#Still wondering how SJM got away with this

[thecatsaesthetics]

I want to point out something interesting about Rhys in the Azriel bonus chapter:

Azriel does not speak of his love for Elain, and I’m not saying he doesn’t. But when you look at this scene from Rhys POV he probably isn’t picking up that Azriel is in love with Elain.

His first reaction to Azriel bringing up the mating bond is “what of Mor”, remember Rhys told Feyre he believes Azriel has wondered since the day he met Mor why a mating bond didn’t snap between them. From Rhys POV, Azriel has been pining away after Mor and has wanted to be Mor’s mate for 500+ years. Azriel has zero response to his question about Mor.

Second when he brings up the three brothers and three sisters thing, Rhys responses with “you believe you deserve to be her mate” not want to be her mate, deserve. Again Azriel doesn’t clarify this and just goes on about how Lucien is not good enough for her.

This makes Rhys final line about how he’ll seduce her away way more understandable. Rhys likely only sees this as Azriel viewing Elain as some sort of consultation prize for not getting Mor, not that he truly loves Elain (again not saying he doesn’t, I’m looking at Rhys POV). Rhys also has experience in believing his mate would be the “prize” of another male.

So I don’t think Rhys knows or got how deeply Azriel felt based on this scene. I think the scene would have been different if Azriel was more open about his feelings towards Elain. But I think SJMs saving that for the next book.

I also think it’s wrong to judge Rhys for saying Azriel needs to stay away, because from his POV Azriel is still hung up on Mor and believes Elain is some consultation prize. I am sure once Rhys learns Azriel’s real feelings for Elain he will be supportive, he simply doesn’t know the gravity of Elain and Azriel’s feelings.

[acourtofthought]

And as a side note, my own theory is that you want to connect Lucien to Gwydion because you realise how important Truth-Teller and Gwydion/Starsword (and the prophecy) will be in future ACOTAR books, including Elain’s.

Especially knowing that the weapons likely tie into the Dusk Court, which Elain herself is connected to. There are three sister peaks in Prythian: UTM, which Feyre conquered, Ramiel, which Nesta conquered, and the Prison Island mountain… left for Elain. As I’m sure you know, the Prison Island mountain is the Dusk Court.

Then let’s recall how SJM described the scene where Azriel gives Elain Truth-Teller:

“Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade. I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife.”

Light and dark… is dusk.

Elain and Azriel are the two characters most connected to the Dusk Court (aside from Bryce)… not Gwyn or Lucien.

Sure, that could change, but with CC3 dropping soon… I doubt it 🤭

And here it is, if it's not a Bryce and Az shipper it's an Elriel.

You realize what SJM is saying with that scene right?

Elain is Spring and blooming LIFE, Az is Death and the ONLY thing connecting them is that knife in that moment, which she then gave back and didn't look back. They have nothing in common, that is what the author is telling us. Why would Elain have ANYTHING to do with a sword when SJM made it clear she doesn't like weapons and cruelty bothers her? YOU are rewriting her character completely and that's so extremely strange to me. I'm guessing you only like Elain if she becomes the K-Mart version of her already warrior sisters and Nesta's already warrior friends. There's a reason neither Nesta or Elain showed interest in learning to fight in ACOWAR yet only one sister agreed to wear the leathers and took a weapon without convincing. That my friend, was a clue. Did you read TOG? Did you take note how Yrene was able to remain a healer without becoming a sword wielding warrior?

It's extremely funny how in your last post you went hard-core on me taking the sword away from Bryce for Lucien while you're fine with it if it ends up with Elain and Az 🤔

Your version of Elain in Dusk with a sword / dagger to be Az's match is proof she doesn't match Az as she is, she'd have to sacrifice parts of herself. You're turning her into the one who is already hinted at being his mate.

Words, what are you doing in my mouth?! (ahhh, you put them there).

Gwydion is not hugely important aside from what it represents to the fae and their history, I'm not sure why you're assuming I think it's the key to the future of the series. Truth be told, I rarely think much about Gwydion because it's one sword out of many and SJM never makes a single weapon the savior of all (most of my theories were about Az giving TT to Bryce though I'm not sure I see that happening anymore).

To me, Gwydion is still just a sword just as Ataraxia is still just a sword.

Nesta is not powerful because of the sword she has just like Bryce is not powerful whether or not she keeps Gwydion just like the one who gets Gwydion isn't going to be the most special of all.

Sure these are Made weapons and yes they will be important in battle, just like if they call Narben from the sea but do they really and truly need them when they all have magic and can just destroy people with blasts of magic? When they have the mask and the crown?

Lucien doesn't necessarily need Gwydion to be powerful, he commanded Cassian with a single word (just like Az doesn't need TT and TT alone to save anyone). Not to mention Lucien already has a pretty fancy collection of weapons (remember the jeweled one? I wonder where he got it... hmmmm, maybe family heirlooms? Ones not stolen by a certain queen and general?)

These weapons are simply relics of their history and while they are meaningful because they were weapons that are what their ancestors used long ago, I doubt SJM will write it so her heros and heroines are worthless without them. That only the people with made swords are the important ones. SJM typically gives even the unlikeliest of her characters big roles in the war (Yrene anyone?).

Fionn didn't win the war single handedly with Gwydion. Also, Ataraxia is made as Gwydion was made. So based on your logic that Gwydion is the key to everything...... Why? Gwydion is almost redundant at this point. It's not really about it being one of its kind anymore so much as what it represented to the fae in Prythian millennia ago.

The big difference is that Gwydion does not have the dark history of Narben or even the fact that Ataraxia was made with Nesta's death powers, it's a saviors light and I'm sorry but if you think that means Az deserves it or your dark version of Elain deserves it ..... 😬

Gwydion, "savior's light", and fun fact, Lucien's name means "light" and SJM has made it a point to reference Lucien's "goodness" on a few occasions.

Az not caring whether he kills an ally doesn't really strike me as someone who would be granted a sword dubbed "savior's light".

That's once again assigning characteristics to characters who don't fit the profile.

I'm sure all these made weapons will eventually be used in battle, that Narben will also make a reappearance but I think you're putting way too much on Gwydion being the most important thing ever.

Just like Captain America's shield isn't the main thing that makes him him, it just completes the imagery.

Just like Thors hammer wasn't the source of his power but a way to channel it which he learned how to do without it.

I wasn't desperate to connect Lucien to Gwydion because I strongly feel Lucien is going to be High King during the war with or without it, I've always thought that.

I don't think Lucien is going to rule over all the courts, simply unite them during war.

This all came about a few days ago when I was chatting with a friend and had a random thought which is what spun my wheels:

I was messing around and joking with someone and I turned it into a "crazy theory" which I admitted.

And Lucien is actually more connected to dusk than Elain considering Helions connection to the Mask, and the fact that he owns the Pegasus which are originally from the Dusk Court. Helion is his father so.....

Considering Elain's scent is a promise of Spring and Spring had been MADE for someone like her, I'd say you are the one trying to fit the square peg into the round hole with Elain now being connected to the Dusk Court in any way that means she belongs there.

And the Dusk Court is THE PRISON. WHY OH WHY are people convinced there's going to be homes and a city suddenly built up on this land in the very next book?! Something like that would take time. 😂. And Az can't even talk to people outside the IC, he would honestly be the worst ruler ever and that's no shade to Az, he's got his strengths. But let's be for real. He likes his space and his shadows and he doesn't play well with others.

P.s. To your other post, I'm not sure why you keep choosing to ignore that Fionn is known for his heroic deeds. Again, any connection to leading the wild hunt in his lore (where he wasn't even the bad guy) is not something that makes him a monster in acotar just like Rhys isn't actually Hades kidnapping a bride of spring. SJM is using the imagery and loose ideas, not everything is a perfect match. You have to know that by now instead of acting like all pieces line up as a perfect match.

"Mythological HEROS"

Heros are the good guys, just in case you're confused

In Blodeuwedd, the guy that would be Az's character ends up murdered for what he did wrong to Lleu (Lucien). Does that make Az the bad guy in ACOTAR?

