#Elain is complex and dynamic

[viridianevergarden]

“Elain is weak”

“Elain is plain”

“Elain is boring”

“Elain has no personality”

Really? I’m convinced that people either glaze over the page any time Elain’s name is mentioned or they completely forget out of their own ignorance and convenience.

(This is long so read at your own peril, mainly a lot of receipts from the books for proof)

This is where the internalized misogyny really becomes externalized at this point.

I mean- Elain is the epitome of the common woman at the moment. Of course she’s not some battle hardened warrior. Of course she’s not some head strong fighter that actively goes into the face of danger to save the day as a hero.

She’s a woman who wants a normal life, or at least, the most normal she can have it.

She wants to love and be loved by someone of her choosing. Thats normal.

She enjoys more “feminine” hobbies or activities. Thats normal.

She helps the people of velaris by acts of service. Thats normal.

She wants to help her family any way she can.

She is normal.

Normal is good. Normal is relatable.

I think that some people’s brains have been plagued by the case of “every female main character should be a strong warrior” disease and hate Elain because she doesn’t currently fit into that mold. Thus she’s deemed uninteresting.

They want another Feyre or Nesta copy out of her. They want her to wield a sword and have the power to dominate whole territories and rule a court or two. Yet Elain doesn’t want that.

But even then Elain isn’t weak. She’s not boring. Elain has a voice.

Every rose has its thorns to protect itself.

Here’s a few big examples:

ACoTaR, ch. 40

Context: The queens just left the sisters’ manor after their first negotiation.

And it was Elain—Elain—who sighed and murmured, “I hope they all burn in hell.”

Omg she cussed. Elain showing outward hatred and opening her mouth about it? That’s new.

ACoWaR, ch. 21

Context: About tracking the cauldron, Elain claimed she will find it if Nesta cannot. Nesta protested immediately.

“Why?” Elain demanded. “Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” When Nesta flinched, Elain said, “You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater.”

Elain cut in sharply, “I am not a child to be fought over.”

Elain finally bearing her fangs to Nesta? Nesta flinched at her words.

ACoWaR, ch. 74

Context: during the war, Elain saved Nesta and Cassian’s life from the King.

Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

Weak huh? I mean if she was weak, I don’t think she would’ve wielded the blade. Let alone step out of a shadow with it. Yet she had the courage and will to do so. (She will protect what she holds dear even if it means she has to kill for it, even if she doesn’t like spilling blood or causing harm).

ACoFaS, ch. 18

Context: Feyre talking Elain about Lucien, Elain standing her ground on her decision.

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

“He doesn’t know me.”

Her mouth tightened, the only sign of anger in her graceful countenance. “I don’t want a mate. I don’t want a male.”

She has boundaries and she sticks by them. What a surprise. Using her voice.

ACoFaS, ch. 58

Context: Nesta finally came to solstice on her own accord per Cassian’s request. Elain greeted her and pleaded that Nesta does not upset Feyre since it’s her birthday. Nesta cussed Elain out without a thought.

And then Elain burst out laughing. Howling, half-sobbing laughs that sent her bending over at the waist, gasping for breath.

Elain held up a hand, wiping her eyes with the other. “You’ve never said such a thing to me!” She laughed again.

Elain being elated that Nesta had the balls to cuss her out? To be mean to her? Must’ve been a breath of fresh air from the suffocating overprotection. If anything, I’d feel intimidated that she laughed. Confused like Nesta. Elain has never laughed like this before.

ACoSF, ch. 76

Context: Feyre on her death bed during childbirth.

And when Elain began praying to the Fae’s foreign gods, to their Mother, Nesta bowed her head, too.

Elain was desperate enough to pray to The Mother and the Fae gods for help. For comfort. Shows some semblance of development in her journey of acceptance of her new life. (I don’t know why people think she refuses to accept her new life, the NC is her home)

ACoSF, Azriel’s Bonus Chapter

Context: Solstice night, Elain gifts Azriel earplugs with a humorous meaning.

Azriel unwrapped the box, glancing at the card that merely said, You might find these useful at the House these days, and then opened the lid.

Elain’s mouth twitched into a smile. "Nesta wouldn't appreciate the joke.”

Elain has the humor for making sex jokes lol.

• • •

I could continue adding more but I think you get the point now.

I don’t want her to be like Feyre.

I don’t want her to be like Nesta.

Elain has a voice and she has used it time and again.

She has plenty of character and I’m sorry if you don’t like it. She’s shown hatred, assertiveness, compassion, elation, acceptance, and humor throughout the series.

Just because she’s soft spoken and less combative than her sisters doesn’t make her any less than them.

No one can make you like a character except yourself. However, if you’re going to bash a complex character and say there’s no sustenance to her when she’s been shown to have obvious development and presence, then that’s an issue lol.

She’s a very fleshed out character and we haven’t even gotten to her story yet.

Even without military or magical prowess like her sisters, Elain has personality and I find that a lot of people including myself can definitely relate to her.

SJM merely set the stage for Elain.

All she needs to do is begin her Act.

[bloomingdarkgarden]

Grotesquely ready for Elain Cestrum nocturnum Archeron who reeks of night blooming jasmine to enter her moonlit poisonous plant growing phase, whispering secrets from the void barefoot beneath a sea of stars.

[theshadowsingersraven]

I don't understand why people are so adamant about the idea that SJM would/could change her entire writing style, love for fated mates, and patterns for Elain and Elain only.

Like, why? Why does everyone suddenly care about the "ethics" of a mating bond or the "wants of the character" just when it comes to Elain? Why do people suddenly stop loving fated mates, forced proximity, strangers to lovers, etc. when it comes to Elain? Why do people suddenly believe that her love story with her mate could overshadow her own growth and development when that didn't happen with Feyre or Nesta?

I don't understand why people in this fanbase treat Elain with this random ""autonomy"" that was never given to Feyre or Nesta. It's giving such infantilization for a character that these people swear up and down is underestimated (true) and yet they do the exact same thing the Inner Circle does, but in real life.

