#MMC Theory

[ceilidho]

“lest i get pissed off” is SO REAL LMAO like in theory i love dominant men but the moment a man tells me what to do i’m like sHUT THE FUCK UP—

I’m not even talking about real life either, I mean I’m not a huge fan of erotica or romance where the guy is just straight up mean to the FMC. It’s sooo hard to explain because I do like a condescending, patronizing edge to my MMC (like…sorry but I’m addicted to that with Price), but I also have to feel like he actually wants to be with her and likes her.

Like the Ghost I write is a dick 99% of the time, but I hope it also comes across in my writing that he wants to be with the reader character. And I’m not a fan of hard degradation in my smut.

[pastelpinkkadan]

I’ve asked Antis before “Why would SJM have all these Elriel moments if they aren’t endgame?”. And I always get some version of “it’s to show how they don’t fit, and that Lucien and Elain are better together”.

But that literally makes no sense.

1. All the moments that Elriel have…show how well they DO fit. Every single interaction we’ve seen them have together, shows how comfortable they are with each other. How much they get each other. How much they care for one another. Even their first meeting, before Elain was fae, was polite and lovely. If SJM was writing all those moments to show how Elriel doesn’t work or doesn’t have chemistry…she did a poor job of it.

2. There’s not one scene of Lucien and Elain fitting well together. Not. One. In several books! And as mates, they should fit together due to instinct if nothing else. Yet every interaction is described as awkward, tense, and uncomfortable. Again, if we’re really suppose to believe that Elain and Lucien fit better than Elain and Azriel, SJM isn’t selling it.

3. I can’t express enough that for the “oh, THIS MMC is actually better for the FMC, not the other MMC we’ve had her be romantically involved with” trope to actually work/count, THE FMC NEEDS TO HAVE BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OTHER MMC FIRST. Azriel and Elain are not together. They WANT to be. But they’re not. Therefore, that trope can’t work. It’s not like with Tamlin and Feyre, who had a whole ass love story before she ended up with Rhysand. That’s what made it work. And the fact that we directly saw the tension and chemistry with Feysand, in comparison to Tamlin.

4. Miss me with that “Elriel will get together in the book, find out how horrible they are, then get with their red headed mates all in 700 pages” theory because that is the DUMBEST thing I’ve ever heard. That’s not how books (especially fantasy and romance) work. That’s not how plot works. When it would make more sense to simply not have ANY Elriel moments at all. Instead, SJM could have actually ~gasp~ given us a single scene of Lucien and Elain having chemistry together. I would have even given them points for a joke, a smirk, briefly connecting gazes then looking away, Elain blushing, or them just standing next to each other for 2 second in semi-kinda-sorta comfortability. But SJM, in her 1000s of written pages, left them high and dry.

Not one Elriel moment HAD to happen to move the main ACOTAR plot forward. Or help Lucien and Elain get closer (it does the opposite, in fact). Yet, they exist. Why? To establish build up! To help create Elriel! It’s literally right there why are we arguing with basic logic I’m sick of yall 😭

P.S. Antis can ALSO miss me with the Elain and “sunshine” theories because those are the 2nd dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Lowkey, it sounds like Elain would fit with Helion better than Lucien, with the way Helion always somehow has to be involved for Elain and Lucien to have some semblance of a connection to each other. Awkward family dinner much?

Why they always harping on potential “foreshadowing” about random colors and elements, instead of ACTUAL interactions that tell us about the characters?

Oh. I know why. 🙂

[lotus222]

I have a theory…

Everyone is up and arms about the elriel v. gwynriel debate so if you get easily triggered about those ships pls avert your eyes cause I’m gonna be unapologetically brutal.

I just finished reading CC2 (ik I’m behind) and it opened my eyes to something SJM has been saying since the beginning.

Now, while reading this massive book, I had a continuing foreboding feeling that Hunt was going to be replaced by Ithan as Bryce’s love interest. Bc as we know SJM always switches up the MMC after one book or so, so I was scurred. BUT

I was pleasantly surprised to see that SJM did all in her power to reinforce the idea that these two are endgame, by having Bryce CHOOSE Hunt and vice versa — going against her arranged marriage, the royal lineage requirements, and the added complexity of mates for fae, angels, and wolves

It was refreshing to see Bryce and Hunt come together out of true love as opposed to SJM’s usual trope of “oh they were destined so they have to be together”. Don’t get me wrong, I love her other couples too - but Bryce and Hunt have always been my favs bc of this fact.

