#like if the gods in tog were the asteri ? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

emilystheories · 6 months

Text

Breaking SJM news: a completely new series is (likely) on the way !!

Last night, I came across a veryyyy interesting YouTube video posted by Bloomsbury 4 weeks ago. Although the video was mostly super boring (talking numbers and finances), towards the end, we get this little nugget of information...

[Bloomsbury staff member]: "Regarding the timeline and future Sarah J Maas book releases, which are obviously very important to us... so her next title, which is the third in her Crescent City series, comes out on the 30th of January, 2024. So, that will fall into this financial year."

[Bloomsbury staff member]: "And thereafter, we have SIX further contracted titles -- so continuing this series, and STARTING A NEW SERIES AS WELL."

A new series! This likely goes hand-in-hand with the announcement made by Bloomsbury a couple of months prior, in which they stated that 4 additional SJM books were on the way (but curiously, no further details about these books were given...)

Although we don't know for sure, this is my guess as to what these 6 future SJM books are:

2 x ACOTAR books.

Then the 4 remaining, newly contracted books; the first being the final Crescent City book, House of Many Waters.

Leaving 3 x books for the new series (which makes perfect sense, as when starting a new series, SJM is always contracted for 3 books initially).

The question remains as to what exactly this new series may be. Which leads me to... Twilight of the Gods.

[SJM universe spoilers ahead!]

Back in 2015, SJM started a Pinterest board for 2 new book series that were connected in some way; one was Crescent City, and the other was called Twilight of the Gods.

On her Twitter, SJM also mentioned that she had been working on both for quite a while, and that it was soon time to release them into the world.

Around the same time, a series called 'Twilight of the Gods' was mysteriously added to SJM's official Goodreads catalogue.

'Twilight of the Gods' is another term for Ragnarok; a famed tale of Norse mythology where the Gods and giants/demons across all worlds joined together to fight a giant battle that signified the end of the world.

Thus, I believe that 'Twilight of the Gods' is SJM's next series; it will be a Ragnarok retelling, and all of the characters from TOG, ACOTAR and CC will join together for a cataclysmic battle against the Asteri, the Daglan, and the Valg (because lets not forget that Orcus and Mantyx are still unaccounted for...).

With this in mind, consider the numerous references to Norse mythology that SJM has already scattered throughout her books:

Feyre as Freya: Freya was perhaps one of the most renowned Norse goddesses, and was Queen.

Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn as the Valkyries: An obvious one, but the Valkyries originated from, and had a huge part to play in Norse Mythology (Ragnarok especially).

Lucien as Loki: According to Norse mythology, Loki is often depicted with long, red hair. He is also seen as a God of fire, and is commonly associated with foxes.

Danika (Fendyr) and Fenrys as Fenrir: Fenrir was a renowned monstrous wolf of Norse mythology. Fenrir being 'unleashed' is one of the key events of Ragnarok.

Hunt as Thor ('Thurr'): During Ragnarok, Thor has a famous battle against the 'Midgard Serpent.' Consider the snake that Hunt is holding on the cover of HOSAB.

Midgard: is the 'Earth' world in Norse mythology.

Hel (spelt the same way): Is the 'underworld' of Norse mythology.

Further, if you looked at SJM's "Twilight of the Gods" Pinterest board - before it was deleted - you'd see countless images of (Lady?) Thor, the Valkyries, Sailor Moon, and even the coffin that Maeve locked Aelin in... (that can't be a coincidence, right..?!) Some examples below:

'Twilight' is also another word for 'Dusk'; considering the lost Dusk Court, and 'Dusk's Truth' (both of which are the centre of the upcoming crossover and broader multiversal narrative...) it matches up perfectly.

Thus, I believe that the remaining ACOTAR and CC books will continue to add to the multiverse, bit by bit. And whilst they can still be read in a standalone fashion, my guess is that they will build up to a grand finale (perhaps the very last ACOTAR book will end with Aelin walking through a portal...?) and then Twilight of the Gods will begin.

If you thought Kingdom of Ash was epic... then Twilight of the Gods -- if correct -- is bound to blow us away (and, it might even put SJM's name in the history books).

#sjm multiverse #acotar #crescent city #sjm theory #sjm crossover #bryce quinlan #aelin galythinius #rhysand #feyre #gwyneth berdara #nesta archeron #elain archeron #azriel acotar #cassian acotar

284 notes · View notes

offtorivendell · 5 months

Text

The Weaver's Song

Disclaimer: well I thought I had time to edit this properly and tidy it up, but joke's on me, apparently the entirety of HOFAS has leaked in Portuguese over night. That'll teach me (haha, never) to leave something in my drafts for months. So this may or may not be correct, and YOU might know that, but I'm not going to read the whole thing until I have the original version.

If someone has already posted this theory, I'm sorry!

Spoilers: this contains information from ACOTAR, TOG and CC series books 1 and 2. Please do not discuss spoilers in the comments until after HOFAS has officially been published, or in the reblogs without warning (and ideally a read more option)!

This may be fanciful, but I think I may know what The Weaver was singing about in ACOMAF... it was a metaphor for Prythian history and Void travel.

“There were two sisters, they went playing, To see their father’s ships come sailing … And when they came unto the sea-brim The elder did push the younger in.”

Theia's two daughters, as @silverlinedeyes has posted before, she thinks the second daughter brought Truth-Teller back to Prythian through a rift - though was there a third, unknown sibling, as @wingedblooms and I have theorised?

Playing - playing music? Music as the universal magic/language? Urd’s music?

Whether or not they're also Fionn's daughters, if literal, the ships could be people travelling through the Void/Rift to Midgard… the Feyre, the Nesta, the Elain come to mind, except maybe the Selene, the Eos and the Helios?

The Haldren Sea sounds like it could have a rift/portal in it (similar imagery to the Court of Nightmares/Hewn City). Port/portal?

Did Helena push her younger sister into the rift, to make her return through the Void and save Prythian from the Asteri, per @silverlinedeyes?

If this was then case then Helena knowingly sacrificed herself.

“Sometimes she sank, and sometimes she swam, ’Til her corpse came to the miller’s dam.”

Did she travel through multiple worlds until she reached Prythian, similar to Aelin as the red star? Or was this after returning to Prythian and living her life she then travelled again across the murky realm?

Miller's dam - dam could be their mother? The Mother? Silba?

A dam is also a body of water. The Cauldron?

Miller is one of the oldest human professions - milling grains for bread.

Miller is also a type of moth - moth wings at the HOW library, with their Cauldron/bowl-type statues at the entrance?

What if the Void/Cauldron is the Miller, and Chaos/Cauldron's water is the Dam?

“But what did he do with her breastbone? He made him a viol to play on. What’d he do with her fingers so small? He made pegs to his viol withall.”

What if the Void/Cauldron is the earth, Chaos/Cauldron's water is the dam, and the Miller is the hypothetical third sibling?

How do the underground waterways and/or the pool of Starlight in the Spring Court fit in?

The viol is an instrument; is the language of the universe a song? This would support my idea that Singing is a language of the gods, and Sight/messages from the gods could be a form of Singing.

Breastbone, spells and bonds are threads, viol strings? Pegs tighten/tune the strings. Witchy and sorcery spell vibes, but also hello PUPPET VIBES. Who is/will the Cauldron using as a puppet?

“And what did he do with her nose-ridge? Unto his viol he made a bridge. What did he do with her veins so blue? He made strings to his viol thereto.”

Nose - smells, Azriel can smell the Elucien bond… because it's discordant (theory on the way)? Amren could smell Feysand’s bond, how?

Bridge - 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. Paint that when we get home. - ACOWAR, chapter 69. Truth-Teller connecting with the Starsword.

"A violin bridge is a maple piece that sits atop the violin and lifts the strings above the fingerboard in a way that allows you to play both single notes and double stops. It transmits the string vibrations to the soundbox (body of the violin)." It's a conduit. Could Carranam be relevant here?

