Brilin - Tumblr Posts

what do you think of the tamlin and briar ship (she's the human he helped save in acowar, along with feyre, azriel, and elain)?

I have only read the first book and for the sake my brain don’t plan on continuing, but Briar interests me! I like the idea that she’s essentially (at least at this point) a blank canvas that could be explored however a writer would like. I keep a fairly open mind when it comes to writing. I’ve always enjoyed canon character / obscure or original character, too. So, I would say — bring it on.

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃 [ 🎼 ] + 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (𝟑-𝟓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒) 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐂.

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐃 [ 🎼 ] + 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 (𝟑-𝟓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒) 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐂.

Tamlin turned, visibly working to soften his expression before he spoke. He didn’t hate his title. He didn’t hate the long hours or the sacrifices he’d made. He certainly loved his people. Yet, over the last several years he had realized that he could not carry the entire kingdom on his own two shoulders. Being alone was his time of sanctuary. Having Briar see him without the stone walls which so carefully guarded his heart from the public was uncomfortable — almost unbearable. 

Yet, he struggled to move away when her soft hand rested on his arm. It wasn’t much, a simple request for attention, but it reminded him once again of just how much it ached to be alone. 

He still had Lucien, but Lucien was a mated male now and a married one. Although his fox was continually loyal and still often there on the occasion that his panic overwhelmed his sobriety, Tamlin knew that things would never be the same. 

He had Feyre, on the edge of his defenses, sitting just beyond the portcullis of his heart. There were many long, lonely nights where he nearly ended up back at her door before his common sense stepped over his bleeding heart. That would never be the same ever.

Spring would never be the same.

He would never be the same.

For the briefest of moments, his small joys of a child’s laughter and the great outdoors had been witnessed by a stranger and it hurt. 

Tamlin swallowed and stepped back, noticing, that she still had his cloak. He didn’t have the heart to ask for it back. Especially, when he could conjure another on a moment’s notice. 

“What you saw,” He said slowly. “In the garden…was not meant for your eyes. It was meant for no one but myself and that little boy.”

He spoke in a measured, tenor beat. “I have never been one formalities. I do not mind you calling me by my name. That is…its purpose. However, I cannot abide with any form of yelling as a form of communication.”

Tamlin sighed and looked up, honestly meeting her eyes, as himself, for the first time. “Please believe me that I understand your passion and I feel it. I have gone to the end of the earth for the fem— people I have loved. That little boy you saw being one of many.” 

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “I have a plan for Caiden, but it is not something I can accomplish alone, or overnight. Given the late hour of the day, I need to speak to my sentries and my emissary before anything happens further.”

“Will you meet me tomorrow?” He asked, eyebrows piquing upward. He was not just Tamlin. He was not just the High Lord of Spring. He was both. There were parts of him kept hidden away. He only hoped she was willing to listen. “After court. Before noon.”

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.” 

Whatever she was — she was astute. Somehow, she saw past his pretense. Despite how much it bothered, Tamlin had to give her credit for not being entirely wrong. She was young, barely fae, having survived cruel torture long before she had the chance to grow up. In that way, there was much they had in common, but Tamlin did not share his pain with anyone. He barely showed it to his friends. Letting others in was not an easy process and they’d gotten off to a rocky start.

He narrowed his brow when she reduced herself to simply a tavern maid. He’d been to the tavern. It was one of the few places nearby where neer-do-wells and merchants were allowed to lie their heads at night. It wasn’t the type of place that a young lady like herself should be seeking shelter — let alone raising a child. Yet, he got the feeling that passing judgement wouldn’t be helpful. Pushing his emotions into a box is what lead to her explosion of temper in the first place.

She needs empathy.

His was exhausted. Still he managed a slight smile as he took back his cloak, thankful to have the original. Tamlin pinned it over his shoulders. She looked cold. Why had the maid dressed her in such breezy clothing in early March? He carefully snapped his fingers and a warm, grey, woolen cape settled over her shoulders. “I’m on my way out past the village. Would you like me to walk you home?”

