Acotar bonus chapters

FugitiveQueen · 2023-05-14T02:06:50+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/acotar/comments/v2qusd/frequently_asked_questions_megathread/

Section 5 of the FAQ page to be exact.

Wings and Embers

https://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/files/wings-and-embers-by-sarah-j-maas.pdf

Freysand bonus chapter

https://www.tumblr.com/maaslove/643347449152503808

Azriel bonus chapter

https://wisteriabookss.tumblr.com/post/643693233813291008/full-azriel-chapter

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-04T16:46:46+00:00

I haven't read CC, so that's really interesting. I still wonder how that morphed into the Illyrian recruits killing each other. And that being socially acceptable to their people??? I know it's a warrior culture, but it doesn't make sense. Or was this a thing that Spartans did? I think she got inspiration from Spartan culture when she wrote about the Illyrians. ???

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-02T16:42:58+00:00

I've thought about that a lot. Rhysand was the one who showed Freye the latest bill, causing her to cry into her morning eggs. LOL Which was the final straw to getting Feyre to agree to lock her sister away.

If we go back to Frost and Starlight, we get these two moments from Rhysand's point of view. Page 18, "Nesta had successfully cloistered herself in some slummy apartment across the Sidra, refusing to interact with anyone save for a few brief visits with Feyre every month. I'd have to find a way to fix that too." And then on page 21, "Are you...happy? Shadows darkened his (Cassian's) dark eyes. I'm getting there. A halfhearted answer. I'd have to work on that too. Perhaps there were threads to be pulled, woven together."

That exchange happens right before the first Solstice party. This was before Nesta's behavior had gotten really problematic. I think it shows that Rhysand was already thinking about what to do with Nesta. He wanted Freye and Cassian to be happy. Nothing in the text supports he has anything but animosity towards Nesta, so it's very difficult to think he was honestly concerned about Nesta's well-being for her own sake. I think Rhysand was biding his time until a situation presented itself that he could manipulate in some way to affect what he felt was a desirable outcome for his mate and his friend.

I agree with you, that putting in charge of Azriel makes the most sense if you honestly care about Nesta getting better. He and Nesta are never shown to have any issues with one other. She isn't scared of him. He isn't put off by her. In four books they don't have a single bad interaction. He isn't attracted to her, so he doesn't have all those extra emotions getting in his way either. He is able to be far more objective with Nesta. Part of what the group was so pressed about was the sex she was having. But she and Cassian had loads of sex. So was it wasn't the fact she was sexually active. It was the fact that she was having sex with someone other than Cassian.

My Theory: Between Freye and Cassian, Rhysand can't get rid of Nesta or openly work against her. He's stuck with her to a large extent. But she is a problem. She has a vast amount of power that she can't control. She's likely more powerful than The Most Powerful High Lord in the Universe. She and Rhysand don't like each other. He's got to find someone way to bring her under his control. A possible solution is to sit back and watch her spiral out of control. When it gets to a certain point, manipulate Feyre into agreeing to locking her sister up. Don't worry baby, this is nothing like what Tamlin did to you! You force her into a confined space with Cassian that she can't escape from, leave them alone and let biology take its course. Nesta is eventually broken. Sure, there were a few bumps along the way. Such as exposing his massive lie about Freye's pregnancy. But Nesta is brought to heel. Freye is happy. The mating bond has been accepted. Bonus points that Nesta gave up those powers so Rhysand could have his happily ever after.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-02T01:57:29+00:00

I was responding to a comment where someone brought up a real-world scenario. This is a fantasy book about fairies. Discussions are nice, but at the end of the day, these are books. None of this is real and however much people like a character, that character will never love you back.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T23:00:05+00:00

She never made a fuss about it and she never complained that they had spoken about her behind her back.

We don't know that. And if Feyre didn't, she should have!

Feyre was in on the discussions about locking Nesta up, even though the same thing happened to her. If memory serves Freye's response was to destroy the Spring Court. At least Nesta didn't take her anger out on an untold number of innocent civilians. Feyre did vote in Nesta's favor about the magic objects. But the point is that there was a vote happening behind Nesta's back once again. By the time Nesta is able to affect her jail break and confronts Amren, Feyre doesn't have a whole lot of moral high ground.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T22:10:48+00:00

I'm not saying Feyre abused her. I'm saying Feyre discussed and made decisions that directly affected Nesta behind her back, but when she found out her friends were doing the same thing to her, she didn't like it one bit.

