt someone approach the table.

She looked up just in time to see Feyre and Rhys sit down next to her. Both looked relaxed, content, happy. Something Aelin couldn't help but smile at.

It was nice to see them smiling again, especially after their past relationships.

“Careful,” Feyre laughed, placing some toast on her plate before sending Rhys a playful smile. “You’re going to make his head bigger then it already is.”

Rhys leaned into Feyre’s personal space, eyes sparkle and a wicked grin pulling at his lips. “You love my big head.”

“Please keep the flirting to a minimum,” Aelin tossed a balled up napkin at Rhy’s head with a smirk. In return, Rhys sent a playful glare her way before stealing bacon off her plate with a wide grin.

“I’m surprised you can stay on your broom because of said big head.” Nesta rolled her eyes, cutting into her stack of pancakes.

There were more snappy remarks and jokes made, but Aelin didn’t hear most of it. Her eyes found Rowan again and the look he was giving her from across the hall caused her toes to curl, her heart racing as desire pooled in the pit of her stomach. She crossed her legs, clenching her thighs together as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. She did feel satisfaction, however, when she saw Rowan shift in his seat, eyes locked with hers until Dorian called his attention.

“-Halloween party this weekend?” Feyre’s question peaked Aelin’s interested, though her eyes stayed on Rowan.

“Of course,” Lysandra replied.

Kaltain sent Lysandra a mischievous glance. “Aedion going to be there?”

“The Gryffindors are hosting the party,” Lysandra stated. “And seen that’s his house, of course he’ll be there.”

Rowan’s gaze lifted again and he raised an eyebrow when he saw Aelin watching him. But she simply responded with a lopsided grin.

“You know who else is a Gryffindor?” Rhys turned to Nesta as Feyre rolled her eyes, slapping his arm lightly. “Cassian. Meaning he’ll be there too.”

Rowan’s gaze turned darker as Aelin started to curl a blonde piece of hair around her finger.

“And?” Nesta raised an eyebrow.

What are you planning, Fireheart? Rowan’s gaze seemed to say.

Rhys shrugged. “Just thought you would like to know.”

Nothing at all, buzzard, Aelin bit down on her bottom lip ever so slightly.

“Well, I don’t.” Nesta’s tone was sharp as a blade as she turned back to her food. No one believed her, though.

Suddenly, so suddenly everyone st her blinked in surprise, Aelin stood up from the table.

“I’m gonna start heading to class.” She managed to tear her gaze away from Rowan long enough to give her friends a smile. “See you later.”

She didn’t bother waiting for a response before she marched out of the Great Hall, leaving everyone at the table confused and slightly suspicious. Though, thankfully, no one got up to follow her.

Well, none of her friends anyway.

Aelin was only walking down the empty hall for a moment before she heard footsteps approaching from behind. When they got close enough, she quickly pulled open the door to her left and stepped inside - thankfully, the classroom was empty - pulling the person in with her.

“Well, at least it’s not a broom clos-”

She didn’t let him finished. There was no way she was letting him speak right now. All she wanted was his lips on hers. Now. She didn’t want him talking.

A deep groan left Rowan's lips. He wasted no time as he pulled Aelin to him, his hands traveling down the curve of her back, his tongue licking her bottom lip, causing her to moan. She opened her mouth to him just as Rowan lifted her up and pinned her against the wall, his body trapping hers.

Aelin wrapped her arms around Rowan’s neck and her legs around his waist, another moan escaping as Rowan’s mouth moved to the corner of her lips then trailing down to the base of her throat.

“Merlin.” Aelin let her head roll back against the wall to give Rowan better access. She rolled her hips against his while Rowan’s hands - gods those hands - they lightly moved up and down her bare thighs, toying with the hem of her short skirt.

“You destroy me,” Rowan mumbled into her neck, voice rough. “Do you know that?”

A moan was Aelin’s only answer as Rowan’s lips found hers again and his hands traveled father up her skirt. But they never went where she wanted them to go.

Aelin would never get tired of this - kissing Rowan. It was like breathing. She needed his kisses in her life or she felt like she would die. They brought her to life, caught her on fire before sending her to ashes.

She was a live wire when his lips where on hers.

And the secrecy, the passing looks, the late night touches, it added to the thrill. They had no real need to keep their relationship a secret - they would tell their friends soon - but right now, it gave them a rush they both loved.

Then, much to Aelin’s dismay, Rowan’s hands were gone and his kisses became less intense as he started to pull away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aelin breathed, pulling him back in.

“We have class in five minutes,” he said. But the way he was looking at her, the way his eyes moved to her lips, told Aelin he could care less.

“It’s fine.” Aelin leaned in close. “Flitwick likes me.”

“We have Snape.”

“Well, fuck.”

A heated laugh flew pass Rowan lips before he gave her one more kiss. This one open, sweet. Then, he stepped back and placed her on the ground.