"Elain doesn't like Lucien!"

1. We don't know that. We don't have her POV, and she's only ever said that she doesn't want a mate, not that she has an issue with Lucien. We need her POV to know for certain how she feels. If you don't think we need that and her "body language" or "observable reactions" are enough, respectfully, nothing you say about Elain is going to be worth my time. If you can't acknowledge that a character can have more complex internal feelings that don't match her external expressions, especially considering how Nesta and Feyre behaved with their mates prior, then I don't want to hear any of your analysis. It seems surface-level at best, and I'm not interested in starting and ending character analysis at their surface-level, external behaviors.

2. Okay, say for instance that she doesn't like Lucien.

And?

Did we not all read Feyre going through not one but two enemies to lovers, forced proximity dynamics with both Tamlin and then Rhysand?

Feyre quite literally referred to Tamlin as her captor, and built traps in her room because she didn't feel safe in his manor.

Did any one of those same people give nearly as much of a shit that she didn't like either of them or wring their hands about it to this degree?

I can tell you one thing: I shipped Feylin during ACOTAR and then Feysand during ACOMAF, as I'm sure plenty of people did, too. And a majority of these people adore Feysand.

What about Nessian during ACOFAS and ACOSF?

Did any one of them give a shit that Nesta didn't have a "choice" either when SJM wrote a forced proximity love story for her character? When Nesta kept pushing away Cassian and told him to leave her alone? And Cassian believed that she wanted nothing to do with him? Shouldn't that greatly upset those people?

It didn't upset me because I like enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes. I didn't question the morals of ethics of the tropes or the mating bond during their book. And if those same people didn't either, then I raise them all, as well as generally most of the fanbase this question:

Who cares if Elain doesn't like Lucien? Elain is a fictional character written by a fated mates and enemies-to-lovers author.

Like...what do you guys think you're reading? Do you not expect her character to change and evolve and thus feel differently about things?

I'm tired of these lukewarm, inconsistent takes that only prove that people just don't want her to be with Lucien because he isn't "as hot" (when everyone in the series remarks on how handsome Lucien is) or broody like Azriel is. I'm tired of people projecting themselves onto Elain and claim that they want what "she wants" when not a single one of us know for sure what she wants, and it's just an excuse for people to feel "correct" or "just" in their preference.

Everyone wants something for Elain if you have skin in the game for her endgame ship. Because you have to. Elain will never be able to choose her endgame for herself because she is a character, and SJM or fanfic authors writing her decide for her.

That is just how writing works. Love to break it to you.

Yes, she wanted Azriel at one point. But he rejected her by calling their almost-kiss a mistake, and then she gave back the necklace. There are no interactions between them on page after this.

We no longer know for certain what Elain "wants". We only have the last time SJM put on page what Elain currently feels toward Azriel and Lucien from other character's point of view.

Elain's character deserves better than the infantilizing stans that treat her as if she's somehow so beleaguered and victimized. She's not. She's a character with trauma, just like her sisters. She's a character that people will villianize or adore, just like her sisters. She's a character that gets both warranted and unfair criticism, just like her sisters. She's just a character.

Everyone's love or appreciation or disdain for her is real, but Elain herself will never be real. And some people really, really need to internalize this.

[nikethestatue]

First deep thought of 2024

We've all heard the same thing over and over again: SJM has changed her mind!

Name a ship, name an event, name a plotline--SJM has changed her mind. Originally, it was supposed to have been....whatever. Fill in the blanks.

I genuinely think that she doesn't change her mind about anything. I think she considers options--which we all do, if we write--and once she puts it on paper, she realises that something isn't working.

No, I don't think that Feylin was ever going to be intended as an 'endgame'. She didn't just change her mind, and then put Feyre with Rhys. Once Rhys was created, it was always going to be Feysand.

No, I don't think that Moriel was ever going to be a thing. Cassian x Azriel x Mor dynamic was always strange. I think that maybe she initially considered Mor and Cassian, but I also think that the sisters--Nesta and Elain--were there from the very beginning. She was going to pitch and sell their stories. It wasn't a 'sudden' thing--she obviously pitched a whole new universe of stories about the sisters to the editor, not just a vague promise of 'I have novels about the sisters'.

Which brings me to Lucien and the sisters.

We've all read/heard SJM's interview where she said that she initially considered Nesta and Lucien as a potential couple. But then, she knew immediately that it wouldn't work between the 2 of them, and she switched Lucien to Elain.

So the question is--what WOULDN'T work between Nesta and Lucien? Romance? Why not? They are both snarky, disliked by their families, have complex relationships with their siblings, have awful relationships with their fathers, both feel out of place in the world that they occupy. So why exactly wouldn't it work between them? they'd actually make a great couple, if you think about it.

And that brings me to my final point: Lucien's story with the sisters (regardless of which sister it was) was always about the breaking of the bond. Lucien and Nesta didn't work out not because SJM couldn't write their romance, but because she couldn't write a believable bond breaking between the two of them. Because we all know that Nesta would just be like 'no'. And that's the end of that.

Therefore, the bond breaking (or whatever you want to call it: unsuccessful bond, false bond, unwanted bond) was moved to the more diplomatic Elain. Because knowing Elain's personality, her desire to please, her need to be the peacemaker wouldn't make her just say 'no' to Lucien and the bond, unlike Nesta.

The story between Lucien and the sisters was never about 'love'. I absolutely believe that there was and is never any intention on SJM's part to have Lucien end up with any of the sisters. I think that the story of Lucien was always about an unsuccessful bond, and finding love with a human (let's remember how much he hated them in ACOTAR).

