#acosf was my last straw

[bxriles]

Unfortunately, I am once again on an SJM kick and I would just like to take this moment to remind anyone finding my blog that the way I feel about Rhysand is the same way Kendrick Lamar feels about Drake.

That is all 🫶🏼

[sad-scarred-sassy]

So yesterday I saw one E/riel post (I have them filtered out but somehow that one slipped my ward) and it was about how Nesta somehow knows Azriel is “in love” with Elain because she tells him she knows why he doesn’t go near the fireplace in ACOSF.

When literally who is described to be near the fireplace?

Now. I know Azriel was actually referring to Elain and Lucien’s mating bond (and we will come back to that in a second) but Nesta doesn’t know that, she has no way of knowing he feels that way towards the bond. Not even his own brothers know until Rhys catches him having those horny thoughts about Elain and almost kissing her.

And Azriel never talks about Mor, thats why she says his secret, not because its actually a secret. But I know that even though Nesta may not be aware, I agree that this could be a wink at his bonus chapter that is set to happen that same night.

So I wanna thank the elriel creator for making me read this scene because I think it ties up with what I believe about Azriel’s problem with Lucien.

(And also, I love how Azriel says the flame 🔥 and we know he is referring to the bond between Elain and Lucien. Is this foreshadowing of what we will get with Elucien? I will bet 😙)

The “fire” is mentioned a lot here as being what he cannot stand. Azriel mentions it explicitly saying “My shadows don’t like the flames” and my mind was blown. This symbolism just screams to me as a foreshadow of how they may behave in the future, but it also confirms to me how the fire is representing Elain’s bond with Lucien, as we know this is what is actually keeping him away in this setting. But the bond is not exactly the problem, at least not the whole problem.

I believe Azriel’s problem with the Elucien bond comes from his insecurity around Lucien taking his “place”, its not about Elain at all.

He does not understand why his two brothers got their mates and “the third” did not naturally go to him. This in itself is separating him from Rhys and Cassian.

Azriel is feeling like he’s being replaced in his own home and even in his duties. Lucien is somehow fitting in with the IC (more than before at least) and Azriel is threatened.

What little we know about Az is that he needs to feel needed, his self worth comes from being the savior, the protector. We see this time and time again and it is worsened by how he sees Elain as someone to be protected all the time. We see him suddenly wanting to be the one who protects her when he notices Lucien worrying about her in ACOWAR and he shuts him off.

He is undeniably loyal to his duties and needs to feel seen as a useful member of his court as well. Lucien is in his eyes also taking that away from him by being their direct connection to the human lands and a big part of Prythian, playing the spymaster and emissary, bringing crucial information, something that once was entirely Azriel’s job.

And now he also goes along with his family. He’s even got what Az has always wanted, he was given his bond. So of course he is channeling this threat into his mating bond with Elain, the only thing Azriel still holds over Lucien.

I think all the clues are there, and the way Azriel’s whole focus is on the mating bond and not actually Elain.

He even thinks about how she gifted him two things and nothing to Lucien, to her mate. He doesn’t think about how it made him feel beyond the arrogance that he is the object of her affections and not her own mate.

He is using Elain as his last straw at validation, if Elain is choosing to give him gifts and not Lucien, then he hasn’t taken everything away from him, if she wants to kiss him instead of her mate, then he may be worthy still.

So, my point here can be summarized to this:

“My shadows dont like the flames so much”

Shadows = Himself.

Flames = Lucien.

This jealousy is actually his secret, not Elain, not Mor.

Yes, he is referring to the bond, but his problem is actually with Lucien. The symbols are there.

“the flame, the surprising dominance within it” - Cassian speaking about Lucien’s inner power.

Anyway I’m convinced Azriel is not in love with Elain, but he is threatened by the flaming hot red head with one eye and broad shoulders that happens to be her mate, and I can’t blame him.

[acourtofthought]

Sarah seems to like to keep her couples apart before their books. Cassian stayed away from Nesta after ACOWAR until solstice in ACOFAS and then until ACOSF. Rhys stayed away from Feyre at the beginning of their book. Do you think this is what she's doing with elucien since they only had one interaction in ACOSF on solstice? It makes me feel like elucien is definitely next. I can't see her keeping them apart for another book.

Definitely! I think Elucien seem to be following a very similar pattern to both her sisters and their mates before they ended up together.

Feyre kind of had feelings for Tamlin then met Rhys who she, despite being afraid of, was also somewhat drawn to what with her thinking he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen and the way she called to him after he already started walking away. Then she fell in love with Tamlin and accepted Tamlin's proposal despite later admitting she had wanted Rhys even UTM, that her heart knew before she did that it belonged to him. At the start of ACOMAF she hadn't seen Rhys in months but ended up with him by the end of the same book.

Nesta later revealed she was terrified from the moment she met Cassian because of the draw she had to him but she acted on page as if she hated him. In ACOWAR, it appeared she'd finally let her guard down and was ready to die by his side in the war but once the novella rolled around we got the line that Nesta had no interest in even being in the same room as Cassian. We also find out that she'd been sleeping around with others. At the start of SF, we find out she also hadn't seen Cassian in months save for a party on the barge where they only spoke about 5 words total (that consisted of "Move. Hello Nes. Move. Gladly) and the book started with Cassian arriving to find another male in her apartment.

Elain and Lucien were clearly drawn to one another from their very first meeting. Lucien tried to step towards her before she was put into the Cauldron then broke free of his shackles to go to her side after. She had a hysterical Nesta standing in front of her but instead of looking at her sister, Elain was staring at Lucien. Their connection continued in ACOWAR with all the wordless looks at one another, where they felt one another through the bond, where she took a step towards Lucien as if to stop him but Elain then tried to go back to Graysen at which point he rejected her. We had hope for Elucien at the end of ACOWAR but once the novella started up Sarah pulled a Nesta with Elain where she was also ignoring Lucien (as Nesta began ignoring Cassian), where she started showing maybe a bit of interest in Az (a slightly lesser version of Nesta showing interest in many other guys). Nessian's standstill came to an end in SF because it was Nesta's book, therefore we saw the main resolution to their relationship but in order for her to begin Elucien's book in the same way that Nessian's did, Elucien's setup needed to carry on into SF. Again, the novella featured both sisters pulling back from their mates but since we're only getting one book at a time, Elain's arc needed to continue on with keeping her distance from Lucien. And just like Cassian lost his temper a bit with Nesta in the novella, we see Lucien starting to lose his temper a bit in SF ("I'm not always in this city to see my mate" - The last two words dripped with discomfort). That doesn't mean either male was done with their mates, clearly Cassian was hurting and Lucien still went on to look at Elain with disappointment and longing on Solstice but we started to see them experiencing the straw that broke the camels back that would eventually lead them into a showdown with their person.

