Via Twaniimals

I’m pretty deep in the autumn court rabbit hole so I wanted to share a few things I’ve noticed/decided on that will be included or part of Exile (which is having a name change but it’s what we’re working with atm):

The Autumn Court is likely culturally European (more specifically it is an amalgamation of Britain and France).

Why? Of all the people we know from The Autumn Court (Beron, Eris and Lucien), two out of three of those names are French and additionally Beron is also from the Old English word Baron.

Then the name Vanserra is made up of ‘Van’ and ‘Serra’.

‘Van’ can be both a given name and a Dutch prefix, ‘Van’ is a Dutch prefix meaning ‘of’ or ‘from’.

‘Van’ as a given name is derived from the English surname ‘Vance’ meaning ‘marshland’.

‘Serra’ is derived from the Latin word for ‘saw’, and later Italian.

The naming traditions in Autumn are ultimately rooted in Latin origin; as are both the French and English languages. Both are heavily reliant on Latin as the origins of the majority of their words.

Therefore culturally, I believe Autumn has a very distinct European feel (think the English and French Courts circa 1500-1600)

In terms of politics and court relations.

Aesthetically I think Autumn is once again the union of French baroque/rococo and English country manor.

Lots of greenery and sprawling gardens; jewel tones with architecture inspired by Versailles and the French Courts.

Fashion I think Autumn would favour heavier and more modest dresses that The Night Court to both accommodate the colder weather and the ceremony of court life.

Lots of Autumnal tones and colours, damask fabrics and intricate needlework.

The men all wear beautiful tunics and robes that are a mix between Tudor style doublets and the long coats of the Rococo era. & lots of riding boots.

Of course at the timeline of the acotar series Autumn still worship The Mother and the creation story involving the cauldron.

But there are those in Autumn that still worship the Old Gods or the First Gods, primordial spirits of the forest and land.

Distinctly Pagan vibes; heavily inspired by Celtic paganism & the festivals celebrated by the Romans (these two things might seem very different but share a lot in common)

Even though these Old Gods are not worshipped widely anymore in Autumn, their festivals are still a large part of the culture and way of life in Autumn.

The celebrate the equinox, solstices, and special holidays that honour specific stages of the life cycle/seasons (they celebrate, the spring, the harvest, the winter solstice, the summer solstice, and then festivals to honour the gods of the forests, and hunting goddesses)

All very nature focused and giving thanks for all the earth provides.

A lot of these festivals and the rituals performed during them is a celebration and a time to give back to the earth.

Lots of campfires and ritual dances, oracles and prophecy.

& drinking!

Oh before I forget! The Vanserra motto is ‘vulpes pilum mutat, non mores’ meaning ‘a fox may change its skin but never it’s character’

Eris’ own personal motto is ‘le tiemps viendra’ which translates to ‘the time will come’.

Lil Anne Boleyn reference there for you guys

But seriously he’s just waiting for his dad to die, or be killed.

The seven Vanserra brothers are all named; Eris, Torian, Aurin, Leon, Julien, Adrien and Lucien.

okay but like a soft dom who tells you to ask politely for what you want and tells you to use your words not because you have to earn it or they’ll deny you, but because they want so badly to give you what you want and want you to know you deserve to want. soft doms who want to give you anything and everything they just need you to tell them because they can’t read your mind. they never want to deny you, or humiliate you for what you want, they just want you to learn to voice your wants and needs without shame, even the ones that feel vulnerable. soft doms who tell you to use your words because they’re going to praise the hell out of you for setting boundaries and voicing your desires because you deserve to have them just as much as anyone else. they want you to get comfortable with asking because they want to give you every last thing your heart desires.

genuinely so fucking tired of people leveraging the "groomer" argument against people who support sex ed because scientific literature over decades shows that comprehensive sex education starting around kindergarten actually prevents children from being sexually abused and groomed because it teaches children the correct words for their body parts and also teaches them concepts of privacy, personal space, bodily autonomy, the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching, and the fact that sex is something that only adults do. children with this knowledge are not only better equipped to identify abuse and predatory behavior and communicate that its happening to a trusted adult, but also prevent it from happening in the first place by recognizing when something is happening that shouldn't.

sex education does not sexualize children, it prevents children from being sexualized. anyone who is against early foundational sex education and claims they are doing it to protect children is a fucking liar.

I didn't want to hijack some poor innocent's fashion post of Nicola Coughlan to explain this. But listennn, I know she is not a perfect canon cast or whatever. But the vibe is Elain Archeron. The vibe is Elain and the girls that get it get it.

i really love the phrase “with all due respect” because it doesn’t specify how much respect is due. could be none. bitch.

vanserra thought of the day:

eris is the son beron respects the most but likes the least

I just despise Elon Musk. I hope history remembers him as the giant, privileged, toxic, entitled douchebag he is and not this myth he has worked so hard to create about himself. He is a disgusting, despicable, garbage human.

Azriel after the mating bond finally snaps into place:

random things i hear pt 7

person 1, surprisingly sober given the question that they ask: soo... is human taxidermy... legal?

person 2: yeah, ofc, what do you think, that the wax figures in museums are actually wax?

person 3: *lets out a slight screech/scream and slams their head on their desk*

Nesta's untapped mean, sarcastic and bisexual older sibling vibe was what drew so many of us to her character and then Acosf had to wipe it all away until she became another Feyre and no, i will never stop grieving

I love this, I love you, I'm going to die mad about Nesta's entire plot being about apologizing for who she was and fucking babies.

Like yes- you are SO RIGHT. Nesta's appeal is outside those pastel lines. She's angry. She's smart. She's self aware and miserable and relatable- and yes, incandescently bisexual, thank you, yes this is in everything I write even though I consistently pair her with men.

BUT ALSO

Can we speak for a second about the fact that Nesta is literally. Supposed. to be Feyre's foil?

Two sides of a coin! Sister's who look alike, who manage to live the same experience in totally different ways, who would never make THE SAME CHOICES. The whole fucking point of their conflict is a fundamental breakdown of understanding- they start in the same place- love, because the sister's love the fuck out of each other even at their worst- and then move in opposite directions.

Their terrible, neglectful, shitty parents? Feyre enshrines them. Nesta hates them as much as she loves them. Elain? Feyre writes her off. I refuse to believe Nesta, who is her best friend?, does the same. Stupid, aggressive faery flirting? Feyre learns to play the game. Nesta's game ends in murder, given the opportunity.

The idea that there is only one happy ending: mate, marriage, babies. Is just....wild? insane? reductive?

It never surprised me that Feyre defined herself by Rhysand because Feyre...is, frankly, too young to know what to define herself by. She sticks to the same exact pattern of falling into the shadow of a shitty relationship. She doesn't have chance- he's her mate. he's her husband. he's her overlord. she works for him. she works with him. He dresses her. He plans for her. He makes her a place by his side. A promise binds her to stay- Feyre's journey is, essentially, a circle.

Nesta survived abuse exactly the same, from childhood, from a man- but the entire point of her fury, of her stubborn to the point of self-destructive attitude, is that she learned from it- she's grieving, she's angry, she's never going to allow herself to be hurt again in anyway except for pain she chooses.

That women folding in on herself?

Apologizing for herself, that it's her at all? Altering her literal body? Falling in line? Giving up what small piece of human life she had left? Bowing and begging and crying and taking any shred of affection, even laced as it is in LITERAL physical punishment??

That's not a happy ending, that's a breakdown.