#esp before reading acosf

[ofbreathandflame]

stans are actually very funny bc they often time talk themselves into the weirdest corners.

the whole point of criticizing acosf and its handling of nesta's character is to prove the point that sjm...doesn't like nesta as a character. that's is literally THE point - that sjm often abandons her moral themes (abuse, trauma, assault, etc.,) for character's deemed as undesirable or villainous to a capacity - and its through the handling of those 'vilified' (i.e. main character opposed - not even villianous) that we can gauge the extent to which sjm actually believes the ideals of her story. like - it is alarming that the only tolerable, empathetic parts of the a court of silver flames were the moments you could tell where ripped straight from sjm's own life (the hiking, training, mind-stilling etc.,). any actual characteristics about nesta weren't explored...like at all. her relationship with feyre and elain, with her mother, her trauma from her sexual assault, her conflicted relationship with her grandmother, her life before the cabin, her life during the cabin. in 800 pages - i still don't know mama archeron's name. what was life like in the cabin? what did nesta do all day? what was the dynamic? what was going on between elain and nesta?i don't know anything about her and nesta, we don't know anything about nesta's human life, her conversation with clare bedor, her relationship with clare beddor, moments with her dad - not even touching moments with him (and part of this story is her finding love for her dad). mind you we read 800+ pages and we learned absolutely nothing about her.

we essentially read sjm's emotional journey in one part, and a taming of the shrew narrative in another. i think the only way sjm had genuine interest in exploring nesta's story is through essentially self-inserting herself and avoiding the actual plot-points she set up in the first three books. like did nesta have childhood friends? if losing the wealth so drastically affected her life wouldn't she reminisce about it a lot? would she yearn for her mother? who were her childhood friends, how did she function at court?

and the whole point of saying alll of that is to argue the misuse of these topics - serious discussions abuse are only reserved for certain situation, and others its completely undermined in a way that only reinforces the negative ideals to begin with. (i.e. nesta needs to abused bc..." "the intervention was harsh but" - pair that with discussion around what feyre needed in acomaf - and it makes much more sense).

nesta antis often jump between the fact that nesta is so favored that sjm nerfed feysand to 'redeem her' and arguing that sjm secretly does everything in her power to embarrass and secretly laugh at people who like nesta's character. (1) we've gotta pick one or the other (2) in my humble opinion - sjm would have always given feyre a pregnancy plot like this regardless of whether this was nesta's book or elain. its literally so sjm. im shocked people are surprised she pulled the pregnancy as she did.

as with the tamlin discussion we had under this post - i think the story undermines its discussion of abuse with feyre/tam by essentially insinuating that tamlin (when placed in the same victimized position as feyre) should have sucked it up and braved out his abuse with amarantha (and the same with rhysand as well - esp with the deliberate foil of rhysand's 'willingness' v. tamlin's unwillingness). and when we start to have a real conversation ultilizing our own irl analysis and standards we really see how harmful and rather sisyphean the conversation becomes. instead of engaging with these topics earnestly, they only engage in them to prove a point - which is how the issue began in the first place. the whole issue with rhysand isn't the fact that he engages with harmful, potentially villainous positions. no - its that the book wants to prove that tamlin is wrong by justifying rhysand's actions. so even though rhysand and tamlin almost always have the same written and expressed intentions in their abuse of feyre, the book flocks to justify one, and eschews the other. and thats why we get so much reactionary critcism of rhys that is surface: people only admit the problems because they know antis will, not because they actually believe their are issues in the story.

and perhaps im still speaking into a void here but i can tell there's tension between pro stans wanting to have these serious conversations but understanding they can only really introspect so far until the conversation begin to prod at the validity of the topics being brought forth. so stans have to jump between invalidating the romantasy genre ("its just faeries") and treating this book as a serious topic (cue: "sjm put a hotline in the back of the book"). this is also the exact reason why the racism conversations stall (i.e. why inherent superiority is always passively emphasized - despite cc1 + 2 centering human oppresion there is no human in the ensemble cast. despite the fact that illyrian women are the most oppressed - rhys has no illyrian women - or reg illyrians (not his brothers) in his inner circle. aelin 'sacrificing' her human body).

#anti sjm #anti rhysand #anti feyre #anti acosf #anti feysand #anti sjm: nesta archeron #anti nessian #queue0118

[louiseleblancdiggory]

i’ll try to say this the best and nicest way possible, but i think one of the main causes for so many of the discussions in the acotar fandom today is that people have consumed so much fast media that they have forgotten how to differentiate it from books that don’t fall within that category.

don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with fast media— books that are a sit down, read easy, get up. but the thing is that, for that model to work, authors need to make sure that the readers are not leaving the book unsatisfied. if the reader finds too many plot holes, or if they are left with more questions than they had before when it’s clear that the author doesn’t plan on expanding them in the future, they are frustrated. and so those books won’t sell. the solution is, obviously, to “spoon-feed” the reader with the information. scenes can be analyzed by themselves because the author always makes sure to include explanations for what would otherwise be unspoken. surprises are these dramatic turns, because often there is no in depth foreshadowing. what is is either said or explicitly thought, and so the reader knows it all. 

again, nothing wrong with it!! there are multiple books that i love that would fall into this category. however..... i feel like some people are having an increasingly harder time separating the expectations you have when going into a fast media book versus a book that is part of a series that has been slowly building up for years. when observing a series such as a court of thorns and roses, you are not supposed to know everything about everyone— the lack of certain knowledges regarding certain characters (esp. mor or elain) is not a “plot hole” or “lazy writing”. you are simply not supposed to know it yet!!! i think that people expect all nuances to be talked about or solved as soon as they are presented, when that is just not the point of a series. for example, of course you don’t know much about elain?? she was written in an incredibly vague manner on purpose throughout the series. of course she hasn’t dealt with her seer powers or rejected the mating bond because what sense would it make for her to do that in a book that isn’t her own?? people just have to learn to wait

i think another impact is that, as i said before, in certain books, scenes can be interpreted in a vaccuum. in series such as acotar, doing so will only create a wrong interpretation of characters because their personality has been both spoken and unspokenly built throughout the books. for example, analyzing the extra bonus chapter from azriel’s point of view within a vaccuum would create the image of a character that is completely different than the image that would be created if you took in consideration his character construction in past books (especially the parts that are not outwardly said but still very clear). analyzing rhys’s character in acosf without considering the construction of nesta and rhys’s relationship would obviously create a character that is completely different from the one we have seen in past books.

yall can’t wait. yall can’t let things marinate anymore because you need all the answers now, and so you assume that the author has already given you the answers. this only causes for wrong interpretations!!

#argue with the wall #acotar #acomaf #acowar #elriel #elain archeron #azriel #rhysand #mor

[ae-neon]

Feysand Ramble? Kinda?

You can like Feysand I guess but you can't deny how terrible they are as politicians. (Talking about the trilogy but ACOSF is probably applicable because they likely only got worse as time went on)

The most obvious examples of this centre around Velaris, the CoN and Illyria but the worst examples of this are best displayed in their interactions with other leaders.

During Amarantha's reign it's somewhat understandable for Rhysand to act how he does and for the HLs to be secretive and distrustful esp of one another.

During ACOTAR and half of ACOMAF, Rhysand is an interesting character for his ambiguous actions and morality but once his romance takes off he's really dumbed down in a way and becomes dissonantly self righteous? Maybe it's because we're in Feyre's pov and she's too young and naïve to fully comprehend and reconcile with who her mate is? Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome? Maybe it's because she needs to internally justify her leaving Tamlin for Rhysand by constantly comparing the two and if Tam bad then Rhys good?? Idk

(God, she's so young, babe you don't have to justify wanting to leave a relationship but mostly it's just sjm retconning and manipulating readers)

But then we're on the precipice of war and Rhysand rightfully recognises that Prythian needs to hold as one against Hybern.

[Something he maybe should have consulted his darling Feyre on before she destabilised and crippled a BORDERING court since they were the most vulnerable to invasion and as a 500yo politician/warlord/HL he would have known that even when his uneducated child bride didn't]

I get that Rhysand didn't wanna risk just asking Tarquin for a sacred treasure because they need it and the request would most likely be rejected but that's ultimately Rhysand's fault. If he could show vulnerability to the mortal queens by showing them Velaris why couldn't he act that way with Tarquin, who extended grace to the NC and its ruler despite everything he'd heard. Rhys could have even asked Helion to vouch for him privately.