Then, imagine my surprise when I see that Bryce and Hunt CHOOSE to be mates. Simply bc the title bf & gf didn’t work for them. THEN, they’re revealed to be true mates, and their love for one another simply forged this unbreakable bond where now they have the same strength (if not stronger) then preordained mates.

Here’s where the ACOTAR ships come in…

Now…i don’t care who mrs Maas decides to put together. I have loved every single couple she has produced so ik I’ll love the next inner circle couple. BUT ik in my heart of hearts and based off of common sense that it’s going to be Elain + Azriel

(Also pls keep in mind that the ACOTAR fae are the ancestors of the CC fae, which means whatever Bryce and Hunt can feel/do/etc, first originated or was discovered in the ACOTAR world) which means this true mates thing that Bryce and Hunt have can have originated with Az & Elain

CC3 takes place after ACOSF, where we all know there are things needing to be addressed. Bryce wakes up on the lawn of the townhouse where Az is and there’s fresh bread & roses in the air…then everyone else arrives later. Meaning Az was at the townhouse by himself…with the bread & roses (Elain).

Some of y’all might think that’s a stretch or irrelevant, but I think it’s fully intentional that SJM put CC3 before the next ACOTAR book. It’s bc everyone in the ACOTAR world up until this point has followed the rules of “be with your mate and love them”, but now Bryce is there as a clear example of having a mate not chosen by some stupid bowl, but by herself and her heart. Which is something I think will strike a chord with Elain and Azriel.

Az has NEVER been chosen, and I don’t think (even if gwyn is his mate or his backup singer or whatever y’all are calling her now) he will be satisfied by someone being thrown to him, forced to love him bc of a bond. He wants them to choose to love him like his dad and Mor didn’t (sry Mor stans but she didn’t, she admitted so herself in ACOWAR)

Rhys (sry cause I also dislike him after ACOSF) is just like Bryce’s bio dad and is trying to place a barrier between the couple in the name of politics and what is usually done, but just like Bryce (I.E. WHY THERE IS A BONUS CHAPTER W HER, AZ, AND NES (THE ONLY 2 (-Rhys) WHO WILL KNOW ABOUT AZ’s FEELINGS)) Az/Elain will choose to divert that standard, motivated by the love Bryce expresses for her chosen mate, Hunt.

Plus, can I mention y’all also acted this way with Cass met Emery at the end of ACOFAS…and thought they were gonna be together before ACOSF came out and now y’all are doing the same to Gwyn. I personally think Gwyn has been traumatized beyond belief by men, and I don’t think what she needs in her life to heal from that is the man that saved her from that trauma. She doesn’t need to be saved or reminded of that time in her life anymore. Like, girl could still not bring herself to leave the house of wind at the end of ACOSF. Idk about y’all but I wouldn’t fall in love with the cop who saved me from that kind of crime, I’d move on and find love for myself.

No matter if you’re a gwynriel stan or not, we can all agree that the kiss at the end of ACOSF cannot be ignored, and this relationship between Az and Elain has been building up for THREE BOOKS. Gwyn has only been here for one. Take it from me my lovely gwynriels, and be prepared for disappointment.

NOW, where does Lucien fit in all of this? I think Lucien takes the same stance as Ithan from CC. Elain doesn’t know the sassy, caring Lucien we know bc the only interactions she’s had with him were when he sold her out to Hybern (mind you: when she was ENGAGED) and when he’s been around her bc he felt this need due to a mating bond. It’s fair that she doesn’t love him, just like it’s fair that Bryce doesn’t love Ithan. Just because there’s a bond, in whatever form, doesn’t mean that entitles another to that female’s love.

Lucien deserves someone who wants to be with him and as a fan of his character, too, I don’t want him stuck with Elain. Especially when she’s made it so clear she doesn’t want him. I think Lucien accepting Elain going with Azriel will lead him back to the Spring Court (cause it’ll still hurt, and he’ll need space) and give y’all that Tamlin redemption arc you’ve been dying for for some reason.

Either way, the answer of who is Az’s mate is a big topic, so I think SJM doing the same thing with him that she did with Bryce and Hunt in CC2 would be so bomb. Plus, she’s always said that the books she writes will be with the female at the forefront, so sry babes, there’s no Azriel book.