That's why I truly believe that Elriel was always going to be endgame. Just like Feysand, and then Nessian, Elriel was always in the cards. And I think that SJM pitched a Nessian and an Elriel stories to the publisher, not a Nessian and an Elucien story. That's why the hints were there from the very beginning 'Elain would wed for LOVE and beauty' and 'love would trump a mating bond'. Love. Elain's story was always going to be about love, and not a bond. Elain's first love crashed and burned. The love that she found and chose herself didn't work out. Then she was given a bond, which, as it turned out wasn't what she wanted at all. And her story will be about finding the strength within herself to go after what she wants, which is love, and Azriel.

[acourtofkindness]

Thank you for sending in all the stories, here you can find the collection! Some of these are one-shots, some are longer stories, just click your way through them and also check out their other fics!

A Court of Vice and Victors

by @wishcamper Acosf rewrite where Nesta actually gets help and she and Cassian have a healthier dynamic, plus an Illyrian murder mystery

Pages Turned

by @climbthemountain2020 A character study on Nesta Archeron, the hardships she's faced through her life, and how they've shaped her as a person.

Could You Love Me While I Hate Myself

by @witch-and-her-witcher Humans have just been freed from servitude to the fae after years at war on Prythian and times are desperate for Nesta Archeron. With Feyre MIA and Elain a shell of herself, her options are becoming increasingly limited. When one of the young fae warriors, Cassian, who has carved a name for himself on the battlefield proposes to her after recognizing a mating bond between them, Nesta doesn't see any choice but to agree to take him as her husband and move herself and her sister to his home Court and the wilds of Illyria. War brings them together, a bond binds them - but is that enough for two broken people to find love with each other?

Firm and Fragrant Still the Brambleberries

by @foundress0fnothing When Nesta became a nurse at the start of the war, she could not have predicted a patient as challenging as Lieutenant Cassian Davies, nor he a nurse as captivating as her. As the same war that brought them together threatens to tear them apart, Nesta and Cassian must navigate the complexities of love and duty to find the way back to each other. A WWI historical AU.

Wreck My Plans, That's My Man

by @c-e-d-dreamer Drummer for the Bat Boys, Cassian has a large following, but sometimes Nesta doesn't appreciate fangirls calling themselves "Cassian's future wife."

It Looks As Though You're Letting Go

by @Darkcat18 (on ao3) Everyone is born with an arrow on the back of their hand which points to their soulmate at midnight on their eighteenth birthday. After her parents' disastrous marriage and her father's subsequent depression following the death of her mother, Nesta realized a soulmate is nothing more than guaranteed heartache and ruination. On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she packs up her car and leaves her family and life behind forever. What she doesn't count on, however, is having a soulmate like Cassian, who may be the one to prove to her that a soulmate is what she needs.

I Guess It's Half Timing (And The Other Half's Luck)

by @moodymelanist Nesta and Cassian have a steamy one-night stand while out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but their lives are changed forever once Nesta realizes her period is late. Follow along as Nesta and Cassian navigate preparing to become parents, balancing their other life stresses, and figuring out their feelings for one another!

Amidst the Madness

by @This_Immortal_Hope (on ao3) Love and war have always followed the same rules: Quick to ignite, slow to extinguish. There aren't many things Cassian has dared to openly want in his 500 years of existence. Not even the position he currently occupies as Lord of Windahaven (far too lofty a spot for nothing more than a well-blodded bastard, if you ask the other Illyrian Lords), but from the second Nesta Archeron stepped foot in his camp, the entire world ebbed into a single truth. She is his. He is hers. Everything else - the war he is meant to lead, the people relying on him, the legacy he should be fighting to protect, cease to exist the second his eyes are caught in roiling silver flames. There is pain in this female, his female. And retribution will be exacted. Rhysand has his war, and now so does Cassian. Whether the two align ... only Nesta can give that order.

Sweetest Con

by @separatist-apologist Nesta Archeron has been trapped in witness protection for the past five years, hiding a secret no one can ever learn. All she has to do is wait out the criminals back home determined to punish her and her sisters for a lie they told years before. She can handle anything- even the new agent sent to keep her safe.

The Whole Truth

by @TheTeaQueen (on ao3) A beautifully heartbreaking story about what if Papa Archeron used/sold Nesta back in their village, and the IC learning this truth. It features Rhys and Nesta sibling bonding over their respective SA traumas. And Cassian helping Nesta to heal and feel comfortable with touch again

The Nesta Variation

by @persegrace (on ao3) A modern AU where Cassian is a military vet and Nesta is a former ballet dancer. They're both dealing with trauma, and meet in AA.

Ultima Ex Nobis

by @fieldofdaisiies Six years into a global pandemic which was caused by a mass fungal infection that turns hosts into zombie-like creatures and makes the whole of Prythian collapse, the former army general Cassian Cadell is tasked with one very special mission – escorting Nesta Archeron, one of the few immune survivors, across a post-apocalyptic Prythian to a group of people of the name L. Their identity is unknown but they can make an antidote.

you make my motor run

by @wilde-knight When Nesta and Cassian are set up on a blind date, neither of them can imagine their families feeling whole again. But with sparks flying between them, will they finally be able to imagine the road ahead?

[curiousity-cell]

the worst part for me about nesta stans is how they’ve used her book now to make lashing out and hurting the people around you an excusable thing to do if you have trauma. that was not the point. if that’s what you gleaned from nesta’s book, stop fucking reading.

i understand very well what it means to lash out and aim verbal daggers at other people to keep them away. i get it more than most, i was an extremely mentally ill teenager. that is no excuse. just because you are hurting doesn’t mean you get to treat other people like shit.

that’s what nesta did. she hurt people. as they say, hurt people hurt people. but just because it’s a thing it doesn’t mean she’s ok to do it and everybody else is at fault for not wanting to put up with her. of course rhys doesn’t treat her as well as he does elain, of course mor is wary of her and is associating the people she was traumatised by with her. she was mean! she was cruel! and she continued to be mean and cruel throughout until she began to let cassian & the valkyries in (& everyone else will obviously follow.) but this is a slow process.

obviously she’s still going to have that knee jerk reaction to hurt people when she’s feeling not great and her traumatic experiences flare up. relapses happen. where we’re at in HOFAS is mere weeks after ACOSF, obviously things aren’t going to be automatically fixed. not with rhys, not with feyre, not with cassian.

so like. instead of every nesta stans knee jerk reaction being to hate everyone and bitch about everyone in the IC who’s still wary of her, let’s use our brains yea? let’s not excuse a bad thing just because you think it’s cool.

anywayz nesta archeron is a very cool character and deserves a better fanbase & better understanding of her character and a better understanding of the point of her character.