Then after everything, Tarquin doesn't get the apology Rhys owes (and almost gives) because - less than one year a Fae, wants respect as High Lady but won't give the same to the High Lord whose Court she's literally in rn - Feyre's ego won't allow it, I guess? I literally don't know. Like she owes an apology as well lol so just apologise??

Especially when you know for a fact that if anyone else came to the NC and not just stole but publicly made a fool of Rhysand or Feyre, they'd start a bloodbath.

[Anyways at the end of the day Tarquin is who "The Dreamers" think they are. He doesn't just say he wants to make his court a better place, he actively tries.]

Rhysand became HL before 30 and (being generous they literally have magic minus 100 years for impact of the first war, minus maybe 60 for UTM) has had more than 300 years to reconcile and fix the CoN and Illyria.

Bro doesn't have a government???? he has

a 20yo co monarch who's assigned desk work even though she probably can't read or write past a 5th grade level and is in a death pact with him??

^ was this on purpose so in the event of his death, his foreign child bride couldn't assume sovereignty lmao

3 nepotism hires

An ancient being with disdain for almost everyone else who he constantly makes tithe to on taxpayer's dime

1 okay city and 1 not okay city

Anyways I'm back on my Rhysand and Feyre Worked Better as Separate Characters bullshit.

#acotar #rhysand #rhys acotar #feyre archeron #feyre x rhysand #feysand #anti feysand #velaris #court of nightmares #illyrian #tarquin #sjm books #amren acotar #mor acotar #cassian #azriel

[bookofmirth]

hi! sorry to come into your inbox with Gwynriel since I know they are not really your preferred ship, but I just love your insights!🙈

I really hope they will be endgame and I can't wait for their story to be told, but I am also anxious about it... What I mean is, since the series is transitioning into adult, there is a lot of pressure from the audience for the sex scenes (esp. with Sarah dropping the bomb of Az being a freak in bed) and I'm afraid the sex will be rushed between them, before they are (at least somewhat) healed and ready. Their interactions right now are just so healthy and wholesome. 🥺 and personally I would hate if they would go into a Nessian kind of "just sex" arrangement (honestly this was so annoying in acosf!! "Thanks for the ride Nes" ?? ouch Cassian... 😑).

I would love a friends to lovers plotline for them, they both have severe traumas and need healing first outside of a romantic relationship - especially Az! I'm not worried about how Gwyn's trauma will be handled bc I'm sure Az will be the most patient, understanding and attentive lover, I'm just worried that if the sex comes too early on it will mess up their overall dynamic if that makes sense 😅

I honestly can't handle another Nessian where it's painfully obvious they are head over heals for each other but they are in denial for half a book claiming "just sex" 😫 Also if Az pulls a "you are better off without me" I will scream 😑

I hope they will build a very solid friendship first that can transition into love, but I think that would take a bit of time. I wouldn't mind waiting for the sex scenes between them and them not jumping into it like Nessian. (I have this headcanon where Az goes to a pleasure hall in the beginning of the book to get his freak on to get it out of his system a bit 🤭)

Anyways, so I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this - do you think there will be pressure for the sex, since now the series is considered adult?

Many thanks and have a nice day!

Hello! Thanks for acknowledging that there at the beginning. It was very thoughtful of you.

I just can't see them having a friends with benefits situation! With Gwyn, she's interested in sex and reading romance books. As far as romance, I'm not sure what she wants. She comes to the world with such a different view of sex than the human characters had, like she took participation in one of the sexy rites for granted, she just happened to not be able to participate.

And with Az, from what we know, all he's had are secretive flings. I can't see his endgame starting that way, in the dark, behind closed doors, "casual". I just think he'd need something different, and it will probably make him a bit off-kilter to finally combine romance and sex, since his experience rarely (never?) had those two things together, with one person.

I don't think there will be pressure for sex, given that sjm has written fade-to-black (I'm thinking elorcan, by then the series was full on sexy) and there is zero sex (that I can remember) in hoeab. She says things in her interviews that don't make it into books, like the threesome scene in acosf that she wrote and left out, I think she wrote rowaelin smut for herself prior to them getting together in canon. But what happens in the books needs to make sense for the larger context of where the characters are at emotionally, and how the plot is pushing them together or driving them apart. And that includes sex.

I'm genuinely so curious how the romantic feelings will develop because it does seem right now that Gwyn is flirty, and Az totally seems like the type to be oblivious about it ("you're the new ribbon, Az") so IDK!!! I absolutely agree with you and would love a friends-to-lovers situation because I think it would give them emotional vulnerability and support followed by intense trust would lead to such a great moment of "OH." Imagine the "OH" if they are friends and fiercely competitive and working together and then idk, one day one of them looks at the other just a little bit differently.

Imagine he does go to the pleasure hall and finds himself thinking of Gwyn. :D "OH."

#gwynriel #ask #anon #acotar

[himbodiaz]

how can you call nesta a cold bitch, dismiss any trauma that she went through, say that the only thing she feels is hate for everyone, claim she won't have a story about healing because she's made too many mistakes, that she doesn’t have a story outside of making trouble and being a bitch, while in the same post say that you want tamlin to have a healing story? and then when you're asked to tag it under the anti tags you say that it's just your opinion and wasn't meant to be that bad.

#im not tagging this bc im just ranting here #but like GOD use the anti tags PLEASE #i get that not everyone is going to like nesta #esp before reading acosf #but dismissing anything that she's gone through while also wanting tamlin to have a healing story just isn't right #listen i wouldnt even be saying anything if it was just TAGGED APPROPRIATELY #or put under a read more so that i don't have to see it when im in the nesta tag #what is the issue with people refusing to use anti tags #i don't get it!!!!

[sabrinasam]

Gwyneth Berdara - Friend or Foe?

Since the emergence of a new ship, it’s been disheartening to see people paint Gwyn in a bad light. From my perspective, Gwyn has never done anything to give off vibes she's sus or scheming something behind the scene. Take into account the fact that she was introduced to be part of Nesta's new found family, it would be depressing to read that she was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing. Or that she's being manipulated without her knowledge.

For argument sake, let's entertain the idea that Gwyn has an agenda. What would be her motive? From what we’ve gathered about her in ACOSF, the only thing she's ever truly wanted was to have the courage to leave the library and go out into the world. So how does that tie into her working with Koschei or Merrill if one of them (or someone else) is pulling the strings? Will they grant her courage? Will they reunite her with her twin sister? Is that enough incentive for Gwyn to turn her back on the NC? On her new found sisters? The priestesses who take sanctuary in the library, a place that has also given her solace? The answer is no. Koschei/Merrill or whoever it is cannot offer Gwyn any more than what the NC can or what she can offer herself.

If courage was what Gwyn seeked, she would not have hesitated when Nesta asked her to join training. She would not have been willing to sacrifice herself for her sisters during the Blood Rite, esp if she was part of some grander plan. Keep in mind the ‘sus activities’ people keep theorizing about happened prior to the BR. It would make her a horrible accomplice to throw away months’ worth of scheming when the end goal has yet been reached.

So then is Gwyn working with the enemy to find some way to bring back her sister? Highly unlikely given the following quote below.

"I wish I could just have one more moment with her. Just one, to tell her that I love her and say good-bye."

Why consort with the enemy for a momentary goodbye? She could accomplish that by visiting her sister’s grave, which she has yet to do because of her guilt over her sister’s death.

So if Gwyn’s not evil, she’s being manipulated.

Okay, for what purpose?

To help locate the dread troves? That’s odd considering Nesta found the Harp. Why would the enemy use Gwyn to help Nesta find the trove instead of Briallyn? Why give the NC more ammunition to hold esp concerning a powerful Made object such as the trove? Let’s bear in mind what Armen said about Made objects.

"Made objects tend to not wish to be found by just anyone. […] That they have faded from memory, that even I didn’t think of them immediately in the fight against Hybern, suggests that perhaps they willed it that way. Wanted to say hidden. True things of power have such gifts.

“You say that as if the objects have a sentience,” Cassian said.

“They do. […] They were Made in a time when wild magic still roamed the earth, and the Fae were not masters of all. Made objects back then tended to gain their own self-awareness and desires. […] When Briallyn was Made, it likely removed from her the Dread Trove’s glamour, for lack of a better term. Recognized her as a kin. Where she might have glanced over a mention of the items before and never thought twice, now it stuck. Or perhaps called to her, presented itself in a dream.”

From what we can gather by this alone, Gwyn had no influence over Nesta finding the Harp. Nesta found the Harp because the Harp willed it that way, in that moment’s time (coincidentally).