So book 5/6 (incl ACOFAS) in the ACOTAR world will be Elriel, then it’ll be Morr/all of the couples, and the novella will probably be Spring Court (i.e., Vaasa/Tamlin/Lucien). Don’t quote me on anything past the next ACOTAR book, I’m just guessing on those

Anyway, that’s how I think it’s going to go but I’m not the author or anything, so take this as you will

[lovemyromance]

So do you think Azriel & Elain are mates or not? You said before you want them to choose each other but kep sying theyre mates ?

Personally: I want them to choose each other over a mating bond. I want Elain to chose love over a mating bond. I want her to pick him, choose him, love him.

Azriel, in Elain's book:

But, that being said...

I think SJM will be unable to resist making Elain & Azriel also mates. Whether that means the mating bond with Lucien is fake (a la Rowan/Aelin), or that Elain has two mating bonds because she was the cauldron's favorite (I lean more towards this theory actually), idk.

Azriel has shown a lot of protectiveness and clear desire for Elain. It's definitely romantic interest, and some might even categorize it as mate behavior. Like if Lucien had never announced the mating bond, I would 100% say Azriel is her mate because he's shown way more "mate behavior" towards Elain. Like the fact that he was drawn to Elain as early as ACOMAF, that he seemed to anticipate her needs best in ACOWAR, discovered her powers, noticed she was missing and rescued her from Hybern, TT, and the clear protectiveness and desire for her in ACOFAS & ACOSF...there's more than enough to say he exhibits mate behavior towards her. The fact that he can also smell the Elucien bond, and can't stand it - that is also weird. When has anyone been able to smell an unaccepted mating bond - other than Amren (When she had her full powers)? It seems so so odd.

It's also kinda sus to me that out of all of SJM's fated mate pairings, Elucien is the only pair of mates where the bond was revealed immediately and not after the female had enough time to actually fall for the MMC naturally......

So, while I would like Elain & Azriel to choose each other over a mating bond, I think because this is SJM she's going to throw in a twist that reveals them to have been mates this entire time.

[bright-side20]

"Elriels say that Elain will reject the bond while making theories about Elain and Azriel being true mates."

The difference between Elain and Lucien's bond, and Elain and Azriel possibly being mates, is that Lucien will never be a real choice for Elain. She doesn't have the possibility to know if she would ever choose to be with him or if he would make even a minimal effort to talk to her if there wasn't a magical bond. She can never tell him that she would choose him beyond the bond because, well, she can't know. He took that possibility from her the moment he told her she's his mate while they were strangers to each other. Their relationship will always be conditioned by that magical bond.

With Azriel, she already knows him. Their feelings have progressed without a magical bond tying them together, and she will choose him of her own free will. If they are revealed to be mates in the future, they will already be in love and married. The bond won't change anything because, in this case, Elain can say that she would choose Azriel beyond any bond, what's important for her is that she chose him to be her husband. And if they don't end up being mates, no one will care.

SJM always gives the FMC time to fall for the MMC before revealing the bond, not randomly. It's to show that it's her choice, she wanted him before knowing about their bond and after, which is what would be the case for Elriel. For Elain and Lucien, SJM removed that choice from Elain. She wrote them similarly to Rhys's parents' case, where they were strangers to each other but had to make it work because it was fate. Thus, they ended up in a miserable relationship, which is what Rhys defined as '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 basest level, it’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.'

[valkyriestan]