“You know, the Gryffindors are hosting a Halloween party this weekend.” Aelin straightened out her skirt, looking up at Rowan through her lashes.

“So I’ve heard.” Rowan’s eyes sparkled as he picked up the school bag he dropped.

“I’ll be there.”

“Good to know.”

“Mhmm,” Aelin gave him a lopsided grin, taking a step closer to him. “And if you go, it may end up being your lucky night.”

“I thought last night was my lucky night.” Rowan kept his gaze on Aelin, tracking her every movement. “Along with every night this week so far.”

“Trust me,” Aelin wrapped her hand around his Ravenclaw tie, pulling Rowan’s face down to hers. “Halloween will definitely be your most lucky night so far.”

“Let’s hope I’m not too busy then,” Rowan’s lips brushed against Aelin’s as he spoke.

Aelin hummed in agreement.

“Meet me tonight?” Rowan breathed, pulling back slightly.

A rush drove through Aelin, full of thrill and desire. She could already feel the pull in the pit of her stomach as she looked up at Rowan with a wicked grin.

“Same time, same place,” she nodded, equally as breathless.

Their friends would find out about them soon enough. But right now, it was just the two of them. She was his and he was hers. They had each other, their alone time, and that was enough.

#rowaelin #aelin ashryver galathynius #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin fanfiction #tog #tog fanfiction #throne of glass

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priory-of-stars · 7 years

Text

Throne of Glass 7: World of Flames CHAPTER 2

Welcome to my new fanfic! This is set directly after the events of TOG 5, following the story from Rowan’s perspective. I might jump to other character, but I’ll see. Any comments, requests of likes are much appreciated! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the support on Chapter one! If you haven’t read it yet, just click the link below.

Chapter 1

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Chapter 2

Rowan stood at the the bow of the ship, the captain standing in front of him, half terrified and half angry with having to get up this early. Rowan could smell it off of him, even through the stench of the captains unwashed body. Rowan had tried to look as respectable as possible, even in their current situation. He had washed and was wearing the cleanest clothes he could find, even if they were a little rumpled. His heart hammered as he waited for Aelin to emerge. Aedion was stood beside him, wearing his best attire as well. Aedion gave Rowan a quick closed-mouth smile before bringing his eyes back to the door. His eyes caught on something and his mouth opened slightly in shock, his face going slack.

Rowan looked back at the door to find her standing there. She was wearing a shirt and pants, simple but with elegant details of gold and green thread. Her hair had been swept away from her face and held back with two pins. Lysandra appeared behind her, smiling with a knowing look in her eyes. It wasn’t the clothes or looks that shocked the men, but the queen that stood before them. Aelin was not just simply standing before them, but Aelin Galathynius of the Wildfire, Queen to Terrasen. Her whole body radiated the aura of a queen. She did not need to wear a crown, or to dress in fancy clothes to be regal. To be her. His own breath caught at the sight of her, his heart racing even faster than before. A small, sly smile caught on that wicked mouth of hers and she took a step out into the air. Lysandra walked around her to stand beside Aedion, giving him a smile and she looked back to Aelin’s approaching form.

The sun had not yet risen but the sky was getting lighter in the east as the stars began to disappear. And she walked towards him, Rowan became surer and surer of the fact that she was his mate. He had known for a little while now, but it scared him. Ever since he had thrown himself in front of her to save Skulls Bay, he had known she was his mate. In fact, it terrified him out of his mind, but that was not something to bring up now. He couldn’t face that just yet. He shoved it back down as she came closer. And he couldn’t burden her with it either. He knew that it was a petty excuse to use, but he needed time to figure it all out.

As she got close enough to touch, he reached out and she took his hand. They were then standing in front of each other. Him towering over her. He felt the tension around them rising but before he could say anything she spoke.

“I thought I had said to dress your best?” Rowan laughed and the others chucked as the tension disappeared. They faced the captain, who wasn’t smiling, as he began to speak.

“We have gathered here today to witness the joining of these two people.” He stopped to cough and spit, a tooth flying out onto the deck. No one said anything as he straightened again, one tooth less and continued.

“Does anyone have any objections?” A brief pause but Aedion and Lysandra only smiled, the attention now switched to them. Gruffly he continued, probably disappointed he could have to actually continue the wedding. “Good. Okay, now for the vows. You go first.” He pointed a knobbly finger at Rowan and they turned towards one another, holding both hands now, he looked into her eyes and they both smiled. They simply looked at each other for a moment before he started.

“My Fireheart. There is no end to the love I have for you, no words that can measure the unending depths of this love, this fire within me.” She began to cry then, silent tears running down her beautiful face. He lifted a hand and wiped them away. He didn’t need to finish his speech, she could read it in his eyes.