If Briallyn’s initial plan was to lure Nesta into bringing her the Troves during the BR, why use Emerie instead of Gwyn to get Nesta to yield if Briallyn already had some sort of hold on Gwyn? Why go to the extreme lengths to have Bellius and his cronies capture Emerie if Briallyn knew Nesta and the ‘half-nymph’ were also friends? Let’s remember that Gwyn was only captured as a bonus because she happened to be at Emerie’s the night of the BR.

So if Gwyn is not being used to help locate the trove, is it possible she’s being used to lure the NC’s #1 spymaster? If the goal was to capture Azriel and force Rhys’s hand, then that could have easily been accomplished when Gwyn asked Azriel to go over dagger lessons with her privately. Nowhere in the book was there any evidence to suggest that Azriel was put in any danger because of Gwyn nor has Gwyn ever posed a question to Azriel that seemed sus. Keep in mind Gwyn is not privy to the IC’s business or personal affairs and she’s limited to where she can go (due to reservations leaving the library & training grounds), so it would be hard for the enemy to try and use her to their advantage.

If Gwyn was under the influence, her odd behavior would have been detected like it had been for the AC soldiers and Bellius but nowhere in ACOSF or Azriel’s POV was Gwyn’s appearance and behavior described as vacant/glassy eyes, loss of sanity, no intelligence etc.

Which leads me to Azriel’s POV since majority of the discourse and theories about Gwyn being evil/manipulated stems from Azriel and his shadows reaction towards her.

The popular theory circulating the fandom is that Gwyn is a lightsinger because she’s been mentioned a few time to glow and enthrall people (such as Nesta and Azriel/Azriel’s shadows) with her singing or mysterious powers.

Here’s the issue I have with this. Everyone, at one point or another, has been described to glow. Why is it that when it pertains to Gwyn, it’s automatically lightsinger? Surely it's not because SJM wanted to highlight Gwyn’s beautiful voice.

My point, in short, is that if we are going to constrict certain words (glow, beckon etc.) down to a specific meaning, then it needs to be applied across the board otherwise there’s a flaw in the logic. To say Gwyn is a lightsinger because she glows, we would then need to re-examine everyone else who’s been described to glow (which would be everyone).

See the flaw here?

But Gwyn’s singing beckoned Nesta and Azriel? Did we forget that Nesta LOVES music and that's one of the main reasons why she frequented the taverns at night? So she could listen to the music. Azriel’s a Shadowsinger. It’s not so farfetched to believe he/his shadows would appreciate a good voice when they hear one (or anyone else for that matter).

Let’s take a step back here and revisit what lightsingers are. Per Cassian, lightsingers are lovely, ethereal beings who lure people and kill for sports. Now how exactly does that sound like Gwyn, the person who unwaveringly refused to leave Nesta’s side during the BR? The one who made Nesta promise they’ll face the onslaught of the Illyrian males together, even if it meant death?

"Only when you’re in their arms will you see their true faces, and they aren’t fair at all. The horror of it is the last thing you see before they drown you in the bog."

Nesta, Emerie, Cassian, Azriel and Rhys have all been in close proximity to Gwyn, so if Gwyn was truly a lightsinger, wouldn’t one of them have recognized Gwyn for who she truly was? How much closer would they need to get to see Gwyn’s true face?

The other issue I have with this lightsinger theory is the idea that Gwyn is somehow unintentionally luring Azriel. Again, I have to ask, for what purpose?

A second handed necklace? A necklace Gwyn had no knowledge of.

Let’s remember Gwyn is not privy to Az’s personal affairs so she has no knowledge of Azriel’s infatuation with Elain, nor does she care. To imply that she 'lured' Azriel on Solstice night because he felt ‘lost’ implies she had motive—which sounds rather intentional doesn’t it? If we recall Azriel’s POV, Gwyn was just as surprised to see Azriel Solstice night too.

But Azriel had every intention of returning Elain’s necklace to the jewelry shop the following day and didn’t. He found himself at the library at 7pm, the exact same time as the evening service when Gwyn sings???

Is it so hard to believe that Azriel, being the grown man that he is, couldn’t have changed his mind? And that the reason he went to the library at 7pm was because he knew Gwyn would not be there and he wanted to maintain his anonymity, hence why he told Clothos to tell Gwyn the gift came from Rhys?

Why do all these speculations around Azriel’s reaction towards Gwyn (his chest glowing, his shadows, the regifting of the necklace etc.) consist of turning Gwyn into a person that is out of her character?

Is it so hard to believe that the reason Azriel could be drawn to Gwyn is simply due to the fact that he finds her charming? And that maybe, just maybe, the reason his shadows react positively towards her is because they sense the mating bond?

No? Why?

Because mates are rare. But a 2nd mating bond for Elain isn’t? 🤨

More importantly, why would it matter if Azriel + Gwyn are mates? Isn’t the foundation of Elriel based on choice? So again, why would it matter? If Azriel + Elain are truly in love or destined to end up together, then no mating bond should come between them so why couldn’t Azriel + Gwyn be mates? It shouldn’t change anything, right? Unless people believe it would.

To suggest that Azriel’s reaction towards Gwyn is all due to her being a lightsinger invalidates the concept that Gwyn is unintentionally using her powers on him. Because if she was unintentionally using her powers, why would Azriel be the only recipient and not the others? There would have to be some level of awareness on Gwyn’s part if she could chose who to enthrall. Unless people question her friendship with Nesta and Emerie.

Again, see the flaw here?

Gwyn either is or isn’t evil. And since we know she’s not evil because we've seen her love and devotion towards those she cares about, let’s maybe push this silly notion out the window?

Nesta, Emerie, Cassian and Azriel are all drawn to Gwyn because they find her charming and admirable, not because she’s put a spell on them with her mysterious powers. It’s as simple as that.

🤍

#gwyneth berdara #gwyn berdara #acosf #acotar #lightsinger theory #the valkyries #gwynriel #friendship

[yazthebookish]

I'm a little confused. People want us to ignore the bonus chapters (specifically the romantic coding between Azriel and Gwyn) because they aren't accessible to everyone but yet continue to imply that the bonus chapters hinted at Elain's book being next???

Azriel's POV was the only time we actually saw Elain and Azriel alone and talking together otherwise they shared no other scenes in the book that actually involved talking to each other. Azriel's POV was also confirmation the two shared a mutual attraction to one another. Prior to that, it was only speculation.

To Elriels point, it seems they want readers to know that the two continued to share a connection or charged look with each other outside the POV, thus further supporting the ship but as an international reader myself, I didn't really see much a development between the two of them in this book. There seemed to be even less compared to the other books, surprisely.

Moreover, even if we ignored the moments between Azriel and Gwyn in the POV, they still shared plenty of screen time (more so than Az and Elain) together in the book. We still witnessed Azriel's shadows dance around Gwyn and the banter between the two of them.

I didn't have access to Az's POV until after I finished ACOSF but even I thought there was a spark between Azriel and Gwyn. It's definitely interesting to see everyone's different take on the story, esp when it comes to ships.

Hope you're doing well and staying safe. 🧡

Hello anon,

I hope you're doing well and staying safe too🤍

Exactly!! I was so confused when I read that Elain and Azriel had many moments in ACOSF and I'm here like Elain was a background character in 80% of the book and I'm disappointed because I expected her to have more presence in a Nesta book.

The only on-page interaction we see between Azriel and Elain in the book is literally two scenes only and I would barely call that an interaction, check pages 467 and 597, thats the only two scenes where they directly interact (a small smile and a charged look) in an over 700+ page book. If it weren't for the bonus chapter, there wouldn't have been any Elriel moments. After Solstice, months passed and there was 0 interactions between them. What the books makes clear is that Azriel is going through the same cycle with Elain as he did with Mor (slightly different because he gets some attention from Elain but it's the same attitude).

On the other hand, SJM makes sure to highlight Gwyn and Azriel's body language and reactions around one another to the reader even in a scene that isn't exclusive to them. Even without the bonus chapter, there are moments between Azriel and Gwyn and I shipped them before I read the bonus chapter and that's what sweetened the deal for me.

Sarah herself makes it seem like his chapter is important and she did drop crumbs all over it and expects us to make theories about it. I posted this clip before but let me drop it here.

#acosf #azriel #gwynriel #asks #video

[talkfantasytome]

Sooo….I kinda feel like everyone loves Azriel simply because we don’t really know him…. Like, his backstory is super interesting, and he has that whole “tall,dark and mysterious” thing going on, but I feel like the fandom loves the version they’ve created of him. Which is fine, but I think we have to acknowledge that SJM is kinda good at ruining her characters. *cough* Rhysand *cough* Feyre *cough* Tamlin….and I could go on. I fear that if we get a book where Azriel is a main, everyone will be disappointed.