The fact that e|riels seem to not even acknowledge that gwynriel could be a thing simply astounds me. They keep trying to ignore the BC which is the first time we even get into Az’d head. Okay let’s say Elriel is endgame so what is the point of gwyn even being given that sort of page time in Az’s bonus chapter? Even without gwyn if SJM wanted to explore elriel there is enough conflict and angst that is already set up. We have elain being mated to lucien, the fact that Rhys basically forbades it (their oh so forbidden love trope which would all be over minute Elain makes her choice and rejects her mate and of course lucien will never force her to be with him) but even then there is enough angst and conflict built up for elriel with having to deal with the rejection or what az might feel about Elain being mated to another and the political ramifications of it all and also the fact that az and mor thing is still unresolved, so with all of this why would gwyn get page time in his bc if she is just a red herring? Don’t we already have unresolved issues with lucien and mor? Okay let’s say it is all just friendly (which reading the text doesn’t give that vibe whatsoever) what do gwyn or Azriel contribute to each other’s story (as friends?). She started her healing journey with her valkyries, he calls her hardly a friend (which Elriels like to be loud about) and Azriel has so many other ppl he is close to and if Sarah went down the elriel route then they’ll heal together, so what do they even bring to each other’s story to warrant page time in az’s pov. They have a brief history sure but why would a friendship angle even be set for them? As elriels like to say gwyn is just a side character and that’s it. Okay let’s say she is an evil light singer - there are so many things wrong with this theory. First off the fact that nesta finds her healing through her friendship with the valkyries, gwyn is literally an SA survivor who has gone through shit, Sarah loves valkyries and she was inspired through her own friendship, the fact that she has literally said any character associated with music can’t be evil because she loves music and the biggest WHY WOULD WE EVEN NEED AN EVIL LIGHTSINGER when you literally have other strong villains? Why would elriel even need an evil light singer for plot when they literally have so much conflict and other villains to fight already? Why would Sarah highlight gwynriels reactions to each other in ACOSF? Why do his shadows behave differently around her? If she is just a side character why is there so much to know about her? Her heritage, her powers etc? What would she bring to az’s story if she is not a villain or an unnecessary red herring unless she is his love interest of course and currently he is still pining (if you could call it that) for Elain so unless she is his end game there is no point to link gwyn with Azriel (which Sarah has no matter how much you deny it). That page time could have been easily given to mor (with things that are still unresolved between them) or emerie - who might be connected to the Illyrian plot instead of gwyn. Sarah is literally setting gwyn up for her own story with az the same way she has set up lucien with all his plots and we will get his story with Elain. Like if rejection is what she wanted to explore why Lucien (when he already lost someone who thought was his mate?)? Why has she not even explored the mating bond yet? He is literally a good guy so why should a well written MMC be rejected when they haven’t even explored the bond, he literally has done no wrong to Elain, as much as there has been buildup for Elriel there has been buildup for elucien as well. Both Elain and lucien have their own story arcs and for Elain to reject without any actual explanation as to why or without exploring the bond would just be bad writing and super disappointing. (Not to mention the fact that there have been subtle moments where we have seen Elain and lucien care about the other).

[iocaisaint]

Random ACOTAR takes

cw*: my unsolicited opinions

I agree with #that woman that canon Lucien and Nesta (and I mean pre-ACOSF) would've been terrible for each other sorry

As of right now Nesta is the only Archeron sister with direct connection to the Dusk Court, like her and her alone 🤷🏾‍♀️

Out of the love square (?) Lucien is lowkey the only one with a storyline that isn't made out of paper mache and hope. There's so many angles you could go: Beron, Eris, LOA, The Autumn Court or Spring Court, Tamlin, or Day Court, Helion, being an heir, or helping Vassa with Koschei + his overall friendship with Jurian + Vassa + humans as a whole and that's without touching on the mating bond even once. Real set-up wished she'd done that with everyone else

That being said, I disagree with a bunch of Lucien's stans when it comes to his characters, y'all have a power fantasy for him that's in direct contradiction to how he's actually written (I mean I get it the books treat him like trash)

If Nesta is pregnant I'll have a crash out to end all crash outs.

Everybody in this fandom bar maybe Feysands are shipping fanon, the scenes that y'all talk about and the ones that exist on page are either not the same or straight up don't exist.

I hate the HK/HQ plot even for Nesta, like is blatant colonialism.

Everybody here is a hypocrite when it comes to their faves we'd all be happier admitting then bending over backwards.

I do not care for Elain, simply because fanon Elain is so far removed from what's on page, that most her pro arguments simply don't make sense to me.

There's no reason for Helion to give up his Pegasi but I know HOFAS was a mess but when the place was revitalised after the Asteri were murdered they came back, my guess is that place and the prison are mirror worlds so the same will happen once the Prison is liberated

Azriel isn't boring but he also isn't extremely interesting. If he was a girl no one would gaf about him, but there are enough concepts of an idea where I could see his book not being awful.

Neither the pro or the anti side gives a fuck about Emerie, double points if you're engaging in that ship war. No I won't expand on this, I'm right.

Nessian sucks, that's all.