& just so everyone understands me: i’ve been both on the receiving end of a lash out and the person who lashed out. i understand both perspectives. both hurt in different ways. let’s not be dense about this complex character yeah. & all the complex character dynamics around her

[lex-confessions]

I'll say this: When Feyre talks about Elain and Azriel, she suggests that Azriel might be what Elain needs, but she doesn't confirm that Elain is what Azriel needs. They are just two people who are close in proximity, tend to be comfortable around one another, and yes, there's mutual attraction. However, that's because Elain is described as objectively beautiful, and so is Azriel, so it would be weird if they weren’t attracted to one another - at least aesthetically.

---

Now, I can’t remember if I read it in the books or maybe saw a comment about it, but I know there’s one scene—I think it’s in A Court of Frost and Starlight—where Azriel tells Cassian to wait because Elain isn’t at the table. Like I said, I couldn’t remember if it’s in the books, briefly mentioned somewhere, or just an afterthought someone had.

But hear me out: Azriel’s attraction to Elain might be because she reminds him of his mother, and he’s confusing familial love with deep romantic love. Actually, I know he is because not only are they not mates, but they haven’t been around each other long enough to fall in love like that, especially with Elain being practically comatose during the first half of her experience in Prythian. Obviously, they converse and hang out, but I think their knowledge of one another is not as deep as either Azriel projects it to be or as some Elriel fans perceive it to be.

This doesn’t mean I don’t think they may get together, although I would hope not. Considering the situation, it’s just too messy. There’s so much at stake to want to try to figure things out with Elain right now. It’s not the right climate for this, and I hope Azriel wouldn’t pursue it. If everything we’ve learned about him is true, I don’t think he would do it anyway. Even though Rhys explains the complexities involving the mating bond with the Autumn Court and the potential for Azriel and Lucien to challenge each other, it’s too much to handle. We’ve just finished a war; Rhys literally died. The way people act like Rhys was unreasonable for saying that baffles me, but it makes perfect sense. There’s too much going on for Azriel to be messy, especially when Elain isn’t even his mate—she’s someone else’s mate.

If Sarah decides to explore their dynamic on that level, I think they might be each other’s lesson. In A Court of War and Ruin, Elain was still completely brokenhearted over losing her human love. To pivot to Azriel that quickly—come on, we’ve all done it. We pretend the rebound guy is some great love, and then when the actual love happens, we think, "What was that?"

Azriel has a terrible sense of self-worth, which is why he goes after unavailable females. He’ll never actually have to confront feeling worthy; he can just fulfill his prophecy that they won’t want him by choosing unavailable females. Putting Elain and Azriel together would stunt any sort of character growth. If Tamlin, for God's sake, gets character growth, then Elain and Azriel should too. Otherwise, it’s just fan service.

---

Now, when talking about Azriel and Gwyn, I noticed that they complement each other really well just in their abilities alone. Gwyn seems genuinely interested in getting to know Azriel—not just staring at him or sitting next to him in silence, but genuinely asking questions and waiting for his response to build on what she knows about him. One of them is humanizing him, and it’s not Elain. I think Azriel has spent most of his life, especially his childhood, being dehumanized. The way Gwyn chooses to humanize him is not a coincidence, and I don't think it’s unimportant. If it were, Sarah would not have written that bonus chapter. But she did write the bonus chapter and gave it to us to read.

I get confused when people pull up interviews and say that Elain and Azriel are endgame when Sarah has put in so many different things to suggest otherwise. I don’t know why people negate the bonus chapter or argue that Elain and Azriel should be together just because they kissed. Maybe they don’t finish it, because the ending of that chapter is far more important than a heated secret kiss in the hallway. It's similar to how in "A Court of Thorns and Roses," Rhys’s intervention ended up being way more important than Feyre and Tamlin’s heated secret kiss in the hallway.

[theweeklydiscourse]

The dynamic and initial characterization of the Archeron family in ACOTAR is…frustrating.

Trying to make sense of the Archeron sister’s backstory in conjunction with their future character development is enough to drive a person to the brink of madness. It’s a straining experience to try to accept the story on Maas’s terms due to how jumbled the continuity becomes as the series progresses. Specifically, the dynamic of the Archeron sisters feels artificial and contrived. It’s a dynamic meant to evoke as much pity as possible from the reader and in doing so, it creates a clash between Maas’s first draft of these characters and their future developments. I find that it makes it difficult for one to immerse themselves in ACOTAR’s world building and characterization because it lacks harmony with the rest of the series. Furthermore, Maas writes a kind of suffering that is indulgent and gratuitous, not seeming to care about how doing so might create problems in her story later on. It makes analyzing the later developments in the story akin to fist fighting the narrative in a Walmart parking lot at 3am.

Example #1 : The Dissonance of Nesta and Elain

The initial characterizations of Nesta and Elain is shallow and although they develop farther along in the series, they can never quite escape the impression of their introductions. In the early chapters, Nesta is a haughty ingrate who staunchly refuses to help Feyre with running the household while Elain is clueless and unhelpful. They behave terribly towards Feyre, but in a manner that feels like something out of a stand-alone story for young children and not the first book of a trilogy.

“Nesta picked at her long, neat nails. “I hate chopping wood. I always get splinters.” She glanced up from beneath her dark lashes. (…) “Besides, Feyre,” she said with a pout, “you’re so much better at it! It takes you half the time it takes me. Your hands are suited for it—they’re already so rough.””