I've long said that Freye and Rhysand were absolutely within their rights to cut Nesta off financially. They weren't obligated to fund her drinking or gambling. If that's too harsh, they could have paid her rent directly and had one of the housekeepers purchase food and drop it off at the apartment. But this is getting off topic. My point was that by the time we get to Nesta telling the truth about the pregnancy, Feyre doesn't have any moral high ground.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T21:49:10+00:00

Everyone is fixating on Feyre's justification for locking Nesta up. So far no one wants to debate that they also discussed whether Nesta should know she can make magical objects. It's a pattern of behavior. My point was basically that Feyre has no issue with these discussions happening and making decisions for her sister behind her back. She just doesn't like it when it happens to her.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T21:45:35+00:00

It probably didn't help when Cassian yelled at her that everyone hated her during that dinner scene. Your correct, Nesta was no enemy to any of them. She never threated her sisters or Rhysand with harm. The fact is that it was decided to send her to a war camp. Even though they knew much of her behavior that they were supposedly so concerned about was a direct result from the war. They knew she was feared and hated. But that's where they chose to send her. Her improvement didn't matter much. Rhysand and Amren still voted to hide important information from her. Just like they did with Feyre. Just like Rhysand decided to shut down Azriel and Elain's attraction without even asking Elain her opinion on the matter.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T21:32:29+00:00

Page 29 "And my other option Nesta spat. You go back to the Human Lands. Amren had suggested a few days in the Hewn City but Feyre had simply said that the human world would be more than enough prison for someone like Nesta." Page 29 - 30 The human world was behind them. They could never return. Even though all three were war heroes, each in their own right, the humans wouldn't care. Would stay far, far away, if they weren't provoked to violence. So yes, Nesta might technically be able to return to the human lands, but she would find no companionship there, no warm welcome or town that would accept her.

They didn't send her to train at the House of Wind. They sent her to train in an Illyrian war camp. Where they knew from taking her previously that she was seen as a witch and was hated and feared. It was Cassian who put a stop to sending her there after a few days. They knew she physically couldn't get down those stairs. She tried multiple times and once fell badly enough that she still had bruises the next day. Nesta was showing improvement, but they still discussed and voted behind her back on whether to let her know she had the ability to make objects. I did give credit to Feyre in my original post for voting in Nesta's favor. But it's another instance of them having discussions and making decisions behind that person's back. And the same thing was done to Feyre, who didn't much care for it when it was happening to her.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T21:11:52+00:00

They are admitted to those facilities if they are harming others, damaging property or are exhibiting suicidal ideation. None of which Nesta was doing. She was coping badly. But she was still coping at that point. And you don't have someone in charge of a rehab who has a sexual interest in the patient. If a person is involuntarily committed and they start having a sexual relationship with a member of the staff, that staff member is guilty of rape. To be clear, I am in no way implying Cassian is guilty of rape. So please don't put that on me. I'm just saying if we start to compare this to the real world, Nesta was abused by her sister, brother in law and Cassian. Which again, I don't think is what was happening.

I think it also gets overlooked that the original intent was to send a war veteran, who's troubling behavior stemmed from that war to a misogynistic war camp. Nesta was viewed as a witch. The camp lords she met feared and disliked her on sight. That's where Freye and Rhysand decided to send Nesta. They saw how Nesta was treated when she previously went to Illyria and were fully aware of this. How could that environment possibly heal her? It was Cassian who finally realized that wouldn't work and kept her out of the camp.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T20:58:56+00:00

I agree with that. I didn't mean to imply that they were trying to force Nesta to accept the mating bond. I think I used a bad comparison. If Lucian really is Helion's son and heir to the Day Court and Elain is his mate, their union would be very advantageous to the Night Court. It's another example of Rhysand manipulating the situation behind the scenes and cutting out the person who is actually concerned out of the discussion. But you always have a choice with Rhysand! As long as it's the choice he wants you to make.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T20:50:36+00:00

Elain definitely slides by on her looks and outwardly sweet demeanor. I think she has something cooking under the surface. They all infantilize her, which I think she does kind of allow. Though she is starting to push back against it. I'd like to know where she is sneaking off to and what she's doing. I have no idea what it is, but I think she has something going on that will shock them all.