Actually no I'm expanding on that point, the fact that people defend no "I love you" from the MMC is crazy, that fact that people defend Nesta being threatened without Cass stepping in even worse, the fact that Rhys knows he can berate Nesta in Cassian's presence....like they had an 800+ page book and I'm still having to hear about how they need to "grow as characters" y'all aren't serious people

I've become more neutral-positive to Feyre because some of the arguments against her are just crazy but on that note she'd be deeply more entertaining if the narrative wrote her refusal for self reflection as a flaw

Gwyn cannot be a evil light singer and irrelevant at the same time please pick one.

Also I don't hate the light singer theory, sorry. Monsters not actually being monsters is this series's bread and butter. It'd be great if a woman finally got that treatment

I can already tell Eris is about to be retconned to hell because SJM hates a character not being vindicated by the narrative to redeem them (she already started by implying Eris wants his father dead for #feminism). Let it be known I like/d him as is

I don't get into arguments about Rhys cause I find him boring. Y'all are fighting day in day out about faerie Ronald Reagan

Nesta should've been bi, how tf did we get stuck with Mor

I have more but that's it for now.

[acourtofthought]

So I saw your ask about Elain and why she’s your favorite character, what scenes made you like her, headcanons.

I was wondering if wondering if you answer those same questions but with Lucien ❤️

Hi there ❤️ and here you are:

1. Why is Lucien one of your favorite characters?

Lucien is the guy you aren't automatically programmed to want in romantasy. He's not dark and brooding, he doesn't have blue, gray, green, or black as night eyes, he doesn't have shadow powers, he doesn't hate everyone and everything but her. Really, he's the comic relief who in most other series would remain a side character. But what Sarah has done with the comic relief is make him hot. Muscular. With gorgeous red hair. Really intelligent. With a secret heritage that's going to make him just as powerful as the other most powerful players in their world.

Sarah has taken the sidekick and set him up to be just about as powerful as the lead of her trilogy. It's almost unheard of.

But he's been such a good guy the entire time. He's not betraying people, stabbing them in the back. He's not hounding Elain, trying to snark his way into gaining her attention, not seducing her, not trying to make her jealous. Dude could probably wipe out Az if he wanted at this point with the hints of his Day Court powers beginning to peak through but instead he just stands aside and lets everyone do their thing even if he's hurt as a result.

Lucien is not only fantasy book boyfriend material but he's also a lot closer to real life boyfriend material, the kind who is already mature all on his own and readily apologizes for his mistakes, where he doesn't need a girl to fix him.

Where so many other MMCs are carbon copies of one another Lucien stands out as being one of a kind.

2. Is there a specific scene that made you like him?

Literally every scene. I was a Rhys girlie during my first read but he hasn't stood up to the test of time. Not that I hate Rhys now or anything but there's been many MMC since then who rank much higher for me. Lucien remains in my top 5 and I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have an entire book from his POV.

While I love every scene he's in I was beside myself getting his POV in ACOWAR.

3. What theories/headcanons do you have for Lucien?

Possible contender for High King wielding Gwydion, that his beast form might be a dragon, that he and Elain performing Calanmai might stop the lands from dying further, that he'll be the one to break through the spells and wards at the Human Queens castle.

[nikethestatue]

I don’t think the Gwynriels realize that if they have to dig for glory to find proof of Gwynriel, then maybe it’s not what they think it is. SJM has been clear about the next couple being obvious for 3 years now. It’s silly to think that SJM would conceal the next couple, that she would hide it under stupid things. The birthday thing for example, why would she even mention Gwyn’s birthday as a way to reveal who is the next couple/next female protagonist? She has never needed to do that, not even in her past books. She simply wouldn’t go through that much trouble (taking the math of when gwyn was conceived into account) to reveal who is next. They’ve completed lost the plot. lol.

I am mentioning this because there are so many new silly things, about what SJM did to “reveal” Gwynriel. And yaz is adding fuel to the fire once again.

The mental gymnastics..........

Like if you have to work that hard for your ship, then maybe it's not really a ship?

I and all Elriels do not need to reread 16 books of SJM's writing, highlighting random passages or sentences in order to see Elriel.

It's pretty simple--read once, see all the signs in ACOWAR, see all the signs in ACOFAS, see all the signs in ACOSF. THAT. IS IT. That's all we need.

I don't need to be going through Heir of Fire of Queen of Shadows line by line, hoping that something will show me the path to Elriel.