“Her brown eyes--my father's eyes remained pinned on the doe. "Will it take you long to clean it?" Me. Not her, not the others. I'd never once seen their hands sticky with blood and fur.”

They are the embodiments of the “evil stepsister” archetype but are written with no nuance or thought for how their future development might look. They are tools that exist solely to make Feyre’s life as hellish as possible and this is especially apparent with Nesta. Nesta’s initial one-note meanness confounds me, especially when her character is expanded upon later in the trilogy. But here, she acts cartoonishly cruel and spoiled like the sisters in Cinderella and her initial moments do not do enough to suggest her complexity that is eventually used in ACOSF. This dissonance in Nesta reflects the flaws of Maas’s characterization and follow-through. The story indulges in Feyre’s suffering and asks the reader to feel terrible for the plight of this poor and unfortunate soul… but it all feels so gratuitous.

I was never fully convinced by The Archeron family dynamic, how could I be when the characters are not characters but instead are torture devices for the main character? They are elements that converge to make Feyre’s life as miserable and pitiful as humanly possible, but does so in a way that feels utterly shallow and cliche. I can’t become invested in the way Feyre is mistreated because it reads as pain for the sake of pain, it’s shallow and uncompelling.

Example #2 : Feyre’s Non-Existent Relationship to her Unnamed Mother

“My mother. Imperious and cold with her children, joyous and dazzling among the peerage who frequented our former estate, doting on my father the one person whom she truly loved and respected.”

Another example of this relates to Feyre’s relationship to her deceased mother. Feyre is intent on honouring her vow to her mother and yet, it seems like she harbours no positive emotions towards her. Descriptions of her relationship with her Mother are scant and reveal very little about any potential closeness between them. From this passage, a read could surmise that Feyre’s Mother cared more for wealth and status than her children and had little affection for them as a result. It wasn’t as if Feyre and her mother were uniquely close or had a strong bond or something that might justify honouring that promise (especially when she comments on the unfairness of placing that burden on a child very early on in ACOTAR).

“There were times when I hated her for asking that vow of me. Perhaps, delirious with fever, she hadn't even known what she was demanding.”

So what is the narrative purpose of Feyre’s loyalty to a parent she was never that close with and breaking her back to fulfill a promise made in delirium? Her mother is a complete afterthought and yet Feyre for some reason puts herself through the wringer so that she honours that promise? Why? It isn’t compelling for the heroine to sacrifice that much of herself for a family that has no real emotional stakes in the relationship dynamic. THIS does not make a good story, it is so fixated on creating a tragic background for its heroine that it strips the supporting characters of all intrigue and ironically makes the mistreatment Feyre faces feel flimsy and almost comically exaggerated. HER MOTHER AND FATHER DONT EVEN HAVE NAMES!

Example #3 : Feyre’s Father

Feyre says that their family had been impoverished for 8 years, but I fail to grasp how a family of four could subsist on the income from an amateur huntress and her sales of animal pelts. Am I to believe that all of them spent those past 8 years twiddling their thumbs while Feyre did everything on her own? While I’m aware that this is a fantasy series, it seems unrealistic that Nesta nor Elain ever gave Feyre any substantial assistance when it came to running a household. The idea that their prissiness and spoiled attitude prevented them from lifting a finger makes no sense because a mindset like that would never allow them to survive in such an environment. None of them have jobs or bring in any income to support the family and somehow I’m meant to believe that Feyre’s earnings were enough to support all of them. Meanwhile, her father is too ashamed to even attempt to aid his daughters.

Feyre’s father is presented as feckless and an object of resentment for Feyre and Nesta. Although he is given slightly more depth than Nesta and Elain initially, he is never truly expanded upon as a character and is confined to a pathetic characterization.

“What I really wanted to say was: You don't even bother to attempt to leave the house most days.Were it not for me, we would starve. Were it not for me, we'd be dead.”

Oh look! Her father is useless too! Her only living parent who “hadn’t argued when I announced that I was going hunting.”. Although papa Archeron is kind to Feyre, this doesn’t culminate in a meaningful character arc later in the book and his inaction as a father is left to fester. Feyre’s relationship with him is similarly shallow with her relationship to her mother and does not offer the reader anything to latch onto when Feyre leave her family towards the end of the book. I just feel that the story would become so much more emotionally compelling if there were any reasons for Feyre to truly have a connection with her family and if it were not a barrage of misery.

So basically…

I just can’t become invested in Feyre’s plight when it is so indulgent in her suffering (at the expense of some potentially compelling characters). It feels manufactured, it doesn’t feel real (in the sense that it is extremely contrived) and I hate how Maas makes the family dynamic more emotionally nuanced later on in the series, but is constantly at odds with the initial impressions of these characters. The potential is there, but Maas seemed to care more about making the backstory as sad and tragic as possible rather than considering any potentially complex emotional realities the characters would have to grapple with later on.

[a-court-of-lust-and-stardust]

The best Brother-Sister dynamic…???

One relationship I am so excited to see in the next book is Rhys and Elain.

I think he will understand her in a way no one else does. I don’t know if Elain reminds Rhys of his sister, but if she does, I think it’ll be so sweet for Rhys to have another shot at being a brother, and for Elain to have someone in her corner who sees her potential. I think Rhys is drawn to Elain’s kindness and thinks very highly of her. I think she’s one of the only people who can get off with waving a hand in the High Lord’s face and him being amused by it because she means absolutely no harm. I think he’ll talk to her in a calm manner when she inevitably finds out about Solstice, and I think she’s probably one of the only people who might really be able to get him to consider how his actions effect other people. I think knowing how much pain he might have caused her will make him sick to his stomach, and he’ll value her forgiveness so much. I think Elain, while rightfully upset and hurt, has the empathy and emotional maturity to understand the nature of Rhys’s complex choices. And not to mention, Rhys and Elain will gossip together at least once a week over tea and treats.

All in all, I just think they’ll have a sweet, understanding relationship and I hope SJM delivers it to us. 💜🤗🩷

[hrizantemy]

Since it’s most likely that we’re gonna get Elain’s book next and I don’t really talk about Elain a lot on this account I would just give my opinion on her and how I view her personally and what she means to me.