Blue - Azriel's siphons, the veins in Elain's eyes in the tent scene when she Looked for the Suriel. Can she see the threads?

Viols have six strings - three brothers and three sisters?

“What did he do with her eyes so bright? On his viol he set at first light. What did he do with her tongue so rough? ’Twas the new till and it spoke enough.”

Eyes bright - like Elain's when she's in pain? Pain is a link to the divine, do her eyes go bright when she's using her magic?

Eyes at first light - Sight/Singing at dawn? Eos?

First light - firstlight?

To set at something, to go after it… with an instrument playing him through the Void? Someone is after the firstlight and will go after it. The Asteri and Bryce. Mystics? Elain?

Till - as in the soil/gardening? More likely a boat's till/tiller; did Theia's second daughter’s tongue become the rudder that allowed “the Miller” to steer his way through the water/Void/space between… Lightsingers? Mystics? And there were three ships named after Feyre, Nesta and Elain Archeron.

Mor speaks the truth, Elain speaks what she Sees.

“Then bespake the treble string, ‘O yonder is my father the king.’”

“Then bespake the second string, ‘O yonder sits my mother the queen.’”

“Then bespake the strings all three, ‘Yonder is my sister that drowned me.’”

The father/king and mother/queen have been separated, and are in different locations.

Different worlds?

Fionn/the father/king is in Prythian.

Theia/the mother/queen "sits" somewhere else… a hell/Hel realm? Sits on a throne?

The sister/Helena is in Midgard.

I really think that the Weaver was singing to nobody/Feyre about Prythian's ancient history, along with the crossover - and potential instructions on how to navigate the Void - all the way back in ACOMAF! When she just happened to be collecting a six pointed star sapphire ring (six strings?) for Rhys?

Will each sister become a magical, Singing tiller for the bat boys' wings (as rudders), guiding them through the Void? It gives a whole new depth of meaning to Papa Archeron's fleet going down in a storm!

This also fits for Vassien, with Lucien being the magical tiller and Vassa as the firebird. And even possibly More and Emerie, if her wings get healed, or she gets her own Pegasus! Could it parallel the way they had to fly through holes in the Wall back in the OT, before Hybern destroyed it with the Cauldron (which just happens to contain Void)?

Will they be the light in the dark?

SJM you wicked bloody genius, this cannot be a coincidence. 🙏🏻

PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SPOIL HOFAS FOR OTHERS WITH DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE LEAKS!

#hosab spoilers #crescent city spoilers #maasverse #acotar cc tog crossover theory #hosab #crescent city theory #elain archeron #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #acotar #the weaver #the weaver's song #maasverse theory #pre hofas #acomaf

70 notes · View notes

sofiasjornal · 2 months

Text

My (many) questions after HOFAS

While writing my HOFAS review, I was thinking about the different perspectives and POVs the new book could have, since we are finally leaving Bryce and Hunt's story. Selfishly, I would love the focus to shift to Lidia and Ruhn. Not only because they became my top two favorite characters but because the possibilities for crossovers and connections with the other series are endless. I don't think there's a need, but let me just clarify that this is all speculation! And because I might remember something more in a few days, or weeks, or months, I’ll update this as I go along!

1) Lidia has some kind of connection with Aelin and Mala’s bloodline (she named her son after Brannon, after all!!) and since KoA and ACOSF share the same timeline, and HOFAS is set after ACOSF, Aelin is still very much alive and could somehow connect with Lidia! She seems to have an incredible amount of firepower, the likes of which we only saw with Aelin, so there’s definitely a connection there. And they are both trained assassins, for god's sake! And with the stags! She’s a Terrasen girl, through and through!

But again, how did the fae shifters come to Midgard if Erilea (I don’t think the name of the planet was ever revealed, so let’s stay with Erilea) was never conquered?! Another rift that opened and then closed? Is there any mention on ToG of that? I don’t remember… I might have to read it all again!

There's also the very interesting context in which Lidia's children were conceived, in a very similar ritual to Calanmai, from the Spring Court (ACOTAR). So how come two of SJM's series come together in Lidia's character?

2) Also, Ruhn and Rhysand would also be an interesting crossover. The similarities between the two go beyond those of Fae, it would be really interesting to explore that. Bryce didn't really explore these similarities when she met Rhysand, I wish she had. We know that Prythian is the home planet of the Fae, but definitely something linking Rhysand and Ruhn together.

Also think about the possibility, if Ruhn is connected or a descendant of Rhys's bloodline and Lidia of Aelin’s, then the two bloodlines are now united! AGAIN, SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, IM GETTING DIZZY!

So in a book where Lidia and Ruhn take center stage, imagine the power of that story!! I’m speechless just thinking about it!

3) The link between Wyrd and Urd got me thinking! Somewhere in HOSAB, when Bryce went to the under-king and he talked about Urd, when she was not a goddess but a force, “When she was a vat of life, a mother to all, a secret language of the universe?” (Yes I went looking for the quote, my mind is driving me insane). This secret language of the universe, could it be the wyrdmarks?! And if so, remember when Bryce killed Micah in the first CC and Micah said “The language is beyond that of this world. It is the language of universes.” Could Bryce’s tattoo be in wyrdmarks and if so that would mean that the Book of Breathing is also in wyrdmarks! Amren can read those! HOW?! HOW?? And what are wyrdmarks doing in acotar and crescent city?! There’s definitely a connection with ToG! It’s right here!

4) The Valg, the Asteri, the Daglan, the Princes of Hel, and... one hell of a mess, pun intended! By the end of HOFAS, we know that the Asteri and the Daglan are the same thing. I’ve been, however, wondering about the Valg. I don’t believe the Asteri are Valg. They don’t fit the same characteristics. Besides, in ToG is said that the Valg’s home planet was ruled by three kings, a planet made by pain, wind, and darkness, and the Asteri were originally seven and come from a forgotten planet in the cosmos. Besides, the Asteri feed on firstlight and the Valg don’t have that need. So I don’t think there’s a connection there.

However, in ACOMAF, when Bryce is fighting the Stryga and throws a brick in her face, the line reads “Bone crunched and she roared, black blood spraying.” This always stayed with me because it kept calling the Valg to my memory. The Valg have black blood as well. Also, the death gods feed on life just like the Valg, if I’m not mistaken! So could the death-gods be Valg? Do you know who else has black blood? The Reapers! In HOSAB, when Bryce strikes with the starlight sword it is said “And nothing had ever felt so right, so easy, as plunging the blade into the bony chest of the wounded Reaper. It arced, bellowing, black blood spurting from its withered lips.” So either it is a coincidence that all these creatures have black blood or there’s a connection! And considering the reapers originate from Hel, is there possibly a connection? However, it doesn’t quite make sense, because their home planet was ruled by three kings Erawan, Orcus, and Mantyx (let’s not forget that bitch Maeve). And in Hel, each layer is governed by a different prince, seven in total. So this is where I raise my hands and say I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️ where to go from here!

5) The whole issue of the Viper Queen! When Tharion went to the Viper Queen something’s raised “concern”. First, the blood oath! I only remember something like that being mentioned and talked about in ToG! Tharion was only able to escape because Ithan killed Sigrid and broke the bond! Remember at the end of HOSAB, after Tharion defected and VP ordered him to come back after Cormac’s death? He felt a pull of the bond that he couldn’t resist! Remember how the cadre were all Maeve’s prisoners with that same bond? It’s the same thing! And remember Tharion mentioning that her blood was darker than normal?!

Feel free to join this mess and give me more theories and your thoughts on all of it! I’m just going to figure all this out! And like I said, as I think of new things I’ll just update this!

22 notes · View notes

silverlinedeyes · 4 months

Text

An initial list of questions spawned from HOFAS

HOFAS spoilers below the break.

