feyretale

[feyretale]

Tower of Dawn - Chapter 31

Nesryn’s brows narrowed. “Why not go hunt that spider back home, then? Why come here?”

Falkan didn’t answer.

Houlun said, “Because he was also told that only a great warrior can slay a kharankui. The greatest in the land. He heard of our close proximity to the terrors and thought to try his luck here first—to learn what we know about the spiders; perhaps how to kill them.”

Kingdom of Ash - Chapter 15

Dorian met her stare. Withdrew his magic, and could have sworn that seed of shape-shifting power trapped within her reached for him. Tried to beg him not to go.

He smiled at the spider. She smiled back.

And then he struck.

Invisible hands wrapped around her neck and twisted. Right as his magic plunged into her navel, into where the stolen seed of human magic resided, and wrapped around it.

He held on, a baby bird in his hands, as the spider died. Studied the magic, every facet of it, before it seemed to sigh in relief and fade into the wind, free at last.

Cyrene slumped to the ground, eyes unseeing.

Half a thought and Dorian had her incinerated.

Does that tell you anything??? I feel like we don't talk about it enough.

[feyretale]

LMAOOOO

Feyre: What's the hardest thing to say?

Nesta: I was wrong.

Rhysand: I need help.

Azriel: I’m sorry.

Cassian: Worcestershire Sauce

[feyretale]

i’ll SOO go with you so that tarquin can teach us how to swim 😌✨

if you went to prythian or erilea. who would you take with you? (your mutuals)

Hii anon, this was a good ask. Really.

Honestly, I would take anyone who wants to go to those amazing worlds. But I warn you: I wouldn't supervise anyone. God knows that it would be me who would need supervision👀 👀

But, I have a list: @positivewitch @angelic-voice-1997 @a-court-of-valkyries @feyretale @witching-by-the-willow @ssardothien @bookologist @nesquik-arccheron @acourtof-ash-and-ruin @simpingfornestaarcheron @evolving-dreamer @gesalatl @jvwhyte

[feyretale]

Chaorene and Gwynriel

ToG (Tower of Dawn) Spoilers and Azriel (ACOSF) Bonus Chapter spoilers ahoy! So, if you have not read Tower of Dawn, ACOSF, or the Azriel Bonus Chapter, don't read this...

......

Tower of Dawn was definitely a book that focused on healing. Not just Chaol's physical healing, but his emotional healing. Allowing himself to face his past, figure out who he wanted to be, who he was after the attack. Yrene had to heal over what happened with her mother, find her identity beyond being a healer, facing her future and what she actually wanted. This story was a parallel healing journey. THIS is what I want from a Gwynriel book.

Both Chaol and Azriel see/picture their eyes:

Chaol, Tower of Dawn, Chapter Five: It was her eyes Chaol noticed first. She likely stopped people in the street with those eyes, a vibrant golden brown that seemed lit from within.

Az, ACOSF Bonus Chapter: He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn's teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason... he could see it.

Both Yrene and Gwyn catching their men off-guard with questions they normally wouldn't answer and answer:

Chaol, Tower of Dawn, Chapter Thirty-two: Then she'd asked about his training as captain, and he'd balked—balked at talking of Brullo and the others, and yet... He couldn't refuse her joy, her curiosity.

Az, ACOSF Bonus Chapter: "Do you sing?" He blinked. It wasn't every day that people took him by surprise, but.. "Why do you ask?" "They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?" "1 am a shadowsinger-it's not a title that someone just made up." She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. "Do you, though?" she pressed. "Sing?" Azriel couldn't help his soft chuckle. "Yes."

Both Chaol and Azriel feeling something in their presence:

Chaol, Tower of Dawn, Chapter Thirty-Two: And as Chaol rode back to the illuminated palace across the city, he could have sworn that some weight in his chest, on his shoulders, had vanished. As if he'd lived with it his entire life, unaware, and now, even with all that gathered around him, around Adarlan and those he cared for... How strange it felt. That lightness.

