#MMC Theory

[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.'

[works-of-heart]

There's this theory of Elucien's bond being fake that bugs me (they all do honestly, but this one in particular is hypocritical!)

The idea that Elucien's mating bond is fake because it snapped just after Elain was made means it's fake, that all other mating bonds have developed before snapping instantly. And the ones that DID snap instantly (Rhys's parents) were a bad match. So if a bond snaps suddenly it's not a love bond but a "breeding bond".

Uh, did everyone forget the end of ACOTAR and beginning of ACOMAF?? As soon as Rhys took in Feyre's face fully after she was made, the bond snapped! He knew exactly what she was to him and he ran to tell Mor "she's my mate." As soon as Feyre became Fae, that was it, it snapped for them. Feyre being newly Fae didn't know what that meant but Rhys did.

The same exact thing happened for Elucien. Lucien was already displaying mate behavior towards Elain being in danger before she was even dunked. His concern was solely placed on her, focused on her. When she got out, he broke through the magic tying him down and put his coat over her. It wasn't till he took in her face, took in all of her features that their mating bond snapped in the same way it did for Rhys.

So to say that it is "sus" because it snapped immediately, would to be calling Feysand's as well. In the ACOTAR universe, out of the MMC and FMC characters and their bonds we focus on, (3) 2 of those 3 snapped in the same way. Nessian's did nit until later, but Feysand and Elucien both snapped in the same manner.

So to me, that argument can't be used without saying that the Feysand one is exactly the same. If you can excuse them, then you know it doesn't work for Elucien either.

[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.

[ae-neon]

don't take this too seriously

I know I like dark stuff so I shouldnt be saying this but sometimes I see stuff from this fandom and I'm like ???

How is Nesta possibly finding Cassian's mom's body exciting? Same with Feyre and the wings?

Sure, it would help to give the men closure I guess but unless we are talking about fanon, do people genuinely care about these women who literally only exist (and died) so the MMC never has to apologise for anything he does? They don't even matter enough to the author to have names

I think Tamlin said he burnt them but before that there were soooo many theories about the Wings™. Was Feyre just supposed to steal back their amputated limbs and carry them back and...give them to him...😶

Again, I understand the closure angle but basically that would just result in a scene of him crying and saying "wow, you're the best, thanks" and then having to pick up his mom and sisters limbs

I think the Nesta one makes even less sense, she's gonna point at a random patch and be like "there's your mom" 💀💀💀 why would his mom's body be intact or whole or recognisable in anyway (especially to Nesta?)

Actually on both accounts these remains are hundreds of years old, so I don't know what's worse a crumbling skeleton or some weirdly fresh corpses

Like it's not enough that they're these nameless, faceless, brutalised women but their remains should now be used for the ass juice romances in these books 😑 no thanks

[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.

[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.

[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.

[kopfkino-o]

MASSIVE UNPOPULAR OPINION AHEAD

Could the next book be Elriel? YES! Could the next book be Elucien? I don’t lean towards this theory, but I will not deny the reasons why people might think otherwise.

Will the next book be Gwynriel? No. 

There’s not going to be a Gwynriel book. There never was. The Gwynriel book makes no sense within the narrative, deviates heavily from the clear structure of the ACOTAR series, and has no real ties to the main plot. Gwyn and Az going to the Autumn Court because Rhys, who has never met Gwyn and has no reason to trust her as Nesta’s friend given the fact he hardly trusts Nesta herself, is a stretch. The Autumn Court is a subplot clearly intended for Eris or Lucien to handle. 

Reforming Illyria? That’s for Emorie. And no, I will not take any other opinions on this. She is the ONLY character suited for this plot. And if SJM decides to write otherwise... well, I won’t be reading that. 

The next book is very clearly going to either be Elucuien or Elriel. Period.

SJM isn’t GRRM. And ACOTAR isn’t a complex story filled with subversions. It’s a romantasy. The romantic pairing isn’t meant to surprise us or subvert our expectations. It’s literally, as the author said, meant to be obvious. 

And it is. 

Elain will be choosing her fate, her love interest, her path forward. If she chooses Azriel then we will get Lucien’s story afterwards. If Elain chooses Lucien? Then we get Vassa’s story with her love interest for the last book. The decision and choice lies within the women. SJM has never pitted two women against one another for a man and I do not expect her to do so now.  

“Oh, but TOD!” 

Yes, Tower of Dawn is from Chaol’s POV... but it’s also from Nesryn’s and Yrene’s and Sartaq’s POVs. Does SJM write male POVs? Yes! Is that formula the same for ACOTAR? No. It’s one couple per book, and an entirely different series besides. The men get a POV, but only as a secondary character.  

Does this mean Gwyn and Az wont get together? 

No, not necessarily. Gwyn and Az could totally get together but, due to their limited connection to Koschei and the 4th dread trove, it’d be a relationship that happens off stage. In the background of another couple. With no Az or Gwyn POV.

Gywn is a lovely, amazing, and strong character who had a very fulfilling arc in ACOSF. Does she have a few unanswered plot points? Sure! But her heritage is not connected to Koschei. Her (potential) powers are not connected to Koschei. She does not know the members of the IC outside of Nesta. She has no established relationship with Feysand. She has not (yet) left the Library. And, outside of the theories generated by members of this fandom based on their own literary interpretation of the Bonus Chapter, doesn’t have a formally established connection to Azriel (yet.)

Could she? Of course. 

But I trust SJM enough to think she’d never write Gwyn’s story leaving the Library solely for a man. If Gwyn leaves the Library, it should be for herself. No one else. Never for anyone else. Gwyn is powerful within her own right and I want to see her make the decision to leave the Library FOR HERSELF. 

Could SJM decide to go this route? Sure! I’m not the author and it’s her story at the end of the day. 