I’ve been thinking about some big and some small questions since I finished HOFAS last night and wanted to preserve them here with some of my thoughts for later discussion. I am also planning some larger theory posts to try to answer some of these questions.

Also, please reblog with any additional questions you may have if you’d like!!!

Where are the other Hel princes and what are they fighting?

Are Valg related to the Asteri or the Hel princes (or both)?

Are Valg children of the Void like the Hel princes?

Is the Under-King Valg and has he been hiding in the Under-King body living off of some of the Second Light?

How do Koschei and the Carver and the Weaver fit in with this?

Is Az also a descendant of the second daughter since he’s Starborn?

Is ToG on the same timeline as Prythian and CC?

Are the tall fae that came to Midgard from Erilea coming from the same time period depicted at the oasis in ToD when Yrene and Chaol find those carvings from the first demon wars, before Elena or Gavin were born?

Who on Prythian is a powerful enough starborn to wield and use Gwydion and TT? Is Elain? Or will the three Archeron sisters together make Theia’s light anew, as @offtorivendell @wingedblooms and I have theorized that each Archeron sister has part of Theia’s light.

Will the Archeron sisters be able to wield TT and Gwydion together to kill the unkillable—Koschei?

Did Bryce revive Dusk by taking Silene’s light back like she did Avallen when she took Theia’s light out of it? Or will someone (Elain???? Cc @wingedblooms) revive Dusk?

Does Urd = Wyrd = Chaos = the Dark Mother?

Is the temple in Hel that looks like Urd’s temple a temple to Chaos, Hel’s version of Urd and Apollion’s mother?

Were the ToG gods and the Asteri sucked (back into?) the Void, and if so, can the Void send them back or can they be retrieved from the Void by something?

What IS the connection between the gods in all these worlds, like Bryce asked when she was in Prythian?

Why do all these different fae societies oppress the females? Is it because only females can be powerful starborn, and some forces are at work to suppress that power to protect darker beings? Like how Pelias seems to have created a society that doesn’t allow women to get access to anything related to starborn to prevent another starborn queen from rising?

Can only females be powerful starborn/light wielders and can only males be powerful dark wielders/shadow wielders? Like how Hypaxia says six pointed star is two triangles, one male one female one light one dark (three brothers who are dark princes, three sisters who are starborn/princesses of light?)

Are there male lightsingers or female shadowsingers, or do singers follow these same rules?

Are morven and the murder twins descended from people from Hybern? The murder twins are daemati and remind me of the Hybern twins, and Morven’s shadows are described like ravens.

Does this mean TT has slewn two Hybern kings?

Where does the Starborn power come from?

Where in Prythian are the avallen from?

Are the Starborn and Avallen the same people?

Was Fionn the original king of darkness/shadows and theia the original queen of light/starborn queen? And are the males of their line the former, and the females the latter?

Where in Prythian did Fionn and Pelias come from?

Can TT unMake a mating bond?

Can Elain wield Gwydion and TT together to unMake her bond with Lucien and Make a bond with Azriel?

Aidas tells Hunt some higher power must have made them Mates. We have all these super powerful fae finding their powerful mates right before these huge universe altering moments. Is this part of how Urd is using them as pawns in her plans/games?

Why does Amren’s timeline not match Silene’s re the creation of the Prison? Was this just a continuity error, did Silene manipulate memories, or is this fishy on Amren’s part?

Was Enalius one of the people with Fionn and Theia on Ramiel when they made Gwydion and TT?

Did Nesta give up some of her Starborn powers when she gave back what she stole from the Cauldron, and does this mean she won’t be able to wield and use Gwydion and TT, which will lead to Elain’s role with this?

#hofas #hofas spoilers #CC theories #acotar theories #crossover theories #SJM I

43 notes · View notes

thenovocianelullaby · 2 months

Text

IM GOING INSANE

are the asteri the gods of tog? aelin opens a “portal into a hell-realm” in the gods world. is this when the asteri tried to tame and rule hell? i… has this been talked about? am i a conspiracy theorist? an idiot maybe?

also mala gives aelin a drop of light, a kernel of white hot power. that sounds an awful lot like a soul.

not to mention the asteri are just a bunch of selfish assholes. nothing godly or righteous about them.

there’s also the fact that there are other gods in tog like in the southern continent. they have different gods that seem to be more along the lines of what you would think of as a “god”. the 12 gods are just trapped.

the entire time i thought that the valg were the asteri, jumping through worlds and evil, but they’re not the only ones who jump worlds.

but if rhys resembles meave.. a valg.. then what? i have so many thoughts and they all lead to confusion including the fact that RHYS SAVES AELIN? this goes into a whole other can of worms with the theories on time vs reality and make everything like 1000x more confusing.

#cc hofas #crescent city #asteri #throne of glass #sjm #hofas spoilers #aelin ashryver galathynius #aelin galathynius #acotar #hofas #sjm universe #sjm theory

11 notes · View notes

acourtofthought · 3 months

Note

I’m back with my thoughts. I’m sorry for the delay, life’s been crazy and I have many many many thoughts, but I wanted to make sure I get them to you. So forewarning I’m going to word vomit 😅

My main takeaways from HOFAS-as it pertains to acotar-are about Azriel. I know he gets a lot of hate and isn’t your favorite, but I’ve been curious about his powers from jump, and have drawn many hypotheses based on similarities between him, Cormac, and Lorcan. And whilst he and Cormac have mystery surrounding the origins of their powers, we known that Lorcan is watched over by Hellas, God of Violent Death and the Underworld.

“Bryce could have sworn that shadows wreathed [Azriel], like Ruhn’s yet…wilder. The way Cormac’s had been.”

Cue the Michael Scott voice because IIIIII knew it!! There’s a clear distinction between Rhy’s & Ruhn’s shadows and those of Azriel and Cormac (+ the murder twins and Morven—maybe. I still have questions about them). But how, and why?

It would appear that the shadows Rhys and Ruhn possess are those of Starborn heritage, those which Silene had. But then this:

“Hunt opened his mouth, his last bit of bravado before the shit-show began, but in the shadows behind Pollox, beyond the fireplace, something dark moved. Something darker than shadow. Not Ruhn’s shadows. The prince didn’t seem to be able to access those when constrained by gorisan shackles. Only the prince’s mind speaking abilities remained. This shadow was different—darker, older. Watching them. Watching Hunt… …Across the room , the thing in the shadows moved. Just slightly. Like it had crooked a finger at him. Death. That was that thing in the shadows. And now it beckoned.”

Is TEA!!!! We know that these passages are in reference to Apollion, the Prince of the Pit who cam to visit Hunt. And I’ve long suspected that the forces of Hel and Death have some ties to Azriel’s shadows & shadowsingers in Prythian. I think Sarah is dropping hints at the true nature of Azriel’s abilities, or at least to provoke questions about the forces at play in this universe she created. I'd be shocked if we didn't learn more about Shadowsinging in his story, especially because she teased Illyrian history in HOFAS.

We learn that the IIlyrians were creations of the Asteri. Could the forces of Hel have mingled in their creation, as they did in Hunt’s? We don’t know if shadowsining is exclusive or dominate in IIlyrians, so I’m not too convinced of that. Truthfully, it’s why I’m not yet convinced that Azriel’s heritage is key to his powers. And something to just really tickle the brain is this passage from EoS:

“Lorcan’s magic was that of will - of death and thought and destruction. There was no name for it. Not even his queen had known what it was, where it had come from. A gift from the dark god, from Hellas, Maeve had mused - a dark gift, for her dark warrior. And left it at that.”

Not even his queen—Valg Maeve—knew what it was. Now, considering how the Valg were not native to the ToG world, would it really be a stretch to consider that the princes of Hel helped another world before? And then, again? What if, for whatever reason, Hel has taken to watching over their universe? What if Hel paid a visit to the little boy being horrendously abused by his family, and saw within them to help him? That they knew the most powerful high lord was also just a boy, and would need a right hand who could wield the dagger, similar to how Enalius commanded it at Fionn's side? If we learn Enalius was a shadowsinger in future books....I will squeal.