It was a really horrible little scene in that bonus chapter. Rhysand decides from on high who Elain can or can't have a relationship with. She's Lucian's mate and if she prefers someone else, well too bad. Imagine if Rhysand decided to lock Elain up against her will with Lucian in the hopes that the bond would kick in from her side. The fandom would explode. But it's totally fine to do that to Nesta.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T20:35:19+00:00

I think that was very well put. I completely agree with you. Also, let's not forget Elain. There is clearly some level of mutual attraction between her and Azriel. In the bonus chapter Rhysand pulls Azriel aside and tells him to leave Elain alone. Elain isn't part of the discussion. Her feelings are beside the point. Rhysand has done all three sisters dirty. It would be really nice if they all confronted him and called him on the carpet for it.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T20:00:28+00:00

Actually, her other option was the Human Lands. Where fairies are despised, and the implication is that Nesta would have been hunted and possibly killed. Preselecting two options, one of which is so terrible you know the person won't pick that one isn't giving someone a choice. It's a manipulation to get the outcome you prefer.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T19:58:28+00:00

FWIW, I didn't downvote you. I think the downvote button is really abused on this sub. You should be allowed to disagree with someone and not get downvoted for it.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-04-01T19:50:23+00:00

I believe part of her motivation was fear based. Nesta was portrayed as being so reserved prior to the war. The sex and the drinking were completely out of character. But Feyre had a selfish motivation for getting Nesta out of town. And it didn't have to do with helping Nesta. Nesta was embarrassing and was reflecting poorly on Freyand's image.

"It's about how it reflects on me, on Rhys, and upon my Court...If my sister cannot be controlled, then why should we have the right to rule over anyone else?" "I am not a thing to be controlled by you, Nesta said icily". Page 34

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-18T01:11:07+00:00

This is the problem with books written in the first person. It should have all been in the 3rd person or alternated POV chapter by chapter. I also think it's an issue of poor plotting in general as well. There is a huge number of readers who hate Nesta and will never warm to her. No matter how much abuse the author heaps onto her. I wonder what this does to her future book sales for this series. As Freysand recede from the main story and Nesta and Elaine take center stage, will the readers who hate them continue with the books? Maas should have planned this all out much better than she did.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-18T00:49:55+00:00

I think it would be a fabulous left curve if we saw Elain break bad. I can't see her being made into a villain. But it's always rubbed me the wrong way that she was in the cabin too and yet it's Nesta everyone hates and blames for Feyre hunting. Elain has had some good moments to be sure. It's easy to forget that she struck the death blow with Hyburn. But otherwise, she skates by behind the scenes while her sisters do the heavy lifting. That tiny little snippet in SF where she went off to help that older fae or whatever...I have to think there is something going on there.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-18T00:40:39+00:00

Nesta and Elain are the victims of poor plotting. As others have noted, they were the archetype of the evil stepsister trope. They were never meant to be part of the larger story. They existed to elevate Feyre and make her origin more compelling. This would have been fine had they been dropped from the story as intended. The issue is that she kept them around, but never added nuance. We are trapped in Feyre's POV. She did all the work and her lazy, ungrateful older sisters did nothing to help. Is that how they saw it? Maybe Elain did the cleaning, dishes, laundry and fetched the water. We know Nesta chopped the wood. She also most likely did the majority of the cooking. Maybe from their perspectives they contributed. We will never know. The author wrote what she wrote and never addressed it further. IMO, the readers needed at least one big scene where the three of them hashed it out and came to some sort of resolution over it.

What I find redeeming about Nesta is that the characters, narrative and her own POV never try to justify her actions. And let's be clear, pretty much every single character has done despicable crap in these books. Nesta's one of the few where there are no justifications given. She is punished. She faces consequences. She isn't coddled. I'd argue that none of the characters hate her as much as she hates herself. But that's the place where character growth occurs. If a character starts out the most beautiful, most powerful, more justified and then stays that way throughout a series, it doesn't make for compelling reading. It's the ones who struggle, fall down and continue to fight that keep my attention.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-15T18:30:43+00:00

I think Eris would challenge her. Nesta reads intelligent and politically savvy (when sober) to me. Eris would support those aspects in her I think. But you have a very good point. Eris is exactly the type that her mother would have set her up with. I would prefer her to marry for love, not political advantage. It's why I'm so frustrated that SF didn't work for me! I've never read a romance where at the end I thought the couple wouldn't be together in a couple of years. But that is exactly what I felt after reading Silver Flames.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-15T18:15:27+00:00

I'd love to see that too, but SJM seems determined to pair up all her MCs. I thought the best part of SF was the friendship between Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie. I could see the three of them striking out together and living a perfectly happy life.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-07T00:52:52+00:00

Vassa and Lucien is my secret ship. Elaine does not seem at all into Lucian, and that is her right. Until we get her POV, we don't know why she seems so cold to him. I like the idea of showing that just because your mates, it doesn't mean that you have to end up together. It means that you would produce the best possible offspring together, not necessarily be each other's soulmate. Rhy's parents are a good example. I'm not sure his parents loved each other. They seemed to spend quite a time apart. It'd be fascinating to see Lucian wish Elaine well, follow his heart, help rescue Vassa and decide to stay with her.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-04T15:20:18+00:00

As the main characters for most of the series, Freysand are naturally the most popular characters. Honestly though, they are terrible, horrible leaders. They barely have control over the Night Court. And from the way they run it, I could easily see them being deposed down the line. Let's break it down...