Elain reminds me of myself, especially in the way she doesn’t evoke strong personal opinions from me. This indifference isn’t due to her character being unremarkable, but rather because she mirrors aspects of my own past. As a child, my trauma response was to become the quintessential “good child.” I learned to suppress my emotions and opinions, striving to never say the wrong thing, never yell, get upset, or show anger. This coping mechanism was my way of navigating a turbulent environment, aiming to avoid conflict and earn approval.

Elain’s character embodies this same quiet resilience and conflict-avoidance. Her tendency to stay out of confrontations and maintain a serene exterior resonates deeply with my own childhood behavior. It’s this reflection of my younger self that makes it difficult for me to form distinct opinions about her—it’s like looking into a mirror and seeing a part of me that I understand all too well, but also prefer to keep at a distance. Through Elain, I see the echoes of my own experiences and the complexities of being the “good child,” always striving for peace at the cost of my own voice and emotions.

My sister reminds me of Nesta, which is why I love her so deeply. Despite being younger than me, she was always the opposite of the "good child" I tried so hard to be. While I focused on being quiet and compliant, she embraced her anger. Her refusal to suppress her emotions set her apart and, in many ways, protected both of us.

Nesta's fierce independence and willingness to confront difficult truths resonate with my sister's personality. My sister's anger was never just about being rebellious; it was a way of asserting herself and fighting against the constraints that I often silently accepted. Her courage to express her feelings, no matter how intense, made her someone I admire deeply.

Loving my sister for these traits is easy because, through her, I see a strength I often wished I had. Her ability to stand up for herself and others, even when it meant facing disapproval, created a balance in our relationship. She was the voice when I was silent, the storm when I was calm. My deep love for her stems from this dynamic; her unapologetic anger and passion were a counterbalance to my own subdued nature. Through her, I learned that it's okay to feel and express every emotion, even the difficult ones.

Growing up, I was forced into a parental role by my mother who was abusice, a responsibility that weighed heavily on me from a young age. Elain’s character resonates deeply with the trauma I experienced and witnessed, particularly through Nesta’s tumultuous relationship with their mother and grandmother. Nesta’s struggles with their expectations and the harsh treatment they endured parallel my own challenges. Both Elain and Nesta embody different responses to trauma—Elain retreats into gentleness and seeks peace, while Nesta confronts her pain with defiance and anger.

I don’t always agree with some of the things Elain does, similarly, there are aspects of Nesta’s choices that I struggle to reconcile with. With Elain, her tendency to prioritize peace and harmony can sometimes lead to decisions or actions that I question. There are moments where I wish she would assert herself more or take a stand against injustices. However, I understand that her desire to avoid conflict stems from a place of wanting stability and protection for herself and her loved ones. Her choices reflect her own coping mechanisms and the traumas she carries, much like my own experiences of trying to maintain calm in turbulent times.

On the other hand, Nesta’s defiance and sometimes abrasive behavior can be difficult to support. Her actions, driven by her own pain and anger, often clash with societal expectations or even with the people closest to her. Yet, I empathize deeply with her struggle to reclaim her autonomy and voice after enduring profound trauma. Her journey towards self-discovery and healing, though tumultuous, speaks to the resilience and strength within her.

In both Elain and Nesta, I see reflections of me and my sister a complexity—flawed, yet profoundly real. They embody different responses to adversity, and my understanding of them is shaped by my own experiences of navigating difficult circumstances. While I may not agree with every choice they make, I empathize with the reasons behind their actions and respect their individual paths towards healing and self-acceptance.

[starsreminisce]

Let's delve into the matter of the necklace.

I, for one, cannot comprehend why the necklace isn't a significant issue for E/riels, as it essentially signifies the end of this ship.

"What's wrong with a regifted necklace?"

My confusion lies in their willingness to overlook key character traits to make their ship plausible.

Azriel is renowned for his reserved nature. Consequently, every word he utters carries substantial weight, and he does not feel compelled to sugarcoat his statements.

Azriel is highly unlikely to oppose Rhys, especially after Rhys asserted his authority. Rhys rarely interferes in the affairs of his inner circle, trusting their judgment implicitly.

Rhys even advised Feyre to leave the complex Mor/Cassian/Azriel dynamic alone.

This is why it is crucial to consider why he felt compelled to intervene. Whether it's for political reasons, empathy, or preventing his friend from making a mistake, his intervention carries significant weight.

On the other hand, it's possible that Rhysand forcefully affirmed Azriel's choice to move on from his feelings for Elain.

The distinction lies in how Azriel approached Elain and Gwyn regarding the necklace.

What stands out in Elain's section of his chapter is the heightened sexual tension in the text.

He mentioned nothing about searching for the necklace for Elain, pondering whether he should give it to her, or any feelings of longing—a characteristic often highlighted in SJM's depiction of mates.

Consider Lucien's absence from the Solstice celebration the previous year.

Where is the yearning that he couldn't spend time with her as he did the previous year? The bitterness of being reminded that she can never be fully his? The fact that this female who finally helped him move on from Mor after 500 years is has been mated to someone else? Or that he's closely associating with his brothers, as though he's already part of his family? There's nothing about how hard he tried to select the perfect gift for her, the worry about whether she'd like it, or the pride that his present might outshine her mate's.

All we get is his aversion to their bond, his desire to pleasure her, and his feeling of unworthiness to touch her.

Of particular note is his vivid imagination of Elain's reaction as he enters her.

Was Rhys wrong to suggest finding a pleasure house when Azriel's thoughts about Elain were consistently sexual?

When given an opportunity to explain himself to Rhysand, regardless of Rhys's apparent disinterest, what did Azriel offer?

He expressed his unfiltered thoughts about how he felt regarding Elain.

"Why wasn't the third sister given to me? What if the Cauldron is wrong?"

