Art is by ttsukinoie

This woman is freaking amazing and badass.

She saved the children at Sangravah even though it led to horrific trauma for her. Trauma she is still learning to heal from.

She spent two years in the library slowly healing and braved the outside world to become the first Valkyrie to be rebirthed. Her putting her name first on the training sign up sheet showed incredible bravery and strength that led to other priestesses joining the training. What a moment!

She braved the outside world to be by Nesta side in a moment Nesta needed her friends the most.

She displayed skills of spying when she was in the tree for two days watching the beasts and learning their movements and led them to the men's camp.

She told Nesta and Emerie to cut the bridge down to save them knowing what it would mean for her once the men got to her.

She participated in the Great Rite & won to become one of the first Carythian women in history 🏆

Her story is far from over. In fact, it's just beginning and I can not wait to see more of her and what all else she will and can do.

My favourite girls from ACOTAR .... Gwyn , Em and Nesta with lil Nyx..... Aunty Nesta gave Nyx his very own ribbon and called him the honorary Valkyrie because Nyx like every Valkyrie there was born a survivor.... Gwyn and Em are busy entertaining the lil guest while Aunty Nesta sits him...

@jae.sketch .... Rachel is such an amazing artist and has made this incredible piece of art I am always in awe with her talent 💜

Repost Not Allowed

Characters belong to @sarahjmaas

I've seen so many points of the SF BC being mentioned at how it's the end of E/riel and the start of Gwynriel and Elucien. E/riels say that the rose Az gave described Elain so well, using the phrase "a thing of secret lovely beauty" and that it's foreshadowing e/riel.

Sarah said she left breadcrumbs, to read the chapter closely. There's so much foreshadowing to the end games and this single BC has been broken down so many times! However, I'm just going to point out one. The main GLARING, biggest breadcrumb out there.

You know who lured Az to the library after solstice.

Azriel.

He lured himself. He was thinking of Gwyn. It’s as simple as that.

Valkyries by hollyberryarts [instagram]

Top Shelf Love: Chapter One

Read on AO3 // Chapter Masterlist // Previous Part // Next Part

Cassian

Cassian groans, tossing his phone on the coffee table, the device skittering across the wood without a care. He drops his head against the back of the sofa, digging his hands into his hair and dragging his fingers against the curly strands. He still can’t quite wrap his mind around it, and he half wonders if he’s imagining this entire phone call, but the tinny voice continues through the speaker even if he’s no longer listening.

Seattle.

He got traded to the Seattle Kraken.

The words continue to crash and echo in his mind, even as his agent goes through the usual spiel when trades happen. Expect a call from the coach, maybe even a few players will reach out once the news breaks. The Kraken’s director of team services will reach out with the finer details for a smooth transition. Reminders of the CBA mandates. Meetings with the trainers, the equipment team, and the coaching staff to look forward to. Practice schedule. It’s like information overload, a hurricane swirling through his head with hundred mile per hour winds.

It doesn’t help that his phone has already started to vibrate against the table, almost excessively. With a quiet huff that thankfully his agent doesn’t pick up on, already plowing forward into the exciting potential for re-signing with Seattle, Cassian snatches his phone back up. He minimizes the call screen and looks at his notifications. Of course. The news has already broken on Twitter. Damn ‘insiders.’

Glasses

Am I still good to swing by to bring your key back?

Yep! Working from home and have no more meetings today. Come by whenever you want, no need to knock.

Cassian smiled at the words flashing across his screen as he reached the windowed door that revealed the doors to the two apartments in Nesta's converted townhouse. Nesta had already told him twice that he could come by any time after noon today, but he let his nerves get the better of him and he had to check just one last time. Even if he was already on her street.

"How are you already here?" the silky sharp voice of his girlfriend asked, carrying easily down the stairs as he opened the door to her apartment.

Cassian chuckled, closing the door and locking it behind him. "Couldn't get to you fast enough, sweetheart," he called up as he began to climb. It was a steep staircase. And dark. He hated it. Nesta could really hurt herself on it, and that was something he wouldn't be able to handle. Cassian dreaded the day he got a call telling him she'd fallen down these damn stairs.

Reaching the main floor, he set the keys down on the tall table in front of him just as a large, cream furball let out a loud hiss.

