Dawn's Rise

Mari. 33. Belligerently Bisexual. Fandom lurker. Nesta Defender.

[gothredy]

[dreamstars]

[2utora]

[perriaeyjeve]

[sorrrowfull]

[wisteria-dawn]

AU where Feyre unfortunately dies giving birth to Nyx, and because of that absolutely ridiculous death pact she made with Rhysand, he follows her into the grave, leaving behind a broken Inner Circle and a shattered Night Court.

And because everyone is far too consumed by grief over their High Lord and Lady to properly consider what happens to Night's newest little addition, Nesta steps in as Nyx's maternal guardian and mentor. To be clear, it's not because she particularly wants the responsibility and certainly not because she has forgiven everything that's happened to her, but because Nyx is a child who has just lost both of his parents, and Nesta refuses to let him become another casualty of the adults' grief. Nyx may be the Heir of Night, but he is still an Archeron and her nephew.

So, she raises him herself.

And oh, she pours everything into him.

All the knowledge she has accumulated over the years. Every book she has ever read. Every lesson she learned the hard way. Every bit of wisdom her mother never gave her. Every lesson about power, politics, responsibility, compassion, and, most importantly, the importance of breaking the cycles that destroyed their family. Nyx grows up loved.

Nesta raises Nyx with an abundance of love, affection, and patience that would probably make her baby sister stare in disbelief if she were still alive. She teaches him that being High Lord isn't about sitting on a pretty chair while everyone else suffers on his behalf. It isn't about maintaining the appearance of a prosperous Court while ignoring the people beneath it. It isn't about surrounding himself with friends who unquestioningly praise him and calling that governance or loyalty.

It is about serving the people, growing, and not becoming stagnant.

And Nyx grows up knowing that.

He grows into a brilliant, compassionate, frighteningly capable young High Lord, not a carbon copy of his father, but someone who surpasses him. Someone who actually understands that power comes with responsibility. Someone who listens to his people instead of simply assuming he knows what is best for them. Someone who reforms the systems that have been quietly rotting beneath the Night Court's pretty facade. Nyx grows up good, kind, but unyielding and firm... And Nesta couldn't be prouder of her little starlight.

[wisteria-dawn]

You know what? I would have liked Nessian if Cassian showed even a lick of respect for Nesta's boundaries, fought hard against the intervention because he could relate to Nesta's trauma, prevented Rhys from crossing Nesta's boundaries, and actually defended her from his family's shitty attitudes. Sure, it would have caused friction between him and his brother, but siblings fight all the time, and I wouldn't like it if my supposed mate was being threatened with death by my own brother.

The friction and cracks in the Inner Circle from their cruelty towards Nesta would have made a far more interesting plot of conflict instead of that failure of an intervention and that horrifying hike. Even better, if Cassian took his head out of Rhys' perfectly bleached asshole and created a life with Nesta OUTSIDE of the Inner Circle. Just Cassian giving Nesta the space and resources to heal at her own pace without throwing a tantrum just because she doesn't give him the time of day.

[suigenerisstuff]

Orestes Pursued by the Furies (1862), William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Visit Original Link

[111dollboy]

If you don't know where you're going, any road'll take you there

[wisteria-dawn]

From now on, I’ll be referring to Feyre as poor, sweet, fragile baby Feyre, because apparently Rhys is convinced that his High Lady is far too defenseless to go toe-to-toe with her own sisters.

God forbid Feyre and Nesta have a disagreement without Rhys swooping in like an overprotective bodyguard who apparently believes she needs to be rescued from her own family. Instead of letting Feyre handle her own sisterly quarrels like the grown woman she is, he insists on inserting himself into every argument, as though Nesta is her mortal enemy plotting her downfall rather than her actual sister.

(And maybe, in his eyes, Nesta is.)

At this point, I can only assume Rhys looks at Feyre and sees a delicate little porcelain doll who must be shielded from the terrifying ordeal of… checks notes… arguing with her siblings. Because apparently, Feyre can survive curses, wars, death threats, and everything else the plot throws at her, but the moment Nesta raises her voice, suddenly it’s “YOU WILL NOT THREATEN MY MAAAAAATE!!!"

[landsccape]

[ntacidnralkaline]

sunflower fields 🌻

[mollybeenoel]

[wisteria-dawn]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more absurd I find how the whole IC treats Nesta as a whole. I'm talking about centuries-old Fae who have been around before Feyre and her sisters were a twinkle in their daddy's eye. You mean to tell me that the illustrious Inner Circle, who have centuries of experience, knowledge, and power, can't seem to control their anger when a mouthy, traumatized twenty-something sneers mean words at them? They get bent out of shape when that same newly made baby Fae expresses her dislike for them?

Given how old they are, you would think that they would be ABOVE acting like mean girls or get a fucking clue and leave Nesta be, or at least use their CENTURIES of knowledge to pool resources to help her with her trauma instead of some shitty little intervention that was really just a humiliation ritual to make her pay for hurting poor, baby, fragile Feyre and being mean to poor little meow meow Cassian. Imagine being centuries old and leagues above someone in their twenties, and you freak the fuck out when they call you a poopy head.

[silverflameataraxia]

Feyre says that very few people like Nesta. Mor says that she's a wicked monster who would thrive in the CoN, and doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. Cassian says that everyone hates her.

Meanwhile, Nesta is out here making friends like nobody's business: Gwyn, Emerie, the Valkyries, Clotho (really it feels like Nesta's befriended all the priestesses except Merrill), Bryce, Ember, Randall.

And then, of course, there's Eris, who wants to marry her after only three dances.

The IC are really the only ones who can't see how amazing Nesta is.

[silverflameataraxia]

Archery and hunting are two very different things. Nesta may have known archery, but Feyre mentioned that Nesta would accidentally scare the prey away, which is why Feyre preferred to hunt alone. This is a completely separate skill set from archery. You can know how to shoot a gun, but not be good at hunting. You can know how to kick or throw a ball but not be good at sports. Even in the Blood Rite, Nesta did not hunt. She used the bow and arrow to save Gwyn's life, but she did not use it to hunt. She stole food off of dead Illyrians, but even at the end of ACOSF, Nesta still did not possess the skills to hunt.

Nesta cooked, cleaned, did the dishes and the laundry, chopped wood, reached out to family members for financial assistance, dragged water to the house for baths, was trying to marry an abuser to keep Elain fed and to not be a burden on Feyre, and was even willing to sell her body on the streets to help her family if it came to that. Feyre did the hunting; Nesta did everything else.

[anmehe]

Devol