That is a totally fair and valid fear!

I do agree that's probably a reason why people love him. The other reason is because Az is your standard "sad boi", and A LOT of people, especially readers, seem to love a good sad boi. Or, at least, a lot of readers in my life do. 👀 Personally, I don't. I fell in love with Cassian basically the moment we met him and have never faltered - that's my type. I've posted about it, but my three biggest SJM world crushes are Cassian, Connor Holstrom, and Aedion Ashryver (don't get me wrong, I do looooove Rowan, but Aedion was the one that just had me like 'awwww 😍😊'). So, like, yeah...and while, yes, there's obvs a physical aspect to that, in reading, that's not what makes you fall in love. And those three definitely also have very similar vibes, especially Cassian and Aedion, who can both have some comic relief aspect, and are happier bois.

Anyway, enough about me, the point is that a lot of people seem drawn to the sad boi type, too, whether they can help it or not. And hey, we all have our trauma that makes us like what we like, so def. no judgment from me on that.

As for being afraid she'll ruin his character, I get where you're coming from. Especially after reading the Bonus chapter because, I'll admit, I was disappointed in what we saw from Az in his mind.

That being said, SJM loves Az, so at least, if she does ruin him, it won't be purposeful, similarly to Rhys. But, I also think that she has a lot of room to help him grow. SJM, in my opinion, hasn't ruined characters when they were the main. I mean, for the first three books Feyre was really the only MC, with a bit of Rhys POV at times, and we loved Rhys so much! And some of us loved Feyre...I was iffy on her at times, cause she's always been just a bit too perfect, but I def. never hated her, and I often did like her.

However, I know a number of people that hated Nesta before ACOSF, and after it were like "shit, this badass is queeeeen". Which, yes, accurate, how dare you not figure it out sooner. 👀 And while Cassian could have had more development, and been a bit better, I didn't feel like he got ruined in ACOSF either. Even with his flaws, I still ended up loving him more. I need a man like that...one that'll wait for me and fight for me, like, ughhhh...seriously, can I have one??

But, yeah, SJM didn't really ruin Rhys until ACOSF, and we finally saw him through eyes that didn't have a "Rhys is the best" filter. It probably also didn't help that we fell in love with Nesta and so many of us relate to her in one way or another. But, we also have to remember that there are people out there who still don't like Nesta, and they don't feel Rhys was ruined. It's okay to be wrong sometimes. My point with that is that, in the end, it'll be as much about ourselves, what we related to and how we see those actions. Me, I saw a male who couldn't be sympathetic to a struggling female, and held her to a double standard and couldn't forgive her for the things she did years ago when she was basically a child, and nothing she could do would be enough. Not even literally save his brother's life. And yet, he'd forgive the other sister even though she did less than Nesta did when they were humans, isn't the one who attempted to get Feyre back from the Fae lands (I mean, seriously, does no one in the book remember that Nesta traveled to the f*ing wall as a human to try and get Feyre back?!), and did very little during the war. Not trying to insult E\ain, just pointing out what happened and how Rhys is holding a double standard, forgiving one sister solely because she's "nice" and hating the other, most likely because Nesta was representing on the outside what everyone else was feeling on the inside. And, Rhys is your typical WASP - you hide those emotions, you do not show flaws in public, outside your home everything is fine, repress repress repress.

Okay, sorry, Rhys rant over, and if anyone was ever curious where I stood on Rhys (and hadn't seen other posts where I def. brought it up), now you know. I'm not sorry. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, while I understand the fear, and that feeling is totally valid, I'll say I'm not super concerned. Because SJM is good at putting us in the perspective of who she's writing from, and that will hopefully help us long-term in his book, even if maybe at the beginning it's rough cause Az hates himself.

My biggest fear is definitely more that we'll be disappointed because we all like Az (or love for some) and many of us are likely building up this potential story in our heads a lot - kinda like what you said about the fandom making our own Az. Or reading fics doing the same. I won't deny, that's probably my biggest fear. It's not that she'll ruin Az, but just that she'll do things differently, and I may be a bit disappointed...esp. if she doesn't make Gwyn the dom. 👀 After reading a fic with femdom Gwyn (not super BDSM, just, like, she's the dom in the relationship), I can't not want that...so, like, SJM, plz. I know it's probs not gonna happen, she writes relationships where the guy is the top, BUT IT COULD!

And, if it doesn't, then she better f*ing make E\ain the dom to Lucien's sub...I'm sorry, but considering her personality outside of the bedroom, it's just so right, and we need a femdom relationship in her world.

So, yeah. I get your fear. It's fair. The fanon version of Az does exist, for sure. I think canon Az is likely going to be darker, for sure, at least at the beginning, which is going to be difficult but really put us on a true journey. But, in the end, it also might be something we have to check ourselves on, because it wouldn't be fair to SJM for us to be disappointed because we created something we love with her character, and then she showed us that the character she created is different.

I understand, I feel you. But don't worry too much. <3 I will just leave you with a little nugget from the true nugget, Newt Scamander:

#ask box #azriel #acotar thoughts #azriel shadowsinger #gwynriel #elucien

[cupcakey00]

So, I know people are scared for what’s gonna happen in ACOSF, but I think we need to address some things:

1. a lot of what we want to happen is stuff we’ve seen others say, or stuff we’ve wanted after reading tons of analyses or other people’s opinions on the books and the way Nesta’s been treated. SJM probably hasn’t read nearly as much as us if anything about that stuff from fans at all.

2. SJM loves Nesta. We know she does. She’s said it multiple times, and she’s said in a recent IG Live that she hopes that after ACOSF, her audience loves Nesta as much as she does. That hardly sounds like someone who’s gonna do her character dirty. Sure, she may have Nesta do things or say things that we don’t want her to, but that doesn’t mean she’s gonna “ruin” her character.

3. A number of people are saying they want Nesta to heal on her own, without Cassian. I’m telling you rn you will not get that. It’s LITERALLY in the synopsis of the book - “they search for acceptance - and healing - in each other's arms.” It’s a fantasy-romance novel ffs. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want her to completely rely on Cassian, or Cassian to replly on her, but still. I’d also like to point out that some people can’t heal on their own, and that’s okay. Nesta was at the point of harming herself (barely eating, alcoholism, allowing herself to freeze bc the crackling fire was a trigger). She needs help from others (the way they went about it is a whole different discussion), nor does her being helped by Cassian mean she’s “fixed” by magical Fae dick. I maintain this didn’t happen with Feyre either, but alas. Please don’t do either Nesta or Cassian dirty like that, not when we know they care for each other, even if they do have their issues. ACOSF IS a book about healing and acceptance, after all.

4. I have heard, not been able to find for sure though (I joined the fandom only like 6 months ago) that SJM modeled Nesta in ACOFAS after some of her own issues. I know for a FACT, esp since SJM has said this MULTIPLE times, that some of what Nesta goes through and struggles with in ACOSF (can’t wait for the book omg) is what SJM HERSELF went through, WHILE WRITING THE BOOK. She made it very clear Nesta’s journey is very much still Nesta’s, but that the book is very special to her bc she related to Nesta with her depression and anxiety at the time. She also mentioned that working out helped SJM, and guess what? I’ve read a lot about how many of you don’t like this, but Nesta trains as well (which makes sense considering a minor plot device or whatever in the books were that Nesta was physically too weak to be able to defend herself. Wits are great but no, they can’t protect you against everything). And guess what: not liking that is okay, but that doesn’t mean she did Nesta dirty! Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean that it’s objectively bad. SJM cannot possibly make everyone happy. (I’m just using the training since it’s confirmed canon.)

5. I understand being afraid. I was afraid too but then I realized that SJM has never once failed to meet my expectations. Yes, it’s true I’m much more critical now of her books than I was before, but she is still a phenomenal writer. Have faith in the author that made you love a character in the first place. Which brings me to my next point...

6. Can we please start being more positive about SJM and her writing? Seriously. It’s hard to be excited when I’m anxious bc of all the anti-whatever posts I see ALL the time by so many different people. Obviously it’s important to criticize a writer and their writing and characters, but damn y’all can we also be a little more positive leading up to ACOSF? Some of you sound like you don’t even like the series OR SJM. like damn if you’re so critical of the series and of a book that hasn’t even come out yet, then just don’t read it. 😭

#acotar #acosf #nessian #sjm #sarah j maas #nesta #nesta archeron #a court of silver flames #a court of thorns and roses

[gwyns]

I find it interesting that all ships can agree there was romantic coding between Elain and Azriel prior to ACOSF but when it comes to Gwynriel, the consensus by Elriels seem to be that there's nothing there. Not even the possibility.

