#web: d20

[swallowtailed]

thinking about rue, growing up in the court of wonder, the only home they had. maybe the only home they’d ever known. (how young were they when they were taken? there are stories of children snatched from cradles, cubs taken from nests.) and thinking about rue’s quiet pride watching wuvvy transform--she’s getting better at her glamours. wuvvy wasn’t always of the court of wonder. but the mask can be learned.

thinking about rue, gawky and young, learning magic. trying on the mask, and finding that it fits. and feeling like they fit, for the first time, in the place they call home. that must have been all they wanted. as soon as they noticed they weren’t quite right, they taught themself to blend in.

nobody seems to remember their true form. it’s a shock and a scandal when they reveal it. they’ve been master of ceremonies for millennia. eons.

i wonder how long it’s been since rue last took the glamour off.

i think it’s been a very long time.

[hadley-hills]

A Court of Fey and Flowers is the first time I’ve ever really resonated with such a numerous ship. Like, I love poly ships and reading about them, but I’ve never actually shipped more then three people.

But for this? I ship everyone. I just want everyone to get together with each other. I love this shit so much. My heart is going to explode.

[lucretiastanblog-blog]

if lucretia brockhollow has million number of fans i am one of them. if lucretia has ten fans i am one of them. if lucretia has no fans. that means i am no more on the earth. if world against lucretia, i am against the world. i love lucretia till my last breath... die hard fan of lucretia. Hit like if u think lucretia best & smart in the world

[swallowtailed]

i’m thinking about the beauty and the beast comparisons with rue and hob respectively, and i think i’d actually do it the other way round. rue is high fashion and hob routinely covers himself in mud, but their roles are reversed. rue is the beast—the proud, lonely host, bound by laws they’ve given up on breaking. hob is beauty—the outspoken guest, misunderstood by his court, who sees rue as more than their role and offers them an escape.

[swallowtailed]

hob goes to duel apollo and rue stops him and gives him their favor (a peony), and hob sees it for the declaration of love it is but also kind of knows he shouldn’t wear the favor of another court into a duel, so he keeps holding very tender eye contact with rue as he puts the peony in his mouth and eats it

[swallowtailed]

the thing about the offers made to rue and hob in this episode:

at the beginning of the bloom? they would’ve taken those offers in a heartbeat. it’s perfect for each of them--granting the things they lack and yearn for. hob rises in the ranks, gets to be part of a diplomatic bond for his court, gets to dedicate his life to his service. rue will never be doubted, never thought of as lesser, never cast aside, as they subsume their physical form fully into their court. they’ve each proven themselves! they’re accepted, they’re valued, they’re safe.

but now?

rue makes a stand against the chorus and glories in their true form. hob starts to confess his love, lets it slip out into the world. they reach out to their friends. they think of each other. they don’t need those offers anymore.

[swallowtailed]

so binx’s black apples probably grow on the tree of the last weaver of fate, right

[swallowtailed]

the thing about binx that breaks my heart a little is: gwyndolin was pitched as just kind of all the fairytale princesses, and binx is clearly... not that. but this is still a story about fey. this is still a story about stories. this is still fairyland.

we learn now that binx’s court’s magic comes from love and community. they need people around them. so, when all else was lost, she turned to the mortal realm, where her court is known. and they found a family to stick by them, remember them, depend on them.

binx survives because her friends believe in fairies.