"Even after feeding you for a week, you still hate me?" he muttered, bending down to see if Ataraxia would sniff at his fingers. The furry little beast lifted his nose up and sauntered away from Cassian like a little prince. "Your cat is a spoiled brat," he said, walking down the small hall toward where he knew Nesta would be working in her large living room.

"As he should be," she replied.

Cassian walked into the room and suddenly the world felt lighter as he laid his eyes on his girlfriend for the first time in a week. Staring intently at the computer screens in front of her, all he could really see was her delicate frame and the golden brown hair tied back in her typical coronet style.

He took a step toward her, going to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then paused in his tracks as Nesta turned in her chair to look at him.

There, resting on top of her perfect nose, was a pair of rounded-square glasses in a dark frame. They weren't exactly hipster glasses - too small for that - but they were a similar shape that sat perfectly in Nesta's face.

Nesta was always the most beautiful woman in the room, always sharp and stunning and obviously intelligent. So Casssian wasn't sure exactly what it was about these glasses, but they took his breath away. Perhaps he was more attracted to librarians than he realized. Or maybe it was just Nesta, looking absolutely stunning in everything, and adding new fantasies about glasses Cassian never thought he'd desire.

"Wh…what are those?" he asked like an idiot, pointing to her face.

Nesta let out a small laugh. "My glasses? I wear them for work. They're just blue-light lenses, they keep me from getting a headache when staring at a screen for a long time."

"They're-"

"A necessary nuisance."

"-phenomenal." Nesta blushed at Cassian's last word, turning back to the computer screen.

Cassian wanted to riot, just as he always did when Nesta looked away from him. It should be illegal, for him not to be able to look upon her face. But especially now. Who knew wen he'd get to see her in glasses again? He needed to find a way to save himself from this withdrawal, and he knew just the thing. "Don't you get a lunch hour?" he asked softly, stepping closer to Nesta and leaning his chin on her shoulder.

"Yes…" she answered slowly, turning her face to look at him.

He grinned. "Great. So why don't you log off but keep those glasses on and join me in the bedroom?"

Before Nesta could answer, Cassian left a kiss on her neck and sauntered to the back of the apartment, smirking as her heard soft footsteps following him.

Moments V

A/N: I’ve been working on this fic for over a year and I’m so happy it’s done. I really wanted this conversation to happen right after the Blood Rite or even after Nyx’s birth but alas. So anyways, here we are.

@nestaarcheronweek

Moments Masterlist

~*~

Part V: Shackled

Nesta surveyed the cerulean gown, fingers gliding over the satin before turning away. It was a silent rejection, one of many, and he moved out of the way as the tailor pursed her lips but replaced it with a red one. 

Cassian had come with her to help her pick out a dress for her sisters and Emerie to wear at their mating ceremony, but after the tenth one he was beginning to feel antsy. It wasn’t that he minded the small boutique, hidden amongst stores selling sweet caramels and cakes, or fresh bread and spiced meats. He’d been here before, rather, he’d been wrangled over with Mor and Amren, even with Azriel to find gifts for the females he never brought to meet them. 

It was Nesta’s neither here nor there look on her face that had him apprehensive. She’d been deemed fully healed and back at her full strength three days after the Blood Rite and so preparations for their Mating Ceremony had taken over immediately. She’d doled out the responsibilities the night before; Mor on decorations from whatever colors and schemes Nesta already had in mind, Elain and Feyre on the guest list, Azriel to set up security parameters, and Amren to confirm with all the vendors they bought from. Rhys was of course the master fund for all expenses, to which Nesta had agreed to with a sly smirk.

You're the Kind of Reckless that Should Send Me Running

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A bottle of your finest alcohol and your most prized possession.

That's what the woman in the market had told Nesta to bring in offering. Whispered words shared between the brick building of the butcher and the wooden stalls bedecked in green leaves and pastel colored petals, the first sign of spring. The woman's own stall had been tucked closer to the alleyway between buildings, half cast in shadow. What little light did break through bounced off the gemstones of amulets, carved into the grooves of runes in animal bone.

Only desperate people spoke with the woman who always kept the hood of her cloak up to shroud her face.

And desperate Nesta was.