I wonder why that is. 🤔 Does admitting it put a crack on their ship? It shouldn't. They are still free to ship whoever they want, but at least acknowledge that 'a thing of secret, lovely beauty' was romantically coded.

Ignoring it is ignoring textual evidence from the book, which we know Elriels love to pull. It's hard for me to take people seriously when they are so stubborn in their reserve that they won't allow the possibility of something else to take place, esp when the book/text hints it.

Maybe if this was Nesta and Cassian we were talking about (or even Feysand), then sure, I wouldn't think anything, or anyONE for that matter, could come between them. But this is Elain and Azriel, the two who, I'm sorry to say, have the least amt of connection than the other couples. Yes, they became friends earlier than Nessian and Feysand but the level of connection there is not as deep. Try and pull any deep conversations the two have shared and you will find none. Any declaration of LOVE? Nada. Yes, Azriel was willing to risk his life to rescue Elain but let's be honest, the bat boys are the first to throw themselves in danger so I wouldn't considered that a declaration of Azriel's undying love for Elain.

If the next book was going to be Elriel, SJM would have provided more than just the almost kiss, which took place in Azriel's POV. Take away the exclusive chapter and you will find that Elain and Azriel's relationship has not progressed anywhere. Elain can still barely manage to maintain eye contact with Az and neither of them can hold a conversation (with each other) longer than 4-5 sentences. Unfortunately that doesn't scream endgame to me. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Didn't mean to make this post so long. Thanks for reading until the end. 🤍

agreed. i understand not wanting to acknowledge the romantic coding of a ship you don't like but if i can do it with e/riel then they can with gwynriel. do they really look at lines like "a thing of secret, lovely beauty" or "you're the new ribbon, az" and think it's not romantic? or are they just trying to act calm and claim that anything having to do with them is automatically platonic. if so, the same can be applied to e/riel with much better results imo lol

as for az helping save elain. it's been said before that he would be the first to throw himself into any kind of danger and so that's what he did here. i think it has more to do with his low self esteem than any kind of "true love" nonsense.

so true anon. if sarah, someone who wrote feysand, elorcan, CHAORENE doesn't write the heart stopping romance for e/riel then..... i'm sorry but it's unlikely to happen. excluding his chapter the only interactions they had were when azriel was being a douche and underestimating elain (so glad amren told him not to, wish she had slapped him upside the head while she was at it) and saying what she shouldn't do instead of encouraging her (something he did with gwyn btw), them at dinner when he smiled at her for 0.3 seconds and she looked away quickly and them staring at each other (their favorite hobby) on solstice. wow. i can't handle all this romantic tension guys 😍😍

even when taking into account his chapter i think it's telling that it ended with him thinking of gwyn. honestly he didn't seem to give one shit about elain after their scene together. was he upset with rhys for cockblocking him? yeah sure but i feel that could be explained with his jealousy towards what he has and him pulling rank and bossing him around. not everything is about elain. just like when talking about her not everything she does or thinks or says somehow ties her to azriel. they're two separate characters who exist on their own.

#im sorry for taking awhile to reply to this!!! #i appreciate you sending this in ❤️❤️ #asks #anonymous

[wingsandembers]

Next book predictions, take it with a grain of salt, but I try my best to base them on what is canon and what we read already from the books, esp in ACOSF, but we all interpret things differently and these are just my initial predictions:

It will be either be on Azriel, Elain or both - no it’s not about ships or wanting them to be endgame, they’re logically who will be the next book be centered on, either way they’ll both be prominent characters in it regardless who will be marketed as the lead.

The story will take place more in the River House whenever they’re in Velaris than it will in the House of Wind, if at all, which means while we will only hear about the Valkyries (esp Gywn and Emerie) but we won’t see them as much, probably not until a battle scene, like Nesta needing their help to rescue Elain.

If the book is primarily Azriel, I think we will see the resolution to the Mor/Eris situation, which can then also lead to the Lucien/Elain situation. If it’s Elain, then more likely resolution to the Lucien/Elain/Azriel/Gywn? Question mark on gywn coz of point above. She’s primarily Nesta’s friend and we won’t see Gywn as much if she still refuses to leave the library and also what business does she have to be constantly interacting with IC? Same goes for Emerie and Mor. Mor will continue to be all over the place, and Emerie primarily in Illyria.

So as much as I am begging for it, I don’t think we will get a satisfying resolution to Nesta/Cassian/Mor/Azriel/Elain/Lucien + Mor/Eris + most unlikely resolutions to Mor/Emerie + Azriel/Gywn all in the next book, it’s all too much for one book (especially a middle book in the phase 2 of the acotar series). I’m sure sjm will either brush over a lot of it or focus on just one or two aspects of it to help move the plot forward. Whoever the pairings will be need to be very relevant to the plot of the next book.

If Koschei is the big bad, then he won’t be dealt with fully until the last book, so I think the next book will likely deal more with Beron (and Tamlin), possibly the remaining human queens and but most likely the need to unite pyrthian, which means either securing alliance finally or installing a high king.

My high king theory is that the high king would be Lucien not Rhys, and to parallel it with the first high king, the general and queen that will betray him is Azriel and Elain. That betrayal and what will Lucien do will be the cliffhanger for the last book. Again, doesn’t mean they’ll be endgame but that betrayal from Azriel and Elain, whether it’s just a one time thing between them that will cost them both or sth that will make Elain reject her mating bond, or will lead to Elain choosing Lucien despite wanting to be with Azriel coz of the need for the alliance or for Lucien to be the High King to stand a chance against koschei, will be the main romance drama in the next book...IMO.

I don’t buy into the evil!Elain theory, it doesn’t make sense for her character, she can definitely be made into an interesting and even flawed character without turning her evil. I think her haters will be proven wrong (this coming from someone who currently don’t like Elain)

In acosf when nesta noticed elain has learned to move stealthily and Cassian took notice that Elain is unlikely just starting community gardens all over Velaris, and the way Azriel and Elain was so charged looking at each other even before we read Azriel’s excerpt during solstice, I’m betting Elain and Azriel has been sneaking out together, maybe taking elain to one his spy missions, either way something must have happened in one of their secret excursions, and all that culminated right at solstice and what we read in the Azriel excerpt. Like that sexual tension between them didn’t just happen while Azriel was watching Elain plant flowers. But after what happened at solstice, Azriel did listen to Rhys and why Azriel was brooding more than usual and Elain seem to also be now avoiding Azriel as a result.

I also think Azriel knows more than Feyre what’s going on with Elain, and why Azriel felt the need to say out loud that she should not be exposed to the Troves, I think it’s more than just overprotectiveness or thinking elain can’t handle it but Nesta can. Azriel has been doing most of the spy work so he’s the one who knows the most what they’re going to be up against.

The magical object they’ll be searching for - coz they need to search for one in every book, that’s the basic arc of the storytelling in this series - will either be Narben or something only a seer can find, like maybe the fourth dread trove object, in order to explain why it can’t be feyre or nesta be looking for it this time.That magical object will also make someone who posses it high king and/or yield power that rivals the 3 dread troves combined, so they want to get it before it goes to the wrong hands, so Elain will go with Azriel to find it, resuming their secret excursions that will be official now. Something will go wrong, Lucien will know cause of his mating bond with elain, which will all lead to my high king theory above.

#elain archeron #Azriel #post acosf theories #acosf #lucien vanserra #Eris vanserra #morrigan #nesta archeron #feyre archeron #Cassian #acotar #I base my ships on what the books tell me & not make predictions based of who I want to see endgame or fave characters #as you can see I barely mention nesta and Cassian here and I want them to be prominent in the next book #but likely we will only get them as much as we got feysand in acosf if we’re lucky! #elriel #elucien

[good-forthe-weekend]

Okay, so like, this blog has low key become an ACOTAR theory/headcanon blog. But here we go again. Because I’ve been thinking about the remaining books/novella, and what might be obvious about what the next book may be. So stick with me on this one, but here’s how I hope it plays out. (Gonna be really long, because 3 books worth of theories, so gonna make it a read more post)

Let’s start with what I’d like the books to be (not in a demanding bitchy way, just what I generally hope for)

Books 5 and 6 (in no particular order): Azriel, Elain/Lucien

Novella: Feyre’s pregnancy from her/Rhys’ perspective

While books 5 and 6 could be in any order, depending on the overarching plot with Koschei and everything, I really think the next book is going to be about Az. I know that the 2 main contenders for obvious choices are Az and Elain, but I don’t think their stories are meant to be told together. Their arcs are completely different. Az needs to be someone’s first choice and get over 500 years of darkness and self hatred, whereas Elain needs to find her own agency. Here’s how I’d do those things.

