Just saw someone on tiktok say that they can see feysand and nessian falling out after some time and that Eris is Nesta’s true mate, while Tarquin is Feyre’s and when asked who Elain’s true mate is, they replied that it’s Lucien and that they are equals…

So let me get this right.

Feyre and Rhysand, who are mated and have a child together, who have bound their lives to each other, because both have experienced what it feels like to lose the other, who have seen the worst of each other and still love one another deeply… Their love will fizzle out and Feyre will go to Tarquin and be his mate.

And then Nesta, who was ready to die by Cassian’s side, who was inconsolable when she felt his death and wouldn’t stop shouting until she got him to her. Cassian, who was the only one to keep reaching his hand to her, time and time again, who wouldn’t command the armies at war just so he could stay by Nesta’s side, who would rather plunge a knife to his heart than to hurt her, who always trusted her. She is going to leave him for a male she doesn’t even like, just because she had… What? Some kind of chemistry with him while dancing? The same chemistry she had with that Lord or whatever when she seduced him out of spite?

And Elain, who shrinks when Lucien is around, who can’t stand to be with him for more than thirty minutes, who she has never wanted, who reminds her of her trauma. And Lucien, whose past lover was so different from Elain, who didn’t even know if she was worth it, who would rather stay with his two friends than be anywhere near her, who is unable to see her as she truly is. They are going to be together forever because they are equals… More like equally disinterested in each other.

Feyre will leave her other half to be with a male she only truly got to talk to once, when she had to gain his trust so she could find one half of the book of breathings. And yes, she did say that he would be easy to love, because Tarquin is easy to love. Albeit naive, he is a good person who has good intentions. That doesn’t mean that she will fall in love with him.

Nesta will leave her mate for a male she doesn’t even like, who only considered marrying because she felt she wasn’t enough for Cassian and that their marriage would be beneficial for their family. Again, Nesta doesn’t like Eris by the end of acosf. She does not like him.

Elain will choose a mating bond, the same mating bond who she has said means nothing to her. She will choose the male who never seems to see her as she truly is, the same male who she is unable to have a conversation with, the male she would rather have far from her.

There are crack theories and then there’s this. Utter nonsense.

Where The Light Won't Find You Chapter 11

happy day 1 of @nestaarcheronweek! this took MUCH longer than I anticipated to get an update, but here we are!! thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving wonderful comments on this fic while I chewed on this chapter. I hope it’s worth the wait 💚

✵✵✵✵✵✵ Nesta 

When Nesta managed to pull herself away from Cassian’s touch, she did it with the knowledge that it was a fight she’d eventually lose. Everything in her was screaming for her to touch him, hold him, claim him, and while she knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in, she also knew it was far more important to tell Elain and Lucien what had just happened. 

Besides, Cassian wasn’t going anywhere. And judging by the look in his eye, he’d be more than happy to let Nesta have her way with him  the way he deserved when the time came— the way they both deserved. 

“Come,” Nesta told Cassian again. She reached backwards for his hand, not sure if she could bear it if they were separated right now, and he took it without hesitation. 

Cassian’s hand was warm and solid in her own as Nesta led them through the halls, winding their way to the sitting room that had turned into their unofficial meeting room. She regrettably had to let go of him to send Elain and Lucien a message summoning them back upstairs, but it wasn’t as horrible as she’d feared. Cassian had started pacing the length of the room, and the sound of his steady footsteps and the way he found some way to touch her every time he walked past was more than enough to make up for the constant reassurance of his hand in hers. 

Keep reading on AO3 here!

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"Nesta began."

Nesta Week 2024 ~ Day 2: Metamorphosis ~ @nestaarcheronweek

{a short meta about ACOSF Ch. 50 meant to capture a little of my thinking about the most significant metamorphosis Nesta undergoes in her story}

My experience of reading ACOSF Ch. 50 is one of metamorphosis: both as a reader because I am transformed every time I read it, and in seeing Nesta undergo the most essential, vital transformation of her life so far, during the span of this scene.

It isn't caused by magic, or trauma, or things happening to her in the plot.

Instead, it's the transformation from someone who does not believe themselves to be worthy of love, into someone with the bravery to try to believe they are.