She listened to everything the woman said, carefully tucked away the instructions, the tips the woman offered for the best results. And when the woman had finished speaking, Nesta placed a single silver piece into her palm and slipped back into the crowds of the bustling market without looking back. She kept her head down, tried her best to look inconspicuous lest word get back where she didn’t want it to.

But Nesta caught Clare’s eye across the market square, her friend offering the barest hint of a nod. It was Clare that told Nesta about this woman, about the information she offered, about the outcomes that information promised. According to Clare, it was how Morrigan had done it just last week.

So, that day in the market, Nesta seeked out the woman, and now, here she walks.

@nestaarcheronweek day 4. Returning from a mission, the Night Court’s spymaster arrives back in Velaris in need of a stiff drink above all else, but after seeking out Velaris’ seediest tavern, Azriel gets more than what he bargained for when he finds Nesta inside. Post-ACOWAR, pre-ACOSF.  Title taken from The Summoning by Sleep Token.

Even after a week away, the cobbles beneath his feet did not yet beckon Azriel home when he returned to Velaris. 

With the dust of the Continent still clinging to his boots, the Shadowsinger looked up at the horizon, finding the distant lights of the House of Wind against the darkening sky— slices of golden light piercing the rock of the mountain, and though Azriel ought to have glimpsed the light shining from those windows and rushed forward, he remained exactly where he was; standing a thousand feet below, finding no desire at all to go home just yet. At Rhys’ behest, he’d spent the past week observing the human queens on the Continent, his mind fixed towards schemes and plots with nothing but his shadows for company. And now…

It took a while, after a mission, to remember what it was to live outside of the dark.

So he didn’t want home. Didn’t want the welcome he knew would be waiting as soon as he stepped over that threshold. He was too accustomed to the dark, to the hidden corners and the silence, and what he wanted more than anything right now was a fucking drink. 

Just Looking At You Got Me Thinking Nonsense

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Cassian digs his phone out of his back pocket, opening back up the group chat and the most recent messages still waiting there. With a nod, he pockets the phone again, rolling out his shoulders. There’s a glass case full of pictures and some sort of awards on the wall opposite him, and Cassian uses it as a makeshift mirror. He’s always had a bad habit of running his fingers through his hair when he’s nervous, and now his curls are a tangled mess as a result.

A door opening down the hall has Cassian almost jumping out of his skin. He turns just in time to see the exact woman he’s here for walking down the hall, her arm looped with a red head that Cassian is pretty sure was in his trig class last year.

“Trust me, it will be over before you know it,” the red head says as they walk.

“Until I have to sit through some stupid dinner after… You’re lucky that I love you.”

“I know, and I am lucky you’re doing this with me. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to go up there alone.”

“Hey, Nes,” Cassian calls in greeting when they’re close enough, raising his hand in a wave.

Whether she doesn’t hear him or is just ignoring him, Cassian isn’t sure. But both women don’t acknowledge him, walking through another door further down the hall. One that, he presumes, leads into the large hall.

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you,” Cassian mumbles to himself, letting his hand drop back to his side. “Idiot.”

Even Lovers Drown -

Chapter 21

Synopsis: Sirens are known to be merciless creatures who lure their prey with their ethereal voices.

But what happens when Gwyneth, a half Fae half siren, meets someone who is immune to her song? Maybe she doesn't need it for him to want her.

Read on Ao3

Warning: Minor mention of blood and violence

Snippet:

Every bit of pain and sense of loneliness that she had ever felt before this moment faded, erased by the smile that Azriel offered her. She held tightly onto the bond inside her and tugged. This new sensation made them both gasp. Their amazement was soon replaced by matching grins, which then turned into euphoric laughter. His shadows danced along to the sounds of their laughter and the slowly fading song of their mating bond.

The glow of her ribbon dimmed, retreating back inside their hearts along with his darker side of the bond. Fainter and fainter the song went, until it was replaced by another sound that cut off their laughter. It was like a fist pounding against a door and which made the dome of shadows surrounding them shake. Time which had stilled to allow them to bask in the bliss of their bond resumed and reality came rushing back as quickly as it had been chased away. Gwyn stood closer to Azriel, her hands around his middle as concern once again flowed through her.