Azriel didn't even bother to use her name, which makes it all the more significant. After all, his two brothers found mates in the two sisters, so why wasn't the third sister given to him, the third brother?

Yet, there was no mention of her progress, his feelings when he's with her, or their compatibility.

While Azriel is entitled to question the Cauldron, in that sentence alone, he undermines his brothers' bonds due to his own doubt.

In contrast, Feyre's stance has evolved. She no longer advocates for Azriel and Elain. Instead, she encourages Elain to give her bond with Lucien a chance and asks Lucien to be patient with Elain. This implies that her question to Rhys has been answered—Lucien and Elain are well-matched, even after observing Azriel and Elain interact during Solstice.

Lucien was willing to risk his life to protect Feyre from Rhysand on two occasions. He argued with Feyre to take him to his mate.

Why couldn't Azriel argue with Rhys about why Elain should have been his mate when he had opposed and defied Rhys on other issues?

The most telling aspect is that Azriel couldn't provide an answer when Rhys asked, "what of Mor?"

Mor was Rhys's reasoning for why he didn't think Elain and Azriel would work, as Rhys believed that Azriel had been waiting for their bond to snap. Mor even mentioned that Azriel had had lovers while he pined for her.

Azriel allowed his cold rage to surface, a rage he only ever revealed to Rhysand, knowing that his brother could match it, but he couldn't respond to any of Rhys's questions.

Lucien didn’t back down from Rhys, Cassian and Azriel until Rhys explained to Lucien that all of this was Feyre’s choice.

Now, moving on to Gwyn.

It's regrettable that we can't compare how he converses with Elain to how he interacts with Gwyn. I'll be fair and assume their brief answers stem from their awareness that they're about to engage in something they perceive as wrong.

So, let's emphasize that he never thought he was tarnishing Gwyn's body with hands that had committed unspeakable deeds when he was teaching her. Both acknowledged what he had done to save her, without shame. They understood and then continued their conversation, with Azriel adding more words after his initial one-word response.

Furthermore, he's the one who keeps attempting to engage Gwyn in conversation, even when she mentions that she's trying to cut the ribbon. He lied to Gwyn about his reason for being there, but he couldn't deceive Elain about why he needed to leave?

Elain made him laugh once. How many times did Gwyn make him laugh during their brief interaction?

He felt inadequate around Elain, but he's at ease with Gwyn. He respects Gwyn and truly sees her for who she aspires to be, just as Gwyn sees him for his true self—the side he tries to conceal. She thanks him for it.

And here's the kicker: while he imagined how Elain's face might look when he enters her, he thought about how Gwyn's teal eyes might light up upon receiving the necklace.

His arousal was evident when Elain wore the necklace, but he felt a spark in his chest when he imagined Gwyn receiving it.

He described the necklace as a thing of secret, lovely beauty, and that's how his bonus chapter concluded as he walked away, envisioning how Gwyn would react when she received it.

I will acknowledge that several Elriel moments did occur, but they were not further explored in ACOSF. Azriel made it clear that he believed staying away from Elain was the right choice, and this decision happened without a proper conversation between them to explain why.

Azriel himself asserted his decision on what Elain should do with her feelings toward him.

Notably, Elain returned the necklace Azriel had given her, and he subsequently gifted it to someone else, signifying a shift in their connection. Elain accepted Azriel's declaration that their connection was a mistake.

Although there were moments where Azriel and Elain were in the same room after solstice, their interactions didn't lead to significant developments. It's important to consider that character dynamics can evolve unpredictably in a story.

While the author may have expressed mutual interest in a bonus chapter, the observations made by Cassian and Nesta in the regular edition about Azriel's interactions with Gwyn added complexity to the situation. Ultimately, it's up to the author to decide how they want to develop the characters and their relationships, even if it doesn't align with some fans' expectations.

[finaland]

Elucien will be soooo fantastic

It's fascinating how SJM addresses the couple dynamics between Elain and Lucien. They have a unique context: they are the first mates we encounter in the story who are aware of their bond but barely know each other. The tension between them is palpable, and it's clear they don't have an established connection.

Lucien's guilt for having loved another woman, thinking she was his mate, adds another layer of complexity. SJM presents an interesting truth: unlike couples like Rhys and Feyre, or Cassian and Nesta, Elain and Lucien didn't have time to get to know each other before the bond was established.

SJM's idea of the healing journey is intriguing, suggesting that this process might involve tensions and the possibility of breaking the bond. However, considering the concept of "free will," they might choose not to break the bond and instead opt to get to know each other better. The Elucien book promises to be spectacular in exploring a unique couple dynamic that we haven't seen in the story yet

[tadpolesonalgae]

sticking to the headcanon that feyre has a baby face bc it tickles my heart to think that when elain or nesta sees feyre sleeping/painting/just zoning out or smth for a flicker of a moment it feels like they're looking at their baby sister no different from their teenage years and their heart feels molten to think about everything they all went through and how their little sister fucking died and elain would just goes up to feyre and kisses her forehead and feyre just kinda looks at her with a confused smile, or if it's nesta she'd probably just abruptly get up and leave just to come back with a blanket to drape over a sleeping feyre and ugh can u tell that im obsessed with the messy dynamic of siblings that have never learnt or have been allowed to be soft with each other yet they can't help but care about each other deeply and have moments where that love shines through-

(sorry it's just whenever i see fics taking place around acosf and that inevitably jagged relationship between the sisters gets portrayed (whether directly or implied) i feel so many things that i feel like im going to explode bc... i wonder if seeing nesta drowning herself in alcohol and sex maybe reminded feyre of her time utm when she was essentially forced to get drugged/drunk and had no one to protect her from being sexualized by a bunch of strangers, or if nesta's knee jerk reaction towards lucien was so violent bc it felt like just another fae male trying to take away one of her younger sisters and the last time that happened they came back having already died, or if elain finds comfort in nuala and cerridwen so easily bc being able to bake or tend to the gardens together is something she wanted to do with her sisters back when they lived in the cabin...🥲)

Oh my gosh I think I would have liked to see something like this in a bonus chapter? I saw someone making a post about how Elain made a point to say how both her and Nesta failed Feyre in letting her go out into the woods and Feyre just wanting to start again because of how their situation was forced on them so it made things much more complex in their relationship and added way too many struggles for them to have a chance to get through it peacefully/happily :/

It feels also believable they might do something like that too since the whole family seems kind of unable to express themselves verbally and—as someone has nicely pointed out before—seem to only show their love for one another through acts of extreme sacrifice.