Now we're ready for the next book and I agree, keeping Elain and Lucien apart yet again doesn't make much sense from a narrative standpoint. There's no place for them to go without the storyline feeling repetitive "oh look, Elain ignoring Lucien for yet another year!" Just like Cassian and Nesta finally needed to have it all out in SF, I think we're at that point with Elucien. We need an answer to their bond, we need to finally know what Elain has been thinking, we need to finally see them find where they each belong especially because Lucien has been a drifter for far too long. Him needing to find out about Helion has gone on for far too long. Beron's torture of the LoA, Eris, and his attempts at killing Lucien have gone on for far too long.

It's not that Sarah isn't capable of writing a great romance with Gwynriel next but in my personal opinion, they aren't really "the" big story right now. They'd be kind of friends to lovers or friends to, not quite enemies but irritation(?) to lovers but she'd have to create their drama out of thin air right now versus the drama that has been the Elucien bond since book 2. Again, she can do that, she did it with Chaol / Yrene & Nesryn / Sartaq, but there weren't two other main characters who had been waiting for their arc for multiple books by the time TOD rolled around. I just think it would make more sense for her to resolve Elucien's bond next, have Mor and Eris delve into their past in an Elucien book (since Mor / Elain seemed to share a closeness in ACOWAR and we know she's over in the continent and Eris would probably play a big role in Lucien's book) and that sets us up for Mor to finally talk to Az, maybe in a novella. At that point, once Mor reveals her "truth", Az can finally move forward and I think that would be a natural point for him to have a romantic arc with Gwyn and if we had another 1.5 books until then, it will have given Sarah time to build up their own endgame ship drama to be resolved the same way she did with the Archeron sisters.

[stargirlie25]

Ok scrolling through acotar tiktok KILLS ME. Its not the og tiktok with cool edits of ships that you prefer its just pure toxic hate.

Like me, you might have noticed there are few and few Gwynriel/elucien content then Elriel content. I don´t believe it is because they dont ship these ships anymore i think its because they are tired.

When i was neutral (about a year ago) on the ships wars, i would CONSTANTLY see Elriels being so confident about their ship and how acosf pointed to an elriel endgame. I had not read acosf by then and when i did+ the bc i didn´t hate elriel i just started to love Gwynriel.

Sometimes sarah likes to put positive factors on a ship, like something beautiful without there having to be a whole theory. Because sarah does not expect her readers to be theorists. She wants them to laugh,cry,giggle,scream. etc. So when she was writing the BC which according to elriels are not important she probably wanted us to look at Gwyn and Azriel and consider her obvious wording and differences between elriel and gwynriel. According to elriels the BC isnt important and does nothing to contribute into plots,but also it introduces Gwyns lightsinger powers? Whatever that is not even my point right now. My point is, at first glance at the BC everybody should be more positive towards Gwynriel. SJM put out a free bonus chapter. Why should something heavy like a characters powers be in there? Its supposed to be a light hearted thing. Im just tired of Elriels saying we are delusional or our ship is a crackship.

I never hated Elriel before. All the anti elriel stuff i have mentioned is everything i was already aware of before ´´hating´´ elain and az together. I was still neutral even with all those negavtives.

Its the fandom that made me turn around and choose Gwynriel. I noticed Gwynriel and Elucien content was much more surrounding pro content for their ship and cute headcanons,cannons,edits,fanarts etc. It rarely EVER mentioned anti Elriel information. Except the elriel content then and now, all revolves around Gwynriel and Elucien. Instead of promoting their ship, they have to tear down our ships and say we are crazy.

It was like: Elriel vs Gwynriel and it said that gwynriel was fanon and elriel was canon. Thats´ just false but i understand i cant change that which i dont mind but why scream about it to my face? I saw people bullying Gwyn and saying she was faking her trauma,lured in hyberns men or was evil for the sake to uplift elriel/elain. I saw people bully emerie too calling her a crippled fake illyrian and how it was stupid for emerie to win the blood rite against her cousin. Or how somehow emerie was a b*tch and does not deserve to be a valkyrie+ nesta and gwyn. I saw people make edits to uplift Elain and hate Gwyn. I witnessed people dismissing Luciens trauma and comparing him to his father. I saw people say he faked the bond to protect tamlin or what not. I saw people make up theories for Clotho saying she was odd because she said she was going to give Gwyn the necklace but probably didnt....

That was my last straw. So yes naturally i did in fact shift to the Gwynriel/elucien side. It was easier. Instead of the bullies i saw cute videos of ´´Azriel and Gwyn singing´´ or ´´Elain and lucien picking flowers´´ it was all just so lighthearted and beautiful.

Although i think the fandom for G/A and E/L decreased because they are tired. Because i was tired too. I did not even want to enter acotar tiktok because i knew we would all be bashed for it. Dont get me wrong i find myself sometimes leaving comments on Elriel videos. Not the ones with a cute edit or fanart the ones the share false information or something i disagree with. I only hope for a civil talk and next thing i know, there is a whole gang of elriels trying to push their narrative on me without listening.

Honestly the ship wars have always existed but before Elucien was the calmer side. Although sadly they got roped into the mess of the G/A vs, A/E wars. WIthout a doubt on every single Elucien video, elriels never miss a step. It would be a cute video like a fanart of them and they will start being like ´´ElAinS So UNComFOrtabLE aROUnd hiM´ like you guys ask us why we ship elucien when mentioning this but its like you dont even want an answer you just want to disagree. We tell you and you flat out ignore it.