PS--

Something else from the HOSAB passage is that Ruhn’s shadow abilities disappear when shackled. I cannot remember if Morven was ever shackled, but Cormac’s ability to teleport/winnow was hindered by the gorisan bullet in HOSAB. An injured Az would certainly be hindered as well, but I wonder if it would be to the same degree considering how the Midgard fae are much weaker. Does the bullet hinder him just because he was shot, or does it specifically drain his magic?

I still have many questions, like if Cormac, Morven and the murder twins share the same shadows. Their inability to teleport inclines me to think no, but another major indicator of Cormac & Azriel’s difference is that Avallen magic is actually earth magic. I suspect the shadow powers Avallen have are because they’re the descents of Helena and/or fae of the "Night Court" bloodline (I cannot remember if this was explicitly explained or not lol).

But that's all I have for now! Super curious to hear what you think :)

🧼💖

Despite my dislike of Az's behaviors at the moment I definitely know that when we get it, his story will be an interesting one! And I am curious why Rhys says it was Az's time in the dungeon that helped her learn the language of the shadows versus someone like Cormac who has a similar power but doesn't necessarily have quite the same tragic backstory. Does that mean it wouldn't have mattered whether Az had the childhood he did or not but that he would have always developed the ability to talk to the shadows? I agree that there's a good chance we're going to see a strong connection to Hel and Az in later books. Nesta is Death, both Cassian and Az had a strong reaction to Nesta in her Death form and she hears the lowest level of the library whispering to her. Since Gwyn felt a presence like a cat down there I do think it's going to turn out to be a portal to Hel and Aidas. I think with Bryaxis gone, the portal is no longer guarded which means whatever was in there can now reach out. I also think that because we learn the other "brothers" of the Princes of Hel are off helping other worlds, we'll see that set up for future arcs for Az, Gwyn, Nesta, etc. where they too world walk to protect their world from outside threats. My one big question from HOFAS was why did Vesperus bleed black (like a Valg) but the Asteri on Midgard bled red? If Vesperus was an Asteri, shouldn't they bleed the same color? Thank you for putting together all your thoughts for me!!! ❤️

8 notes · View notes

gwyns · 3 months

Note

The post by op talking about how Elain loses her newfound boldness when Lucien is around makes me laugh. What about when Azriel (and Nesta even though I love her) keeps making decisions for Elain and speaking up for her, when she has said that she doesn’t like that. Calling what happened a mistake to her face and hurting her feelings. Not encouraging or supporting Elain to do what she wants. Elain in SF is not happy or thriving. E/riel’s talk about how Azriel knows what Elain needs because he asked her if she wanted to look around the gardens in ACOWAR, but they fail to acknowledge that it was Lucien who first suggested it! Same with Cassian who first offered to rescue her from the camp, then offer his knife to her in the battle, and defended her from Amren in ACOFAS at the dinner table.

One of the reblogs from op came from an E/riel that said we know the bond is yadada because we know the Cauldron is corrupted by the Asteri. To question their mating bond would also be questioning Feysand’s, Nessian’s, Viv & Kallias, and multiple others. They just don’t want Elucien to be mates because they know Sarah loves her mates and that mates are endgame.

I’ve seen them compare that Elain & Azriel scene from Solstice to other couples from TOG & CC. And to me, that’s just not a good comparison. As if sex/lust = love, because it doesn’t. You can have a crush on someone without it being anything deep. And that’s what we got from Azriel. He spent a year planning for a snowball fight, but couldn’t think beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to. We got no romantic feelings from him. Only lust and jealousy. Lust is no way as strong as a feeling to that spark that Azriel felt in his chest at the thought of Gwyn.

Reminds me of how they dismiss Cassian when he said that Night Court black sucked the life from Elain and say it’s not important, but her wearing cobalt blue is or that her scent of honey & jasmine is important, because jasmine is used a lot to describe the NC. They really do pick and choose what they want for when it suits their ship.💀

I’m convinced that most E/riel’s lack reading comprehension or haven’t been in an actual relationship.

despite claiming they care about elain, they don't listen to her, much like characters in the series. no one actually pays attention to elain, not in the way she craves. the only person who has shown that he actually hears her is lucien when he believed in her powers and vision so much he risked his life to find vassa. that's what she wants, she's just being an archeron and stubborn as hell

i can't remember who it was but someone brought up that everything az did "for elain" in acowar was first suggested or attempted by someone else. he didn't have one original thought when it came to her, he didn't understand what she needed or wanted and based on his bonus chapter, he still doesn't. elain wouldn't want him speaking for her or threatening her mate

newsflash! the cauldron has been corrupted. wasn't that like a major plot point in acomaf and acowar?? literally evil forces were using it for their own gain then, what's different now? oh yeah because it suits their narrative. the cauldron is just a tool for their god, the mother, it's very likely that she (aka sjm) is who decides mates. also like... even if not sjm will pull something out of her ass, if she wants it to happen, it will lol

i've said it before and i'll continue to say it, az in his bonus chapter was not romantic. that chapter was more so to show us his mental state than anything else. it showed us how envious he is of his brothers, how desperately he wants a mate and to feel like he's worthy of something. but of course e/riels deny that and say it wasn't about wanting a mate and he doesn't care, what did he mean by "what if the cauldron was wrong?" then?? that's clear as fucking day to me that he's jealous and wants that deep bond with someone. if he indeed didn't care, he wouldn't be questioning the bond

i'll forever be amused by e/riels saying that spark is evil when it's literally just az feeling a normal emotion. something elain clearly hasn't made him feel before, it's such a self drag that it makes me laugh everytime i see it

ok look cassian has never once commented on clothing to that extent, of course we'd have him describe nesta because hello that's his mate and he loves her but elain? my man spent a good chunk of time telling us how shitty she looked in that damn dress and it means nothing?? uh huh. whatever you need to tell yourself. they really do pick and choose which colors are important, and honestly the only one i see holding any relevance is her wearing night court black. it sucking the life from her is like sarah holding up a big sign saying: look here!

everyone goes on about different interpretations and such and i understand that is a thing but i'm sorry, not everything is up to the reader to decide. it's the author's job to tell us a specific story and sjm is and no amount of cherry picked "evidence" will change that

#antielriel #anti e/riel #asks #anonymous

8 notes · View notes

tadpolesonalgae · 4 hours

Note

WEEWOO, CC, ACOTAR, AND TOG SPOILERS AHEAD as well as my own lighthearted opinions/ theories on sjm's work<3

ab what the other anon said, i also remember moriel being pretty big. there were a lot of really good theories and fanart at the time and sjm was leaving lil breadcrumbs in interviews that people were excited about if i remember correctly too.

but around that time a lot of authors, directors, etc started getting an increasing amount of backlash about the representation or lack thereof in their work, and sjm was one of them. so i think that influenced the hasty switch in mor :( which unfortunately led to me personally not enjoying it as much. as a queer woman who dates people regardless of gender it just fell really flat to me, which really sucked because i loved mor and i was super invested in her character at the time.

which isnt to say that i dont enjoy these characters, this is still a series i really enjoy reading even if i dont love it as much as tog or cc 😂

and now, about cc hehe, i read somewhere there were supposed to be 4 books, one for each house. And Sjm's confirmed the fourth book but hasnt said whether there will be more or not. Im curious to see what the plan is now that the asteri are dead tho, because i thought they would be the main antagonist of the series so maybe she'll introduce another?

and i totally agree with your criticisms ab cc as well. The lil crossover nuggets we got with aelin being the red comet (headcanon that her court would laugh a lil knowing that she was considered a bad omen in another world lol), the books, etc. But I honestly didn't expect to get a crossover from CC into acotar, i thought it would be more fun for acotar and tog to clash. (let aelin into helion's libraries i BEG of u sjm pls 🙏🙏)

(not to mention the crack theory that maybe maeve is why daemati exist, that maybe millenia ago she or other valg were in prythian?? the powers are described similarly in dorian's povs i cant even lie 😭)

PS sorry if my last post came off a lil mean ab acotar 😭 i reread it and was like why did i word it like that and felt a lil bad but shhhh we can pretend that didnt happen

PPS god yes lorcan showed elide everything and sjm really showed us nothing. i hope lucien makes up for it otherwise i think im gonna start gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

PPPS elide, helion, cbmthy crackship? i dont think lorcan would be into it if helion was there 😂 (he doesnt seem like the type to share nicely)

-🤠

Warnings: a plenty lot of spoilers for CC, acotar, and ToG!