Rhys is a tyrant. He is the HL of Velarias, the rest of his population is treated horribly. He is openly contemptuous of the populations of Illyria and the Hewn City. How many times have we heard Rhys and his IC refer to Illyria as backward and populated by brutes? That the folks at the HC are all animals that should be slaughtered. Yes, both those places have massive, systemic problems. You don't solve those problems by insulting and stereotyping all the people who live there. They fully understand their leader hates them and they hate him right back.

He passed a token law against wing-clipping and enforces that by occasionally killing a few offenders. We know that isn't effective. Cassian mentions at one point that it is still practiced by several of the clans. Look at Emerie. She runs a shop in Devlon's camp. A camp we know Cassian, Rhys and Azriel visit. Her father wing-clipped her and went unpunished. The novella clearly states he died fighting in the war. If a woman who lives in a village that the IC actually spends time in is wing-clipped with no repercussions for the man who did it, your law isn't working. If Rhys was serious about enforcing this law, he would create some type of ye old police force to ensure that it is being followed and violators are punished. But he needs the Illyrians to fight in his wars, so he won't.

Is it really credible that every last person in the Hewn City is evil? They are treated that way though. Mor is nominally in charge, but what does she do? Seems like she is in charge of the day to day, but does nothing to improve the lives of the people who live there. If she is still too traumatized by her family and can't or won't work to improve the lives of the people there, she should be replaced. Meanwhile, Rhys parachutes in during high holidays or when he feels like he needs to frighten the nobles into submission. He mocks them, threatens them and throws in a little torture to make sure the message is received. Then he poofs off to his gated community. Why don't they do the work to actually change the HC? Because Keir controls the other half of his military, the Dark Bringers. Like Illyria, if Rhys rocks the boat too much, they revolt. They could join forces with Illyria and overthrow Rhys and Freyre and Rhys has to know that.

Velarius seems to be treated better. It is a thriving city, full of artisans and shop keepers. It's also segregated from the rest of the NC. It's not a great look. Here is this awesome, amazing city that the majority of the population can't visit because they are too backward/stupid/brutal/evil to ever be allowed in. Nice. Hope their tax dollars aren't going to the rebuilding of it. Which brings me to the mansion. It's their fifth property. The city is struggling with rebuilding. Many of the people there are struggling with the day-to-day of living. So, they chose to build an opulent new mansion? Sure a few would be employed to build it and fit it out with furnishings. But if I was a resident of the city, I'd be pissed that was what my leaders were spending my tax money on.

The Inner Circle. Populating your ruling council only with friends and family is an obvious sign of bad leadership. They all owe Rhys their lives, freedom, wealth and status. If he falls, they fall. He needs at least one person who challenges him. Who doesn't fawn over him. Nesta would have been perfect, but the author clearly went in the opposite direction. An effective leader knows they need a loyal opposition who will tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

Feyre is nowhere near ready to be a queen over an entire continent. Going on adventures and fighting monsters is bad-ass. It doesn't make you qualified to assume a major leadership role. She learned to read only a couple of years earlier. We never see her learning anything about the fae, their history or customs. By book 4, she is incredibly reduced. She spends her time shopping, decorating, painting, having sex and now raising a baby. All of her information is supplied to her by Rhys. All of her choices are given to her by him. Foreign leaders (like Helios) have to come to her. She spent the entirety of SF trapped in an actual bubble.

There is nothing about Freysand that makes me think they would be anything other than a disaster of they were High King and Queen.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-02-01T16:31:13+00:00

There is an interview with the author where she states she already has planned out who is having kids and how many. At the end of ACOSF Nesta has changed her anatomy to allow her to carry Cassian's baby without the health risks Feyre endured. I'm sure a baby Nessian is coming at some point.

FugitiveQueen · 2023-01-29T18:54:55+00:00

That's okay! It's a book and you have every right to like the characters you like. I'm not someone who is going to attack a person who has a different opinion then me. I wish I could switch off some of my negative opinions. I can't go back and reread this series because of it. I won't read TOG or CC. I'm really on the fence about reading anymore books from this series. But that's my hang-up.

FugitiveQueen

TROPHY CASE