I got my Elriel in ACOTAR and that's it. I got everything nicely prepared for me?: forbidden love, unwanted mate bond, mystery powers, Cauldron Made FMC, shadowsinger MMC with unknown lineage, political intrigue, a dead Court that they are both attached to, and an immensely powerful Death God whom she Saw and who wants Him. Like what else do I need?

I don't need to make up Illyrian Plot storylines and propose some wild theories to make Elriel work.

I just need to turn on the oven, put them in, bake them until golden brown and enjoy with a glass of wine.

[elainsgirl]

Hello, I've stumbled upon your blog when researching about Elriel. Thank you for being a nice positive place Elriel shippers can come back to ❤️ I'm new to the fandom and thought it was obvious Elriel was endgame to many until I saw how many hated on Elriel or specifically Elain. I don't think she/they deserve(s) that hate, because when you look at their development and how there had been hints about rejecting mates and there not being many books left (2 if I'm not wrong) it's just logical to conclude that there's a big chance Elain will reject her mate bond with L/ucien. It's also obvious she has feelings for Azriel so... 🤷

What I wondered about is actually not about the characters itself but more about the moves of the author. Obviously I haven't been inside the fandom for long and so haven't witnessed how the fanwars had been the past years when it comes to Elriel. Were things as bad before the BC with POV of Azriel came out?

I did observe that gw/ynriel is really popular atm and their fans are being very vocal about it, also in a very negative way since they dismiss everything else and most of them hate Elain and think she's not worthy of Azriel. But they are a loud part of the fandom. Maybe Elains book will bring a change in that, we will see

What I wonder about is what the chances would be that Sjm would change the original plot/storyline/couple to appeal to the majority of the fandom? Just so they could appeal to as many readers as possible?. This is a more commercial move to get as much money as possible or positive reviews since I can imagine how Elriel becoming endgame will make many other shippers rage and they could become very nasty. I know a similar thing happened around Nessa's story and the mmc had been shipped with another female as well. This hasn't stopped from the author following the original story, but I also heard the fanwars weren't this much out of hand at that time.

So while I believe story/development wise Elriel definitely has the most chance of being endgame (also making most sense), I can't help but worry if they could bring last minute changes like I mentioned. I know some authors did do it in the past, they went for the options that were most popular out of fear for fanwars getting out of hand...

I don't know sjm/her publisher/staff that well so don't know if there's a possibility for this, I'm sure you would know better and would appreciate your opinion on this as someone who has been around for long.

This got very long, so I'm sorry for that🙏🏻

Thank you for answering ☺️

Hey anon 🫶

Thank you sm for the kind words 💕

Elriel hate is mainly based on people not liking Elain or feeling too bad for Lucien if Elain rejects him. You’re right, they don’t deserve the hate. Elriel is such a beautiful ship with two characters who like and know each other well. They’re a ship Mass has been building up on from acowar, some may even say acomaf. The rejecting mate storyline only makes sense between Elucien as they’re the only canon mates that 1) have had their bond questioned and 2) don’t fit Sjms typcial mate like parallels, the plotline doesn’t make sense with anyone else and with how much focus Sjm has put on this idea that true love is what’s chosen and not all mates will be happy together-> Its clear a mate rejection is something she wants to explore within one of the novels again, only suiting Elains story as she canonically does not want her mate.

If Sjm was an author that listened to her audience and changed her story to suit her readers’ preferences, then HOFAS would have gone very differently to appeal to the “masses” yet Sjm ignored all the most popular Hofas theories, stuck to the story she wanted to tell and generally speaking- Hofas still performed well.

This alone showed me as a reader that Sjm will do what she wants to do. If elriel was the plan, it will happen regardless of how disliked they are by the fandom. I feel like whilst online readers may cause a fuss - majority of her stans will happily read the next book even if its elriel because 1) its been so long that a lot of people have lost interest in the shipwars and now just want the next book to release and 2) majority of her fans are casual readers who do not care that much about who or which couple the next book will be about. They see Sjm - a bestseller - has released a new book? Immediately buy it,

This may be unpopular but elriel being so disliked is something I take positively. Sjm loves writing about polarising characters - take Chaol and Nesta as example, she loves to change her readers minds. So the fact Elain and elriel are heavily disliked - might’ve made Mass more inclined to write them and make people change their minds.

Elriel have always been disliked, even pre-acosf but now its 1000x worse as antis have found Gwyn - who hasn’t even shown romantic interest in the guy - to ship Az with.