‘but around that time a lot of authors, directors, etc started getting an increasing amount of backlash about the representation or lack thereof in their work, and sjm was one of them.’

I think I’m glad I read acotar after that 🫤

It’s kind of lame if miss Maas did sprinkle in hints for Moriel and then suddenly changed it? Obviously someone will probably have a different stance on this to me, but personally I think if you have an actual story to tell, yes representation would be lovely just because I think if it’s done well it can be such a great way to nourish a story and add depth to it, but if it would conflict with the immersion and detail you already have in your story then I don’t think it’s necessary? I think ultimately I am happy Mor was written to like males and females, but I can understand the frustration if miss Maas was hinting at a pairing and then double back on it that would be so irritating :/

‘Im curious to see what the plan is now that the asteri are dead tho, because i thought they would be the main antagonist of the series so maybe she'll introduce another?’

I still haven’t finished CC3 but I have to agree with you because they seemed like such great antagonists??? They actually end up dead?? Okay I might actually finish the book now to find out how because I 100% thought they would be the main villains because, to be fair, they were excellently terrifying 😭 I think miss Maas did do an amazing job on coming up with creatures so obviously more powerful than the fae?

Although now the asteri are dead, it feels like if CC4 does some out it will either be a case of ‘oh, one survived’ or ‘they came back from the dead’ or she’ll just invent a new scare but either of those feels like it would be insincere and not thought out very well? I guess unless Maeve or Erawan somehow got shoved into the CC universe? that might be kind of cool? But I think if that was the case i’d want Maeve or Erawan to win 🫢 just for funsies and chaos 🫢

‘ i thought it would be more fun for acotar and tog to clash. (let aelin into helion's libraries i BEG of u sjm pls 🙏🙏)’

Oh my gosh yes that crossover would have been so amazing I would have loved to see that! Well, I would have loved to see them getting along with one another—I wouldn’t be able to read a crossover if they were fighting 😭

‘(not to mention the crack theory that maybe maeve is why daemati exist, that maybe millenia ago she or other valg were in prythian?? the powers are described similarly in dorian's povs i cant even lie 😭)’

Oh I’ve seen some stuff about Maeve and the Valg, like how her mind reading powers are described, and I think her eyes were supposed to be kind of similar to Rhys’? To be fair I’d be quite like for that plot line to be explored, it’s doesn’t sound as implausible as some other theories I’ve heard so I think it would be quite cool? Though I don’t know what effect it would have on the story?

‘PS sorry if my last post came off a lil mean ab acotar 😭 i reread it and was like why did i word it like that and felt a lil bad but shhhh we can pretend that didnt happen’

Babes don’t worry I literally didn’t think any of it was rude at all!

‘PPPS elide, helion, cbmthy crackship? i dont think lorcan would be into it if helion was there 😂 (he doesnt seem like the type to share nicely)’

I could imagine Helion pestering Lorcan though 😭 I think reader and Elide would get along so well oh my gosh I want to hug Elide so badly you don’t understand she’s definitely one of my favourite characters in ToG ☹️🫂

#🤠 anon <3 #🤠#cc discussion

3 notes · View notes

nikethestatue · 2 years

Note

Hola Nike

First I apologize for how long this is going to be.

I had a long conversation with my friend @azrielslight about how the mating bond being majorly based on having off-springs seems a little like a plot hole. Throughout the series the reader is told that the mating bond is meant to produce the strongest offspring as Rhys explains in this conversation with Feyre “A mating bond can be rejected,” Rhys said mildly, eyes flickering in the mirror as he drank in every inch of bare skin I had on display. “There is a choice. And sometimes, yes—the bond picks poorly. Sometimes, the bond is nothing more than some … preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At its base level, it’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.” ACOWAR chapter 24

But if one of the goals or EVEN THE MAIN point of the mating bond according to various characters, is to generate offspring (i.e. have babies), then how come nessian were mates? Cassian suspected Nesta was his mate before she became fae? had she not turned fae that would be even worse. So I guess, what I mean to ask or want to discuss is: did the cauldron know that they would turn into fae? Did the cauldron know that she would give away her powers to help her sister? and ask for an Illyrian womb? because if it did not, and this is not some pre-destined thing then this whole “offspring” mating bond does not make sense. I know that in ACOMAF and ACOWAR we read that you can manipulate the cauldron (like Hybren did in the war) and change your destiny. But how can this all just pan out the way it did.

I hope this made sense, I would like to hear your thoughts.

A little side note: when Feyre asks Rhys who gives the mating bonds he says the mother, the whirlpool of the cauldron. This might be way off, but what if the cauldron gives mating bonds based on the offspring and the mother gives them to soul mates?

thank you dear Amren

This question is not intended to analyze the worth of any female character based on her uterus.

So I think that you sort of answered your own question at the end--or at least I believe that the answer lies in that sentence. About the Mother, The Cauldron, or the Cauldron's Swirling Eddies.

I think in both TOG and CC we have the answer as well--I think there are different types of bonds.

Overall, I think that the true love/soul mates bonds come from the Mother. She is the all-seeing, all-knowing being akin to what we view as god. The Cauldron, as many posit, was at one time an actual being. The Void is a being. So the question is--is the Cauldron something that a force like the Asteri somehow created/'impregnated' this being with this immense power, but it's kind of like an imitation of the Mother's powers?

We know that the Asteri are super interested in magical powers. THat's what they suck out of the worlds that they take over. Now, what the Cauldron-based bond is truly for baby making--strong, magically powerful babies--who would continuously 'feed' the Asteri/Valg with that power.

Whereas the Mother's bonds are the Feysand types of bonds--they are the matings of souls and transcend species, where Nessian and Feysand COULD become mates, even if they are different species, because they are somehow pre-ordained.

In TOG, Lorcan tell Elide in his nightmare 'I thought you might be my mate'. They are obviously different species as well--however, he didn't doubt that they could be. So we can assume that inter-species bonds are possible, but I think only in cases of soulmates.

In TOG, we also have the bonds of Power, carranam. Could that be the Swirling Eddies of the Cauldron-based powers?

So, in conclusion, the way *I* interpret it all (and of course I could be 100% incorrect!) is that the Mother is able to see the future and the past, and she grants the rare, soulmate bonds.

The Cauldron/the Void creates the 'strong baby bonds' because it mimics the 'soulmate' bonds of the Mother, however, it cannot make it a perfect bond. So it selects beings who somehow would be most beneficial in creating the strongest offspring. Aka, a 900 year old High Lord and an 18 year old Illyrian seamstress, who came together in a loveless mating, to create Rhys.

Swirling Eddies MIGHT be responsible for the carranam bonds.

Lastly, I think that we are to believe that there is free choice as well. So everyone makes a choice, and those choices affect the fates of others. So if Tamlin didn't make the choice to drop a bit of his power on Rhys, Rhys wouldn't have lived. If Feyre didn't decide to have sex in an Illyrian form, she might not have had a winged baby. If Nesta didn't make the choice to bargain with the Cauldron for her sister's life, and didn't give back what she stole, Feyre and Rhys and Nyx would've died. If Elain didn't decide to step out of the shadows, but hid in some tent, then both Cassian and Nesta would be dead. Things might be preordained, but they are still driven by choices that the people in the books make.