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.” 

Obligated? Irritating? An annoyance? A disruption? Tamlin’s face fell, almost instantly into genuine shock, if not sadness. He felt his heart speed up in his chest as she walked away, so terribly small in the daunting darkness. No, no, no. I am not that bad at this!

How can I be giving all that I am and it never be enough?

His frustration surged and his fists tightened, but another question lingered in his mind. Am I? Is that truly all I have to give?

A lack of cruelty is not a kindness. His mother had once said. Her appeal had fallen on empty ears and slid down his stone walls like storms.

Why? Why do I always have to be the bigger person? Why was I given so much weight to bear?

Tamlin lingered in the doorway and motioned a sentry to follow Briar from a polite distance. A rough start was right and it had certainly not been completely on her. If anything, all of the flack should fall upon him. He was the leader. He was the example. He was the one they all looked to when hope was gone.

What about when my hope is gone? Tamlin lowered himself to the stone steps and conjured a small ball of light into his fingers, forming it into the shape of a small bird. He blew the embers into the darkness and the followed the last that he could see of her as she disappeared.

Hope was a fragile flame. It could burn out. He was close to the end of the line, himself. If he did not sleep, tomorrow would only be worse. He hugged his cloak tightly to his body and ventured up the dark staircase. It smelled faintly of blueberries and vanilla — like the pancakes his mother used to make on hard days. Tamlin lay down on his cold bed and curled his knees to his chest, fully wrapped in his cloak. For the first time in many weeks, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with no dreams.

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.” 

While Briar worked, Tamlin simply slept. He closed his eyes and his body fell into the smooth rhythm of rest for the first time in over a year. His shoulders rose and fell evenly and the hours of the night ticked by in silence without a single terror awaking him from his slumber. 

Slowly, morning light peeked through the dark green curtains and fell across his face. Tamlin covered his eyes and rolled over, ignoring the coming of day. He slept on until the heat of noon began warming his room and the weight of his cloak grew heavy. The chimes of the clock in the main hall declared the hour and drew him from his daze.

He sat up, dizzy and dry-mouthed. How long had it been since he’d slept so well? The haze of sleep still surrounded the High Lord as he glanced at time. 

It was twelve-oh-five.

I missed court. I slept through court. 

Tamlin nervously bit at his nails, while he rushed through the room in search of his shoes. By the cauldron! Briar! I’m late. I’m so late. She’s going to yell at me again, isn’t she? 

Tamlin muttered a few select curse words in high fae beneath his breath as he hurried down one of the three long hallways towards his office. He didn’t even have time to take a glance at himself in the mirror. His hair was disheveled and his boyhood cowlick jumped from his blonde locks, untamed. His clothes were clean, but wrinkled, and his cloak askew from using it as a blanket the night before. 

Luckily, he still had his common sense. He swept a hand over his clothes and smoothed the wrinkles as he turned his personal door to the office. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to fix his hair, or calm the raw anxiety carefully hidden in his green eyes. 

As he passed through the door, he saw Briar waiting calmly in her chair. How long has she been here? 

Tamlin, once again, glanced at the time. Twelve-oh-nine. Nine minutes was not bad, but considering he could winnow, it was still very late. He cleared his throat. “My apologies, Lady Briar; both for my tardiness and my manners yesterday. I have been,”

He gestured to the giant stacks of paper around him. “A little overwhelmed lately.” 

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.” 

Tamlin stopped listening halfway through Briar’s spiel about his heroism. He appreciated the gesture, he did, but being told he was heroic when the only thought on his mind had been bringing Feyre home was humiliating. It was genuinely the least he could do, wasn’t it? He’d moved fire and earth for her and so many people had been hurt in the process. At least Briar was still alive. There were plenty of others whom he’d buried. Sometimes, he didn’t think others understood just how many friends he’d buried, just how much love he’d left behind, but just how little he had left to lose. 