And once again:

“I rode in the Wild Hunt before you were even a scrap of existence, witch from Oorid. I summoned the hounds and the world cowered at their baying. I galloped at the head of the Hunt, and Fae and beast bowed before us.”

Lanthys told us he rode at the head of the Hunt and Fae bowed before him

You have a nice day now! Really looking forward to seeing your reaction after CC3 and the next ACOTAR book 😁

[freyjas-musings]

In regards to the influencer post about getting hate: forreal, this is the first book release that I’ve been a part of the fandom for and the behavior of some people really ruins the experience.

So many hateful comments, unnecessarily starting fights with strangers on both Instagram and TikTok (and I’m lowkey pissed bc the Today Show is intentionally feeding the arguments to boost their posts)

And people can claim it’s Gwynriels all they want but the ONLY hateful comments I can find are E/riels. I wish Sarah wouldn’t bait people to start arguments (girl knows what she’s doing in those interviews) but I’m a little heartbroken because I got into these books because they gave me hope and I thought others felt the same.

Attacking people on Instagram, tumblr, and TikTok just because they ship differently than you is CRAZY. And the hate towards Gwyn is sad, she’s objectively a wonderful character😅

I hope SJM sees the hate E/riels spew.

All of what you said Anon is pretty spot on with how I feel too. Bullying is never ok and what makes the entire case with the influencer terrible is that the girl literally has nothing to do with the fandom or the ship war so these lunatics could have left her alone. As far as SJM knowing I am sure she does especially given her best friend has been harassed by Elriels.

She does look like a nerdy modern Gwyn!!!

With the Today Show interviews , to be fair literally nothing changed in terms of what we already know. It still made it pretty obvious it is Azriels book and that he does mostly have a mate, here is the key thing people miss.... Elucien's bond being accepted or rejected has nothing to do with Gwynriel.... Az wants a mate and if that mate is Gwyn they are endgame simple as that ....

If it was Elains book Lucien would have been mentioned in some capacity but that never happened , it was Elain and Gwyn with Az as the focus thereby further proving it is Azriels book . We also know Azriels feelings for Elain were never really deep. So, I have no doubt that Gwynriel is end game , how can anyone refute Canon info?

The hate towards both Elain and Gwyn is unnecessary. I am not a fan of Elain but I would never relentlessly make shit posts about her. She is not a character I prefer and indifference is as far as I would go.

Yes, I am disappointed that the interview did fuel the ship war , we all beat our chest and spill our hearts when two fictional females are being put against each other.... Yet here we now have two groups of real young women who have been pit against each other , it goes against everything I believe in, this fandom has basically fostered the most unhealthy environment of women pulling other women down... We are never going to win the battle with Feminism aka equality if we keep being each others enemies instead of atleast tolerating one another enough to grant dignity and respect ... and I was upset for all sides and this the truth....

These are young impressionable women and the publisher is most certainly taking advantage of the passion they have .... If the book is only a year away like they claim they could have just said whose book is next so people had time to process and get on board. Would the publisher have kept the news on who the book is about if it wasn't for the ship war? I think we all know the answer to that.

I am sorry this has been your first experience with the fandom and while I understand it's been hard I would request you to hang in there because there is a wonderful side to this fandom too, one that you will see during events , with friends and we are also officially entering the ACOTAR Era and its going to be exciting 🤗

[ae-neon]

You know amidst all the wonderful discussions we have had in our small corner of the acotar community, a thing that has been on my mind since I've first joined and got invested in all of this in back in 2021, is the thing about the Archeron sister's transformation into fae and the aftermath of it. And my deep disappointment that the author like many other things in her books overlooks or only once briefly touchs upon. Like maybe it's partly because I have read admittedly a lot of vampire turning stories on where they have to adjust to their new reality, but realistically I think that all of the sisters shouldn't have accepted their circumstances that quickly. Like, the humans grew up on stories and tales of the fae, the fae still terrorized the humans on the other side of the wall all this time until Book 1 and past that, their fears are absolutely justified (no matter how Miss Maas tries to tell us the opposite, because what the fuck???) and bc of the sisters involvement they get pulled into the mess eventually, Elain and Nesta get kidnapped, their house burned to the ground and imprisoned for hours until they get dragged into a eldritch sentient cauldron and forcibly/painfully turned for an fairy king's test experimentation, for some kind of sick spectacle. And obviously this is deeply scarring. But like they should have had a lot more difficulty in their healing journeys to come to terms with their loss of humanity. From everything they ever knew and were completely uprooted and ripped away from. And now they should be apparently grateful for that? they should just adapt to fae culture like nothing without any problems? and completely enstrange themselves from their human origins and own culture and customs because humans are lesser inferior beings? this is messed up like holy fuck and it makes me very angry.

Like there should have problems/conflict with body dysphoria, culture shock, cultural misunderstandings and difficulty to adapt* (*to faeness and immortality/longevity). Maybe even struggle with how they get perceived by fae for being born as humans, the good bad and ugly. What it truly means to be human, and eventually becoming comfortable with themselves once again and reluctantly reconciling both halfs and finding peace one day. And I mean as the characters are immortal this arc could span over decades and go slow. But SJM wants her cake without eating it, wants her characters to go from point A to Z without putting any effort at all into it. It makes me frustrated because it could have been so compelling and interesting.

Yeah this tirade got very long, but I hope it overall makes sense ~

Hey

Here's sjm eating the nonexistent cake: the sisters get a pinch traumatized but ultimately they should be grateful they can now be fucked (in both ways) for eternity. And adjusting? Don't worry about that there was no real distinction, besides magic, to begin with.

From the perspective of a Nesta fan

While reading this I realised all my ACOSF au snippets and headcanon include Nesta settling and adjusting to her own body and mind years after she leaves the NC.

Because they're short n sweet it's mostly physical from learning how to sleep without hyper-focusing on the sound of the ocean, to making a habit of walking and winnowing.

But can you imagine the mental adjustment? To immortality?? Sorry, but I'd take myself out if you know what I mean. I'm not doing 100 years or 500 years or eternity.

Now the reason this is all waved away is because Sarah Says so.

That's the rule to truly enjoying her books. Listen to what Sarah Says. Even when her own writing contradicts this - that's the fandom rule : Sarah Says.

This was way longer and turned into a Nessian Rant (PART 3 BABY!! WE'RE BACK) so I'll cut that and make it its own post.

[tcursebreaker]

Let’s talk about Elain

*everyone has the right to their own opinion but I also have the right to think yours is 💐stupid💐 hahaha*

I truly cannot wrap my mind around the Elain hate whatsoever.

Just like the rest of the sisters Elain had her entire world turned upside down. Think of her position, she was in love and soon to be married, and I’m not defending Graysen at all but he was described as “a mortal idea of a knight who would swoop a beautiful maiden onto his horse and ride off into the sunset” Like imagine her heartbreak. Him yelling about her mate and to take the ring off when none of this was her fault or what she chose. Having a clear vision (ironic lol) of how her life will go and that being ripped away never to return to normal.

But everything she did was for her sisters. Getting everyone to leave so they could use the house to meet with the Queens, asking for asylum even knowing how much Graysen and his father hates faeries, helping during the War to find the Suriel, ending up getting KIDNAPPED by the enemy. And STILL offering herself to help AFTER. She is always there and willing to help. Even standing up and saying I am apart of this court when she could’ve took the easy out, But no she walked up apart of the royal family in the Court of Nightmares. And like during Feyre’s pregnancy, Elain being the first one to notice with so many other people who know and love Feyre who could’ve noticed something was off. And with Nesta, even when she pushed her away, Elain was always there for her.

Moving on I just absolutely hate that Antis downplay her trauma. All three sisters have trauma, and each deal with it in their own ways. Each had so much shit happen to them, stop trying to skip over hers. She lost her fiancé (whether he’s good or bad she still loved him) , got dunked into the freaking Cauldron and came out a different species and with magical powers leaving her dazed and confused for so long, got kidnapped, watched her father die, literally killed the King of Hybern.So when people say she got it good or got it easy???