As much as i love Gwynriel/Elucien i cant help but miss the days were reading ACOTAR was for all the characters. When it was just to see my favorites like Nesta. When i just desperately wanted to get to the iconic epic scenes.

I know if e/riel was confirmed, Elriels would firstly shove it in Eluciens and gwynriels faces and then maybe celebrate the characters.

I know Gwynriels/eluciens would too and i honestly want to see none of that. Yes i do believe we are getting Gwynriel/Elucien but i would not want to make people feel bad for their ship. They by all means can still love elriel. So many people like feylin,nesris,Aelin x chaol,aelin x dorain, and obviously aelin x sam (my endgame if rowan never existed) dramoine,klaroline,stelena,stiles x malia, Jelly,Bellarke,clexa,Rory x those 4 other guys etc etc.

Main point, Can we all just do better? Yes i am talking about elriels for my sake and lots of others peoples sakes but to everyone PLEASE.

I know that wont work though even if i say it because im only one human hahah

What im going to say is we should tag all our posts to our preferred ship and probably always put anti to the ship we dont like. That way everything is divided and less toxic. Also i will be tagging nothing to do with ship wars because i want everyone to see haha but please be nice!

This is just my experience btw im sure Elriels have has their fair treatment of toxic Gwynriels/Eluciens

[bookofmirth]

I wish I wasn't so obsessed with the elucien and gwynriel ships because I genuinly want to leave the fandom and leave everything Sjm related behind. The fandom is toxic and that lady seems to love our money more than the magic she used to love putting in her books. The trademarking crap is another straw for me, I hope the last will come soon.

I'm not even scared wether or not my ships are gonna be endgame. I'm 100% sure that they are. I'm rather scared of what she'll do with them after reading her latest books (Acosf, hosab and hofas). I feel like they'll flop.

Idk, she has been annoying me since acosf came out.

Yeah that's the thing, these characters and books were always her intellectual property, she always had copyright over them, so why trademark unless there are further money things going on? I don't know. It's giving capitalism, it's giving a millionaire author concerned about some random Etsy shop selling a mug for $10. And when said author regularly begs borrows and steals from other people's work and cultures anyway? LMAOOOOO

And frankly, like you said, I am ceasing to care. The only thing I'm obsessed with anymore are the amazing, lovely, wonderful, supportive friends that I have made while in this fandom. acotar has lost its spark for me. CC being not good and the fandom culture have just made it worse. So I low-key think I'm going to just use this blog to do my own thing now. I'm sure I'll still talk about sjm (I don't want to ignore the state of my inbox) and will read new acotar releases. I just... don't care.

I've always said I'll never be anti because I find it a waste of my time, but I have never been so close to it in my life.

And another thing, it's like you said, it's not that I am unsure of what will happen or whatever, it's just!!!! I don't care anymore!!!! Maybe acotar5 will come out and be amazing. Who knows. Maybe by 2035 we will finally get an elucien book. I'm just tired of spending my time on it.

[elains]

Apparently there’s this article by The Times and E/riel’s are saying that Gwynriel and Elucien are dead and Elain + Azriel is happening?? I don’t know all that’s about. But unless it comes from SJM’s own mouth/the actual book, then I’m not going to believe it. Even if it said that Gwynriel is confirmed. I’m waiting until Azriel’s book comes out for confirmation. I feel like once the title of his book is revealed then it will give a pretty good idea as to who he ends up with/who will have the other pov like Cassian in SF.

I feel like E/riel’s are grasping at straws because they know Az’s book is next considering how much he was in SF & HOFAS, was in two bonus chapters, and HOFAS shared a lot about Ramiel/Illyrians, which will probably be the plot of his book. (I’ve seen some try to say that Elain is tied to the Illyrian plot?) And SJM said in a video that one book will be a couple getting together, and if Azriel is getting his own book and Elain is too (which has been confirmed), then the math isn’t mathing…🤷‍♀️ I like Elain, but I don’t see her getting two books. It doesn’t make sense. I think Nesta will feature heavily in Az’s book since she’s his friend, she’s besties with Gwyn, and if the plot is about Illyria then it makes sense for the Valkyries to be heavily involved. I think it ties in with the Prison/Dusk Court.

Also, the ending of that bonus chapter where Bryce could’ve worn that Azriel’s shadows danced to the sound of his humming…interesting that it parallels to something very similar (:

You are preaching to the choir, Anon hahaha.

I know about the article, I have read it, but I'm not sure how "Fans speculate that Azriel and Elain may be next" amounte to "Elain and Azriel are next". I'm sure the shippers will push forward to offer a plethora of evidence why and how they are next, how it's confirmed and has been for a while, etc. After one fiasco too many (Bread and Roses, looking at you), I'm here at my little corner sipping my cappuccino and waiting for an official confirmation because really, only it will end this ship war.

Even if I were not confident about my ships (which I am, that's not the point), from the latest material I am pretty darn sure Azriel book is coming next. There's a very good reason why a certain section of this fandom adamantly argues that Elain is next and not Azriel, and that is because if Az is the next protagonist and it's one couple per book, the mathing isn't mathing. I never bought into the Multipov Last Book theory, but this being Sarah Janet, Pantser Extraordinaire, there's always a chance that everyone is wrong.