Cassian drew the Illyrian blade from down his back. It gleamed with moonlight as he extended it to her hilt-first. “Take it.” Blinking, eyes still puffy with tears, she did. The blade dipped as she wrapped her hands around it, as if she didn’t expect its weight after so long with the wooden practice swords. Cassian stepped back. Then said, “Show me the eight-pointed star.” She studied the blade, then swallowed. Her features were open, fearful but so trusting that he nearly went to his knees. He nodded toward the blade. “Show me, Nesta.” Whatever she sought in his face, she found it. She widened her stance, bracing her feet on the stones. Cassian held his breath as she took up the first position. Nesta lifted the sword and executed a perfect arcing slash. Her weight shifted to her legs just as she flipped the blade, leading with the hilt, and brought up her arm against an invisible blow. Another shift and the sword swept down, a brutal slash that would have sliced an opponent in half. Each slice was perfect. Like that eight-pointed star was stamped on her very heart. The sword was an extension of her arm, a part of her as much as her hair or breath. Every movement bloomed with purpose and precision. In the moonlight, before the silvered lake, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Nesta finished the eighth maneuver, and returned the sword to center. The light in her eyes shone brighter than the moon overhead. Such light, and clarity, that he could only whisper, “Again.” With a soft smile that Cassian had never seen before, standing on the moon-washed shores of the lake, Nesta began.

This beautiful, vulnerable, powerful moment at the end of ACOSF Ch. 50 comes after the harrowing experience of Nesta finally speaking aloud to her trusted person what she feels about herself.

And of course—I say this all the time—SJM is a romance writer, which means Nesta's trusted person, Cassian, is who she finally cracks herself wide open with. I believe Nesta would not have been capable of finally voicing these things if not for the trust and care that had grown between her and Cassian, as both friends and lovers, leading up to this scene.

And his response to what she says about herself helps her to see light and hope again by persistently reframing her own jagged (mis)understanding of herself and her capability as instead an experience that can be honored as difficult, then walked through to a better, more light-filled existence on the other side:

"What you feel, this guilt and pain and self-loathing—you will get through it. But only if you are willing to fight. Only if you are willing to face it, and embrace it, and walk through it, to emerge on the other side of it. And maybe you will still feel that tinge of pain, but there is another side. A better side.” She pulled back from his chest then. Found his gaze lined with silver. “I don’t know how to get there. I don’t think I’m capable of it.” His eyes glimmered with pain for her. “You are. I’ve seen it—I’ve seen what you can do when you are willing to fight for the people you love. Why not apply that same bravery and loyalty to yourself?"

And:

“But I still don’t know how to fix myself.” “There’s nothing broken to be fixed,” he said fiercely. “You are helping yourself. Healing the parts of you that hurt too much—and perhaps hurt others, too.”

(I've said this about other scenes in ACOSF too, but I believe in my bones, my heart, and my soul, that this is written by someone (SJM) who has said these very same things to her own person (Josh). I have in fact said these things to my person - "I don't think I'm capable of it" was torn right from my own mouth and life. This is spot on for accuracy about what this kind of breaking open is like for someone who does not believe they are worthy of love where the person who loves them then debunks that falsehood in just the ways Cassian does here. I've said it before and I'll say it again; It's so powerful to see my lived experience on the page like this, y'all.)

There is security on the shores of the lake for Nesta, which is just the set of delicate circumstances needed to allow what we see at the very end of the chapter to blossom:

With a soft smile that Cassian had never seen before, standing on the moon-washed shores of the lake, Nesta began.

The last stretch of this chapter is in Cassian's pov. I love that it is, because the love he feels for her, the depth it expands to in response to seeing her trust, and try, and become who she is meant to be—not a magical queen, but a person who knows they are loved and is beginning to also know they deserve to be—saturates everything about this moment and scene beside the lake.

The IC by tangerine.eileen on IG 😍

Edited to add that you can purchase this print on their Etsy. Link is in their ig bio ❤️

✨Acotar in animation✨ 🎨v_fish03

Illyrian training

characters belong to SJM

art by me (llibiarts)

The Suriel:

The house of wind:

The Shadows:

Nesta: I need you to convince me not to kill anyone right now

Cassian: There are no books in prison

Nesta: *sighs* Thank you

Yall are delusional if you think Nesta is going to leave Cassian or the night court. First, they are mated. Not just mates. Mated. They accepted the bond, and SJM loves her Heas. It's a done deal. So either keep reading and deal with it or drop the series and find something you enjoy. Not to mention if they even could break the bond, how empty and broken Nesta would be for eternity. You really want that for her?

HOFAS happened three months after acosf. There's still alot of healing on Nesta’s part. Just because she saved Rhys, Feyre, and Nyx doesn't mean things are swept under the rug with them. Her and Cassian are both fiery and stubborn. They are going to have arguments. Honestly, it's perfectly normal for them to argue on occasion.

This. What Nesta did in HOFAS. Went beyond her and Cassian, beyond Rhys. This was a decision that Nesta should not have made herself. Yes I understand that she saw Bryce's desperation and understood her. She probably put herself in Bryces shoes for a moment. She took a chance. But it's a huge fucken chance because they don't know nor trust Bryce fully. And if she failed the whole of Prythian/Midgard is fucked. They have nothing to defend themselves against the weaponry Rigelus has. They will all die. Including Nesta Archeron.