Next people love to call Elain a “boring gardener” but let’s talk about 1. This has been her favorite hobby since the beginning, even when having nothing she found happiness in this. Like idk it seems like a trend to hate the sisters hobbies for some reason??? I don’t get it. Let Feyre paint, Nesta read, and Elain garden in PEACE! 2. She gets her hands DIRTY! She’s not just cutting one rose and calling it a day. We all know L*cien got her the gloves but she likes the scars and pricks and really feeling her hard work. It’s not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. And if it makes her happy why shame it? I think it’s adorable to think about her in a floppy hat working hard to make gardens beautiful and having the cuts on her pretty hands to show it.

Also it’s just the funniest thing on one hand Elain is soooo boring and does nothing but flowers n bake but then suddenly she’s this super suspicious spiteful woman?? Of course she mourns her past life but she’s been making progress, she doesn’t cry over Graysen anymore, she found a purpose at the NC helping people with gardening ect. She has a newfound family, brother in laws, a baby nephew, good friends to enjoy her hobbies with ! Like why do anti’s try to make her out to be this vicious ugly-hearted evil person? And for the suspicious part it kinda makes me laugh because I feel like it’s obvious, mentioning Elain being more stealth and secret keeping like Spy arc lol

Bottom line even though we haven’t gotten Elain’s book or her POV yet, I honestly love her character a lot. There’s way more to her than people give her credit for, and I cannot wait for SJM to showcase her in an amazing light. I truly think Elain’s book has so much potential like DO not say this lightly but I think this could be one of SJM best books. There is so so much material, I know the storyline is gonna be great like love, pain, adventure, destiny vs choice and just all the wonderful Elriel tropes; light vs dark, star crossed lovers, boy obsessed plus way more. Literally this book is gonna have it all!! And I definitely think a lot of people are gonna change their opinion on her very quickly. I know I sound a bit overboard, she is fictional but it’s so sad to see all of the hate she gets for no reason. She is always sweet and helpful and strong even though we haven’t seen the peak of it yet. There is just wayyy more then what meets the eye and ugh I’m so excited

[nikethestatue]

I have a hard time understanding the following:

The same people that blame Feyre and Elain for “bullying” Nesta are completely OK with Nesta bullying Cassian, and treating him like dirt. I wonder if the gender of Cassian and Nesta were reversed , would Cassian be praised as much as Nesta was after ACOSF.

I have always had a problem with their relationship after ACOSF, because of the above. I often think, if there was no mating bond, would Cassian care about Nesta? Would he put up with her shit? It’s not like they grew to love each other, as far as the emotional romance in her book, it was lacking. Cassian just kept at her until Sarah choose to write her as a better person. I wonder if her sisters or Cassian did not intervene, she would go down that path to recovery?

This is different from Feyre and Rhysand’s relationship, and even Elaine and Azriel’s relationship, because those relationships are written as mutual attraction and appreciation for the other person, and a solid friendship, not a mating bond.  I don’t understand people who like Cassian and Nesta’s relationship after ACOSF, maybe I am just too traditional?

The way SJM wrote Nesta in my opinion was terrible. Essentially she was just really nasty, met some people who didn’t know her backstory and got validated by them (so i guess the reader is supposed to think she is good then, lazy) and then saved her sister and everything was forgiven. Why not work on the relationships that she currently had, not just make her and Cassian’s relationship about sex, show us more of her friendship with Amren, for heaven sake’s have her actually talk to her sisters about real things. I don’t know how Sara got away with writing ACOSF the way she did.

I don’t know when it became OK to rationalize/absolve someone’s behaviour because they have mental illness or are going through a tough time. You are still responsible for your actions. Having trauma or mental health issues is an explanation for your behaviour, but it does not remove the responsibility of how your behave and the repercussions to your relationships (family /friends).

There is a pervasive theme in the SJM fandom and how she writes her characters that being a “ victim” and take responsibility for doing terrible things to people cannot occur at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive. It’s very odd and I would even say dangerous way of thinking.

Thank you for your thoughts. I am in love with “the agreement” and look forward to Thursdays because I know a chapter is coming out.❤️

I generally agree, however, I remain in the ACOWAR state of mind for Nessian. If we look at how they were, at what they did for each other, at how they grew to admire and support one another, you can definitely see that there was attraction, interest and growth without the bond.

Nesta in ACOWAR was understandable--her anger, her resentment, her unhappiness, especially in the beginning, were all legit, because her life was drastically changed, her whole existence altered, her sister's life also ripped out from her grasp. But then we saw Nesta's growth, her willingness to understand her powers, her willingness to help however she could, her willingness to to to the HL Meeting, and then to the front. Her growing affection towards Cassian was also obvious--despite her fighting it, she was still so into him. She trusted him, she sought him out.

ACOSF is a hot mess express and there is no other way of putting it.

Did I want Nesta to find friends and have that independence from the IC? Absolutely! But the whole 'oh they are my sisters!' or 'oh they are my family!' is such BS.

I've noticed that in general, SJM doesn't know how to write female relationships. Whether it's friendships, parental relationships, sisterhoods. It always comes out bizarre. Aelin and Lysandra=weird. Danika and Bryce=forgetaboutit. Mor and Feyre=what is that even? Maybe Manon and Asterin? But they are also unequal and are beating the shit out of each other. Nesta and Emerie and Gwyn had the beginnings of a great relationship, but SJM chose to make it over the top to the umptieth degree. Like she doesn't understand that both love AND friendships could be just that--strong, powerful, intense, intimate relationships outside of familiar ties. You don't NEED to call your friends 'family'. You can choose your friends, and you can create a relationship with them in a way that is beneficial to you. They don't need to become your 'family' to be falid.

Same with love--you can just love someone, without having a mate bond with them. The bond, in my opinion, often cheapens the relationship, because it sort of negates the growth and the feelings. Thinking back to Rowan and Aelin--did they really need the bond? No. Not at all. There was so much between the two of them that the bond was completely superfluous. The only time the bond made sense and needed to be there was for Feysand--it was their tether, it was the reason why Rhys was able to save/hear/feel Feyre. It made sense. It should've been the only bond. But no. SJM is gonna stick bonds on everyone, like Oprah giving out cars.

ACOSF happened and now we have to live with it. Nothing we can do. I hope she knows to add something in the future that would make the Nessian relationship better. Offer some insights and additions that would make it more palatable.

Also, thank you! :)

[stargirlfeyre]

I’m in no rush for the next books bc if she wrote ACOSF that shitty who knows what else she’ll write from other character POV’s. I can see her just turning every single fan group against eachother eventually, Like imagine if Elain argues with Rhys or Feysand over Rhys telling Az not to pursue her just yet? I could possibly no longer like her over something like that & it’s why I hope it doesn’t happen bc i’m trying to give her a chance. Or if Az keeps being annoying & reckless disobeying understandable orders? He may get on my last nerve. I’ve had it with people in the family acting up bc Feyre started a new family to get away from BS didn’t she SJM? Or if Lucien gets a POV excusing how he treated Feyre shitty or mocking or villainizing Feyre & The IC like Nesta did? If I catch Vassa talking shit since she’s already done off as annoying in Acowar & since we know Lucien is keeping information from Feysand since they said “He’s basically loyal to them now” Or Lucien still riding Tamlins too despite him being Feyre’s abuser….

There’s SO many ways these new POV’s can piss me off so I don’t mind waiting either. I even hope Bryce’s POV of them all isn’t shallow petty or annoying since even tho she’s sweet…She’s annoying to me in CC. She’s the one SJM heroine I’m not all that impressed with but I’m hoping I like her more in CC3..She’s making it seem like Bryce is unhappy there in the book synopsis already which I get bc she’s going thru it but also…SJM..Don’t piss IC fans off once again. ACOSF was the last straw for me next time..I will not hesitate to call her out for petty writing decisions.