Even better if Feyre doesn’t understand what’s going on, just every so often she notices this weird softness popping up from both of them and she’s like ??? But also it’s nice and she wouldn’t ask them not to do it.

And I hadn’t thought of those parallels before but it’s kind of sweet to think those might be reasons behind some of their instinctive reactions—from having seen others suffer or experienced it themselves in a similar way and instinctively wanting to protect/prevent someone else from experiencing it too? There’s so much about the books that I’m almost happy wasn’t touched on because it leaves it open for discussion and will allow creativity to thrive!!!

[theshadowsingersraven]

It’s interesting to me that E/riels often bring up Elain’s agency, but overwhelmingly have no issue with the lack of agency Nesta had in her relationship with Cassian, or how Rhys and Feyre’s relationship started with a kidnapping. Or they insist Gwyn can’t have a relationship because she’s a rape survivor, but that somehow doesn’t apply to Rhys’s abuse by Amarantha. Fandom (and this is a widespread issue, not specific to ACOTAR) can never just say “I don’t like this ship” anymore. They always have to bend over backwards to make it problematic and immoral. I prefer Elucien because I think it’d be something new, while E/riel feels too close to Feysand and Nessian. That’s really it! I don’t see the need to insist it’s the morally correct choice, or to twist canon to paint E/riel as abusive and shippers as abuse apologists. Can we all just calm down?

I got this before Elaingate and forgot it was sitting in my drafts lol

EXACTLY. I feel like because of the prevalence of unspoken or sometimes fully spoken online morality litmus tests puts people in a mindset of "I have to have a reason to like/not like something or someone is going to say I'm wrong."

Which I don't fully blame people for, but I definitely would like them to be a bit more self-aware about it? Like...why are we bringing someone's actual personality to what they enjoy in fantasy? That's the point of fantasy, it's not real. It's a safe avenue to explore things you normally wouldn't in real life.

I think there's a unique aspect to this fandom that leans super conservatively and rigidly to canon. There's very little gay representation, and every time people try to invalidate Gwynriel based on Gwyn's trauma because "Az is kinky" without realizing that kink is not just Christian Grey's Room of Pain or whatever tf it's called. Kink can be very empowering for survivors and can help them heal through having very clear sexual boundaries, dynamics, and safe words. It's exposure to sex that stops when they want it to, and that can be so healing.

I think a big issue in this fandom is that people are trying to use real-life comparisons to fictional characters on a morality scale, while completely glossing over their psychological complexity. Especially to invalidate or validate ships. It's just giving half-baked arguments online with the equivalent of rumor-mill-level veracity information to people about characters that fans can't analyze thoroughly.

I just can't take a lot of people in this fandom seriously when they get so up-in-arms. People can just say "ship bad" and go on their way, but they definitely do not lmao.

[mirandasidefics]

☹️ at first i was making fun of lucien but now... i like him..

I'm so happy! Lucien is an amazing character and I'm excited to read about his journey in canon, whenever that may be.

I really enjoy writing for him as well. There is so much to explore with his character as whole. Not only is he funny as hell with a fantastic sense of sarcastic humor and sass, but he is loyal to those he cares for. He has such a sense of what is right, even if he hasn't made the best decisions in the past. He has a very complex past that has impacted his mating bond with Elain and his response to how he views his relationship with Reader.

He cares for Reader so much yet is in such heavy denial about his feelings. Their friendship developed so naturally despite the circumstances that brought them together. And it continues to grow and flourish even though they are being forced apart. This male is capable of so much love and compassion I can't stand it! There is much instore for their continued dynamic that I'm excited to share!

[natasha-reads]

I'm going to do a quick reaction type post as I go through the ACOTAR series, because I'm sure nobody cares but I'd like to have my own little record of my thoughts.

Right off the bat, I loved the premise. It's been a long time since I read a book that had me so invested, and I've been in a bit of a reading slump. But wow, this had me gripped.

As for the characters themselves - I love Feyre. She's pretty much how I'd design my own OC and she's complex enough to be interesting.

Elain... I'm not too fond of. It's not bad characterisation, but her character is simply one I cannot relate to. Nevertheless, she adds a depth to the books that I think is needed within the midst of Feyre and Nesta.

Coming to Nesta. She was initially my least favourite. But after Feyre returns home from Prythian, when we get a little glimpse into her characterisation, I absolutely loved her. I've always had a soft spot for women of steel.

Next - Tamlin. I always felt kind of meh about Tamlin. His personality felt a little bland, and I've never been into the strong-silent-but-shy-and-sweet once you get to know him type.

I love Lucien. Loved him immediately. He was witty and funny - and something that made me like him a lot was when he told Feyre how to trap the Suriel. That might have been interpreted as him sending her to her doom, but I loved that dynamic. It was like he was saying he respected her enough to keep herself alive. Or trusted her enough to do so. Either way, the fact that he told her what to do because she was desperate for answers means a lot.

Rhysand is... intriguing. I have a massive weakness for dark-haired villains, and Rhysand so perfectly fits that trope it's not funny. I'm trying to hold off judgement until I get to interact with his character more, but it wouldn't be a far cry to say I'm already very much obsessed with him.

Right now, I've reached the part where Feyre sneaks back into Prythian and she's searching for Tamlin after he sent her back. So let's see how things go...

I'm not sure if anyone is interested in this haha. But I had to cover a lot of points in this post. My next ones will be a little more in depth.