24 notes · View notes

cheap-spirits · 2 months

Text

“The high priestess walked onto the stone platform and raised her hands above her head. The folds of her midnight blue gossamer robe fell around her, and her white hair was long and unbound. An eight pointed star was tattooed on her brow in a shade of blue that matched her gown. Its sharp lines extending to her hairline.

“Welcome all and may the blessings of the goddess and all her gods be upon you”

- chapter 38 of Throne of Glass

(if anyone has the page number be a legend and lmk im listening to the audiobook for this) ((yes i paused after every sentence to get this right if its not the exact quote please dont yell at me im trying my best here)

BIG ASS SLEEPY RAMBLE UNDER THE CUT WITH SPOILERS FOR ALL SJM BOOKS

Uhhhhh 8 pointed star, blue priestess robes AND a goddess figure that has been described earlier as coming to this world through the wyrd to shape it. (Also possibly had been referred to as the mother but again sleepy and audiobook)

So this is the yulemas ceremony in the first tog book, iconic scene, buuut ive never seen anyone bring up this exact description before. Now i know its easy to just make connections out of nothing and who knows sjm might just really like 8 pointed stars and the colour blue but i kinda really hope that now tog and cc are confirmed to be connected (the og shifter world AND lidias heritage) that there will be more development.

Caaaaauuuuuuuse i want to know if the valg were asteri or if they were like diet asteri, i want to know how the mother connects these three worlds cause it absolutely is the mother that is mentioned as the goddess cause who the fuck else is it??? Most of the other gods and goddesses are mentioned by name and are actually from a different world (i also want to know more about that, what world did they come from are THEY the asteri????) i want to know more about the 8 pointed stars and how it fits into the tog world, we know the sisters both made the stars in cc and acotar worlds respectively but HOW DID IT GET TO THE TOG WORLD??? I want to know more about world walking, it was mentioned in lidias exposition dump about her lineage so that makes me think that aelin mastered it somehow and taught her descendants and lidia is a descendant but that also raises questions cause if i remember correctly (and im tired so im probably not please feel free to correct me) aelin closed all the connections to other worlds but then bryce was able to open a portal to prythian. BUT theres also the thought that lidia is from a different branch of aelins family tree that split off at an earlier point in time, but they also wouldve had to master world walking for it to be passed down in knowledge to lidia. (I personally think lidia is aelins descendant cause she gave the ring to the twins that is the ring aelin picked out i think….lot of potential misremembering here but i think the ring aelin picked was an emerald and i think thats the ring she gave the twins) I also want more information about the barrowhite becoming the underking, like how the fuck did they end up in CC and how the fuck did they end up in such a power position and just what??? ALSO the witches??? How are they so different in TOG and CC??? Unless theyre from different worlds but like where did the cc witches come from? Did they come from the ACOTAR world?? But still the description of the witches in acotar is so different to the cc witches and i just need more information. SJM please help i need more information i am begging im going insane i need MORE LORE!!!!

idk its all very confusing i really need to start taking notes when i read these books cause either im a dumbass and can’t remember or understand what happened or sjm has rewrote history and logic and honestly both could be true simultaneously. There’s probably more but like i said i sleepy and i have so much uni work to do and im on the first book, thank you for reading this if you got to the end, think i might crack out the conspiracy board over summer as a way to cope with finishing uni forever and becoming a real adult. ALSO if you read this please gimme your thoughts and questions to add to the conspiracy board that i absolutely will make but may just end up being in a sketchbook cause i have hundreds of them and boards are expensive

Oh also i think the single goddess figure with other gods below her is only mentioned in this book, i could be wrong (again i can only apologise i am ✨tired✨) but it had also been mentioned a few times in the og tog book

#big ramble #SPOILERS #throne of glass spoilers #a court of thorns and roses spoilers #acotar spoilers #a court of silver flames spoilers #acosf spoilers #crescent city spoilers #HOEAB SPOILERS #sjm spoilers #sjm theory #tog spoilers #tog theory #acotar theory #cc theories

0 notes

emilystheories · 1 year

Note

hey!! first off i just wanna say that your theories are literally getting me through school rn while we wait for cc3 lol

that being said, i was looking at your hunt-resurrection theory and noticed how you pointed out that the symbol for the dusk court could be the eight-pointed star. ive been rereading tog lately, and i noticed that during the yulemas celebration during the first book, the High Priestess had an "eight-pointer star … tattooed upon her brow in a shade of blue"

im not sure if youve seen this already (and with the amount of research you put into your theories, you probably have lol) but i just thought there could be sort of a connection there. im probably grasping at straws rn (january 30 could not come sooner), but idk i thought it was interesting lol

anyway sorry for the long ask!!! again, i love your theories (and may or may not riot if some of them arent true lol /hj)

Hi bestie !! This ask made my day - thank you so much! <3

I have noticed it, but you bringing it to my attention again has sent me spiralingggg! If I recall correctly (I don't have the books in front of me right now), the priestess with the eight-pointed star on her forehead was celebrating/worshipping the TOG gods.

Because of this... it really makes me wonder if the TOG gods are going to have a major part to play in the broader SJM multiverse? I have seen some people theorise that the Asteri could be the TOG gods (but to me, it seems as if the TOG gods have their own natural reserve of power, whereas the Asteri need to steal power? Though the details on this are vague...).

It's more of a crack theory (with many holes in it lmao), but I have wondered if some of the CC characters are the TOG gods (or connected in some way?) Hunt is repeatedly connected to Thurr (who was a god). In SJM's Pinterest for Ruhn, there were multiple pictures of a particular Celtic god. Then Bryce and Theia are connected (and Theia and Mala - a TOG god - share many similarities). Even Amren (with similar eyes to Deanna) gives me TOG god vibes.

And then with SJM drafting a book series called "Twilight of the Gods" (at the same time she drafted Crescent City), it makes me wonder if she has something up her sleeve regarding this...?

I guess we'll find out soon enough! Like you, I also can't wait for January 30, eeek !! :))

12 notes · View notes

wingedblooms · 2 years

Text

Crossover

I believe that there is a reason CC3 needs to come next, rather than another ACOTAR book, and that might be because it will have big implications for ACOTAR and Elain’s story in particular. Here are some of my thoughts about those implications, and I encourage you to comment or reblog to add your own ideas:

Overarching plot:

Koschei may not be the main villain. He could be working with the Asteri (who have a host of mystics with virtual access to other worlds and the ability to gather intelligence and influence characters), with the ultimate goal of weakening the world of ACOTAR for invasion. This may be especially true if he is in any way related to the Asteri (one of their lost relatives) and/or has been promised freedom upon their return. He could also, in a dire circumstance, agree to a bargain with residents of Prythian to help them fight against the Asteri, much like his death-god siblings did in the war against Hybern.

Because Prythian is a known target and has a history with the Asteri (through their suspected relatives, the Daglan), they will need to act sooner rather than later to address the threat of the Asteri. They can’t simply help Bryce on her way and wish her the best of luck, and based on the interview Sarah did, it seems Bryce will spend a good amount of time in the ACOTAR world. This will likely lead to Prythian allying with Midgard, Hel, and maybe TOG, which will require inter-world travel and battle scenes. @silverlinedeyes and @merymoonbeam have some ideas that they plan to share on that topic as well.

The Trove will likely be needed to defeat the Asteri, which is why it is important for it to remain protected. As Sarah set up in ACOSF, the combined power of the Trove can create an unstoppable army that can travel wherever they need it to go. Prythian will need to use this power to help their potential allies and stand a chance against the Asteri, who have had plenty of time to plan their revenge and might already be working to divert the Trove (especially the harp) to someone who could open the rifts before they are prepared. I talk a little more about that, and other larger forces at play, here.