I just….don’t fully trust this author at all with how ditzy & careless she can seem with recent books and how bad that damn rite was or how she barely fleshed out Cassian, or how it’s over sexualized or how the plot climax was underwhelming & ass or how Cass seemed rude to the IC at certain parts w always doubting and questioning every move they made even if they made sense, or how she made Nesta seem all close with Rhys when we all know Rhys would be sweeter but not THAT extra miss girl... Or the “Hehe I thought it’d be fun for Az Nesta and Cass to have a threesome & I couldn’t put it bc my editor 🫤🤭” Like girl stfu I’m so sorry to say this but..why would that have made ANY sense? Tacky..”Let me self insert into Nesta for a Bat bot threesome fantasy the younger sister and friend may have a crush on” ……..CRICKETS. Barely trained having Az say they were trained enough to make it against ILLYRIANS…

Every day I understand more & More why authors don’t interact with her much or if she does have drama among other authors bc If I read that book as an author I wouldn’t be able to take her writing seriously. Feyre got blessed with her series bc these spin-offs are embarrassing kinda…Feyre’s books only lacked in showing us her power or more of Rhys’ power..Or that she shoved her sisters drama back into her NEW life.

Anyway Rant over I love ur acc ❤️

Sjm being so reckless with this series that people no longer trusting her to do right by it is so hilarious to me. Like she needs to tap into whatever she was on when she wrote acomaf and get to work. My biggest fear is waiting years for this book just for it to be complete trash.

And I agree the way Mass’ writing (when it comes to acotar) has regressed since the main series, especially acomaf, is staggering. The issues with Feyre books are more minor or little annoying things while the issues with acosf are…insane. The excuses the main characters makes for her own behavior, ignoring plot lines in prior books, throwing in details that directly goes against what was said in prior books, the lackluster romance that seemed so much better when it was seen from the pov of someone else. I just wonder if when sjm’s editors were reading acosf for the first time, they ignored everything that was blatantly wrong with it because “oh smut🤩”.

Honestly I don’t think it would happen but if Elain and Azriel do end up I’m some drama with Feysand I’m siding with Feysand idc.

And I haven’t started CC yet. I’ve seen a few spoilers but I can’t really judge Bryce’s personality right now.

[bookofmirth]

lele I think this fandom needs to have "unreliable narrator" taken away from them until they learn how to use it correctly. why do I see so many comments about how acosf is a more accurate depiction of everyone because it's 3rd person "omniscient" (which isn't true) and 1st person is just so unreliable? 😭

first 👏 person 👏 is 👏 not 👏 inherently 👏 unreliable

We know *LESS* about the world in first person narration, but what we know isn't necessarily WRONG.

In fact, given the way that sjm writes, there is no reason to assume that anything Feyre experienced is actually wrong because sjm doesn't use first person in order to trick the reader! There are other reasons to use first person narration that have nothing to do with being a big ol' liar.

We may as well dismiss everything that a first person narrator has ever said as untrustworthy if that were the case, but it's NOT THE CASE. The main thing to be aware of with first person is that there are facts that the MC is unaware of, but really talented writers can still give us that information without the MC being aware. SJM is not one of those writers who does that, which is fine. But there is zero reason to mistrust what Feyre felt, knew, and experienced, just because she was the one telling the story. Her "view" of the IC is just as valid as Nesta's because they are unique individuals who have different experiences, values, goals, etc.

acosf is NOT more accurate. It's just not!

We got Feyre's perspective in acotar through fas, and now we have Nesta's perspective. It's not even omniscient because we don't get any information that Nesta (and sometimes Cassian) are not also privy to. We are still limited to knowing the world through their experiences.

You know how I know? This is just one example, but we had ZERO hint that the Dread Trove existed until we were in the room with Nesta, reading as she listened to Amren describe it. If the story were truly omniscient, and if it were truly *not* tied to Nesta's (skewed!) perspective, then we, the readers, would have been able to know or figure out the existence of the Dread Trove before Nesta did. But no. We are still limited to her perspective in acosf!

Another reason I know that acosf is NOT objective and NOT "more" true than any other book in the series, is that I was able to read a sentence and think "um, no, that's actually not true, that's just how you see it, Nesta". E.g. when she thinks about how she's worthless, I know that that's not true, but it's how she feels. When she thinks that Elain is like a dog, I knew that wasn't true. When she thinks about how Feyre and Elain chose other people over her, I knew that wasn't true. Why would anyone want any of those statements to be "objectively" true just because of how those thoughts were conveyed to us???

I haven't seen these posts so idk what people are saying, but the thing that annoys me is that these are potentially really interesting conversations about how the characters shift once we focus on someone who has a very different relationship with them, but I suspect that people say things like this and then tag the posts "pro Nesta" and "anti Feyre". If I'm wrong then that would be great! I just wonder, what is the reason behind trying to argue that Nesta's book is more "accurate" than the 3.5 we got from Feyre's perspective?

Writers and literary critics don't talk about first person narration as a way to prove that one character is "better" than another, it's about craft and the allowances and constraints of first person versus omniscient, or third person close. 💀

WAIT I also want to add on that "unreliable narrator" isn't something that this fandom needs to discuss ever because it's just not a feature of this series, unless it's to talk about something like... what Eris and Mor say about what happened between them. But even then, we already got her POV, so...

[randome-book-stuff]

Acotar & CC Theory Time!!!

🚨Spoiler warning🚨

Possible backing for those of you who follow theories about Rhys's sister being alive. If you know vou know.

So I was reading and thinking about all the theories about Rhys's sister being alive, and at the being I was like "that sounds kinda ridiculous... how would that even work out? Rhys literally saw their heads." But something got me thinking about the possibility that it might be true. Let me explain.

So I was rereading ACOFAS and I read the line "[Tamlin] had given his father and brothers the information on where my sister and mother would be waiting for me to meet them. And done nothing to help them as they were butchered"

It's the "done nothing to help them" line that got me wondering. What if he did do something to help them? We all know that Tamlin has the ability to shape shift and the ability to shape shift others as well; as we learned in the first book. So what if, before Tamlin's father got to them, Tamlin shape shifted someone else into looking like Rhys's sister and swapped them? I'm 100% the mother did die, since Rhys's father was mated to her and most likely felt the bond break when she died, but the sister’s situation is a bit different.

Even after centuries, Tamlin still wore the Illyrian blades Rhys had given him(well, until Feyre stole them and used them to run away). He also burned the wings of Rhys's mother and sister. So he's shown to have some level of conscience. Maybe there's more to the story than Tamlin lets on?

I know people like theorizing that Rhys's sister survived and somehow slipped into the world of CC and is related to Ruhn; which is how people explain the physical similarities between Rhys and Ruhn. And this is the only way that I could think of in order for her to have survived.

She can even be Ruhn's mother, who knows! Think about it, SJM bothered to put Ruhn's mother in the book, but never bothered to explore the character? Never went farther than explaining her existence and strange relationship with the Autumn king? Why bother even writing a whole page about her and then drop her? I think there might be more to her than we think.

This 100% my own theory, so take it with a grain of salt. This is only something I've speculated.

[the-lonelybarricade]

Hi, I’m not sure if I sent this already or not but I’ve been looking for someone who takes requests. I saw it written in your bio so I’m assuming you do. By the way, I absolutely love your writing. Anyways these are some ideas I have and I’m looking for someone who can make them real. If you can’t write them for whatever reason, do you know anyone who can?

Lucien finds elain drunk and she’s standing outside on a balcony at night. He joins her and they start talking and she drunkenly confesses about feeling trapped in The NC and how she wants to see more than just her sister’s home. They also talk about the whole mates thing.

Feyre, Nesta, and Elain are talking. Either feyre or nesta bring up rejecting the bond with Lucien and elain is like “who says I want to reject the bond?” And they have a conversation about that.

I recently read ACOFD. I absolutely love it. I’ve always had a hard time reading acotar because of how she likes tamlin and hates Rhys. Your Fic fixed my problem because now I still get that storyline with feysand. I was wondering if you could do a re write of some sort for the feyre death scene. Instead of killing amarantha right away, feyre gets resurrected in front of her very eyes. She and Rhys take a long time killing her while also rubbing their victory in her face. And before feyre dies, she calls amarantha a fool saying she got exactly what she wanted before also saying the answer to the riddle

a rewrite of some sort of the acotar scene where amarantha  says say you don’t love him  and feyre says you’re right I don’t. Amarantha kills her anyway. And like you did for your Fic, she says the answer to the riddle before she dies and the high lord she loves is freed. The rest of the scene plays and when feyre gets resurrected she goes to Rhys and kisses him instead of tamlin. The whole room is shocked

Hey love! Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoy my writing! I do accept prompts but I'm working on a lot of projects at the moment so my attitude is that I work on them only if/when motivation strikes me (thus the (slowly) part of my bio). I love answering prompts, but I get a lot of them and simply don't have the time to answer every one!