Tamlin let her trail behind him, but kept his footsteps brisk in the underbrush. He kept his eyes trained in front of him, watching for stray animals. He didn’t like hunting, nor killing; but he needed to consider the fact that in two days time they would be returning on this path with a child in tow. 

He could tell she was having a hard time without being told. He wasn’t blind, but sometimes he did like to close his eyes. The darkness beneath them was more comfortable than the darkness around him. Her stubborn words and continual defense of his character were the daylight glaring as he woke. It was uncomfortable and all he knew to do was shut his mouth and look away. 

The loop around the campsite was brief, but Tamlin kept it that way for her sake. He would have waited hours in the woods if he’d known she would fall asleep on her own. He wasn’t likely to sleep, either; but he wasn’t going to baby her. She was an adult woman who was about to adopt a child. Night terrors existed and Briar would have to find a way through hers without holding his hand. 

He paced back to camp in complete silence, cutting her off. His refusal to communicate under pressure wasn’t healthy and he knew that, but that didn’t make him want to change it. Tamlin carefully held open the flap of her tent and jerked his head towards the cot and lantern waiting inside. “Dawn will be here before we know it.” 

He began stalking back to his own tent, a few paces away, but did something foolish first and looked over his shoulder. She stood shivering in the cold, despite the warm cloak he’d made her. It isn’t truly cold. She’s…just afraid. 

He flinched and reached into his pocket, holding out a small bottle of remedy for his own night terrors. It was more important that she rest. She was the only one who knew what kid they were looking for, after all. Tamlin nodded, hesitantly. “Here. It helps.”

As for him? He’d survive. He always did. He was five hundred years older than her and there were very few demons of the night that he hadn’t already fought. “Do try to sleep. Long day ahead tomorrow.”

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."

Tamlin tried desperately to anchor himself to the present moment as the terrible dreams of everyone he loved being ripped from his arms emerged from his slumber to stab his heart once again. His shoulders shook in a cold sweat and the haze of sleep lingered over his muscular form, keeping him halfway inside the moment of Eiley’s death. His hands were slick with sweat and he stared down at them in horror, trying to mitigate the flashing images of blood flowing across his palms.

Briar ducked into his tent and Tamlin did not respond right away. His wide eyes stared into the open darkness as he began to hyperventilate. Brown hair, light eyes — he shoved the knife aside, pounding his head into his fists. “Dead. Dead. Dead! You are dead!”

Tamlin inched away, clearly both drawn towards and frightened of her presence. He squeezed his arms around his limbs, going utterly still. His muscles twitched with the energy that flooded them, but his willpower met adrenaline and he refused to look weak.

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."

Comfort. Briar grabbed his hands and Tamlin felt a surge of warmth fill him. It was like draining a cup of tea to its dregs on a cold night, or a hug from the distant past. It was something he did not feel often and had never felt in Eiley’s presence. Everything in that had revolved around her needs and her desires and he remembered struggling to keep his head above water, just to please her. He tried to force words from his mouth, but could not speak. His eyes frantically fell on the lavender one and he nodded rapidly.

Only ever Lucien had seen him in such a state before. Tamlin’s hands were quivering as he accepted the tiny vial and downed it in one shot. Normally, it felt soothing within seconds. When nothing happened, his eyes darted up to her face, somehow so calm and gentle in the midst of his terror. It’s…not working.

He folded in on himself, again, squeezing the plush toy between his hands with no mercy. His magic was at risk too. If her magical panic had been strong, his could level ground. She needed to get away from him. He remembered watching windows shatter in the manor on nights like this. He shooed her away with a reluctant push of his foot against her leg. Yet, she didn’t leave.

When his bare foot hit her knee, Tamlin felt the flood of relief from his tonic finally set in. His shoulders relaxed and he fell forwards, leaning his head on her lap. She should go. This isn’t over. She should go.