Az’s story, to me, is rooted in self worth. I don’t think he has much. I think that the events of his life have done everything to convince him that no matter how much good he does, no matter how many people love him, he will never be good enough. Similar to Nesta, tbh. Just rooted in different places. His family loathed him, Mor’s been stringing him along for 500 years, and most people value him for what his shadow singer abilities can do for them. I think his story should revolve around him finding self worth, and being his own first choice, but also realizing how inherently valuable he is to everyone around him. (If we get a brothers bonding moment in Az’s book, I will cry my eyes out in the best way) Now *personally*, as a lover of Gwyn, I would love to see her tie into Az’s story. (NOTE: No hate for any shippers, Gwynriel, Elriel, Elucien, idc. They’re all valid, this is a respect only zone. This is simply my personal opinion on what *I* would like to see) Gwyn has also been shown to need some help in the self worth category. She literally says how she believes she’s a bad person for not being able to save her twin. So I’d love if her and Az have parallel stories in Az’s book. Romance or not. Actually, I’d love to see them grow side by side without having to be all horny all the time. I’d love if Gwyn prioritizes her mental health and growth above having a relationship, and tells Az that she cares for/loves him, but needs time to herself before getting into a relationship. Mates wise, I do see the merit in the Gwynriel mates theories. (I’ll get into why I don’t like Elain as Az’s mate later. But also, I have no problem with Elriel, I just don’t like the idea of them being meant to be mated. Although I have this evil!Elain idea brewing in my head that would fit with Elriel being supposed to be mates that the cauldron effed up) but I also am on the fence about it, because even with my own headcanon about ACOTAR mates, I’m still getting a little tired of every single romance having to be mated.

For Elain, I have 2 theories that I favor. Either she gets kidnapped by Koschei, and her story is a loose retelling of Swan Lake, or she ends up going to the Spring Court, and we get Beauty and The Beast part 2, but different this time. Either way, I want her story to give her some damn agency and flesh out her character as more than the Cosette character whose whole personality is “Well, I went through a trauma and stayed kind”. Because there’s a way to do that meaningfully, but since it’s been coupled with her being a character that simply does not do anything for herself, it falls flat for me.

Also, side note about Elriel being mates who the cauldron messed up. I don’t care for that. First of all, I don’t think that the cauldron picked Nesta and Elain’s mates when they were Made. Which I mention in my personal theory on ACOTAR Mates, which I linked above. I think that the Cauldron picks mates when you’re born, which would mean that Elain and Lucien were always meant to be mates. Besides which, while I’m not a rabid supporter of either ship at this point, I see what people are saying about it not being a good thing that Az’s shadows disappear when Elain is around. His shadows are a part of him, they’re his friends. So I think it’s better for them to respond well to someone’s presence than disappear entirely. Also, with the light singer theories (which I see on both Gwynriel and Elriel sides), in ACOSF, it’s said that light singers weren’t good. They were beings that looked kind but ultimately were evil, just like shadow singers look all bad, but ultimately Az is an extremely kind, empathetic person with a savior complex. So, unless you want to make your fave be secretly evil (which, again fits in with this evil!Elain theory I’ve been stewing on lately) it’s probably not a good idea to say they’re ‘the light singer to Az’s shadowsinger’. ALSO ALSO. Azriel deserves to be someone’s first choice. Not their 3rd, behind the guy that the universe destined them for AND the human that they still aren’t entirely over. Azriel isn’t a ‘well, since there’s no one else to choose, I GUESS’. Azriel is someone who deserves, and should be loved as a first choice. And no matter if that person is Gwyn or not, we should see someone fall for him as a first and only choice.

Anyway, if she got kidnapped by Koschei, I’d like for everyone to freak out and be trying to save her (Lucien included, because protective fae mate), but Elain ends up saving her damn self. Without anyone knowing until she just sort of shows up somewhere in Prythian. Whereupon everyone is like “You escaped Koschei?????”, and Elain just responds “What, like it’s hard?”. I don’t have too many specifics in mind for this theory, but yeah, I’d love if that were to happen. I can even see a path for Elain and Lucien to fall for each other in that scenario, I just can’t find a way to verbalize it.

Alternatively, and hear me out on this one, I would love for her to go to the Spring Court. SJM keeps putting connections between Elain and Spring, and has even had several characters say she’d love the Spring Court. She doesn’t belong in the Night Court. And I would love, and again hear me out here, for her to help Tamlin. I know, I’m not his biggest fan either. But I don’t want him dying alone and angry either. He was an ass, and reacted poorly to many things, but I want him to grow from that. And learn how to be a better person. And not be so overprotective. How does Elain fit into this? Well, I’m not sure how to get her there, but I would love for her to end up in Spring Court, where she befriends him. Friends. Nothing more. Not a drop more. In fact, I want Tamlin to make an advance on her, thinking that he’s falling for her, only for Elain to be like “Dude, you only think you like me because I’m the one who’s been helping you, but we’re friends. We wouldn’t work as more.” Or even vice-versa. Either way, I would LOVE to have a story about a character coming into their own without a big romance, and frankly after the way Elain has treated Lucien and Az, she can stay alone (as much as I think her and Lucien would be cute together). But I also think that Elain befriending Tamlin, and eventually becoming a member of his court, could lead to some nice healing places for Feyre, and would afford her the opportunity to actually confront Tamlin about everything they went through. (It would also be cool if Tamlin made her High Lady of Spring, without them being together. Idk, I think it would be cool for him to abandon tradition so much when he held it up to a toxic level before)

‘But how does Lucien come into this?’ I hear literally no one asking because this post is so fucking long already. Well, beloved reader of this bullshit, I simply want him to officially be able to move on. I want him and Elain to have arcs that happen at the same time, and are tied loosely together, but are ultimately separate. I want Elain to find agency and finally make up her mind, and I want Lucien to call her out on stringing him along. And I ultimately want him to find peace. (And for him to find out he’s Helion’s son in the messiest way possible, but I digress) I really just want Lucien to ride off into the metaphorical sunset and be happy and content and finally value himself. If Elain is in the Spring Court, maybe call out Tamlin for the way that he abused Lucien too. As long as he ends up happy, I’m cool with it.

Also, I want a comeuppance for Mor/Eris. They’ve been hinting at something for several books now, and I damn well want to see what’s behind those hints. (I also low key want the Eris/Mor comeuppance to cause a confrontation between Az/Mor/Cass about their weird dynamic and how toxic it was, and how it kinda made Mor treat Nesta like shit. I just really want Cass to officially choose Nesta in front of the IC, esp Mor. I think it’s important for their relationship. I could go on and on about that tho.)

Personally, I kind of want Mor and Eris to have been Mates. Not only because I already ship Mor/Emerie and want to see a mated pair that don’t end up together, but I think there’s a ton of opportunity for angst there. Maybe they fell for each other, never actually let the mating bond fully set (because, up until this point we’ve never seen a mating bond click into place without sex, which we know they never had), and Mor realized that no matter how much she cared for Eris, she was in fact gay, and so she slept with Cass, and you know the rest of her story there. Eris didn’t care, and told his father that he would marry her anyway because they were in love (I don’t think he’d play his full hand and admit to being un-mated mates because it would put Mor in a whole new level of danger). Beron basically told Eris that under no circumstances would he marry Mor, and told him to abandon her completely. With a threat to Mor’s safety thrown in there for good measure (like “Go ahead, marry her. See exactly what will befall her her in the Autumn Court. It will not go well” except more eloquent and shit) When Mor’s family dumped her, I don’t think that he found her first with people with him. I think he would have found her shortly after she got left, and he’d have been alone. So he found a way to tip off Az that she was there, and staged it to look like he found her and semi-publicly abandoned her completely. Idk, I just feel like there’s a lot more to the story than we know, and given how extremely Mor responds to someone who never actually laid hands on her, I think there’s more to why she does that. Maybe it’s because she knows he’s her mate, and is terrified he’s going to get spiteful and let that info slip. I kind of want this to be a situation to be one where she didn’t outright lie about what happened, just the context, because she knew if the context was revealed, then she’d be forced to come out, so she lied by omission.