That being said, there are a lot of fic writers who accept prompts! I have a lot of elucien writer mutuals but I don't know if any of them are specifically looking for prompts at the moment (mutuals, feel free to chime if you are!). If you want to cast your first two requests to fandom-wide writers, I recommend using the SJM Kinkmeme.

In regards to your last two prompts, at the moment I'm focusing on finishing ACoFD and all of its spinoffs. Maybe once I'm finished with the project, I will consider re-writing scenes, but at the moment I don't think that's on the table!

[acourtofthought]

Was there ever an explanation why the mating bond snaps when it does? Some people are saying it’s when they’re emotionally available but I don’t think that was ever said/implied in the books (or maybe Sarah said it in an interview?). Nesta still fought it, Lucien and Elain were definitely NOT emotionally available when it snapped… if Gwynriel are mates, then their book will have to be set 100 years into the future if we need Az to be emotionally available lol

Truly, I think the mating bond snaps into place when SJM decides it best fits into a pairings storyline and creates the most impact.

Feyre wasn't in an emotionally available place when hers snapped into place considering she was still "in love" with Tamlin but also severely struggling with what she had just done to the fairies UTM.

Neither Lucien or Elain were in an emotionally available place when theirs snapped. He still thought Jesminda was his mate and had never allowed himself to open up to a female since then and she just went through a really traumatic experience while engaged to (and in love with) someone else.

As for Gwynriel, if they do turn out to be Mates, I think SJM has avoided having Az's bond snap because he's so fixated on having a bond. He wanted a bond with Mor for centuries. When that failed, he got to wondering how he as the third brother wasn't given a bond with the third sister.

While I don't think a male has to be emotionally available for a bond to snap, I do think SJM probably avoids having it happen while the male is in love with and wanting to be with another living female.

With Lucien and Rowan, it was OK for them to find out about their bond because they weren't desperate to have a bond. They sort of accepted that they could never love another since they'd lost their "one true love" and finding out they did have an actual living mate wasn't something they ever considered. For Lucien, he assumes the bond didn't snap because of Jesmindas death and for that reason, it never would.

With Az, he's kind of looking at every single female directly in his orbit and wondering why he doesn't have a bond so having it snap right away with Gwyn would make it more difficult for SJM to convince the sincerity of Az's interest in Gwyn.

Yes, the bond draws every MMC to the female but those men weren't obsessed with another living female weeks ago. Az suddenly up and switching his interest from Mor (and to a lesser degree Elain) immediately to Gwyn because he realized they share a bond doesn't play out well.

Instead, I think SJM is first building up Gwynriel by showing the contrast between how Elain is bothered by cruelty and Az admits her not knowing the things he does while Gwyn viciously leads the beasts to tear apart the Illyrians after watching them for days. She shoes the contrast of Az feeling like Elain shouldn't be involved in searching for the Trove versus Az's belief that Gwyn can handle herself in the Rite and Cassian noting how he watches Gwyn with admiration while Cassian can't figure out what looks are passing between Az and Elain. She builds similarities between Az and Gwyn throughout SF while highlighting the differences of Elain and Az over the course of the series. I think she's doing all this so when the bond snaps, we can see why Az and Gwyn were made mates and why he wants her for her, rather than jumping ship on Mor / Elain just because he finally got the thing he was jealous of.

Az needs to fall in love with the person before he's given the gift of a bond because his storyline is too wrapped up in wanting a bond with people he already knows (versus just dreaming of it happening for him someday in the way Rhys and Cassian did).

[gracie-rosee]

i don’t follow many SJM accounts anymore (back when TOG was still being released like toward the end of the series i got death threats for saying i ship Rowan and Aelin and even called toxic for liking Manon lol, i wish i was kidding but no, it was because “she doesn’t have feeling and kills people” and since then i’ve had several accounts deleted from just hate spam and reporting) and to say i’m shocked the fandom is the way it is now would be an outright lie, umm, anyway, i’m just so happy to have an unbiased/respectful calm blog like yours, you’re one of three accounts in total i follow anymore i just wanted to share some love and say i really appreciate you and your blog ❤️❤️❤️

I’m happy to have you here! I do remember there being a really weird part of the fandom during the peak tog days that was just so overwhelmingly negative and hateful. Just a small portion who antagonized a lot of people. It was bizarre. But people will use any excuse to let out their hatred, and seeing people outright enjoy something really gets them going. When you’ve been in a fandom long enough, you start to recognize those types of people and learn to stay away.

Every once in a while I would stumble upon a “ghost blog” of a friend I had during that time that has since left this platform. I often wonder how they’re doing. I hope they’ve forgotten how mean this place was to them, because they didn’t deserve it and neither do you. I’m so very glad you’re still here with me. I will try my best to keep my blog a happy and positive place for you to hang out!

If you ever want to get to know some other kind people who have made my tumblr experience one worth keeping, let me know. I have a little treasure chest of the nicest mutuals I’ve had for a while that I hoard to myself LOL.

I appreciate you! 🩷🩷🩷

[vidalinav]

Just me complaining again...

If this was Nesta’s healing arc, I really would have liked to know what her redemption arc would have looked like... as in If SJM had just taken the notion that she had to be healed out and the goal was purely to change the characters’ and readers’ opinions of Nesta. Because to me it seemed that that was a lot of the confusion of this book. That it was suppose to be a healing arc, where Nesta gained a lot of character development, but at the same time she couldn’t get away from redeeming her because many fans and the characters as she wrote had an already formed an opinion of Nesta that needed to be changed. 

But unfortunately, she set that up IN ACOSF. The confusion of does Nesta have to be redeemed? To me, we have many instances pre-ACOSAF of Nesta “redeeming” herself and so ACOSAF introduced the healing aspect being necessary, because of the introduction of trauma and the overwhelming instance of power, where there of course were many consequences to her being in pain. She’d need character development to get out of what this book set up. 

ACOSF however introduced the question of redemption, because instead of Nesta’s narrative being entirely based on what was set up in ACOSAF, it started immediately with what the characters’ opinions of Nesta were, which... were not even as bad in their own POVs. And of course, you can argue time, like a good amount of time has passed from ACOFAS to ACOSF but... you can also argue against this because Nesta’s need for healing is very much not emphasized in the text. We don’t get her drinking problems, her sleeping around problems, the overwhelming power crushing her. We get a nightmare and a few weeks of Nesta resisting training and easy as pie. Character development will happen whether there’s a goal to heal or not, but if the goal was to heal then... there should be something to heal from. That drastic rock-bottom. SJM said in an interview that Nesta was the lowest she’d ever been in the beginning of ACOSF, but I am not convinced and part of the job of a writer is to convince. I’d say that’s most of the job as a writer. To convince the reader that this world exists, that Nesta needed healing, that she needed redemption, that she was at rock bottom, that she’s as bad as they say she is, that she’s not as bad as they say and they’re perspective is misconstrued. And I don’t feel that SJM knew what she was trying to convince the reader from how this book was a bit all over the place or not fleshed out enough. 

Was this suppose to be a healing arc with an emphasis on character development and internal dialogue or was this suppose to be a redemption arc, which probably has more of an emphasis on what the characters does which would alludes more to plot? But both the redemption and the healing fall short, because this book is too short to have both with two POVs, and a large set up for future things that don’t matter to the narrative at the time. She made it too complicated and therefore the narratives lacked complexity. 

This is why I will never say it reads like fanfiction, because fanfiction always has a clear goal. If it’s a one-shot, it wraps it up. If it’s fluff, it’s meant to be fluff. If it’s smut, it’s just smut. If it’s a multi chapter, you can clearly see where it’s going, because writers have the luxury of seeing comments, not committing to specific ideas, changing chapters, moving on with the idea fresh from the previous chapter. It’s making the story as you go, even if it’s fairly planned, so if the goal changes it doesn’t seem far off from what is already established. 