Az, ACOSF Bonus Chapter: Azriel dipped his head in a sketch of a bow, something restless settling in him. Even his shadows had calmed. As if content to lounge on his shoulders and watch.

SJM used plenty of romantic coding for Chaorene beyond that with the incredible banter as well as, though they were both human and not fae, Mate-based imagery we see in ACOTAR: As if that white light he'd glimpsed inside himself two days ago was a living rope. As if she'd somehow planted herself in him that afternoon. -- Tower of Dawn, Chapter Twenty-One I truly believe Az's book is going to be this. Finding his self-worth beyond taking the risk for his family. Finding love and self-acceptance. And Gwyn moving on from her trauma, the first step being going to Nesta's mating ceremony. A parallel healing journey. As Yrene said in an early chapter in Tower of Dawn, "Healing takes time... We are just beginning."

[feyretale]

THESE MAKE SO MUCH SENSE- omg manon’s daughter being named asterin 🥺

Okay, look what came to my mind while I was on Pinterest and looking at some Tog fanarts:

The next generation of Tog. I thought only of the first children. You are welcome to add more.

Asterin Blackbeak Crochan Havilliard. Manorian's daughter. (That was the name of Manon's cousin).

Cybele Faliq Rukhin. Nestaq's daughter. (That was the name of Nesryn's mother).

Josefin Towers Westfall. Chaorene's daughter. (That was the name of Yrene's mother).

Evalin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. Rowaelin's daughter. (That was the name of Aelin's mother).

Gavriel Ennar Ashryver. Lysaedion's son. (That was the name of Aedion's father).

Cal Salvaterre Lochan. Elorcan's son. (That was the name of Elide's father).

I know the next generation won't really be called that, this was just a thought🤓 But I would love it if it was canon.

It was kind of a way to pay homage to those characters. Because honestly, all those characters were heroes. Strong people who fought in one way or another.

[feyretale]

TIED WITH EOS?? didnt expect that too happen 👀 but im so so happy!!

i love how we’re having a convo while reblogging LMAO

HIIII ISLAAA MY QUEEN!! HOW ARE YOUU??

Just passing by to tell you that I am still reading Tower of Dawn, chapter 14. And what I always told myself would not happen is happening: I am falling in love with Chaol Westfall.

Now what? What do I do? Why am I watching Chaol suffer and blame himself and hate himself and I'm like🤡🤡

HEY QUEENN

bestie IM SO LATE STOP I DIDNT SEE THIS I WAS KINDA INACTIVE BUT ALSO I AM SO SO SO HAPPY- IM A CHAOL STAN AND I LOVE HIM! i am BEYOND happy you read tower of dawn and THAT YOU LIKE CHAOL YASSSS LESSGOO

just imagine me giving u a hug like this ^

[feyretale]

HIIII ISLAAA MY QUEEN!! HOW ARE YOUU??

Just passing by to tell you that I am still reading Tower of Dawn, chapter 14. And what I always told myself would not happen is happening: I am falling in love with Chaol Westfall.

Now what? What do I do? Why am I watching Chaol suffer and blame himself and hate himself and I'm like🤡🤡

HEY QUEENN

bestie IM SO LATE STOP I DIDNT SEE THIS I WAS KINDA INACTIVE BUT ALSO I AM SO SO SO HAPPY- IM A CHAOL STAN AND I LOVE HIM! i am BEYOND happy you read tower of dawn and THAT YOU LIKE CHAOL YASSSS LESSGOO

just imagine me giving u a hug like this ^

[feyretale]

Hey! What are your thoughts on the Archeron sisters dependence on Rhysand?

I love Feyre but the truth is everything she has was given to her by a man and every she currently has was given to her by Rhys. So technically at any moment, he can decide to take it all from her. Not that he would, but the issue is that he could and Feyre would have no say in that. She wouldn’t even have any of her friends left considering they’d all side with Rhys since they’ve known him for 5 centuries.