Personally, I would love for this to be a not insignificant piece of Az’s book, because I think there’s a not insignificant part of his personality that’s been influenced by Mor, so whatever comeuppance that Cass/Az/Mor have (and I’m praying they do), I hope it’s not just glossed over. I also wouldn’t hate if this story was told in the novella, but I also really want to see Feyre and Rhys’ side of their pregnancy story (I think it would be weird to have such a significant plot for them told during someone else’s story, and not give us Feyre and Rhys’ perspective). And that would really only fit in either a novella or bonus short story. Also, I think that Feyre’s pregnancy would make a better novella, and Mor/Eris would fold nicely into the plot of a book.

So yeah, there’s my ridiculously long rundown on what I want to happen/my theories for the rest of the ACOTAR series. Feel free to add/dissect/interact/tell me I’m horridly wrong. I wanna talk about these books at length so bad

#acotar #acowar #acomaf #acofas #acosf #feyre archeron #rhys #cassian #azriel #mor #eris #lucien #vanserra #beron #emerie #gwyn #nesta #elain #tamlin #theory #headcanon

[acotar-shit-thoughts]

MY RE-WRITING PARTS OF THE ACOTAR SERIES

*some acosf spoilers thrown in because i realize that SJM is writing a story so far removed from what i thought the story should go*

*a bit rant-y but i think this would have made the story more compelling*

i still think elain should have died in the cauldron back in ACOMAF and in my logic this would set of a story that will definitely heal and see powerful women who didn’t have power before be able to weld and rise up.

- nesta and feyre is over protective of elain and would do anything for her (and quite frankly elain’s personality is almost none existent. nesta and feyre are fantastic juxtapositions of one another and can carry themselves well)

- killing elain in the cauldron would up the stakes for both feyre and nesta (instead of making the only thing interesting about elain being likeable, gardening, azriel/lucien ships, pretty and agreeable, and bouncing back and forth between sisters)

- therefore forcing them to work together; push aside their personal bad blood for one another in the name of avenging elain

- through that process of strategizing and learning about fae and their own abilities (feyre’s high lord powers and nesta’s power she stole from the cauldron) they learn to appreciate one another. (and since this is a love story, nesta can still train with cassian but it would be BECAUSE SHE ASKED TO BE TRAINED instead of being forced to)

- they would eventually HAVE to confront their deep personal relationship to one another and move pass their old pains (INSTEAD OF MAKING FEYRE ALMOST DIE FROM SOMETHING THAT SHOULDN’T BE AN ISSUE OR ANY OF THE SPITEFUL SHIT THAT HAPPENS IN ACOSF)

- we learn about their family and their dynamics and how they can agree that their father is trash and even talk about the pain their mother gave (where BOTH SISTERS WILL HAVE AN APPRECIATION OF EACH OTHER AND MAKE SURE WHEN THEY HAVE FAMILIES OF THEIR OWN THEY WON’T TREAT THEIR KIDS THE SAME WAY AND EVEN HELPING HUMAN FAMILIES WHO STRUGGLED LIKE THEM)

- no locking anyone up!!!! the self sabotage of nesta won’t happen because she will put her energy into avenging elain; thus fighting for a bigger cause than herself and make her actually use the power she stole. SHE WOULD HAVE AGENCY. NO RELYING ON THE DRINKING/SEX BECAUSE OF PAIN TROPE. NO RHYSAND BEING A FUCKEN DICK AND EVERYONE SHIT TALKING TO NESTA. they can still have that disagreeable dynamic, whatever but rhysand being over protective and everyone else ganging up on her was disgusting and she did not deserve that.

- WE WILL SEE THEM BECOME LEADERS -- they will lead the strategy along w the IC; we will see them lead with the other high lords, we will see them convince the humans. we got glimpses of that in ACOWAR! SJM writes girlbosses which is just *rolls eyes*. lets let these ladies actually LEAD. let them actually have power instead of writing lip service for that. or taking their fucken power away for the drama. (WTF WAS THE FEYRE CAN’T HEAL BULLSHIT?? WHY STIFLE FEYRE WHEN SJM BUILT HER UP IN THE LAST FOUR FUCKEN BOOKS TO BE THIS POWERFUL FIGURE BUT LIKE GIVING BIRTH, A NATURAL THING THAT FEMALES CAN DO, IS GONNA KILL HER AND MAKE HER THE MOST VULNERABLE SHES EVER BEEN AND MAKE RHYSAND LOOK LIKE A SHIT PARTNER CUZ HE REFUSE TO TELL HER ABOUT HER RISKS. JUST FOR THE DRAMA I GUESS???)

- when war is fought and lost; we see them stand together to become the new leaders of the new world. the wall is gone and hybern is killed. again, we got a glimpse of that in ACOWAR at the end. there should have been a moment when fayre confronts tamlin and TALK to him. they seemed so poised to be LEADERS. new leadership because the old high lords are garbage and they fucked up so many times. introduce new policies, introduce new trade deals, beef up economies (esp since this is hyberns main reason to high up prythian), etcetc.

- feyre can work on leading night court as a high lady along with leading the rebuild of spring court (since she fucken wrecked it, displaced all the citizens, and took it from tamlin. feyre also knows about spring court’s rebuilding effort and how the tilthe isn’t it. she even said that tamlin should not make ppl bring useless things because they have so many things. the water folks dont have fish and that tamlin should have helped them hunt for fish or whatever instead of punishing them) and the new laws and policies for humans (can be intigration?? rhys and feyre talked about human refugees??? where did that talk go??). we can actually see feyre be a HIGH lady instead of her spending her days shopping and decorating and breeding (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH TAMLIN and we saw that as a bad thing!!! why spend 600 goddamn pages talking about not being that to turn 180 and be exactly that????)

- feyre’s reason for fighting has also been to the benefit of the human realm. the fact that she kind of said fuck it as the books progressed to where nesta or elain are the ambassador to the human realm felt so wrong because being human once was what was special about feyre. that was her north star. her whole heartedly identifying fae is wrong (maybe this is my theory about ACOTAR being a tragedy comes in).

- nesta would finally be an actual queen. you can’t tell me with all the mentions of nesta having queen energy is gonna translate to whatever the fuck it was in ACOSF??? nesta would get leadership experience. she would have purpose! she might even be able to envision of brighter future and fight to not let something like hybern happen again. protect those who can’t be protected? protect those who see the light in the world the way elain did?? maybe even her power can protect the cauldron and she could be a guardian or something??

- this is where i venture off; after the war, feyre leads the rebuild in prythian. nesta can lead the effort in hybern (AGAIN NO LOCKING UP!!! NO TAKING TIPS FROM TAMLIN’S HANDBOOK. NO FORCING HER AGAINST HER WILL!!!). she could rebuild it in a new name and face. her book could focus on her learning about her power; learning about how to please the hybern folks who dont like her (and i like that nesta isnt a likeable person from the start unless you are someone like meeeee). imagine seeing her ACTUALLY make her own friends and have her own inner circle??? imagine her making new friends and helping others. imagine her ruling??? making policys and laws?? imagine her going to different courts to do economic trades and deals?? she would channel her energy into something HELPFUL AND IMPACTFUL. she can still dance and do the big ball stuff. she can host she can feel like shes in control and maybe even channeling her guilt into something that is systematically helpful.

- along w this, cassian would be able to leave night court. he has been side line for so long. hes a buffer between mor and az and thats unfair to him. hes his own person and shouldnt be deligated to that task. he would have to actively choose nesta, which he wasn’t doing throughout the original trilogy. he would have to be placed in an environment outside his comfort! cassian is so much more than a goof ball and buffer. besides his skills might be necessary to handle hybern’s war-happy citizens

- we can see more of this world. hybern is sitting empty and the problems from the start still exists. im just so disappointed that SJM drops hints of scocio-economic problems that exists in the fae world and dont deliver. why deliver something so complicated to ignore??? its such ashame this world is so rich and beautiful and the characters are so fun to read about and for it to be turn out...so....trope-y (IN A BAD WAY). the original stories are fine too i guess, but it doesn’t feel planned out. it feels like SJM writes on a whim and just changes things as she sees it fit the relationship of characters.