Ideally, that’s how a novel should probably be. If the goal is to tell a good story, then a good story is told. If the goal is to build a fantasy world, then the fantasy world is built. If the goal is suppose to lead to a specific ending, then all of the parts in between need to lead up to that ending. Of course there can be more than one goal, but... how many did ACOSF have? 

1. Establishing the plot for later books (x2, x3) 2. Introducing characters for later books 2. Character development (x2) 3. fixing this relationship (x2, x3) 4. Building this relationship (romance, friendship) 5. Smut 6. Learning more about the world 7. having these particular things happen... and so on and so forth. 

I think that’s why I feel that even though we have 800 pages, virtually nothing happened, because the two main goals were not fulfilled. We can argue whether or not Nesta is healed because the text doesn’t concretely have evidence that that is true. We also can’t say relationships are fixed and opinions are changed because we also don’t know if that’s true. Is she redeemed? We can assume, but... we don’t know really. So (shrugs). 

But yeah, I totally understand why people tend to be very on either this side or that side with regards to everything in this book, because clarity was definitely not to goal. 

[jungleslang]

I am 100% obsessed with the idea of Elain being a spy, so I decided to compile all the evidence that alludes to her becoming one in the future and the traits she has that would be useful because why not?

Up first is Elain's charm.

When we see her again in ACOMAF, it's Elain who convinces all of the servants to leave the house so she and Nesta can meet with the bat boys. Rhys even comments that the servants left the house as if a plague had befallen it, which just goes to show how efficiently she got the job done. Feyre then says Elain can convince anyone do to anything with just a few smiles. This is obviously a useful quality for a spy, and when combined with Elain's kindness and beauty makes her less likely to be suspected of any wrongdoing. Her charm would also make people more willing to talk to her, which makes it easier for her to gather information.

We can also see that Elain is stealthy.

Both Feyre and Nesta comment on how silently Elain moves at various points in the series. Nesta even wonders if she's learning stealth from either Az or the twins. We also have to remember that the Fae have enhanced hearing, yet they still don't hear sound from her steps. I'm sure I don't need to tell you guys why this is an amazing quality for a spy.

Third is Elain's wisdom.

Elain has been referred to as wise by both Mor and Feyre. Wisdom means having knowledge and good judgement, which is essential when you're a spy. You have to know how to navigate whatever situation you find yourself in while preventing people from finding out what you're doing. Having good judgement helps you solve problems more efficiently, and wisdom also enhances your ability to influence others because people listen to you.

Elain is also good at keeping secrets.

Elain was the only one who knew Feyre was pregnant, and did not give any indication of it whatsoever. Feyre even says that she might have Az beat for secret-keeping, which is no small feat considering Az is a spymaster and shadowsinger.

There is also the fact that Elain seems to have good observation skills.

Cassian says that Nesta was wrong in her assessment of Elain, that Elain had seen "every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why." Additionally, in Az's POV, he says that Elain is well aware of why he stood by the doorway when Lucien was there and of why Az rarely came to family dinners anymore. I think this is super important because Az doesn't seem like the type to give himself or his motives away like that, but Elain could still tell. Elain being able to read Az like this is a big thing. This indicates that Elain is observant, and she is at least somewhat adept at reading people, analyzing their actions, and determining why they do what they do, which is definitely an important skill. I also think Elain being able to read and understand Nesta is important, since she's such a complex character.

Then there's Elain's connection to Az's shadows.

We all know about the iconic scene where Elain literally steps out of a shadow to stab Hybern, so I figured I didn't need to add that one. I don't think SJM would make an attempt to connect Elain with Az's shadows like this if it wasn't important. I think this is pretty self-explanatory as well, and if Elain does indeed have the ability to use Az's shadows, that alone gives her the potential to be a formidable spy.

This one is pretty obvious, but I can't not talk about Elain's powers. We know that Elain can see the future, but it's evident that Elain can also see the present when Feyre asks her to track down the Suriel in chapter 57 of ACOWAR. She's able to see exactly where the Suriel is just by focusing on the image of it that Feyre planted in her mind. And she figured out how to do this on her own, with no training. Like y'all, baby girl doesn't even need to be present or next to you to spy on you. That's huge.

Last but not least, Elain is patient. Az tells Cassian that waiting is a big part of syping. And you're probably wondering how I know Elain is patient, and the reason is that Elain is a gardener. Take it from me, gardening requires a large amount of patience, which was exactly why I wasn't cut out for it. The same way that people don't engage in evil deeds when it's convenient to you, flowers don't bloom when you want them to. Feyre talks about the beautiful garden Elain cultivated at her house, which undoubtedly took a lot of time. She even talks about how Elain would kneel in dirt weeding, which scandalized the servants. Some plants take years to grow, and each seed takes its own sweet time to sprout. Tending to a garden is absolutely an exercise in patience. It requires planting, watering, mulching, weeding, watching and waiting in order to get results.

I also think it's important to note the other parallels between her and Az besides her connection to his shadows. In chapter 16 of ACOMAF, Feyre calls Az "the knife in the dark." But who ended up actually becoming the knife in the dark? Elain, when she stabbed Hybern.

I also always think about this part.

It reads so similar to the moment Elain stabs Hybern. Elain snarls at Hybern "Don't you touch my sister" while Az snarls "Don't you touch her." I live for Az and Elain snarling at Hybern not to touch the people they love. Honestly, I'm probably reaching and this might not mean anything, but I figured I'd add it just because.

Damn this was long as hell, and if you've made it this far, you're amazing. Honestly, this is just me trying to manifest spy Elain, and if it doesn't happen, I will die. SJM better not rob us like that. Az and Elain would be the ultimate spy couple, and no one can convince me otherwise.

The credit for coming up with this amazing theory goes to @ladylochan

[helion-ism]

on manorian

as some of you might know, I’m a sucker for the mate trope and throne of glass is a little more subtle here than acotar. we got rowaelin, obviously carrying that trope on their back. and then there’s lorcan in that illusion telling fake-elide he thinks she might be his mate. this proves to me, like in acotar, mates are not just a fae-thing, but that while lorcan is demi-fae and elide is human, they still have this pull between them that proves they’re more than “just” lovers. now, let me show you why in my little head, manon and dorian are mates as well. not sure if this has ever been confirmed by anyone, but it is real in my head, so here we go

mates are a thing for the witches, too

“The Crochans [...] had adopted the Fae habit of selecting mates — if not a true mating bond, then in spirit.”

manon’s parents were mates and her father refused an arranged marriage to be with his true mate; and I think it‘s really interesting how the mating bond is literally defined by musical terms in the sjm universe, as has been pointed out several times by awesome people in the fandom already, and this is just another example

“A young witch was chosen for him specifically. But he did not love her — not with your mother as his true mate, the song of his soul.”

queen of shadows

while dorian was wearing the collar, manon was the first one to manage to get him out and fight the valg prince inside of him — which is interesting because they had absolutely no emotional connection whatsoever, and so it makes you think, why her?

Every step closer made her unbound hair shimmer like moonlight on water. But the demon began scrambling away as the sun lit up her eyes. Not too close, it said. Do not let the witchling too close. The eyes of the Valg kings —

“Hello, princeling,” she said, her voice bedroom-soft and full of glorious death. “Hello, witchling,” he said. And the words were his own. For a moment he was so stunned that he blinked. He blinked. The demon inside of him recoiled, clawing at the walls of his mind.

manon is so intrigued by dorian that she visits him in the end to check on him — something is pulling her to him and she feels already like something has changed; and he remembers her name — he can‘t remember anything from that time, but she sticks out

He could barely remember what had happened while he’d worn that collar. He’d turned twenty — and had no recollection of it. [...] There was a massive shadow perched atop it. Dorian froze. Not a shadow, but a giant beast, its claws gripping the wall, its wings tucked into its body, shimmering faintly in the glow of the full moon. Shimmering like the white hair of the rider atop it. Even from the distance, he knew she was staring right at him [...]. And through the darkness of his memories, through the pain and despair and terror he’d tried to forget, a name echoed in his head.