Ah yes, the Illyrian Plot/Ramiel. Famously irrelevant. Not happening at all. Killed by Sarah in ACOSF with a swift sentence. For which Gwynriels were dragged for pointing out it was not yet over. Are they really trying to tie Elain to it after claiming all of this? Oh how the tables turneth. It's honestly amusing as all hell LMAO

I like Elain too (just look at my url), but if there's anyone getting two books at this point in time, it's Nesta. About the Prison, you should check out @bookofmirth theory on it! She has some great ideas what could be in store for it :)

There's also parallels to the HoSaB Quinlar extra and a certain other bonus hahaha

All in all, here comes Azriel! (I'm now a teeny bit more interested in him LMAO)

[stargirlfeyre]

I’m in no rush for the next books bc if she wrote ACOSF that shitty who knows what else she’ll write from other character POV’s. I can see her just turning every single fan group against eachother eventually, Like imagine if Elain argues with Rhys or Feysand over Rhys telling Az not to pursue her just yet? I could possibly no longer like her over something like that & it’s why I hope it doesn’t happen bc i’m trying to give her a chance. Or if Az keeps being annoying & reckless disobeying understandable orders? He may get on my last nerve. I’ve had it with people in the family acting up bc Feyre started a new family to get away from BS didn’t she SJM? Or if Lucien gets a POV excusing how he treated Feyre shitty or mocking or villainizing Feyre & The IC like Nesta did? If I catch Vassa talking shit since she’s already done off as annoying in Acowar & since we know Lucien is keeping information from Feysand since they said “He’s basically loyal to them now” Or Lucien still riding Tamlins too despite him being Feyre’s abuser….

There’s SO many ways these new POV’s can piss me off so I don’t mind waiting either. I even hope Bryce’s POV of them all isn’t shallow petty or annoying since even tho she’s sweet…She’s annoying to me in CC. She’s the one SJM heroine I’m not all that impressed with but I’m hoping I like her more in CC3..She’s making it seem like Bryce is unhappy there in the book synopsis already which I get bc she’s going thru it but also…SJM..Don’t piss IC fans off once again. ACOSF was the last straw for me next time..I will not hesitate to call her out for petty writing decisions.

I just….don’t fully trust this author at all with how ditzy & careless she can seem with recent books and how bad that damn rite was or how she barely fleshed out Cassian, or how it’s over sexualized or how the plot climax was underwhelming & ass or how Cass seemed rude to the IC at certain parts w always doubting and questioning every move they made even if they made sense, or how she made Nesta seem all close with Rhys when we all know Rhys would be sweeter but not THAT extra miss girl... Or the “Hehe I thought it’d be fun for Az Nesta and Cass to have a threesome & I couldn’t put it bc my editor 🫤🤭” Like girl stfu I’m so sorry to say this but..why would that have made ANY sense? Tacky..”Let me self insert into Nesta for a Bat bot threesome fantasy the younger sister and friend may have a crush on” ……..CRICKETS. Barely trained having Az say they were trained enough to make it against ILLYRIANS…

Every day I understand more & More why authors don’t interact with her much or if she does have drama among other authors bc If I read that book as an author I wouldn’t be able to take her writing seriously. Feyre got blessed with her series bc these spin-offs are embarrassing kinda…Feyre’s books only lacked in showing us her power or more of Rhys’ power..Or that she shoved her sisters drama back into her NEW life.

Anyway Rant over I love ur acc ❤️

Sjm being so reckless with this series that people no longer trusting her to do right by it is so hilarious to me. Like she needs to tap into whatever she was on when she wrote acomaf and get to work. My biggest fear is waiting years for this book just for it to be complete trash.

And I agree the way Mass’ writing (when it comes to acotar) has regressed since the main series, especially acomaf, is staggering. The issues with Feyre books are more minor or little annoying things while the issues with acosf are…insane. The excuses the main characters makes for her own behavior, ignoring plot lines in prior books, throwing in details that directly goes against what was said in prior books, the lackluster romance that seemed so much better when it was seen from the pov of someone else. I just wonder if when sjm’s editors were reading acosf for the first time, they ignored everything that was blatantly wrong with it because “oh smut🤩”.

Honestly I don’t think it would happen but if Elain and Azriel do end up I’m some drama with Feysand I’m siding with Feysand idc.

And I haven’t started CC yet. I’ve seen a few spoilers but I can’t really judge Bryce’s personality right now.

[kayla-2]

Since people always talk about reasons for why they don’t want Feysand as king and queen and that “if she writes that i’ll hate it” only makes me want it even more especially for those that say she’s been sidelined or might be boring. I hope Sjm makes her queen of Prythian and we’ll see about the “she’ll be sidelined she’s no longer the main thank god, Nesta and Bryce will be the ones who get along and help Az with the trove not Feyre because she’s stuck due to the bargain and if she uses her power to fight they’ll be reckless since they know they can die and leave Nyx parentless” or the “she’s boring now because she’s a mom” comments. they’ll whine if this and if Elriel happens. If Sjm truly is planning to sideline them for the bargain i think that’d be my last straw after the drama she put them through in Acosf and her lack of using Feyre and her power. What a waste it would be..

Exactly! Feyres entire pregnancy was for n.estas plot anyway and it fucked up feyres life. All the drama around it was for someone else and we didn’t even get her POV. It was horrible writing. I don’t think Sarah will sideline her as we seen at the end of that crescent city book, Feysand are the main people Bryce will deal with. It makes the most sense. Plus Sarah said feyre will have her own POV in that series

[alltheworldsinmyhead]

ON FEYSAND’S PLOTLINE IN ACOSF

              !!!!MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE ACOSF!!!!

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Let’s be honest for a while, okay?

ACOCF had potential to be SJM’s best book, if not for any other reason then because of the sheer idea of it. Coming-of-age, healing story of the most complex and polarizing character she has ever created set in the time of peace, away from the familiar setting (according to the later changed concept which still remains in the snippet at the end of ACOFAS), development of her arguably most feisty and angsty love story... It could be her absolute trumph. Even with the change to stick to Velaris instead of exploring the Illyrian culture of the Mountains and with the added conflict of the Mortal Queens and Koshei, it still could work quite well. 

It didn’t. For many, many reasons, but the most important one, in my opinion, being the feysand pregnancy plot. 

Nothing about this plotline made sense. Not a single thing. From start to finish, it was an absolute disaster from the character-writing POV, from the narration POV, from every single context of it. It broke the rules of real-life logic, it broke the rules of this fantasy world setting and it completely exposed that Rhysand, while not a bad guy, is a pretty terrible partner, even worse ruler and an absolutely terrible contender for the High King title. 