Acotar 5 will sell regardless. Even if its elriel. It’ll still do well, the shipwars can be loud but its a small part of the fandom arguing on the next couple. The larger part do not care. Everyone thought acosf would flop and nobody wanted to read about Nesta yet she has now become one of the most popular and beloved characters of the fandom and her book is still relevant to this day.

I wouldn’t worry at all. Sjm has a lot of faults - but as an author, she does not let her readers change her plans and that is something one can admire. If elriel are meant to be endgame - nothing will change that. Definitely not the antis complaining or saying they will dnf the series.

[halerune]

The Empyrean 4 theory

BEWARE SPOILERS FOR ONYX STORM

So I finished Onyx Storm. And it reminds me of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Where there is this big bad that you can be turned into.(Strigoi - Venin) But where there is no known cure for the problem and by the end of book 3 the MMC gets turned into the bad guy.

So what if in book 4 we see Violet being abducted by Venin!Xaden and tortured/talked into becoming Venin, only for her to escape that capture and then find a cure for being Venin with the help of someone's signet (I have a feeling Sloane will be playing a big part)

Just me rambling, but I honestly feel like it could work/go that way.

[silverlinedeyes]

Sarah Never Confirmed We’d Meet Az’s Mate In ACOSF

There’s been a theory floating around the fandom since right before ACOSF came out that Sarah confirmed we will meet Azriel’s mate in ACOSF.

This rumor started from a tweet on February 8 2021, right before ACOSF was published, that claimed:

Someone replied asking, she said that? And this user responded that Sarah said it in a live a while ago:

You can see she QRT’d a tweet from November 25, 2020, which was made during Sarah’s Friendsgiving live with Steph, ideallyinspiredreviews on IG. Here’s that originally tweet which discussed what Sarah said in that live:

So this person said Sarah “hinted that Azriel’s partner will appear in ACOSF.”

(NOTE: I don’t speak Portuguese so I’m relying on google translate here. I’ve been told Parceira also means mate.)

I watched the Friendsgiving live, which is still on Steph’s Instagram if anyone wants to go watch it. They discussed Azriel twice. Once at around the 25 minute mark where they talked about his sexual preferences and kinks. And then once at around 71 minutes. Here’s a clip of the relevant part of that discussion:

As you can see, Steph asks Sarah if Az is getting a book, and Sarah kind of nods and says she can’t confirm anything but that she thinks at the end of ACOSF it’ll be obvious who the next book is about. And then she talks about how excited she is for azriel’s journey.

That’s quite a game of telephone! It went from Sarah talking about Az’s journey (and essentially confirming he’ll at least be the MMC of an upcoming book), to Sarah hinted at his love interest appearing in the next book, to we will meet his mate in this book (ACOSF)!

Anyways, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, babes.

[truthflower19]

dear elain archeron lover 🌹💭🍰,

1.  what about elain’s character do you love?

2.  what scene of the seer’s is your favourite?

3.  what is your top theory for the quiet dreamer’s upcoming book

4. anything else you’d like to say about the lovely fawn?

1. Her different strengths how she sees the light in every shadow or darkness. Honestly I also fell IN love with her when she told nesta that feyre gave and gave for years and that it was their turn now in acomaf. I just thought that was so brave of her to say especially in front of fae who she was taught to fear.

2. Honestly when she found the suriel. miss girl had 0 training with her powers and she was able to find him😩it was way to cool in my opinion that she had level of control

3. There is many she being the one who will wake up the prison there is to much for shadow about that but also they idea of her being able to shape-shift into a fanged beast is my fav.

4. I am excited for her I love her and I can’t wait to see a different heroine I am tired of warriors and suprise powers. The book community needs mmc like elain.

SHE IS ELAIN ARCHERON SEER OF THE NIGHT COURT AND SHE BELONGS TO NOONE

[crazy-ache]

I think we are focusing on the wrong thing.

HOFAS spoilers / info from SJM's 1/30/24 Today Show Interview

There's a lot of talk focusing on whether or not Azriel is the next MMC for ACOTAR5 book, following ACOSF. However, this bit from the SJM interview really has me thinking something different.

