#fainne

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

“As a child, I would have done anything to take away his sadness, to bring that rare smile to his lips, and yet, when this mood was on him, he would shrug off touch, would cut short my anxious queries. Later he would do his best to make up for it, sharing a tale by the fire, listening patiently as I recounted the small events of my day. I had longed to make his world right, and had known I could not. My love for him had coloured my life then, and it did so still. It was my grandmother’s strongest weapon, and it bound me to shadows and betrayal.”

Oh Fainne. She loves her father so much and would do anything for him.😭 I also feel sorry for her, though. It would’ve been so hard having to grow up with a father who is very clearly clinically depressed. I mean, it’s clear that Ciaran was trying his best, but it still must suck for Fainne to see him so depressed and be unable to help him at all.

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

I really feel for Fainne, who is clearly very introverted, being forced to be among people even when she would rather be alone. Especially the moments when Peg and Aisling insist on her being among people even when she is clearly uncomfortable doing so. They clearly mean well, but forcing her when she doesn’t want it doesn’t seem like a good idea and ignores what Fainne would want and be comfortable with.

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

Sean and Conor’s conversations with Fainne when she first arrives at Sevenwaters really shows that she would never be able to truly fit into the Sevenwaters family, no matter how many times they claimed to accept her.

They likely meant well, but talking about how Niamh and Ciaran’s relationship was a mistake and explaining how they were keeping it secret because it was “too shameful”, right in front of Fainne, the daughter of that very union is really shitty and insensitive. And worse, they tell her that they will have to come up with a fake cover story to explain her origin to other people who don’t know the truth because they are trying to keep it a secret because they consider it too “shameful” to reveal to everyone.

Like, imagine coming to Sevenwaters as a long-lost daughter/niece and one of the first things your new family tells you is that you have to lie about your origin because they are keeping your parents’ union secret due to it being considered shameful. Poor Fainne.

[starsuncounted]

cast upon a barren land, a far-off distant shore

Sevenwaters series, Darragh/Fainne, M, 5.7k. An additional epilogue, in which feelings are fully expressed and given into, and griefs are shared and laid to rest.

Darragh shivered hard against me as I led him up the rough-hewn steps to our new home. A fine mist began to fall, and the sky grew suddenly darker as clouds scudded over the light of the newly risen moon. The air quickly grew chill. Muttering a charm under my breath, I cast my free hand up and a ball of fire flared to life above my palm to light the way, bobbing alongside us as we stumbled up the steps. 

The mist soon turned into cold rain, reminding us that it was still only early spring and winter was not so far behind us as to not still nip at the air. As the rain sliced down around us, the stones grew slick and treacherous beneath my feet. I tripped several times and nearly took Darragh down with me. 

I was breathless by the time we reached the plateau at the top, and Darragh was leaning hard against me, shuddering despite the shawl I had wrapped around his shoulders.

“Through here,” I said, leading him to the crack in the rock wall that opened into the great chamber. It was a sign of his great discomfort that he didn’t marvel at the strangeness of the opening, the impossibility of something habitable existing within the rock wall when we were perched upon such a small plateau of rock, high above the rest of the island. Darragh followed me silently. His teeth chattered audibly.

Read the rest on AO3.

[violetcancerian]

Sean of Sevenwaters is NOT having any of your creepy advances on his niece, Eamonn!

[ravenlesslangblr]

Look what came in the mail today! 

 I was told by two people already to get one, one being my Irish teacher. I’m still not feeling very confident about it but hey, it doesn’t only show fluency but mainly willingness to speak. 

 So I may just as well wear it and be proud!

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

I really appreciate Fainne and Darragh’s romance more now than I did years ago. Darragh is so sweet to Fainne and gentle with her and their story is beautifully bittersweet. I like that a lot more now.

[hannahlysing]

When I was a teenager The Sevenwaters trilogy was my favourite series of books, for years. I made all my friends read them. I loved how each of the three books had a different female protagonist. Each was incredibly strong in her own way. Each faced unique challenges and won through because of endurance and determination. Rereading them now, I can't help but pick apart everything and feel uncomfortable about a lot of gender and race things. Each of the love interests has some really questionable moments. But, I'll always have love for each of the girls. Sorcha, Liadan, Fainne. One thing that always troubled me, was that my favourite protagonist, Fainne, was almost universally disliked by my friends. These same friends liked Bran best of all three love interests. That seemed hypocritical. Bran was the most anti-heroic of all the Sevenwaters men. He was an outlaw, rather misogynistic, but he had such a tragic back story, and he loved Liadan so so much. Then you have Fainne, a rare female anti-heroine. Tragic back story, disabled, powerful, an abuse survivor who has to deal with brainwashing and manipulation. Yes she is set against the good guys, and yes her actions lead to terrible things. She also recognizes what she does wrong, she lives with self loathing and fear, and she still manages to sacrifice literally everything, even an easy death, to save the day. I love Sorcha and Liadan, but each of them knew their paths from the get go. They had the guaranteed love and support of their family, and a legacy as the heart of their house. Fainne had her father and Darragh, and her whole life was based on the lie that she could never belong and never be loved. Despite the sacrifices she made, no one was going to remember her name, or tell her story. It always seemed unfair to me that Fainne gave up so much, saved the whole world, and no one at Sevenwaters understood how much it cost her.