No matter how far she is, not matter what happens. He will be there for her always. To whatever end. She took a breath then, briefly closing her eyes before she steeled herself and looked back up at him.

“You basically stole my speech, you buzzard.” He laughed and he glimpsed Lysandra crying Aelin, taking the handkerchief. He smiled back down at his queen as another tear fell to her cheek. She left it there and she continued on. “But I do love you, more than words can say. You found me in darkness, and we found a way out of that darkness together. I can face anything now with you. No matter how dark things get, I know now that we can find our way through it. To whatever end, Rowan. To whatever end.”

They stood silently together in the dawn, the ocean the only sound between them. Aelin’s eyes searched his own as she seemed to say No matter what happens, no matter where we go, I will love you. Even when the world is dust and we cease to be remembered, I will love you.

The captain coughed pointedly and they looked up at him. He was clearly uncomfortable and tired. So they turned back to him and he continued with the ceremony. “Okay can we get the rings and the papers please? I have a ship to manage” Aedion handed over a small wood box, pain and unadorned to the captain. He signed the documents Lysandra were holding then Aelin, the captain and everyone else as witnesses to their marriage. After the official documents were signed and stored away by Aedion and the captain, the caption opened the box and handed a ring to Rowan. “Do you Rowan take Aelin to be your wife?”

Rowan smiled at his queen, his lover, his mate and said “To whatever end”. He slipped the ring onto her finger, the perfect fit for her delicate, strong fingers. Turning back to hold his queen, not wanting to let her go. She squeezed his hands before drawing away to take his ring.

“Do you Aelin take Rowan to be your husband?” As she slipped the ring onto his finger, his had dwarfing hers, se looked right into his soul then, stripping down his ever defence as she spoke into him, to his every essence.

“To whatever end.”

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propshophannah · 7 years

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WHo would be who in ToG high school? I feel like Aelin would be the popular/slightlymean girl at school. Dorian would be the cute little hipster. Rowan the jock. Chaol, the one that doesn't say the right things at times. Manon, the girl who minds her own business and

I feel like Dorian would be that dude who is friends with everyone. Effortlessly cool, casually graceful—everyone loves him. He probably drives a Jeep. Nothing fancy but it’s a newer model. He likes to take it off road when he can. He’s got money, but he doesn’t act like it.

Chaol would definitely be his sidekick, but he’d probably also probably be on the student council and very committed to his duties. Also, he’s really good at fixing automobiles. He drives an old beat up pickup truck that (for reasons Dorian doesn’t understand) the ladies love.

Manon would be the attractive girl who looks like she could kick your ass but is actually really nice. She rides a motorcycle to school, and you always think she looks like she skips class, but oddly enough she’s at the top of the class. She’s also probably the captain of the ice hockey team. She plays center.

Elide would be the president of the drama department. She’d never act in plays, but she’d write and direct them. And she has a reputation for being a hard ass, but her shows are award winning. She really gets to the heart of the human condition—the girl can tell a story.

Lorcan is elide’s main bitch. He probably a techie. But also he is a defenseman on the men’s ice hockey team. And he is a BEAST! They can’t win a game without him.

Asterin is the assistant captain of the ice hockey team, and she’s a forward—right wing. She is the leading goal scorer for the team and probably a better coach than the actual coach.

Fenrys is the rich kid everyone knows is rich. He has a modeling contract, an acting agent, and has been in a few commercials—mostly local stuff, but a few national bank ads. He’s that guy in class you’ve been sitting next to since kindergarten who still can’t remember your name.

Lysandra is the usually the star in all the school plays. She’s fantastic, and everyone loves her or wants to be her. She doesn’t do musicals, but everyone knows she’s the best singer. She likes the gritty plays. The ones where she gets to be characters who are flawed and hurt and starving for life. She was voted most likely to win an Oscar.

Nesryn is swim team champ! She is the pride a joy of the high school athletics department and she’s already got a full ride to college on a swimming scholarship. She is focused, but she knows how to have fun. She doesn’t have a car, but for some reason that guy Chaol like to take the long way to school, and figured he’d pick her up in he mornings since he was already going to pass her neighborhood. On the weekends, she helps out at her dad’s bakery. She makes a MEAN apple pie.

Aedion is kind of a bully. He likes to skip class, he had problems with authority, but the odd thing is, he is actually really nice when it’s only you and him. When there’s no one else around to make him feel inadequate, or like he needs to put up a front. He likes to hang out in the art room and builds these really great sculpture out of metal. He welds and solders and bends scrap metal he finds at a local junk yard, and puts them together until he’s built something beautiful. He’s never sat through a whole play before, but one time when he was building a set piece for one of Elide’s plays, he caught Lysandra rehearsing on stage alone… he thought her performance, the pain in her eyes, was beautiful.

#tog headcanons #headcanons #high school headcanons #tog #throne of glass

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