HOFAS introduced us to a crossover heavily featuring Azriel involved with other worlds, via his interactions with Bryce / Nesta and Truth Teller and now even his Illyrian heritage. He had several bonus chapters in SF and HOFAS. There's prevailing theories that this means he is the next MMC in the ACOTAR series. But I kept wracking my brain like how? With all these new crazy plot points, characters, world, potential new threats...that is A LOT to conquer in one book while multiple loose plot points have been unresolved since ACOWAR:

Defeating Koschei

Vassa's curse

Spring Court in ruin/Needing Spring's army

Beron / Lucien's true parentage

and of course....the Elain/Lucien mating bond.

That would be A LOT to put on the back burner to suddenly introduce this brand new complicated plot point from the CC/ACOTAR crossover. It didn't make sense to me.

But then SJM says "There's one book that I'm going to be writing after this next 'ACOTAR' book that I'm very excited about." and "I think it's going to be a very emotional book for me to write, just in terms of the world I'll be writing and the characters that might pop up."

I believe that book she is excited to write next is Azriel's book. He is being set up to be the MMC of his own, new series that will focus on time/world travel, the Valkyries, and the Illyrians. He would be perfect to set up like this- he is tied to all of these worlds now, he is very well liked in the fandom, he has a clean slate in terms of his romantic arc (Gwyn, hello??? Those seeds were planted). He'd be perfect to launch into the new series, ensuring readers are on board. That sure does sound very exciting to me!!!

Which means in order to wrap up the ACOTAR world so she can focus on the next series ("Twilight of the Gods" perhaps?), she is going to complete the Archeron sisters stories, as hinted by SJM in ACOSF. (Let's focus on one sister at a time.) I believe the next ACOTAR book is Elucien.

I think this would allow for the plot points in the bullets above to be completed, making way for a brand new narrative and arc. The threat to their world will happen after Koschei is defeated and peace has been brought to the lands.

Anyways thats just my thoughts! NO ONE KNOWS. I could very well be wrong but wanted to offer my take on it.

[starsreminisce]

I'll never understand E/riels... If I was one I would've NEVER talked about that fkn necklace let alone draw Elain in every art with it! like didn't y'all read the part where Azriel called it a mistake and said if he kissed her, he would've regretted it and ABOVE ALL OF THIS AND MOST IMPORTANT PART... Elain gave it back! she doesn't have that necklace... SHE was the one who gave it back, willingly! and yet every time I come across an E/riel art on Pinterest I see her wearing the Necklace...

this alone should proved to us that not one E/riel cares about Elain wants and needs for one second... or canon for the matter of fact...

ps: I saw this one post that they gathered these lines when sjm mmcs are talking about how the fmc brings them to their knees and all of them are about love and devotion but E/riel one is about lust (like this line alone should prove to them how E/riel will never happen but they grasp everything they can and call us out with the exact same thing, that's hypocrite!)... and one of comments had me rolling saying "That's why E/riels lOvE the cAnOn so much awwwwww" LMAO as if y'all weren't the ones 2 years ago commenting on Gwynriel posts how you wanted Elain instead of Gwyn in their scenes 💀😭

The necklace that she returned almost immediately and Truth-Teller. Two things Azriel has given her that she returned.

Truth-Teller is especially hilarious to me because there is always something revealed when it’s on the page. Somehow Feyre asking about whether the cauldron is wrong is more important than the manner Elain gave back the knife as foreshadowing.

“Azriel didn’t expect her to keep it!” “Azriel just lent it to her!”

Well, he sure as hell didn’t ask for it back. Elain made sure she pressed it back to him before he could get a word in and walked away.

The mental gymnastics could have given Simone Biles a run for her money. They spent too much time nitpicking canon that directly argues against whatever arguments they have, and they don't even have a quote to show that Azriel looks at Elain with any sort of yearning or longing. Az's BC is Schrödinger's canon because it's both important and not important to the story.

SJM won't confirm his mate in a bonus chapter, but somehow it's valid to prove that Azriel was pining over Elain, not Mor by the fire?

I said it before and I’ll say it over and over again. For a group who loves to claim that it’s Elain’s choice, Azriel had not once given Elain a choice, and the two times Elain did put herself out there, Azriel had shut her down both times.

My telltale sign that a theory is made by an Elriel is when they emphasize that Elain will make a choice when it comes to her book, and it'll be Az vs Lucien. She'll make a choice, but it's not as shallow as which boy she wants to be with. It'll be whether to stay where she does not belong or take a leap of fate and leave. Because that's what Feyre, Lucien, and Nesta all faced.

The only person who has given her a choice has been her own mate.