She didn’t know why she’d bothered to go; why she’d been curious. But there had been the prince, no collar to be seen around his neck. [...] Changing winds — a changing world. Perhaps a changing Thirteen, too. And herself.

empire of storms

when manon and dorian meet again, instead of killing him, she tells him to flee and something ancient inside of her awakes

Face-to-face, Dorian panted as he stared down at her and breathed, “Hello, witchling.” Some ancient, predatory part of her awoke at the half smile. It sat up, cocking its ears toward him. Not a whiff of fear. Interesting. Manon purred back, “Hello, princeling.”

dorian returns the favor later, saving her impulsively + instinctively and without giving it a special thought

Dorian didn’t feel like mentioning he’d been the one who’d jumped into the water. He’d just ... acted, as Manon had acted when she’d saved him in his tower.

manon tells abraxos to find somewhere safe, and so the wyvern does

His magic felt it before he did. A sense of awareness, of warning and awakening. [...] The wyvern completed its circle, sweeping lower this time, readying to land as near the boat as possible. Not to attack ... but for help.

kingdom of ash

manon and dorian have a deep understanding for each other and can see the other like nobody else can or dares to

“If you find so little value in your existence that it compels you to trust this thing, then by all means, bring her along.” A challenge to look not toward Morath or the spider, but inward. She saw exactly what gnawed on his empty chest, if only because a similar beast gnawed on her own.

He wondered if the Thirteen could ever see it — that hint of self-loathing that sometimes flickered across her face.

Only with her did he not need to explain. Only with her did he not need to be a king, or anything but what he was. Only with her would there be no judgment for what he’d done, who he’d failed, what he might still have to do.

hear me out: as we saw in empire of storms, abraxos has a sense of awareness that tells him what is right and what isn’t when it’s about manon, he brought her to dorian because he knew she’d be safe there. so when he returns from his little mission into the northern fang, and manon is restless, this happens:

It didn’t stop her breath from escaping when Abraxos stiffened, scanning the sky. As if he heard something they couldn’t. And it was the joy that sparked in her mount’s eyes that told her.

mates are equals and dorian hints at wanting to shout it out into the world, to let everybody know they belong together 🥺🥺🥺

She would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, his mirror in so many ways. And with their union, the world would know.

in conclusion: manon and dorian are mates and are destined to be together. now, where is the novella?

[riddlecrux]

What is past is present: Azriel and Elain, Helion and Lady of Autumn Court

This post is going to be a long one. I will be talking about parallels between Helion - Lady of Autumn Court - Beron and Azriel - Elain - Lucien situation. How their relationships mirror each other, how the blood duel mentioned in ACOSF and ACOWAR will come to an end, but also how the first triangle was used as a plot device in ACOWAR. I believe it is not a coincidence that SJM decided to put these scenes and histories in the same book with such a short span of time passing between things happening on the pages of their story. I would like to say that this post is a pro Elriel meta, so if they are not your cup of tea please scroll past this. Many thanks to Gardening Tools, especially @silverlinedeyes !

We are going to start with the Lady of Autumn Court and the scene at the High Lord’s council. She is there with her husband, Beron and as the conversation surrounding Hybern increases in intensity, we are presented with a bit of background information about the Lady.

Lady of the Autumn Court had 2 sisters that died during Hybern's soldiers' attack. We got to see another family of three sisters, two of them dying for their sister. What's even more important is a mention of Hybern's war camps and how it's very unlikely for anyone to survive their time there.

Here Beron taunts Kallias by telling his mate that Hybern and his people probably torture and abuse women before killing them. (Please be sure to remember that because we're going to go back to this notion later in this post.)

Another big insight about Lady's life and this particular accident comes from no one else but Helion.

Few things that are very important to mention: - she had already given birth to a few of her children - Hybern directly attacked the estate they were in - her sisters let her run away because they loved her - she tried to fight and stay with them till they convinced her to run - the beasts sent by Hybern tailed her and finally cornered her in a trap

What Feyre says in this particular scene - about Helion knowing too many details holds great importance for the further quotes. We also get to know that, in fact, it was Helion who rescued the Lady - not only saved but found her. The setup, the build-up and the fact that it wasn't her "husband" that came for her are the main things I wish to bring attention to, as we are going to analyze different scenes from the same book with this knowledge.

He could have ended it differently, yet he didn't. Why? The question seems to be imprinted in Feyre's mind as she tries to connect the dots and points she was given, just like us readers. I do believe that what we are being presented with is the notion of the mating bond. Helion's rage at Lady's attack projects typical mate behavior - such as unnecessary violence against the ones who dared to hurt their mate. It also goes with the information of him finding her - how was that possible? Her husband wasn't there, it was Helion who essentially knew that something was wrong. How? Well, by applying the mating bond in this picture we can easily deduct few things: Helion probably felt her distraught through the bond, was able to locate her and save her.

Another insight given by Helion is about Lady's relationship with Beron. Not only it gives us information about her young age (cue to Rhysand's mother and how her young age was also brought up as something very disturbing and not in favour of some mating bonds), but also we get to know that her marriage was arranged. Just like the reader, Feyre is left with these very personal insights and detailed descriptions - so she presses Helion more, to speak, to see if her suspicions are correct.

Another person jumps into the conversation and it is Mor who hands the information of a possible romance between Lady and Helion. We learn that both of them met at an equinox ball before she was proposed with an arranged marriage with Beron. Feyre's curiosity is evident in the way she perks up at Mor's words. Helion on the other hand counter-attacks and provides us with the political background of the story. The Lady was basically left without a choice when it came to her love life.

Helion saved Beron's wife during the war. And Beron didn't know and still doesn't have an idea that it was Helion who saved the Lady.

Feyre tries to fish for more information - and Helion seems to be very reluctant to answer her question about his relationship with the Lady. It makes us think that, in fact, their relationship was somehow forbidden, being kept in secret. Moreover, what's even more interesting is the fact that we suddenly have a shift of focus on another person - Azriel. We are deliberately made aware of the fact that Azriel is listening to this important conversation.

We are starting to see Helion becoming slightly less humorous - Feyre can spot the difference between his usual self and the way he delivers his question. It suggests that the relationship and potential mating bond is a very touchy subject for him.

Their forbidden relationship went on for decades. They were secret lovers till Beron found about them. We see that contrast between the Lady with Helion - all brightness and smiles, Lady with Beron - withdrawn, timid, scared.

I clenched my teeth. “If you were her lover, why didn’t you stop it?” The wrong thing to say. Utterly wrong, by the dark fury that rippled across Helion’s face. “Beron is a High Lord, and she is his wife, mother of his brood. She chose to stay. Chose. And with the protocols and rules, Lady, you will find that most situations like the one you were in do not end well for those who interfere.”

Helion reacts with anger at Feyre's inquiry about his lack of participation in the case of the Lady's wellbeing. "Dark fury rippling across Helion's face" is also an interesting word choice. Again we are reminded that their romance was meant to end that way due to the notions of choice and politics.

“Beron never called you out for it?” “To publicly do so would be to admit that his possession made a fool of him. So we continue our little dance, these centuries later.” I somehow doubted that beneath that roguish charm and irreverence, Helion felt it was a dance at all.

Helion reminds us about politics that bind different Courts - in this case, we can easily see that the matter of choice in this example ends with Lady choosing duty over love. It also supplies us with an idea that if Helion would have wanted to fight for Lady he would need to participate in a blood duel. Yet, the Lady chose Beron - we don't know why Helion probably was left alone with the same question. However, by analyzing this situation I believe that Lady knew about the possibility of a blood duel happening she didn't want her potential mate to be hurt. So, in the end, she opted for a life in a loveless marriage with Beron. Furthermore, we have Rhysand and Feyre coming to the conclusion that Lucien is Helion's son - and he is the fruit of the loving relationship between Helion and the Lady.

What does this mean, though? Nothing—ultimately nothing. Other than the fact that Lucien might be Helion’s sole heir. And that … it changed nothing in this war. Especially not with Lucien on the continent, hunting that enchanted queen. A bird of flame … and a lord of fire. I wondered if they’d found each other yet.