#acotar #anti acosf #acosf spoilers #anti sjm #rewrite acotar #nesta #queen nesta #high lady feyre #cassian #anti acotar

[abruisedmuse]

It’s alright, hold on to that thought I’ll come back when I’ve read KOTC

Honestly yes, and I would die for that but he looks like wrath, he needs a badass like nesta, not an Elain

You know it’s sad being an Elain when men like nestas (all the power to them, I love them they’re honestly badasses)

Honestly I’m on the fence about Elain and Lucien/azriel, because I love all of them and both those men and they both deserve the peace that comes from her and I can’t think someone deserves it and her more than the other

I love when Elain gives azriel the headache remedy though, I felt soooo seen, and when she put extra care in her looks and food making process (in frost and starlight), I swear that solidified me seeing myself in her (esp the good thing and the attention to details like the temple rubbing)

- stellestreghe

It’s more so a few lines he says to her about what he wants. I’ll let you get there.

This isn’t a e/riel friendly blog lmao. In fact, after his bonus pov it’s not really an Az friendly one too. Boy needs some therapy. I will say J use to ship them in a fanon sense but there’s somethings that go down in acosf and then his bonus chapter that were downright gross to me. I want nothing to do with it. Also….wait til you meet Gwyn. I ship Az with anyone it’s Gwyn but before that yeah he needs some self healing. He’s in a well a pretty bad mindset.

There’s nothing wrong with being an Elain type ❤️ a lot of people think she’s plain, boring, or secretly evil. She’s not you just have to look past the surface. She’s loving, generous, loyal, and kind. As you’ll see in acosf she has a sassy side. I’m looking forward to her Learning about herself. Who she is and what she wants. I’m really hoping she sticks with her femininity.

There’s nothing wrong with having a gentle heart and it’s sad but its often overlooked in media. When it’s not is usually not highlighted in a good light until they do something incredibly bad ass. I.E. Sansa Stark with Ramsay and Elain with Hybern. Even then, some people think it’s not good enough. It’s sad honestly. I love my soft on the surface and steel underneath girls. They’re equally as amazing as knife wives

#ask #answered #elain archeron #anti e/riel #stellestreghe

[yazthebookish]

I haven't read SJM's ToG series so I can't compare it to ACOTAR but do you know if SJM has ever dedicated a full length book to one of her male characters before? As much as I want to read Azriel's book next, I'm nervous he will star as a love interest instead (esp if the next book is Elriel), since the females always eclipse the males. Thoughts?

Hello anon🤍!

She did write a book focused on the development of one of her main male characters (Chaol) in Tower of Dawn and she did a pretty fantastic job with his own development (including a new romance) and the plot's progression at the same time.

He also shared POVs with two other female characters and still had enough page time to develop. The presence of two other female heroines did not hinder his role in the book and while they did share the book but it still felt like he was the MC while one was his love interest and the other covered another plotline, all of them contributed to the plot.

Azriel should definitely be the MC of the next book. There is so much about him to unwrap and limiting his role to a love interest would not give us a satisfying development because his focus will be on his LI (if it was Elain) and their journeys would clash because Elain also has so much to unload. He is the one with the darkest past among the IC and the most mysterious.

Sarah said each book will focus on a couple. And if the next book will be shared between Azriel and Gwyn then Azriel will be the main character while Gwyn is the supporting main character/LI.

Sarah loves Azriel and she said she's very excited to write his journey. I do think the next book will focus on him.

Tower of Dawn was around 672 pages and ACOSF was even more than that, and Sarah did an excellent job covering the journey of all three charcaters. In Azriel's book, I think she'll do the same.

#asks #azriel

[good-forthe-weekend]

I figured out how to get Elain to the Spring Court!: An Evil!Elain Theory

Okay, so I know this goes against my other ideas for Elain’s book, but I’ve read quite a few posts (most from before the publishing of ACOSF) that say that Elain could be the foil to Azriel, in that she could be a lightsinger to his shadowsinger. Up until ACOSF, this could have meant something completely different, with many of these posts talking about how Elain being a lightsinger would mean her being this completely pure being of light, who wields light the way Az does shadows. After this passage in ACOSF though.....

“There are lightsingers: lovely, ethereal beings who will lure you, appearing as friendly faces when you are lost. Only when you’re in their arms will you see their true faces, and they aren’t fair at all. the horror of it is the last thing you see before they drown you in the bog. But they kill for sport, not food.”

At first glance, it might seem to completely eradicate the idea that Elain would be a lightsinger, because that could make her evil. And a lot of people don’t want that. But let’s entertain the thought for a second. What if she *is* a lightsinger? The Cauldron, as per ACOTAR canon, gave her gifts, including her seer abilities. What if it made her a lightsinger too? It saw all the light in her, how everyone around her saw her as this trite, harmless dress up doll, and decided to make her into a being that could wield that assumption to her advantage.

Now, I’m not saying that she’s secretly been plotting since the Cauldron Made her, but what if those powers are dormant? Elain has never really shown us any interest in using her powers (not saying she doesn’t have any, we just haven’t been shown it), so she very well just might not know she is a lightsinger yet. But something could change that.

I saw this post recently, which posited that Gwyn and Az having their mating bond click into place might make Elain snap. I love this idea. And I love what that user (@multibookss) said about Koschei recruiting Elain to his side.

So what if? What if Koschei uses Elain’s grief over Azriel choosing Gwyn to bring her to his side and teach her about her latent lightsinger abilities? Teaches her how to use her sunny demeanor to lure people in until she can hurt them for hurting her (except he’s really doing this so he can try to take down the IC from the inside, since he can’t leave his lake). We could get an Az book centering around him (and maybe Gwyn, I don’t hate them together, I think they’re cute), in which we all miss Elain going rogue. Only for it to get revealed in the final act of the book, where she ultimately tries to hurt Az, only for Gwyn to save them all, or something. 

(SIDE NOTE: Anyone could save him, please don’t get me caught up in ship wars, idgaf who he ends up with as long as he gets therapy and is happy. I literally just think he and Gwyn would be cute, and them getting together works for this idea, esp with all the ‘Gwynriel is going to be The Little Mermaid’ theories I’ve seen. It could be a whole parallel to where Ariel [Gwyn] has to save Eric [Azriel] from Ursula [Elain].)

Queue Elain having a whole evil arc, which I would ultimately like her to come back from. Not sure how, but that’s why I’m not the author of these books lol. But she comes back from the dark side. She still can’t live in the Night Court, though, for whatever reason. Maybe all the Courts banish her. Or all but the Night Court do, but Feyre and Rhys tell her she can’t stay in Velaris any longer, for some bs political reason. Except Lucien, in a moment of sympathy for his would-be-mate, convinces Tamlin to take her in. Because Tamlin wasn’t really present enough to banish anyone, since he’s been stuck in beast form. He really doesn’t know much about the goings on in Prythian anymore, so Lucien pretty easily convinces him to do him this favor. Maybe even tells Tamlin that he owes him, for all the years that Lucien let Tamlin emotionally abuse him. This could lead to Elain’s book being about her healing from all of her trauma (from the Cauldron, to the war, to Az, to being used by Koschei, all of it), and helping Tamlin to heal from his, and helping him learn to not be an overprotective douche. (Seriously, I would love if Tamlin thinks he’s finally found a female who will let him just be the biggest overprotective asshole, only for Elain to be like “I’m passive, not helpless. Stop treating me like a fucking child. I’m high fae, I have a ton of power just like you, and now I’ve been trained to use it. I beat peoples’ asses all by myself. I can plant flowers and be soft and kind, and also be a badass strong woman who isn’t a damsel in distress.”)

(Note: I also still like the idea of Tamlin and Elain staying just friends. I’m not saying I want Elain to be alone forever, but so much of her story has been about her relationships with men, I think it would be cool if she stayed single for a minute, and also I think it would be cool if she and Tamlin had a Beauty and The Beast, But Make It Platonic moment. It would be super cool if Tamlin, Elain, and Lucien ended up ruling Spring Court together, platonically. Just buds being pals, rejecting the tradition that got them caught up in toxic bullshit to begin with. Maybe throw in a moment where Tamlin makes an advance because he doesn’t understand that males and females *can* be just friends, and Elain turns to him and goes “Honey, you only *think* you’re interested in me because I’m the only one willing to stand up to you but also put up with you making heinous mistakes. We’re just friends. We wouldn’t work as more, and I don’t see you that way.” I think that would be neat)

But yeah, I think that this would be a really fun way to play the next couple books too. It would also be really great setup for Elain’s story to be about how she goes from letting her relationships with men control her to having agency and free will and being a badass independent woman completely outside of not only her sisters but also outside of her romantic relationships. 

As per usual, feel free to comment, add, pick apart, tell me I’m heinously wrong. As long as you don’t get me caught up in ship wars, idc. I love talking about these books

#Acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #sjm #elain archeron #azriel #gwyn #lucien #vanserra