Also, Nesta. It’s clear Nesta wa super dependant on Feyre and I disliked her so much for it but why wasn’t part of her healing arc finding her independence away from Feyre? It’s clear she can easily make friends with others (I bet it’s super easy when they don’t have biased hatred for you) so I wonder why Nesta’s only option and story forward was finding her place amongst the Inner Circle.

I mean I suppose Nesta will now be dependant on Cassian since he’s her husband but the bigger picture is that both the female main characters journeys end with them BOTH being unhealthily financially dependant on their husbands (isn’t ACOTAR supposed to be some feminist empowerment?)

Anyways, just wanted to know your thoughts on that.

I think that this line of thinking highly underestimates Feyre; if Rhys took away everything, she would be just fine.

Feyre is the one who kept them alive in that cabin for 5+ years. Feyre is the one who took out Amarantha and saved Prythian. Feyre defended Velaris with her powers. Feyre was wildly destructive in Spring and maybe we are still mad at her for that, but she's hardly dependent on anyone else for anything.

I think there should be some context here, just for comparison. Rhys is ultra rich. He's super fucking rich, obscenely so. This would be like saying "well when Mrs. Bezos got her divorce, wouldn't she starve?" No. Not just because of the settlement, but because she has talent in her own right, and also because she can and will go out and work for a living. But my point with this comparison is that that sort of wealth is not normal, and people can live without it perfectly fine. If Feyre were to no longer have access to that wealth, she would just... be like a normal person again. But not even that, she wouldn't be back at the point where we met her in acotar, because she has gained a lot of power and social, political, and cultural capital since then.

If Feyre and Rhys split, or if he decided to stop allowing her access to his resources, she would probably just move to another court, tbh. She's fae now, and the powers that she was gifted when Made give her a ton of social and political sway as well. Rhys may have the money, but Feyre comes to the relationship with her own strengths that Rhys benefits from as well. Money gives him access to resources that not everyone has, but money is not the only source of power in Prythian.

I would argue that Nesta has found her independence from Feyre, and that's why Nesta isn't actually part of the IC, and that's why Nesta didn't automatically bond with all of them. She didn't want a Rhys handout job because she was tired of being dependent on Feyre. Trust me, Nesta hated herself for that dependence, too. Her besties are Gwyn and Emerie, who are not part of the IC. She's close with Az, and obviously Cassian. Based on how it looks like the story will go, she is going to continue training as a Valkyrie/with Valkyries; she has created her own space within the Night Court. I also think that Nesta finding her independence from Feyre was a necessary part of her healing arc.

Nesta isn't dependent on Cassian, either. Rhys gave her a house, so her situation there is secure. She works at the library, which Cassian has no say over. While Nesta did give up most of her fae power, she still has some, she is still High Fae (which is socially better than being Illyrian), and she is still Valkyrie and Orestian (sp?)

I think the tl;dr is that "power" manifests in multiple ways in Prythian (I wrote about that here), and so we should look at all the different types present that each character has before saying that one is at a disadvantage! Financial dependence can definitely lead to some sketchy situations or relationships, but reducing their relationships just to that ignores a lot of other things we know about the world and characters.

I could probably keep writing about this and I might add on later if I have more thoughts.

[feyretale]

OMGG THE WAY THIS IS LITERALLY SO ACCURATE

Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie give me Manon, Asterin and Sorrel vibes hard.

NESTA: Manon. Is the ice. Unflinching, Miss Barbed-Words, just needs her Valkyries in life, has a bloodlust, witty and sharp. She hides behind a facade of not caring but loves so wholly and deeply. Not easily tempted and unfazed. She can wield words better than swords.

GWYN: Asterin. Is all fire. Passionate, curious, competitive, loving and warm. She's feisty and kind and well HOT🔥 She needs to win and loves challenges. Fierce, smart, perceptive, courageous and cheeky and mischievous and bright.