The usage of the word "this war" is not a coincidence, as well as Rhysand's poor prediction of the future. Because as we know, right now - it changes a lot. Elain being his mate bounds him to the Night Court, so losing that relationship puts the Court at risk. Especially now, when Lucien doesn't know that Helion is his father. Another very important addition is the part about Lucien and Vassa. Feyre has prophetic tendencies and her thoughts about both Vassa and Lucien always focus on their... relationship. Not to mention that it was brought up after that whole conversation with Helion. With all these things above, I would like to move on to Elriel parallels. Starting with the Cauldron kidnapping Elain. Please bear in mind that this scene happens after the meeting with Helion, after learning about the story of Lady's and Helion's romance.

But Azriel asked softly, “What about Elain?”

The one who noticed that Elain was absent was Azriel, we can speculate whatever it was his intuition, his shadows, or perhaps some kind of feeling that made him aware of her absence. Yet, it's not a coincidence that another male character, the one who doesn't have an official mate is the only one who either felt/realized that she was taken. That's the first parallel I would love to bring to your attention - Helion was the one who found and rescued the Lady. Now, the situation is almost identical - Hybern attacks via Cauldron takes Elain to the war camps.

And what Hybern would do to Elain, might already be doing— From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

Azriel reacts with rage, a silent debate raging within him. He is battling something deep inside him, which is obstructed from the reader's point of view. I wonder why? He is the one who swears to find her and rescue her. Also, worth mentioning how Feyre seems to realize the graveness of the situation - as if she can remember the conversation she had with Helion about what happened with sisters of the Lady of Autumn Court. War camps. Nobody would walk away from them alive.

We looked to Rhys, to Cassian and Nesta, to Mor—right as she appeared, breathless, between the tent flaps. Her eyes went to me, then the shadowsinger, and flared with shock and fear—

In this scene we also have Mor. Mor was present during Helion's conversation and gave input about their love and forbidden relationship. Mor that possess the power of Truth. Is it possible that Mor knew about the mating bond between Helion and the Lady? Is it possible that Mor knows about the truth of the mating bond between Lucien and Elain? Does Mor know about the potential mating bond between Azriel and Elain? There are so many questions and we don't get an answer. Mor keeps secrets, which is understandable yet it provides a whole new aspect of Mor being the one who realizes what's happening. (Not to mention that Mor is always present when Elain is with Lucien, assessing them.)

Screaming. A shadow gripped my shoulder, reminding me not to run. Ianthe would not run—would not show alarm. My mouth went dry as that scream sounded again. I couldn’t bear it—to let it go on, to see what was being done— Azriel’s shadow-hand grasped my own, tugging me closer. His rage rippled off his invisible form.

It is Azriel who reacts once again with - rage. At the thought of Elain being tortured, abused, or being killed. Feyre can't stomach the idea of what is happening to her sister in this war camp.

I could feel Jurian’s smile against my ear. “She’s in his tent. Chained with steel and a little spell from his favorite book.” Shit. Shit. Perhaps I should have gotten Helion, who could break almost any—

The mention of Helion is such a beautiful parallel. We, as readers, are amidst a rescue mission. A situation that was very similarly described few chapters before, a situation in which it was Helion in Azriel's shoes. In the past it was - Helion and Lady, here in the "future" we have - Azriel and Elain. The same circumstances - Hybern attack/Hybern powers, three sisters, and the only one is targeted, a savior that isn't husband/mate finding and rescuing the girl.

Azriel gently removed the gag from her mouth. “Are you hurt?” She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” The shadowsinger only inclined his head.

I could write a whole meta about this quote because it's ridden with such enormous parallels and foreshadowing. Let's start with the simplest one, which is the word "devour". It has very strong connections to physicality, it basically means that Elain greedily took him in, he was her focal point at that moment. Also, the following addition of her not quite believing that, in fact, it is Azriel who arrived before her - she hadn't expected him to rescue her and you may be wondering why? It all beautifully goes with the idea of two mates/true mates theories - what is making me say this with so much certainty? Well, first of all, ACOWAR is full of descriptions of how a healthy mating bond works, for example, Feysand one. It's a bridge connecting two souls through which our emotions, thoughts can be perceived for the other person.

Find me, find me, find me, I tried shouting down that bond. But my mate’s wry voice didn’t answer. There was only the roaring void.

This happens at the begging of ACOWAR when Feyre tries to communicate with Rhysand through their mating bond. I find it very interesting that throughout the whole book the trope of "finding your true love, significant other" is very persistent. This brings me back to the theory that both Azriel and Helion heard their mates' cries of help and that's how they were able to rescue them and find them. In addition to that Elain's "you came for me" is striking so many questions. What does she mean? Why is she so docile and peaceful? As if she somehow had an idea that someone will come for her - did she perhaps inwardly call through the mating bond? This, again, brings us to another parallel - Beron doesn't know that it was Helion who rescued the Lady. Lucien doesn't know that it was Azriel who saved Elain - which, we really don't know if he even felt/knew that something has happened.

The hounds closed in, two breaking away—to cut to the side. To herd us. For that was a cliff at the other edge of the camp. A cliff with a very, very long drop, and unforgiving river below.

I'm bringing this up because the setting is oddly familiar with the run of Lady of Autumn's one. The isolated place, a trap etc.

Azriel’s roar echoed off the rocks as the hound slammed into him, dragging those shredding talons down his spine, his wings— The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast’s face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. With a yelp of pain, it released its claws—and plunged into the ravine.

Parallel on parallel. We have Hybern's beasts, we have a similar setting again and fight. What is different, however, is that in Helion's case it was solely him that destroyed beasts while rescuing the Lady. Here, however, it is Elain that fights against beasts - she who had never trained, she who is a gardener is fighting against evil. She is kicking as the beasts hurt Azriel. She took the initiative and killed the beast at that moment when they previously hurt Azriel. Also, the most beautiful comparison in my opinion is the fact that after Elain knocks the beast it falls down the ravine, dying. It is somehow very symbolic that Elain kills the beast that falls into the ravine, whereas Lady of Autumn is stuck in the ravine as beasts approach her and it is the moment when Helion saves her.

The gray light of morning had broken over the world, mist clinging to our ankles as we headed into that camp, Azriel still cradling Elain to his chest. He dripped blood behind him the entire time—a trickle compared to the torrent that should be leaking out.

After that intense battle, they arrive in the safety, but Azriel still holds on Elain even if he himself is bleeding all over the place.

Rhys lunged for Azriel, taking Elain from him and gently setting my sister down. Azriel rasped, swaying on his feet, “We need Helion to get these chains off her.” Yet Elain didn’t seem to notice them as she rose up on her toes and kissed the shadowsinger’s cheek.

Another mention of Helion in that very parallel setting. He was very present during the rescue mission, which is a neat way of showering the audience with foreshadowing. If I wanted to indulge even more in the symbolism of this scene, I would point out that the chains on Elain are very symbolic as well. They could either mean the restrain of her powers, but also the chains of the "lack of freedom", "lack of choice". Being freed by both Azriel and Helion is something that I believe is very important to remember while waiting for the next book. Because even if Elain is a mirror to Lady - Elain will change the course of her story. Elain is going to choose love over duty, she will choose Azriel - which ends with them discovering that, in fact, the bond was there from the beginning. Helion getting rid of those chains is also a metaphor for what is to come. He will break Lady's chains by fighting with Beron during the blood duel. In this timeline, Azriel and Elain are symbolism of healthy love, mating bond, freedom of choice. Lucien doesn't mirror Beron, because he himself doesn't want to be with Elain since both of them don't feel comfortable with each other, they are making each other miserable. Not to mention the fact that their mating bond is... very weak and through the ACOWAR and ACOSF we see that it is different from the true mating bonds that are present in the universe. Azriel-Elain-Lucien triangle will break the past wheel of unhappiness and forced love, changing it by their own rules of free choice. As for Helion-Lady-Beron love story, if I may be so bold, the blood duel is going to happen and Beron will die - freeing Lady and Helion from him and politics that kept them away. If you are still not sure if these two situations are foreshadowing I would love to put this quote as the ending of this very long meta.

Azriel shrugged. “We—Rhys, Cass, and I—will occasionally remind each other that what we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history.”

And as you can guess, that very unlikely person who altered the course of history in ACOWAR was Elain when she killed King of Hybern.