Azriel’s eyes moved across her face and body. Every thump against the shield that his shadows had turned into stripped a little more of the lightness that had previously settled in him. A few wisps of shadows brushed his ear, murmuring words that Gwyn couldn’t hear. Still, she felt the anger that flooded his side of the bond. The hazel in Azriel’s eyes darkened.

“What did they do to you?” His voice came out pained.

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @shadowsxgwynriel @iambutmortal @trashforazriel @hlizr50 @headcanonheadcase @hiimheresworld @freyjas-musings @starfall-spirit @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship @sv0430 @wrotethestars @madie2200

When We Howl, the Moon Will Cower: Chapter 3

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Nesta

Nesta supposes she shouldn’t be surprised when she wakes alone.

She certainly didn’t expect to wake within some sort of lover’s embrace. It was clear last night that her and Cassian’s marriage was nothing more than duty, he to his pack and she to her family. But still…

With a soft sigh, she shifts and rolls over beneath the blankets, reaching a hand out and finding nothing but cold sheets. Early riser or didn’t even bother to stay the night? With another huff she sits up, rubbing the final remnants of sleep from her eyes. The room and the cabin doesn’t look much different in the light of day. The rays of sunlight spill in through the windows, painting patterns across the blankets and turning the wood beams of the ceiling into amber.

It could almost be described as homey if it weren’t for the frigid, cloying air still clinging to the room from the previous night.

Pushing the blankets off her legs, Nesta climbs off the bed. She starts to pad over to her trunks before a thought strikes her, her eyes dancing toward the bedroom door. Cassian made it clear last night that he doesn’t trust her, so does that mean he would lock her in? Keep his new wife locked away in the tower?

She steels her spine and stalks toward the door, hesitating for just a moment with her hand outstretched in front of her. Slowly, her fingers curl around the knob, but thankfully, there’s no resistance as she twists. Unlocked. Small consolations.

Chapter five: As the pageant nears its end, there are fireworks all around as Nesta and Cassian find themselves on the same page at last.

(The final chapter of Elizabethan!Nessian is here and posted for @nestaarcheronweek free day, which is incredibly fitting as chapter one was posted for Nesta Week last year 🥹 thank you to all of you who have put up with my ridiculous Elizabethan ramblings over the past year, and rest assured this will absolutely not be my last historical AU ❤️)

(Chapter one // chapter two // chapter three // chapter four)

The sea was a cruel mistress indeed, Cassian thought as he dragged his fingers, idle, through his bath water— but not half so cruel as Nesta Archeron. 

After the trumpets and the fanfares of the Queen’s hunt had subsided, she had left him at the castle gates with naught but a parting smile tossed over her shoulder— one that had cut clean through his heart like a silver-tipped arrow. Cassian was no stranger to feeling at sea, to feeling the waves tip the world beneath his feet, but nothing could have prepared him for this; for the way his bones seemed hollow whenever she was near. Indeed, there was no storm or tempest that the seas could boast that could have had the breath in his chest failing quite like it had as she rode away. No sea sickness compared to this— to the way that just one look from her had him so consumed that the rest of the world simply ceased to be. 

And just as each ship’s captain must ultimately yield to the almighty power of the sea, so too would Cassian surrender everything he was to her— ready and willing to lay himself bare afore a force too great for any mortal man to withstand.

Love.

Is There A Problem, Officer?

happy day 6 of @nestaarcheronweek, and happy birthday Nesta! I hope you all enjoy this… not so quiet birthday party 😉

Summary: Nesta wanted to celebrate her twenty-sixth birthday quietly, but her friends had… other ideas.

Word Count: 3k

♕♕♕♕♕

Nesta

“Happy birthday, Nesta!” Elain and Feyre said in unison as Nesta opened her townhouse door.

“Thank you,” Nesta replied, pleased to see her sisters. Elain had come bearing cake and Feyre had come bearing alcohol, both of them just as welcome as her sisters’ faces. “And thanks for coming.”

Nesta was turning twenty-six today, and instead of going out and getting drunk with her friends, she’d decided to do something a little more lowkey. She’d quickly learned twenty-five was the age her body had decided to turn on her, and she wasn’t exactly keen to repeat the vicious hangover she’d survived last year.