EMERIE: Sorrel. Is the stone. Nothing in life can break her spirit and she is the rock that comforts her friends and grounds them. She is practical, logical, strong, brave and would go down swinging for her loved ones.

[feyretale]

💫Couples from TOG 💫

Manorian✨

Nestaq✨

Elorcan✨

Chaorene✨

Couples from ACOTAR💫

Vivillias✨

Nessian✨

Gwynriel✨

Helion & Lady of Autumn✨

I know some were not the perfect representations, but I tried. And it was a lot of fun to do this😋

[feyretale]

WE DO NESTARQ SUPREMACY 🧎🏻‍♀️

i love them so much and GURL I AM SO HAPPY YOURE READING TODDDDD ITS LIKE MY SECOND FAVOURITE OF THE SERIES!!!

Please be aware that skipping Tower of Dawn means skipping a whole book with Sartaq in it. And that is something you do not want to miss. 😌

[feyretale]

Throughout ACOSF, SJM takes care to build out both Azriel and Gwyn's characters... and show that this pair has a lot of key similarities that could lead to a friends-to-lovers story for the ages.

First off, both Gwyn and Azriel are shown to be extremely competitive. We see this highlighted for Gwyn in chapter 60 of ACOSF, when Azriel becomes "the new ribbon" (624) and she pushes Emerie and Nesta to be the first to complete the Blood Rite qualifier (also on page 624). As for Azriel, Cassian describes his "vicious competitive streak," which is "quiet and cruel and utterly lethal" (254).

What's interesting to me is that while they both have this trait in common, they express it in different ways. Azriel is quiet, while Gwyn is the one who announces, "We look forward to proving you wrong," when he expresses doubts about her capability to complete the obstacle course (253). It's purposefully not a neat alignment, which sets up a more compelling story.

Beyond their competitive streak, Azriel and Gwyn are both nerds. When Cassian describes a model of their world and the stars beyond it in Rhys' office, he says that while he was bored and mystified by it, "Az, of course, had been fascinated" (37). Meanwhile, we have a lot of instances of Gwyn being a nerd, but my favorite is on page 407, where we have this delightful conversation between Nesta and Gwyn:

Gwyn playfully smacked her on the shoulder. "Learning is my job, you know."

"You'd have memorized this information anyway."

"Fair enough," Gwyn laughed.

Not only are these two nerds, but everyone who loves them knows it. I can't wait to see what kind of conversations they have, because you know they're pulling out reference texts. It's also interesting to me that while Azriel is fascinated by the model of their world, Gwyn is the one to introduce the theory of many worlds (154). Subtle nod that Gwyn is going to expand Azriel's life or outlook in interesting ways? Another connection between these two hot nerds? Who knows for certain, but I can say that I'm definitely intrigued.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for the plot, Gwyn is shown to have the potential to be a great spy. In addition to her physical abilities -- she's the first one to cut the ribbon, #neverforget -- Gwyn saves Emerie and Nesta during the Blood Rite when she unleashes the beasts on their tormenters. How does she manage this? She "watched the beasts," "learned where the beasts sleep during the day... and that they get very angry when awoken" (682).

Maybe that doesn't sound like spycraft to you, but, as luck would have it, only six pages later, Azriel and Cassian have a conversation about spycraft that's pretty illuminating:

Azriel sharpened Truth-Teller. The black blade absorbed the dim sunlight trickling through the forest canopy above. "It seems you've forgotten how much of spying is waiting for the right moment. People don't engage in their evil deeds when it's convenient for you."

Cassian rolled his eyes. "I stopped spying because it bored me to death. I don't know how you put up with this all the time."

"It suits me." (688)

Spying is waiting for the right moment, watching carefully, and making a plan. It's what we've seen Azriel do since ACOMAF, and it's telling that on Gwyn's first "mission" as a spy, she's totally successful in her aims. He has the experience and skills. She has the raw talent. What happens when those two things combine?