Let’s break this whole mess down (and expect this post to be mammoth-sized. it’s not my fault, though, write to SJM if you have any complains):

1) Feyre, 21, decides to get pregnant, even though less than a year earlier, she expresses the delight with not being forced to bear children to her new mate and told him herself she wants to wait a while and enjoy her life with him. Feyre decides she wants a baby though and Rhysand goes along with it, even though he is aware how young Feyre is and how hard her life has been up until this point. He wants a baby too much to have an honest discussion with Feyre about it, to stop and wonder what is the reason for her sudden change of heart, to reassure her that they have a lot of time ahead of them and don’t need to rush. No. She mades a sudden decision to have a baby after A YEAR OF MARRIAGE and not much more of being turned fae, JUST AFTER having her whole world put upside down, having received a completely new title and responsibilities, surviving the wat and being mated. Great. 

2) Feyre decides to get pregnant and Rhys goes along with it less than a year after the end of the bloody war. It is politically a delicate time, everyone is still not sure how the balance will shift, some countries don;t want to sign the peace treaty, etc. There are a lot of enemies and a lot of turmoil remaining. But sure. Let’s have a baby. Perfect time to add yet another target, another weakness that can be use by the Mortal Queens, Beron or whatever else with malicious intent towards the Night Court. 

2) Feyre gets pregnant after approximately a year of trying. I know healthy people of reproductive age for whom it takes ages more than this. Fae’s pregnancies are rare af and precious and happen once in a blue moon, but ofc SJM broke the world’s rules for her darling Feyre. And again, for Kallas and Vivianne who are also expecting the baby, even though it has been a maximum of 3 years since they’ve mated. 3 years is also not a particularly long time to try to have a baby for those who have issues with their reproductive systems like Fae women. Thank you, next. 

3) Rhys has unprotected sex with Feyre in her Illyrian form when she conceives, even though he knows full well having a winged baby would kill her. He does it anyway, for shits and giggles apparently. They probably have sex in the sky above Velaris, for all we know. 

4) The baby has wings. Now, the whole explanation with Illyrian wings being bony (bc they resemble bat wings) and Seraphin ones being more flexible (bc they resemble bird ones) is so insanely stupid that it takes around 3 seconds to wikipedia this shit and find out it’s exactly the opposite. But okay, the baby has wings and Feyre will die while giving birth, along with the baby. Madja forbids Feyre from turning into an Illyrian to carry the pregnancy because it MIGHT hurt the baby. Now, remember, Feyre conceived while in Illyrian form and then turned into High Fae. The baby survived it just fine. The baby MIGHT be hurt by Feyre turning .... but it will FOR SURE die if she stays High Fae and Feyre will too. Idk about you, but I would take the risk of MIGHT instead of FOR SURE. Especially when she is already in labour and dying. Cauldron or Nesta or idk who alters Feyre’s pelvis after the baby is cut out of her for no apparent reason but to allow feysand to make exactly the same mistakes later on. How convinient. And Nesta also alters her own pelvis bc god forbid she won’t be able give Cassian babies like the little useful mate she is now. She should’ve probably done it with Elain too, just in case she decides to fuck Az in the future, because fuck consequences and fuck the stakes in the story that make the readers actually CARE about characters bc they know the author may actually kill them and not save their life every fucking time.  

5) I don’t even want to comment on the fact Rhys hid the true danger of this pregnancy for Feyre and their family went along with it. It is absolutely disgusting. And Nesta telling her and that being condemned as the act of the ultimate cruelty which is a final straw to break her self-loathing back.... is abhorrent. It made my sick, actually, phisically sick. There is no justification for it. No at all. And the fact that they did not even consider abortion sends a message that I really don’t want to think too much about it. Feyre was 2 months along when they learned the baby is winged. 2 months. 8 weeks. It wasn’t a baby yet, let’s be honest. They could’ve at least discussed it. She - oh my god, I cannot believe SJM wrote it this way, I’m gonna be sick. 

6) For the entirety of Feyre’s pregnancy, they have no plan to really help her. Labour plan? Haven’t heard if it.  They have money and power and access to the healers of the whole land. And did not figure out how to stop her from bleeding out after a fucking C-section. THIS WORLD HAS MAGIC AND THEY COULDN’T STOP HER FROM BLEEDING OUT AFTER A FUCKING C-SECTION. Didn’t even ask Thesan, the High Lord of Healing, to be present. Cassian had guts hanging out of his stomach and survived. Az was fucking slashed apart in Hybern and survived. But yeah, Feyre was on a brink of death after a C-section. Great, Sarah. Keep it up. Let’s force the thought into young girls’ heads that labour is the most lethal thing ever, why not. 

7) Also, for the entirety of Feyre’s pregnancy, Rhys keeps quiet about this idiotic bargain. He, as far as we know, doesn’t make any plans for the moment when him and Feyre and possibly their baby are dead. If they died and baby survived.. who would take care of it? Does Rhys have a conversation with his family about it? NAH. Doesn’t write any sort of plan how to keep the Court going, doesn’t inform even the closest of his co-workers how they should proceed to act after he’s gone and his and Feyre’s power go to god-knows-who. Their deaths would mean a sure chaos for the weakend and fragile Prythian and the Night Court especially and yet nor Rhys nor Feyre make any sort of preparations for it. Rhys doesn’t tell his brothers or Mor or HIS SECOND IN COMMAND they will all soon have to somehow manage without him. He was about to just leave them to their own devices and told them in the last. possible. moment. 

And this man - this man is, according to Amren, the best candidate to handle the whole country? To unite it? This fool who makes idiotic bargains, who thinks first about his cock and his own selfish desires and considers his subjects and his responsibilities as a High Lord last and least important of all? Who has so much trust in his wife, in his High Lady, the mother of his son that he doesn’t tell her she will almost surely die on a birthing bed because it MAY UPSET HER? 

This plotline was the straw that broke my back. ACOTAR, at it’s heart has always been a ya fantasy with added ‘spice’ and I was willing to bend my critical-thinking skills in many cases and forget and forgive many smaller idiotic issues in this series. But this? It is not idiotic. It is massive and stupid to the point when it becomes insulting to the reader. It was a plot straight out of a bad fanfic, not something that should be in a published book written by someone who writes for a living. You could even argue that Twilight has handled this toxic trope better.  I have wasted my money on this book and thinking about it will always be painful for me. So yeah.