But if she does choose to pursue this route.... is this not exact same plot we just had in ACOSF?

FMC feeling unworthy and dealing with trauma, MMC dealing with potential rejection and an undressed connection, training with sword and shield to overcome self doubt, proving oneself in battle and realizing they’re worthy of love, handling changes in one’s life and finding one’s place? 

ACOSF was great and I LOVED Nesta’s story. But does that mean I want to read the same thing again? No. Elriel and Elucien offer a different story from what we just read. It’s either a enemies to lovers/hesitant pairing to lovers. Or a forbidden love story. And that’s what I want. Something new. I’m tired of training. I’m tried of HoW. I’m tired of Koschei, this apparent death god, being sidelined. I want the impending war. I want the political fallout. I want inner-court drama. I want unrest in Prythian.

NOTE: Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this post by no means strives to discount or dissuade individuals with other opinions but is more or less a rambling of my own ideas. Civilized discourse with those of differing opinion is always welcomed. Literature is art and art is subjective. 

idk do with this what you will. 

[acourtofthought]

An easy to tell who a true secondary versus tertiary character is in this fandom lies in theories.

When it comes to Mor, Gwyn, Amren, and Emerie, the fandom has created theories around them. That Gwyn might have fire powers, that she might be a good lightsinger, who her father is. That Mor might end up training with the Valkyrie, that she could be Starborn. That Emerie could end up helping the Illyrian females, that she might end up as Mor's love interest. That Amren could be Valg (not that I think she is however I've seen it mentioned in the fandom).

When it comes to Nuala and Cerridwen however, even from e/riels, I have never seen a single thing said for them outside of being Feysands employees and being Elain's friends who might have trained her.

Mor is Feyre's friend yet there are still theories for what her character might do on her own.

Gwyn is Nesta's friend but there are still theories for what her character might do on her own.

Same with Emerie and Mor.

There's even individual theories for Jurian, Vassa and Eris. We don't even know whether Eris is getting a book or whether he'll ever be somebody's found family yet he's very intriguing to a large chunk of the fandom, they want to know more about him.

Nothing for N & C though and I think that just goes to show nobody considers them all that integral to the series and why many don't feel they're Elain's true found family as Sarah's secondary (side) characters are well layered on their own (even before they're confirmed found family as is the case with Eris, Jurian, and Vassa). Where the author has given us enough detail about them which makes it easy to theorize the direction she might take them even outside the FMC and MMC. Considering how much she's built up Vassa, Jurian, and Eris and they have not been verified as the found family of a FMC / MMC who received a POV, it's silly to think that Sarah is just waiting for Elain's book to make the twins more multi dimensional.

For the majority, it was enough for us to know that Alis was able to return to her nephews and that she's safe. Readers really don't put much thought into her character beyond that.

The wraiths are giving that same energy. That's not to say they aren't still Elain's friends but in a "not very important to Elain's future journey" way.

[tenma-udai]

i'm very frustrated with 'a curse for true love' and i'm just gonna vent about it and hope no one minds under the readmore

ok literally why was it so short?? like i know writing a novel is really hard and i don't want to sound ungrateful for what we got, but we wasted so much TIME and it SKIMPED ON THE EVA/JACKS SCENES. WHAT DID SHE THINK WE WERE HERE FOR?? this should have been THE evajacks book, and for so MUCH of it jacks was just off??? doing his own thing??? needlessly dragging this out because she HAD to have the big kiss at the climax?? i'm baffled BAFFLED we still could have had lots of simmering tension scenes with Amnesia!Eva and Jacks TOGETHER trying to get her memories back, but ??? no??? what ???

the amnesia plot was WASTED imo like there was so much angst potential and it was just kind of?? meh?? like why not give us jacks realizing evangeline doesn't remember him and seeing the dawning horror of like "oh god the thing of equal value to me... HER LOVE OUR TIME TOGETHER" and have them be like together trying to fix it??

like you would think after she died in his arms he'd be like "no i'm not letting her go, i have to protect her, i have to undo the memory loss" but no he's. just gonna teach her self defense one time.... even though supposedly he made a deal with aurora to make it so eva never NEEDS to be defended again ??? obviously i'm grateful that it happened bc the evajacks dynamic is what i was here for but it was almost like the author?? didn't realize that?? or thought by dragging it out it was making it better?? like no babes we are in the last book!! it's PAY OFF TIME

like did she really think we needed all this time on the valour family and apollo and aurora and blah blah blah

and like. i'm fine the true love breaking the curse on jacks and the kiss is fine, i am fine with it. but jacks has no follow up questions?? does jacks even know he was cursed by aurora?? does he know the popular theory on his curse is incorrect and, in actuality, only a girl who will never love him can survive the kiss? he really didn't have any follow up questions to eva surviving his kiss after hundreds of years of no one surviving his kisses??

and then we had to have a SECOND climax so so rushed it was unsatisfying to me personally, especially with all the wasted time at the beginning to put two back to back climaxes didn't make up for all the time being in apollo's very boring head

i'm so baffled by the decision to HAVE THE CLIFFHANGER FOR A CHAPTER BE 'and there was only one bed' and they didn't even??? snuggle?? share body heat bc she was so cold from the rain?? and immediately jacks fucks off again hrrrrrrrr

also the last broken heart scar is just.... there forever. i thought there would be a creative way to have jacks prove he knew her because of information about the scar, or the scar being a clue to getting back her memories. i guess the only pay off is that it tingles sometimes??

again i super love evajacks and was super down for having it and i'm?? pretty sure they are what everyone was reading FOR and there's just ?? not enough of it why are we being stingy with the MMC in his climactic book where we are supposed to be rooting for them more than ever?? i'm baffled