As a bonus, because I've addressed it before, we see that as soon as Gwyn and Azriel start talking, they have great banter -- "I can't sleep without my favorite dagger." / "A comfort to every growing child." #neverforget -- but when they get to know each other better and realize how much they have in common, all the things that fascinate both of them? It's going to be a very long conversation, and I'm 1000% here for it.

Call it subtle if you like, but SJM could have developed these two characters any way she liked. She chose to link Gwyn and Azriel through shared yet complementary traits, woven throughout ACOSF. She's definitely setting something up, and in my opinion, that "something" is Gwynriel.

[feyretale]

OMGG THIS WAS PERFECT

the way you used like emojis and gifs AHHH I LOVE LOVE LOVE

this is exactly how i want it to happen LIKE THE PART WHERE SHES LIKE “its you who i have a crush on you illyrian baby” I DIED THIS WAS PERFECT THEY ARE SO CUTEEE

Gwynriel Headcanon

I have a feeling that Gwyn and Az will be like the best of friends... They won't have romantic feelings or crushes on each other at first. They understand each other so Az confides in her about his problems with himself and his feelings for both Mor and Elain. She helps him in dealing with these problems and emotions and urges him to have the much awaited conversation 😉 with Mor. She probably will also help him in flirting with Elain... Like teasing him 😜 and giving him tips 🤭 and being the good friend that she is.

And then he starts having romantic feelings for Gwyn 😍 but he doesn't want to sabotage the best ever friendship he has ever had in his life because of it 🥺 so when Gwyn asks for progress on the flirting or courting or whatever at first he's like... "Yeah 😅😅.. yeah ... Definitely doing everything you told me to Gwyn.." without actually doing anything because he realises that he doesn't love Elain enough to ask her to reject the Elucien mating bond. Then maybe weeks later he confesses to Gwyn that things won't workout with Elain and so Gwyn is like "Sure dude .. your life, your rules 🤷🏽‍♀️ ... She was hot though. Missed out🥵"(or something cool like that 😅 because I don't believe that Gwyn would fight with another lady over something as insignificant as a crush)

And then she would start having feelings for Az given that they're so very close and so attuned to each others' feelings and moods... The whole IC would be like...

And also like... "Why are you guys not dating yet".... Because their feelings for each other would be very clearly visible to everyone except themselves (Duh). And then one day Gwyn asks Cas for flirting tips because she has a crush but she won't tell him who (But he already knows... So that's a moot point)... Anyways Az overhears this conversation and gets upset that Gwyn wouldn't ask him for dating advice and also gets jealous that she has a crush. So he starts giving her the silent treatment. Gwyn let's it go for a week before she confronts him about why he's ghosting her irl. So he tells her about the conversation he overheard between Cas and Gwyn... At first Gwyn gets flustered and defensive. Then she gets super angry that he wouldn't just ask her about it instead of doing "the brooding thing" that he shouldn't have been doing... And then they start shouting at each other... He yells at her asking "Who do you have a crush on that's such a big secret that you can't tell me...!?!?😡" And she's like.. "It's you, you big stupid illyrian baby😠😠" And then they realise what she just said.. so they both go silent at the same time... Then they kiss and start dating or whatever it is that fey does in Prythian... The next family dinner with the IC... They go together as a couple... Like holding hands and stolen looks and soft murmurs and inside jokes and soft kisses and the whole IC will be like...

Anyways this was fun. But I am a terrible writer .. if someone could please develop this into a fic... Please do

#gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #azriel #a court of silver flames

[feyretale]

EVERYONE SHUT UP

[feyretale]

Emerie is a business woman, a Valkyrie and a Carynthian. Now,is there an illyrian man who can do this? Exactly.

[feyretale]

this is gorgeous oh my gosh 😍

some gwynriel for your Wednesday ✨

[feyretale]

Azriel with baby Catrin energy 🥺🥺🥺