Torchwood-99

The Valkyries are my favorite found family in acotar they are just amazing 😍

𝐆𝐰𝐲𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 - 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟔

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 🌌🌊 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯

𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘴

No AI or anti content

But that's not what happened.

Nesta made a bargain with Cassian where her magic chose the sign of the Starborn. Nesta now wields Gwydion, the sword of the Starborn.

But something that genuinely fascinates me is the way the fandom talks about Nesta’s role in the future narrative.

Apparently every main ship still has “important future storylines,” every character is secretly the chosen one for something, every theory somehow revolves around Elain, Azriel, Lucien, Bryce, Gwyn, Feyre… or basically anyone else.

And I genuinely do not understand HOW people reached that conclusion when SJM keeps directly tying major narrative elements to Nesta.

Claiming the Dread Trove? Apparently irrelevant now.

Being repeatedly associated with the Mother and fate? Doesn’t matter.

Having one of the strongest reactions to the Prison in the entire series? Nope, that belongs to Bryce now.

Feeling something ancient calling to her from the Prison? Immediately forgotten because Elain mentioned the Prison once.

Bryce literally handing Gwydion to Nesta? Somehow that STILL becomes: “Well actually, the sword is probably for Elain/Azriel/Lucien/Feyre.”

Nesta mastering the Harp, the literal object tied to space, worlds, and reality? Nope, fandom theories immediately reassign that to somebody else too

And this keeps happening over and over again.

Every storyline connected to Nesta gets reframed as setup for another character.

At a certain point, it genuinely starts feeling like part of the fandom sees Nesta less as a protagonist and more as a narrative stepping stone for everyone else.

Which is wild because if NONE of these storylines are actually meant for Nesta… then what exactly is her role in the series supposed to be?

SO WITH ALL THAT IN MIND, I HAVE CREATED THE PERFECT NESTA NARRATIVE:

Honestly, if everyone is so convinced Nesta no longer “needs” an important role, then she should just grab a backpack and go explore the ACOTAR world.

And I’m being completely serious when I say that book would instantly become my favorite in the series.

Just Nesta traveling through Prythian and beyond, wandering through forgotten territories, ancient ruins, abandoned courts, human lands, libraries filled with cursed knowledge, interacting with strange magic, accidentally uncovering terrifying secrets, getting dragged into political disasters against her will, threatening rude men in random taverns, drinking expensive wine she absolutely did not pay for, and discovering how enormous and ancient this world truly is outside Velaris.

Nesta would honestly be the PERFECT character to explore that side of the universe.

She questions things, resists narratives, notices uncomfortable truths, challenges authority, and is naturally drawn toward hidden or dangerous things.

She just needs to make sure Cassian does NOT follow her because that man can somehow turn everything into either a walk of shame or a conversation about himself, and Azriel absolutely cannot pack her travel bag 😭

At this point, Indiana Jones Nesta of Prythian would genuinely be a massive success.

Not even Azriel knows about Truth-teller and its "true" powers.

But later we learn how to actually "activate" the knife and Bryce is the only person who did it.

That is truth-tellers "true" power. You have to combine it with the sword through the power of starlight in order to create a portal to nowhere.

What did Elain do with it? She just stabbed the King of Hybern.

When Azriel told Vesperus that he'll stab her, she mocked him for being unimaginative. The theory that Elain wielded the shadows and teleported is pure e/riel fanon, because nowhere in canon is it confirmed that the knife can do that.

The shadows are Azriel's power and they have nothing to do with the knife as of now. He is a shadowsinger whether he has the knife or not, a power he gained from his childhood trauma, not connected to Elain whatsoever.

Now, is it possible that truth-teller has more powers than we know of? Yes, but as of now that's just theories.

Nesta Archeron | Dusk Court

“Showing a masked queen, a crown upon her head, bearing instruments in her hand and standing before an adoring crowd. Behind her, a great mountaintop palace rose toward the sky, winged horses soaring among the clouds. No doubt some religious iconography of her divine right to rule. Beyond the mountaintop palace, a lush archipelago spread into the distance, rendered with remarkable detail and skill.” | House of Flame and Shadow

Art by: meoowwxx

Commissioned by: melphsreads & valkyriesflame

And honestly? I think that's a huge part of why Nesta gets under their skin so badly.

They see someone who is deeply flawed, defensive, traumatized, and capable of being absolutely vicious when she feels cornered. Traits that the Inner Circle, in all their centuries of existence, have. The difference is that they prefer to bury those traits, something Nesta refuses to do because she's a young woman caught up in all this craziness, and, oh, Nesta doesn't worship them the ground they walk on. Her ultimate crime.

Nesta doesn't automatically accept their authority. She doesn't think they're morally superior because they're powerful, immortal, beautiful, or beloved by poor, sweet, fragile, baby Feyre. She doesn't conveniently turn every cruel thing they do into evidence of how "noble" they are. And, perhaps most importantly, she doesn't make them feel comfortable about themselves.

So she becomes the scapegoat.

Every ugly emotion gets dumped onto her. Every wound Feyre suffers gets traced back to her. Every uncomfortable truth she points out becomes another reason she's supposedly "difficult." Because it's much easier to make Nesta the designated problem than it is to admit that the people doing the judging might not be as righteous as they think they are.

And there's something almost darkly ironic about the fact that the Inner Circle can tolerate monsters, murderers, torturers, manipulators, war criminals, and people who've done genuinely horrific things, as long as those people are their people. But Nesta? Nesta is expected to grovel and work her hands to the bone to earn back forgiveness.

She is expected to be grateful.

Lucien isn't Autumn Court anymore? No problem, he'll be chilling over in the Day Court.

Take away his Day Court parentage? No problem, he's hanging out with Vassa and Jurian in the Human Lands waiting to go against Koschei.

No? No Band of Exiles? Guess he can be back in Spring, where he spent most of his life as the High Lord's right hand.

Tamlin doesn't want to be allow Lucien in Spring anymore? Aight, find him in the Night Court being employed (some people could never) and his mate is the High Lady's sister.

Yeah, I'd hate him too 🤣

Elriel isn’t new, they’ve had “four books of buildup”. Elucien has had since the mating bond snapped.

But Gwynriel is a SF discovery. It’s very much new. And with the question of POVs, it could very well be Vassa and Jurian, or even Emerie and Mor (if we end up with her pov).