ACOSF could be great. Ended up quite pathetic. 

[mystical-blaise]

Hi! Just got caught up on a Court of Whispers and Song, and I just got to say that your writing is everything, like it's soooo fucking good. But I want to know your thoughts on Lucien and Elain? They're my favourite ship from reading the ACOTAR series, and I really hope they end up together, I just want Lucien to be happy!

Hi, anon! Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story! My thoughts on Lucien and Elain. Lucien is everything. He has the potential to become my absolute favorite ACOTAR character in the end. I know it. Lucien deserves every happiness.

Canon Elain is *woefully* underdeveloped. The number of lines she's said in the entire series I believe is less or equal to the amount Gwyn had in ACOSF. I'm curious to see her story develop because we know something is going to have to happen in the next book (though I do NOT believe the next ACOTAR book is hers. All signs are pointing to Azriel. Plus, makes sense for her book to be last). Most characters have to reach rock bottom before they get their story. It'll be interesting to see if it's her or Lucien... or both.

As for Elucien; I am 100% Elucien. I love them together. Feed me courtier goodness and political maneuvering. Give me their patience and care regarding everything, but also the straw that breaks the camel's back. Bring back SassyLucien. Give me the tension between them. I want softDomLucien and brattyElain.

I have about 12 chapters left in ACOWAS. I will be writing a sequel, taking place after the events in ACOWAS. The plan is writing this summer and posted in the fall of 2022. You *may* have noticed a little Elucien tension in one particular scene before everything went to hell. So, I will be writing an Elucien fic (though I'm still debating if it's going to be Elucien OR more along the lines of a ToG and have Gwynriel and Elucien. We'll see).

[elriell]

I recently looked at the ACOTAR #5 page on goodreads because I was curious as to what information, if any, might be listed and I was… appalled, to say the least, at the most liked community reviews featured at the top of the feed. Perhaps I’m naive and in my own little Elriel bubble but I hadn’t grasped the amount of hate people seem to have for Elain until I read those posts (some of which have 1000+ likes omg). The negativity, contempt & sheer animosity really threw me for a loop. Elain has been the ACOTAR character I felt most connected to ever since teenage me read ACOWAR in 2017 and it is disheartening to see the enmity people have towards her. I can understand disliking a character, but… I think in some cases it’s gone too far. So, I just wanted to hop on here and say thank you for the positivity you consistently bring to the elriel community, it is so very appreciated 🥺 Makes the wait for Elain’s book more bearable hehe ❤️

I won't lie I haven't gone over there (ACOTAR GR) since ACOSF came out because it is pretty much what I expected considering what the fandom has reflected across all Social Media... And to be fair the same was true in the lead up to ACOSF, there was Nesta hate in abundance all over.

It is unfortunate but not shocking. This fandom has plummeted into a hateful pit which is very sad to see, there is so much chaos hence why I have just been stepping back and waiting for Elain/Elriel confirmation because there is no point making the same points when people do not want to listen... People are stuck in their ways and feelings at this point and that applies across the board in my opinion.

It is disheartening for sure, especially for such a beautiful kind character, and it has certainly gone too far. In all honestly? I think people were holding out hope she would choose Lucien/not Az and when she did make a move on him that was the last straw to shit all over her after their years long "its a platonic friendship" idea was sunk.

As I always say, if you are confident in you favs then you shouldn't be worried or threatened by others. It shouldn't have to be a competition like it has become, very sadly pitting woman against each other especially.

I truly cannot say thank you enough, this is a truly sweet comment and it warms my heart so much to hear I could help bring some positivity amongst all the madness. I wont pretend to be perfect, I get frustrated and annoyed (especially with anti-elains) at times but I hope that people will always be comfortable with my blog and coming to me no matter what you ship.

I appreciate every single person in the Elriel community, you guys have brought me endless happiness and memories, and I have made life long friends with a lot of you who I speak to daily. It is so heartwarming to see books bring us together.

We have made it this far, we can make it the last stretch!! ELAIN IS GOING TO BE WORTH EVERY SECOND OF IT.

[feysandfeels]

TSwiftMaas pt 2, I’m back and thank you for letting me rant

Champagne Problems - Feyre/Tamlin, maybe a bit of Mor/Azriel

Gold Rush - literally the moment Feyre first sees Rhys on Calanmai and then snaps out of it. Or Emerie seeing Mor (ACOSF new a esta book). Also Rowan seeing *the nightgown*

Happiness - Elain x Graysen

Cowboy Like Me gives me Aelin attitude vibes but Feysand too? “Eyes like stars”

Evermore - Rhys and Feyre (literally dreamed of each other at their worst moments, he sent her the music and stars and he was seeing her)

I so agree on Ivy and I was so happy to see you say that!!!!!

Dude you are so welcome here, rant away!

It also gives me the chance to add some more. So ACOTAR x Taylor Swift part II (Part I)

lol at rowan literally having gold rush seeing Aelin in her nightgown.

Feysand:

Delicate - I don’t know why but this song always gives me Feysand in summer court vibes, when Feyre says “but for a moment I hoped he might be as lonely as me” and Rhys admitting that he is jealous that Feyre smiled for Tarquin (king deserves all the smiles imo). The song is the start of both of them truly realizing that they are falling way more than they intended for the other, but it’s all delicate because of the political implications, because of their own healing process. “This ain't for the best My reputation's never been worse, so You must like me for me” both of their reputations are at a low, so to speak everyone in Prythian is gossiping about how Feyre left Tamlin on their wedding day and is now being seen with the High Lord of another court and being introduced as a member of his court and well Rhys’ reputation has always sucked. However they both manage to see beyond their respective reputations and masks, and this song is perfect for that. 

Cowboy like me - Feyre quite literally “never wanted love, just a fancy car” and fancy car here is some financial stability to be able to *live a little* yet she found Rhys and in him he found an equal who now “hangs from her lips like the gardens of Babylon”. Also the way I feel when Taylor sings this is the exact same way I feel with Feysand: my body transcends into another dimension. 