Elain’s story:

Elain flies under the radar, and in fact, much of her character is overlooked or overshadowed, which works well if we’re in for more surprises. Based on the seeds Sarah planted, she seems destined to help her family in a subtler way than her own sisters. And this role fits with her curiosity and interest in learning, even in her darkest moments. One of the ways she demonstrates this trait repeatedly is through questioning:

With the Spymaster.

Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?”

He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.”

“That’s very beautiful,” she said. “Is it not—frightening, though? To fly so high?”

“It is sometimes,” Azriel said. Cassian tore his relentless attention from Nesta long enough to nod his agreement. “If you are caught in a storm, if the current drops away. But we are trained so thoroughly that the fear is gone before we’re out of swaddling.”

With the Clever Fox.

Her eyes were the brown of a fawn’s coat. And he could have sworn something sparked in them as she met his gaze. “Who are you?”

He knew without demanding clarification that she was aware of what he was to her. “I am Lucien. Seventh son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court.” And a whole lot of nothing.

With the Lady Death.

Elain at last slid into the chair near Mor’s, her dawn-pink dress—finer than the ones she usually wore—crinkling beneath her. “Will—will many of these soldiers die?”

I cringed, but Nesta said, “Yes.” I could almost see the unspoken words Nesta reined in. Your mate might die sooner than them, though.

With the Morrigan:

“Will it hurt?” Elain asked.

Mor still said, “No. It might … tingle. Just act as you would as a human.”

With the High Lady:

Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them. “And that entitles him to my time, my affections?”

“No.” I blinked. “But he is a good male.” Despite our harsh words. Despite this Band of Exiles bullshit. “He cares for you.”

With the Second:

Mor opened her mouth, laughter dancing on her face, but Elain asked, “Could you have done it? Decided to take a male form?” The question cut through the laughter, an arrow fired between us.

Amren studied my sister, Elain’s cheeks red from our unfiltered talk at the table. “Yes,” she said simply. “Before, in my other form, I was neither. I simply was.”

“Then why did you pick this body?” Elain asked, the faelight of the chandelier catching in the ripples of her golden-brown braid.

“I was more drawn to the female form,” Amren answered simply. “I thought it was more symmetrical. It pleased me.”

Elain asked, “And once you were in this body, you couldn’t change?” Amren’s eyes narrowed slightly. I straightened, glancing between them. Unusual, yes, for Elain to be so vocal, but she’d been improving. […] Elain, to my surprise, held Amren’s gaze.

With the Widowed Weaver:

“You made it?” Elain asked, now staring over her shoulder toward the tapestry.

A solemn nod. “A newer experiment of mine. To see how darkness might be made, woven. To see if I could take it farther, deeper than any weaver has before.”

“The silver thread,” Elain asked. “What is that called?”

The weaver paused the loom again, the colorful strings vibrating. She held my sister’s gaze. No attempt at a smile this time. “I call it Hope.”

You get the gist. Elain asks a lot of questions, and they almost always seem forgettable. Innocent. But has anyone considered how and why she chooses her questions? Is it simple curiosity, or is she subtly learning the people around her? Making connections to her visions?

What I love most about Elain’s style of questioning is that she doesn’t have to twist the character’s arm to get information. It comes fairly naturally, even if there is a moment of surprise. We do, however, see her questions change over time: they become more aggressive and even challenging (which matches the change in animal associations, as well), especially in ACOFAS and ACOSF. Is this similar to the transformation the Hind might have gone through before she assumed her intelligence role?

In addition to questioning, she learns through listening, observing, and doing. Her learning habits and interests seem ordinary, causing others to underestimate her (which, as we know from Amren, would be a mistake):

Gardening, traveling, and studying:

“These bulbs,” Elain said, pointing with a gloved hand to a cluster of purple-and-white flowers, “came all the way from the tulip fields of the continent. Father promised that next spring he’ll take me to see them. He claims that for mile after mile, there’s nothing but these flowers.” She patted the rich, dark soil. The little garden beneath the window was hers: every bloom and shrub had been picked and planted by her hand; she would allow no one else to care for it. Even the weeding and watering she did on her own.

“You should come with me,” Elain went on. “Nesta won’t go, because she says she doesn’t want to risk the sea crossing, but you and I … Oh, we’d have fun, wouldn’t we?”

I was content to listen to her talk about every bud and bloom, about her plans to start another garden by the greenhouse, perhaps a vegetable garden, if she could learn enough about it over the next few months.

If her father had offered to bring them on one of his ships, to let them see strange and distant shores, would they have gone? Elain had always wanted to visit the continent to study the tulips and other famed flowers, but her imagination had stretched no further.

Baking

Nuala swallowed hard. “The lady said she was hungry, so we went to make her something. But—she said she wanted to learn how, so …” Hands wreathed in shadows lifted in a helpless gesture, flour drifting off them like veils of snow. “We’re making bread.” […] She was hungry. She was … doing something. Learning something.

People

But Elain had seemed more than content to simply watch the humming city, to take in the sparkling strands of faelights strung between buildings and over the squares, to sample any tidbit of food offered by an eager vendor, to listen to minstrels busking by the now-silent fountains.

“We never heard of them in the human lands,” Elain said. She’d been as riveted as Feyre to hear Cassian tell of it: first of Nesta and the others’ interest, then of the brief history of the female fighters. “They must have been fearsome creatures.”

“I’d forgotten,” Feyre murmured. “About this, and about her dancing.” “Nesta never spoke of it afterward,” Elain said. “I just observed.” Nesta was wrong, Cassian realized, to think Elain as loyal and loving as a dog. Elain saw every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why.

She is constantly listening, observing, and doing—learning. What is she doing with all of that learning? Sarah planted seeds in ACOSF that Elain may be up to something behind the scenes (sneaking up on others, sneaking off to “help the elderly,” suspicions about secret-keeping and training, etc). And I think it might have something to do with the crossover. As @silverlinedeyes suggested, she might have helped tug Bryce to the ACOTAR world, where Aidas might be, rather than Hel. Is it possible that Elain has been unknowingly working with Aidas, or someone else, all this time? Is that where Aidas was in CC2? @silverlinedeyes and @offtorivendell have theorized that characters from Hel, including Aidas, might have access to Prythian through the library under the House of Wind, and Elain’s unique powers might provide her special access to them. She has access to a murky realm of dreams and visions, which at the very least grants her access to the future (similar to oracles), and an ability to track and appear to others (similar to mystics) not only across the world, but potentially across the universe. Could she have used her powers to connect with someone from Hel during her time in the House of Wind? This quote from ACOWAR might be a hint at that possibility:

She looked away—toward the windows. “I can hear your heart,” she said quietly.

“When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?”

He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.”

Even Lucien questions who, exactly, she is talking to in this scene. Is someone else there with her that Lucien cannot sense? Or is it occurring in her mind, through her murky realm of dreams? Could that heartbeat belong to Bryaxis, a creature of nightmares, who may or may not be connected to Hel? Does it have access to that same dark world? Is that world connected to Urd (Mother, Cauldron, Fate) and her influence winding between worlds? Where, exactly, might that murky world take Elain—across Prythian, to Midgard, to Hel, to Erilea? If so, she might be a critical link between worlds that will be needed for the approaching conflict, putting her curiosity, desire for adventure, openness, and powers to good use.

This crossover has expanded the possibilities for Elain’s story, and could provide important set up for her adventure and romance. In fact, I’m half expecting her to appear at the beginning of CC3, with tea, bread, and a vase of roses on a tray for Bryce and nonchalantly inquire after her trip. Because of course Elain would have seen that coming. She may have even worked to bring it about. That sneaky behavior makes her all the more interesting and relevant. And maybe finally, finally, characters and readers alike will stop underestimating her.