Rhys had every right to scold her. And Her saying he's not her High Lord isn't accurate. She lives in his lands. Whether she wants to admit it or not. If any of the courts got wind of what was happening with Bryce or that Nesta gave this mask up to a stranger from another world do you know who would be faulted? Not Nesta. Rhys and Feyre would. They would suffer the consequences because Nesta falls under their lands. Their rule.

And now Cassian, who apparently had never defended Nesta once. Again. Nesta was In. The. Wrong. Her actions were beneficial and understandable but wrong. Cassian being upset and disappointed in her would absolutely make sense. Think of times in TOG, when Rowan wasn't happy with Aelin. He stood there silent until they were alone. That's more than likely what happened. Cassian didn't say his piece until everyone left. It's an argument between Nesta and Cassian and no one else.

That argument. The one that happened off page yet everyone wants to fucking crucify Cassian over cause you think you know what he said. When in reality you don't. Is wild. Three months ago, when she was with Emerie and Gwyn, they were taken and placed in the Blood Rite where he was helpless in going to her. He lost her briefly in the bog, watched her put her life at risk. How many times in acosf? He went a year or so watching Nesta absolutely ruin herself, had her lay over his body in front of Hybern, almost losing her, them, then too. Now, someone, a stranger and someone potentially dangerous, opened a portal in his living room where his mate was. And he wasn't there. All that trauma and ptsd he keeps on lock was blown wide open.

So now Cassian is a storm of emotions when he arrives home. Probably arrived mid argument between Nesta and Rhys, and the entire flight was given brief details of what's happening fueling his emotions. His fear, trauma, concern, disappointment, and anger. When Rhys leaves, Cassian and Nesta got into it. Sure he was pissed about the mask anyone would be. I would be. I personally think it goes on beyond that. Far beyond it. Nesta’s life, once again, was put a risk and no one knew what Bryce wanted. Cassian’s worst fear when the portal was open, was Bryce taking Nesta and never seeing her again. All that came out in their fight.

As readers, we know Bryce's intentions are good. They as characters who haven't been given the best view of Bryce dont believe it. Yes, I do think there needs to be more trust in Nesta. Especially where Rhys is considered. Cassian, as her mate, blowing things out of proportion is logical cause all mates have done it at some point. But yeah he needs to trust her a bit more too. He trusts her more than Rhys does that's for sure.

To play devil's advocate, I could be wrong on Cassian and Nesta and their fight. Absolutely. Im not Sarah. But neither are you who are wishing he dies, and Nesta leaves him over a risk that was never hers to make alone when it involves the whole world of Midgard.

If you read this entire thing and disagree. That's cool. The unfollow and block buttons are right there.

Nessian 🗡️🔥✨

(Willing or not, obsternate or not, i imagine Cassian likes to take Nesta over his shoulder and march her around like his most prized, most valued pride and posession)

(ALSO ur comments about him lovingly smelling and smooching her ass has me howling, u guys r crazy. How did i not see that until you pointed it out istg)

Btw made a version with a background

Valkyrie week starts on the Monday the 14th of August!!!! That’s in 3 days!!! We cannot wait to all the lovely art/fan fics/one shots, etc, that you have all prepared for this week. Thank you all for joining 🪽⚔️

🎨: @frostbite.studios

Just a reminder that Cassian does stand up for Nesta against Rhys -

"I'm pissed off that you can't seem to believe even one good thing about her. That you refuse to fucking believe one good thing about her..."

And Cassian obviously didn't stay mad after the mask incident if he was eating chocolate cake with Ember and Randall and saying he hopes he sees them again!

I'm JUST saying.

Cassian and Azriel are so damn lucky that they're gorgeous males and their mates (Yes, I consider Gwyn Az's mate) are heterosexual females.

Gwyn and Nes would be ALL over each other if it wasn't for for Cass and Az's wingspans.

I just know that deep down both Cassian and Rhys are rooting for Lucien to have his endgame with Elain. My guys knows what it’s like to be pining and waiting for their Archeron mates to even acknowledge the mating bond between them and the pain that goes along with it 😂

Rhys being protective of Gwyn just melts my heart because there’s a reason he’s so protective and it’s because he relates to what she’s been through and knows what trauma like that does to someone. And now it’s making me want to see more Rhys x Gwyn sibling-like interactions. Kinda like Azriel x Nesta and Feyre x Cassian.

Like just imagine Rhys randomly appearing at Valkyrie training one day and Gwyn is challenging Azriel to a duel. Rhys watches in disbelief because he’s never seen someone that doesn’t know Azriel for long challenge him like that. And then Rhys sees how far Gwyn has come and it makes him so happy, he tells Gwyn all of Azriels weaknesses and cheers her on just to piss Az off and Gwyn is loving every second of it…

UGH SARHA PLEASE I NEED IT 😩

Merry Christmas guys ❤️🎄

Cassian and Nesta Archeron from a court of silver flames, characters belong to Sarah J. Maas

art by me