Nessian:

The archer - from Nesta’s perspective is just delicious: “I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the prey, who could ever leave me darling, but who would stay” through the progression of “you could stay” is exactly what Nesta’s thought process is like. She sees herself as above everyone but has tremendous whiplash moments where she only sees the ugly in her and wants someone to see her for all of her nuances and all of her spikiness and then Cass does and she realizes that and is lie...he could stay. And I just... it’s just.. beautiful. The Archer has always been a Nessian song to me, a Nesta song to me and I cannot believe I forgot to add it in the original post. 

Elucien: they really claimed my favorite Lover songs didn’t they?

Cornelia Street - they’ve been heartbroken before and this feels so right, but what if it’s not it, what if it’s just the bond.. they never want Cornelia Street again. Also “drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar” as in their feelings for one another are stronger than the mating bond pushing them towards the other. Finally to be perfectly honest, they claimed this song with this lyric “Windows swung right open, autumn air Jacket 'round my shoulders is yours“. AUTUMN AIR? LUCIEN, JACKET AROUND HER SHOULDERS? THE JACKET HE GAVE HER DURING THE HYBERN SCENE IN ACOMAF. 

Feyl*n: 

You’re not sorry - Because T*mlin can’t actually be sorry for something he doesn’t understand so all his apologies are empty. He truly doesn’t comprehend the root of Feyre’s decision to leave him, so all his words and promises are meaningless and Feyre finally figured it out: “All this time I was wasting Hoping you would come around I've been giving out chances every time And all you do is let me down And it's taking me this long Baby but I figured you out And you're thinking we'll be fine again But not this time around You don't have to call anymore I won't pick up the phone This is the last straw Don't wanna hurt anymore And you can tell me that you're sorry But I don't believe you baby Like I did before You're not sorry, no no, no no”. This can also relate to Feyre sending him the letter and him not having to call her/look for her anymore.

Coney Island - the moment when you think about where did all the goodness and love there was go? When Feyre is wondering that perhaps who they both were after UtM were not meant to be together. And also feeling the, not guilt exactly, but the heaviness of wondering who did she kill those fairies for, who did she break for : “Break my soul in two Looking for you but you're right here If I can't relate to you anymore Then who am I related to? And if this is the long haul How'd we get here so soon?”And things simply don’t get better and whatever love was there can’t come to the surface anymore and the fire is getting smaller and their relation ship and the “efforts to save it” feel like they don’t work but make you realize  “Over and over Lost again with no surprises Disappointments, close your eyes And it gets colder and colder When the sun goes down”.

[yazthebookish]

I just wanted to come and say I love your dee dives and thoughts on Gwynriel and Elucien are obvious at this point and also calling out people’s BS in this mess of a fandom. ❤️❤️

Thank you so much ❤️! I really enjoy theorizing in fact ACOSF gave me the best distraction at a unstable stage in my personal life. Writing posts and theorizing takes a lot off my mind.

And on fandom drama, I did not expect it to be this toxic. I've never been one to dive deep into a fandom so what I have seen in the short amount of time I've been here and I was personally subjected to is mind-boggling

I will address important issues but as for the drama, there will always be one. The Taran tweets were the last straw, I don't want to deal with people that think it's harmless to joke about kidnapping a child. They have no respect for anyone, I have zero respect for them.

Take care ❤️

[elriell]

Hey.. so i know you already have tonnes of ask bt i just saw some posts how elriel might not happen cuz sarah has a habit of changing a persons love interest and they pointed towards similarities between how chaol and Aelin were a thing and then Rowan was introduced ( along with other ships ) similar to Elriel situation and gywn what are your thoughts .....

Nope, firstly their relationships are nowhere near framed the same, anyone who has read the books can tell you that. Personally despite my love of Chaol I never thought they would last, and I just did my TOG re-read and it is even more obvious when you know SJM’s writing...

This was also done in the second book, for Aelin in a longer series. We are now going in to our 6th ACOTAR (and nearing the end of the series) book so it would never work like it did with them because Rowaelin still got several books to build. We know these books are standalones. They are not sidelining a ship that’s been built for years to do a standalone with a random character. 

There is no logic behind that.

Not to mention the “twist” “change-up” has already been done twice (not just Feysand & Rowaelin) but also in their own relationships. There was a time Moriel was the ship, and same goes for Lucien. They are the first, obvious loves, which will end up being wrong. Why would she complicated it further but making Elriel bloom in ACOSF to say siiiiiiike. She would have sunk Elriel in the last book if she wanted to change love interests... 

So in short no, I think people are grasping at straws... But that’s just me!

[offtorivendell]

This got long, sorry @elriell!

I agree with the anon who mentioned Azriel struggling to stay in the same room with Elain and Lucien; I suspect it could be one of the first times we saw this manifest, but we were (obviously) unaware of the significance at the time.

We all know the following scene, from solstice:

He left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option of leaving if it became too much. - ACOSF, Azriel’s bonus chapter

In addition to it exposing one of Azriel's secrets from ACOSF, and that he appears to be put off by Elain and Lucien's bond specifically, it nicely complements Azriel and Cassian drawing straws to go to the Hewn City, in that after doing so, the last scene we see through Feyre’s eyes before they go to the Court of Nightmares is Azriel, dressed and ready, sharing a moment of peace and quiet with - only - Elain in the townhouse garden right before they leave, while he knew Feyre was watching (so, a hint that maybe he wasn't so uncaring of Elain, after all).

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it. “Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” - ACOWAR, chapter 24

I've said it before and I'll say it again, wing sunning likely represents both vulnerability and subtle showing off to the faeries who possess them - not to mention that this is the where Feyre first questions Elain’s bond with Lucien.

Further, there is another instance of Azriel standing in the doorway, potentially being apparently unable to enter a room in which Elain and Lucien were both present - after the Ravens' attack on the library. Firstly, we learnt that Azriel and Elain were together at the townhouse again (potentially sharing more harden time?), while Lucien wasn't there.