So instead of getting all dressed up and hitting the town, she’d decided to do something much more relaxed. She’d invited her sisters and some close friends over to order in some food, drink some wine, and otherwise have a good time ringing in Nesta’s birthday. Everyone had been more than willing to go along with it — even Feyre, who was always chomping at the bit to do something more exciting — but Nesta had been looking forward to seeing the people she cared about too much to really question it.

“Like we’d miss your birthday,” Feyre replied as she and Elain walked inside, somehow managing to shut the door behind her without dropping anything. “Even if it’s not as exciting as last year.”

“Sorry I don’t want to spend the next morning puking my guts out again,” Nesta answered as they made their way to the kitchen, rolling her eyes. Feyre’s boyfriend at the time had been surprisingly willing to come take care of her, so she’d been spared most of the aftermath.

“As the person holding your hair back, I’m a big fan of your decision,” Elain agreed with a little laugh. “No offense, Nesta.”

“None taken,” Nesta responded, snorting. She helped Feyre and Elain unload their goodies and the three of them took a few minutes to properly arrange everything on the counter. “Okay, that’s fine for now. Come say hi to everyone else.”

Keep reading on AO3 here!

tag list: @perseusannabeth | @bookstantrash | @fieldofdaisiies | @goddess-aelin | @c-e-d-dreamer | @talkfantasytome | @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk | @sv0430 | @talibunny30 | @unlikelypersonalknight1 | @champanheandluxxury | @lilah-asteria | @burningsnowleopard | @sayosdreams | @readskk | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @bellaful08 | @readergalaxy | @podemechamardek | @pearlfortears | @nerdperson524 | @jmoonjones | @kale-theteaqueen | @autumnbabylon | @hiimheresworld | @illyrianshadowhunter | @dustjacketmusings | @live-the-fangirl-life | @that-little-red-head | @sweet-pea1 | @brieq | @queercontrarian | @jsmelodies | @afflicted-with-wanderlust

Wrong Delivery Part Two

hello and happy free day of @nestaarcheronweek !! It’s been such a blast organizing this and seeing all the amazing things everyone has created, and thank you so much to everyone who participated!!

without further ado… the long awaited part two of this fic from Nessian Week 2023. I hope you enjoy 🩵🩵🩵

Summary: Cassian returns Nesta’s package. Chaos and embarrassment ensue.

Word Count: 1.8k

✷✷✷✷✷

Cassian

When Nesta’s package had been accidentally delivered to his address instead of hers, Cassian could hardly believe his luck.

Nesta Archeron was easily the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen, and now he had a real excuse to talk to her for longer than fifteen seconds. He’d taken any and all excuses to talk to her over the eight months that he’d been living here, though their interactions had mostly been quick greetings that ended with her rolling her eyes at him.

Though in his book, that was definitely a win.

Cassian had been enjoying his Friday off — his favorite part about being able to set his own schedule as a personal trainer — when someone knocked at the door. Frowning as he got up, he made his way over and looked through the peephole to see a guy dressed in a UPS uniform walking away. He hadn’t been expecting any packages, but that didn’t stop him from opening the door to see a tiny black box waiting for him.

He bent down and picked it up before heading back inside, shutting the door behind him as he tried to remember the last thing he’d ordered. Maybe one of his friends had sent him something — Mor loved sending them all little gifts whenever she went on vacation — but she usually texted their group chat when she sent packages over. Maybe it was something for Azriel instead…?

Keep reading on AO3 here!

tag list: @perseusannabeth | @bookstantrash | @fieldofdaisiies | @goddess-aelin | @c-e-d-dreamer | @talkfantasytome | @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk | @sv0430 | @talibunny30 | @unlikelypersonalknight1 | @champanheandluxxury | @lilah-asteria | @burningsnowleopard | @sayosdreams | @readskk | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @bellaful08 | @readergalaxy | @podemechamardek | @pearlfortears | @nerdperson524 | @jmoonjones | @kale-theteaqueen | @autumnbabylon | @hiimheresworld | @illyrianshadowhunter | @dustjacketmusings | @live-the-fangirl-life | @that-little-red-head | @sweet-pea1 | @brieq | @queercontrarian | @jsmelodies | @afflicted-with-wanderlust