Tamlin inhaled and exhaled with a slow shudder, pressing his eyes closed as the realization that he could not speak set in.

If they hadn’t struggled to communicate when he could talk, unwillingly, what would she think now?

Treacherous | Tamlin & Briar @thehighlordofspring

"Tamlin, wait--", she calls out softly as he heads toward his tent. She scrambles to her feet and rubs her arms a bit, picking up her cloak from where it fell on the ground.

"I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Lilly and me and the rest of The Blessed...we planned that trek. We went in the middle of the night. We climbed up the wall. It was our own actions that got us spotted by Hybern. Campfires and laughter...joy. We foolishly made ourselves targets. Regardless of anything happening on your side. He took us. He jailed us. He tortured us. And he used the Cauldron and killed us. Not you."

Taking a few steps closer, she raises her chin to meet his gaze. "You had nothing to do with that. You are a protector and a leader, and you would never let that happen to anyone if you could prevent it. When I was the last one left, shaking in that cell from shock and blood loss...you didn't walk by." She swallows hard. "You didn't...gawk or enjoy the sight of my pain or my ripped scraps of clothing. He could have killed you if he found out you were a plant and not an ally. And you still risked taking away my pain. So I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself for what I went through. Okay? Promise me."

She holds his gaze, unwaveringly. "You did not condemn me. You are my savior. And one day...perhaps my friend. I didn't really have any stock in being human either. Both ways...my mom and my friends are dead. Lilly is dead", she says quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I leaned on her too much in my grief when I lost my mother. She became my next everything, her and Caedin when he was born. I even helped deliver him, actually. And even though we had other friends...we were the closest. Like sisters, as I mentioned. Family by choice, not blood."

She sighs sadly. "I suppose now I have an eternity to maybe befriend others and attempt to try and live with myself. Being the one that lived, when she should be here to raise her son...the way he lost them both...", her throat bobs. "I'll make sure he has everything and knows about her...how much she loved him and wanted this amazing life for him. And I-I'll give him that. However I can. At least, if I can make it through the night here."

Her eyes shutter. "Hybern snatched us in our tents. In the forest. At night. So I... I'm having a really hard time right now. My brain knows he's dead. Obviously. But my body and my magic doesnt get the message that I'm safe, so...it's in total breakdown mode," she scoffs as she tries to hold back tears. "I will do my very best to stay quiet for you. So at least one of us can sleep."

Tamlin and Briar for @goforth-ladymidnight for the ACOTAR Secret Santa 2022 gift exchange @acotargiftexchange

I must admit that I was quite stressed out over how this work would end up looking, primerly because I'm not too used on drawing backrounds, but I actually think I'm quite satisfied with it! I had so much fun being the secret santa for @goforth-ladymidnight, who is a lovely soul and gave me a ton of ideas for how to visualize Briar and Tamlin for her. Please make sure to check out her fic A Garden of Thorns if you would like to read more about the pair, she's one of the most talented writers who's work I had the pleasure of reading so far in the actoar fandom.

Art by me (vivictory_draws on Instagram). Please do not repost without my permission, but likes and reblogs are very much appreciated.

I honestly cant think of a more crrative caption but here is furrycon attendee Beast Tamlin for @tamlinweek2023 Day 1: Beast

Art by me/@/vivictory_draws on ig

For @tamlinweek2023 Day 6: Second Chances, I choose to focus on the possibility of Tamlin having a "second chance" at love, with Briar. Also shadows don't matter, actually

Art by me/vivictory_draws on ig

Please do not repost my art, or use it in any AI program

I heard that it's @tamlinweek and thus I had to draw the obligatory Brilin art piece... This was originally intended for Day 3 or 4 (Mates or Happily Ever After, respectevly), but I unfortunately couldn't finish it in time for either. Well, I suppose that by posting it for Day 6: Dreams, I can also use it as an excuse to promo my brilin fic as well.

✨please do not repost or use in any AI programs✨