Rhys stared her down. But Nesta looked to me—and I could have sworn fear shone there, and guilt and … some other feeling. “You told me to run.” “You’re my sister,” was all I said. She’d once tried to cross the wall to save me. But she started. “Elain—” “Elain is fine,” Rhys said. “Azriel was at the town house. Lucien is headed back, and Mor is nearly there. They know of the threat.” - ACOWAR, chapter 32

Then Feyre told us that, while Lucien was in the room, Azriel was on the roof, before he stepped out of a shadow and back into the house, but remained in the doorway, not actually venturing into the sitting room... yet.

Elain was nestled beside a too-casual Mor on the sitting room couch when we arrived at the town house. Nesta strode past me, right to Elain, and took up a seat on her other side, before turning her attention to where we remained in the foyer. Waiting—somehow sensing the meeting that was about to unfold. Lucien, stationed by the front window, turned from watching the street. Monitoring it. A sword and dagger hung from his belt. No humor, no warmth graced his face—only fierce, grim determination. “Azriel’s coming down from the roof,” Rhys said to none of us in particular, leaning against the archway into the sitting room and crossing his arms. And as if he’d summoned him, Azriel stepped out of a pocket of shadow by the stairs and scanned us from head to toe. His eyes lingered on the blood crusting Rhys’s hands. I took up a spot at the opposite doorway post while Cassian and Azriel remained between us. - ACOWAR, chapter 32

As an aside, the imagery above is interesting, in that it not only appears to demonstrate Azriel choosing to stay in the doorway when Elain and Lucien are both present - again - but it also provides parallels with two other scenes:

Azriel and Elain both - separately - stepping out of shadows later on in ACOWAR, during the war against Hybern.

Rhys said that Azriel was coming down from the roof, to no one in particular, which calls to mind both Cassian saying, to no one in particular, “I’m going after them," when Nesta (and Emerie and Gwyn) were abducted into the Blood Rite, in ACOSF, AND thus, indirectly, Azriel saying "I'm getting her back," as if in answer to some unspoken debate, when the Cauldron stole Elain, in ACOWAR.

Now, when did Azriel decide to take a step into the sitting room? After Elain seemed to have another vision about Vassa, and Azriel discovered 'what was wrong' with her: namely, that she was a Seer, and that - we assume* - not knowing why she was experiencing that murky realm was causing her confusion and pain.

Nesta took a steadying breath, opening her mouth to either whisk Elain upstairs or move on. But Azriel asked softly, taking a single step over the threshold and into the sitting room, “What other?” Elain’s brows twitched toward each other. “The queen—with the feathers of flame.” The shadowsinger angled his head. Lucien murmured to me, eye still fixed on Elain, “Should we—does she need …?” “She doesn’t need anything,” Azriel answered without so much as looking at Lucien. Elain was staring at the spymaster now—unblinkingly. “We’re the ones who need …” Azriel trailed off. “A seer,” he said, more to himself than us. “The Cauldron made you a seer.” - ACOWAR, chapter 32

*We received confirmation that a large part, at least, of Elain's issue at the time stemmed from not knowing what was happening to her, because the very next scene shows her asking Mor is Azriel spoke the truth, and her voice had cleared up.

Elain turned to Mor, who was now gaping at my sister from her spot beside her on the couch. “Is that what this is?” And the words, the tone … they were so normal-sounding that my chest tightened. - ACOWAR, chapter 33

in regards to this question https://elriell.tumblr.com/post/666448723258245120/hello-morgan-i-love-your-account-and-its-my

i have an answer. gwynriels like to point out that azriel preferred to go to the hewn city in acowar instead of staying and guarding elain. in this scene cassian and azriel basically roll a dice to decide who goes and who stays with elain because none of them want to stay. gwynriels believe that it is because azriel doesn’t care enough about elain to stay with her. but in truth. if you read out the entire scene. feyre clearly states that the reason they both(az and cas) can’t go to the hewn city, is because they need someone to guard elain from LUCIEN. feyre explicitly mentions that she hopes lucien won’t understand the extra measures they’re taking and that he won’t take offense. if you guys pay attention…. scenes where the IC has to be around elain and lucien (before the hewn city moment) feyre mentions that the mood is painfully awkward. nobody wants to stay and take care of elain, not because they don’t care about her, but because their entire role is to stay alone in the house with elain and lucien and endure the uncomfortable mood that it entails.

furthermore, if azriel (and this is canon) cannot bear to be in a room filled with his family and friends just because elain and lucien are there too (even if ignoring the living hell out of each other and staying as far from each other as they possibly can) how do you guys think he felt at the thought of being alone in the house with those two for hours???????????????? that scene (even though is not explicitly mentioned) infers that azriel is relieved after he wins over cassian about going to the hewn city. NOT because he doesn’t want to stay with elain because he dislikes her…. but because he cannot bear the idea of being elain and lucien’s chaperone. (he can’t stand the smell of their bond ffs)

I got a second ask about this so I am going to join this one with it because they are relevant to each other :o)

Heyy! Thank you, sorry I woke up at 6am and answered that and then a friend suggested it might be ACOWAR and I realised my grandma brain didn't even think about that scene in ACOWAR, as I said I had never seen the idea before.

I pretty much agree with what you said above in general but even if you disregarded the Lucien aspect, I think to say it is relevant to much or where they are today is crazy, they were just getting to know each other at that point, why would he be ride or die-ing it? I think it could be argued whatever he had going on with Mor was also pretty prevalent in ACOWAR.

She was also in 0 danger staying in Velaris, he wasn't putting her at risk in any way.

I think to say he is happy just to be leaving her is the most intellectually dishonest and broad interpretation of a set of dialogue to date. There is no indication to this at all, why are people treating Az like some sort of puppy who was stuck doing something?He literally doesn't act like a push over in any way, he wanted to help Elain, and remarkably every time they go to the gardens, rescue, whatnot it is always him initiating it.

As for the OG question I got asking what I think of the other side talking about this? When you have to grasp at these kind of straws it says a lot about the solidity of Elriel as a whole.

I would love to hear more thoughts if anyone has any because this is...