#cc acotar crossover theories #hosab spoilers #cc theories #acotar theories #elain archeron #pro elain

154 notes · View notes

ariadnethedragon · 2 years

Text

ACOTAR & CC Theories (Part 1): The Asteri, Valg, ToG Gods and the Daglan

DISCLAIMER: I appreciate others may have already thought of this, i just finished HOSAB last night and my brain is reeling so I made this post to organise my thoughts/theories and wanted to share it.

Who are the Asteri?

So in HOSAB we learn that the Asteri are actually these ancient, primordial beings that live off sucking the firstlight/life source from other beings. They have been doing this for millenia and have invaded several different worlds and planets and either used them up or were kicked out.

ToG:

So if we look into the ToG universe, we could compare the Asteri to the Valg. Like the Valg, the Asteri are parasitic creatures that hail from a different dimension and suck the souls from people.

I also found it quite interesting how similar the Crystal Palace in CC is to the Glass Palace in ToG. The latter was built over the original stone castle in Adarlan, presumably after the King was possessed by Valg. Also the King sits on a glass throne and the Asteri sit on crystal thrones, these thrones help charge them up.

Another thing is that the Asteri seem similar to the Gods in ToG. In EoS we learn the gods struck a bargain with Brannon to use the Lock to seal the Wyrdkeys and send them back. They promised that they would take Erawan with them, and destroy him in their realm. Elena unknowingly ruins this plan. This is how the Gods are described in that scene:

Aelin eventually kicks them out of her world in KoA and sends them back to their home dimension but not before opening a portal to Hel (an enemy of the Asteri) in the Gods' world as revenge for killing Elena and refusing to take Erawan back.

ACOTAR:

In the ACOTAR universe, I found that the Asteri were similar to the Old Gods described by Cassian to Feyre in ACOWAR.

Again we have this description of ancient ageless creatures. Also the mention of them being to fell hundreds of soldiers with one breath sounds very similar to...

Furthermore, the way in which the Bone Carver describes his older siblings Koschei and Stryga (the Weaver) as being death gods and consuming life itself is again similar to the way in which the Asteri consume firstlight.

In ACOSF, we meet Lanthys, a being equivalent to Koschei and Stryga and find out that he is a member of the Wild Hunt.

When Nesta goes on to question Rhys and Amren about the nature of this Wild Hunt, we are greeted with this description:

The Daglan, creatures that are both god-like and monstrous, that enslaved the inhabitants of Prythian and 'drank the magic of the land like wine'. You cannot tell me that that doesn't sound very similar to how the Asteri feed on firstlight, the life source of Midgard.

These Daglan were finally overruled by the Fae hero Fionn with his magic Starsword Gwydion.

94 notes · View notes

super-jane5 · 2 years

Text

HOSAB SPOILERS

I’ve just finished CC2 and I have so many theories I need to get off my chest.

1 - I think the Asteri are the same species as the gods are in the ToG world. The ToG gods mentioned being trapped in the ToG world and wanted to find a way back to their home world which I tick is Midgard (CC world) and that the Asteri and the gods were all part of that plot to find food (??) but got trapped when the northern rift closed.

I don’t think they are Valg as the firstlight feeding thing doesn’t match what we learned about them in ToG.

Aelin didn’t send the gods back to their homeworld but instread trapped them in a hellscape where they were destroyed, which i think is Hel and they wee killed by the princes of Hel.

2-I hope we get to see the ToG characters again (even if its a little cameo). We now know that the shifters are descendants from the same Fae that Rowan and Aelin are and I think the witches are from that world too, from back in CC1 when they mentioned worshipping a three faced goddess like the watched in ToG.

3 - I think Queen Theia is the High Queen of Prynthia that was mentioned in ACOSF and she took Gwydion and Truth-Teller with her to Midgard. She had two daughters one of which is Ruhn’s ancestor who kept the Starsword (Gwydion) in Midguard which was thought lost in ACOTAR world. Theia’s other daughter went missing, I think she travelled back to Prynthia with Truth-Teller and either she herself or one of her descendants married a High Lord of the Night Court which is why Ruhn and Rhys look so similar. Truth-Teller could if been passed through the family line until Rhys or his father gave it to Azriel.

I have a few more theories about Bryce’s tattoo being written in Wyrdmarks and maybe the holy language Amren mentioned could be what her world called Wyrdmarks

I’m just wondering about everyone else’s theories .

74 notes · View notes

acourtofthought · 2 years

Text

Amren said this to Nesta but we know it ended up not applying to her as she did become a warrior in ACOSF:

“There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives. Amren told me that yesterday.”

It feels like such an Elain quote because we know that despite her trying to fit in with the IC, cruelty still bothers her. It also reminded me of a quote said by Yrene:

"So I may not be a warrior waving a sword about, may not be worthy of your glorious tales, but at least I save lives--not end them."

We know that Elain is a Seer however we don't know if that's all she's capable of.

In the TOG series, we learn that Yrene is a descendent of Silba who was the Goddess of Healing. Silba was eventually trapped (along with the other Gods) when Aelin closed the Wyrdgates.

We also learn this information:

Silba's symbol is the Owl, as seen carved in multiple places in the Torre Cesme. The color that represents her is lavender. Lightweight robes of lavender are given to healers to wear after washing before entering the Womb.

Back when SJM had Pinterest she tagged Elain under a photo of Blodeuwedd who was considered to be the Welsh Goddess of Spring. A goddess who also is turned into an Owl at the end of the fairytale. I've done posts in the past highlighting the many owl like characteristics Elain has been showing:

Elain blinked and blinked

Elain cocked her head

Elain shifted her face toward him. Another blink

Elain perched silently

the wisdom she’d spoken

Elain somehow heard that Cassian and Nesta were in trouble with the King and she managed to get to them all on her own. Owls have extremely good hearing.

Also, owls are the only birds who fly silently and are known for their "stealth" when going after prey:

wondering if she’d been taking lessons in stealth

Elain was again at my side. I hadn’t heard her steps.

Mercifully, Elain quietly approached

having appeared so silently

Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach

So Silba's symbol was an owl, SJM had a pin for Elain under another Goddess whose symbol was an owl and Elain is demonstrating very owl like behaviors.

Lavender was also the color associated with the Goddess of Healing. Elain is either wearing blue or pink in books 1 - 3.5 but we only see her wearing the following in Silver Flames:

lilac gown

gown of amethyst velvet

purple dress sweeping behind her. “

And the very last dress she's wearing in the Novella:

From the edge of my vision, purple and gold flashed—Elain

Lavender, lilac, amethyst and purple are all very similar shades.

We also know a Healers power comes out in the form of light:

In ACOWAR, Feyre says this of Elain:

She had been always so full of light.

And in SF, Nesta of Elain:

Her sister turned toward her, glowing with health.

She glowed with good health.

I'm not sure if Elain would be a Healer in the same way Yrene is but it's interesting that the Mother / Cauldron found Elain worthy so it blessed her with powers and there are hints tying her to Silba.

We know that the Spring Court, Lucien, & Tamlin are all broken at this point and I think Elain will play a huge role in "healing" the lands and their relationships.

Beyond that, if Elain were capable of healing in the way Yrene was then she could play her own important part in the possible upcoming war against the Daglan / Asteri without needing to wield a sword since a Healers Light is capable of destroying them (if the Daglan / Asteri are in fact Valg which there are hints of). Not to mention Koschei. As brother of the Weaver, he is most likely Valg due to the fact that she bled black in ACOMAF. We're told that Autumn's fire cannot withstand Koschei's lake which means he would need defeated in some other way if Elain and Lucien set out to free Vassa together.

She plucked another figurine from the mantel: a rose carved from a dark sort of wood. “He made this one for Elain"

she pulled the small, carved rose from her pocket and set it upon the gravestone. A permanent marker of the beauty and good he’d tried to bring into the world.

#elain archeron #elucien #pro elucien #acotar theory #sara j maas #pro elain archeron

13 notes · View notes