#acotar and hosab crossover

[nikethestatue]

Plot Twist:

Bryce, meeting Azriel, then Elain

"Oh, I've read about your two in 'Great Romances of Fae'. You two are in for one hell of a ride!"

Azriel, nervously,

"Do we get a HEA?"

Elain, curiously,

"Is it a dark and erotic romance?"

Bryce, sagely,

"Yes and yes."

[offtorivendell]

My thoughts on the Bryce, Azriel and Nesta HOFAS bonus chapter...

Disclaimer: as suggested by the title, the following discusses the Walmart HOFAS bonus chapter featuring Azriel, Bryce and Nesta. I haven't read the main text, so it won't feature anything related to that, but there are massive Maasverse and HOFAS spoilers ahead regardless. Please beware.

These are just my initial thoughts, not expanded upon in any substantial way and, as usual, I could always be way off the mark.

Also, yes, fair warning that I'll be mentioning the ACOTAR characters a lot. If that's not your jam, and you'd rather avoid any of the possible implications of the crossover, then I'd give this post a miss. On the other hand, if you're interested in how CC/HOFAS may affect Prythian going forward, please read on.

Music:

The Stone Mother song has me 👀 especially as the stone and water were "talking" at the start.

@cassianfanclub and @wingedblooms have already posted about the Stone Mother (here and here); @ladynightcourt3 has found the Phrygian goddess Cybele, also known as the "Mountain Mother," who sounds very relevant.

That being said, am I crazy to think Elain could have been listening in? Is Azriel stone and Elain water? His stone siphons - which Elain called beautiful, did she hear their song, as kin? - and Elain possibly as water? Was she using salt water to boost her powers, or a reflection pool to scry, and keep tabs on her sister and friend?

Or is it the space between linking worlds? Are the old gods talking?

Alternatively, could stone be referring to Nuala and Cerridwen, who are capable of manifesting stone around themselves and others (ACOTAR).

Is this what SJM meant when she said we'd see Elain in "some form" in the next book?

@psychee92 said she wished that SJM had somehow included Mr Brightside, and now I wish the same; even a mention of indie rock. 😭

Josie and Laurel - "He/god will add/increase" "(laurel) trees/victory"? Elain? Lol sorry, but it's either giving gardener, or Elain killing Hybern.

Wraith-like harmonies? After the description of Josie and Laurel's voices? It's crack, but is it a metaphor for Nuala and Cerridwen?

The musical similarities between what Juniper dances to and Prythian's music?!

Azriel's humming/singing made the shadows dance, once more suggesting that shadows dancing is a response to power, not mate bonds

The music Az liked was death metal. Could this link to any sort of metal artefact, like an iron crown for grounding? Or wyrdstone jewellery?

The glass coffin?

"Nineteenth century literature presents the glass coffin as a prison within which sleeping women are frequently mistaken for dead or vice versa." (Source). It's giving Sleeping Beauty (credit to @elriell for the OG SB theory), and a little Snow White.

Check out this tale from The Brothers Grimm, which sounds... suspiciously relevant to Elain.

@cassianfanclub also suggested that it's giving necromancer vibes, and I'd love that for Elain.

Feyre once said she could sleep for a hundred years after coming back from the Prison, right before going to the Hewn City in ACOWAR. After Elain had left the room, and before Feyre went to check in on her to find her "asleep—breathing."

Let's not forget Elain's assistance in rescuing the human COTB, Briar, from Hybern's camp.

Will Elain prick herself while weaving?

I was tired enough that I could barely summon the breath to ask, “Do you think the Cauldron made her insane?” “I think she went through something terrible,” Lucien countered carefully. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have your best healer do a thorough examination.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “All right.” My breath snagged on the words. “Tomorrow morning.” I managed a shallow nod, rallying my strength to rise from the chair. Heavy—there was an old heaviness in me. Like I could sleep for a hundred years and it wouldn’t be enough. “Please tell me,” Lucien said when I crossed the threshold into the foyer. “What the healer says. And if—if you need me for anything.” I gave him one final nod, speech suddenly beyond me. I knew Nesta still wasn’t asleep as I walked past her room. Knew she’d heard every word of our conversation thanks to that Fae hearing. And I knew she heard as I listened at Elain’s door, knocked once, and poked my head in to find her asleep—breathing. - ACOWAR, chapter 27

Azriel specifically said Nesta "beheaded" Hybern, after looking down at Truth-Teller.

This is not Azriel giving Nesta credit for the assassination. If anything he's hiding Elain's involvement.

I've said before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done so, but I would expect Azriel to protect his LI with silence, whoever they are.

He had to have been thinking about Elain, who I've theorised could now/soon be known as "The Shadowsinger's Knife" after she became the "knife in the dark" in Azriel's place at the end of ACOWAR.

The young girl sitting on the mushroom:

I'm still looking into the carving of the young girl sitting on the toadstool with the hound sprawled on the ground beside her, as I find it really interesting. My initial thought was that it seemed like a convenient place to drop a mention of a garden-like fairy carving with a hound right after Bryce had quizzed Azriel about his hypothetical mate, or lack thereof (Elain being both heavily associated with plant life, thanks to her "little garden," as well as dogs, after Nesta called her one in ACOSF).

I also wonder if it has anything to do with the Czech tale that amanita muscaria - while psychoactive/toxic - are said to protect from lightning and other ill fortune. If this is correct, it reminds me a little of the markings - wyrdmarks - on the Archeron cottage.

I don't know where Bryce and co were walking, as I have only read this bonus chapter and the prologue, but given it was carved on an underground wall, and I suspect that there are underground portals in at least the Hewn City and the Prison, and maybe the waterways... could it have been for protection against the invading lightning Asteri? Or did the Asteri (Daglan?) put them there to protect against Thunderbirds, or whatever Hunt is?

Miscellany

Maybe Bryce hadn't been sent there by Urd? Who then? Was @silverlinedeyes right all along?

The mention of pleasure halls seems like a call back to Azriel's bonus chapter, but it's also likely that they aren't all brothels (see Rita's).

Azriel listening closely about Nesta now liking being Fae; he could extrapolate her responses to Elain. Maybe she's no longer miserable, and in need of their pity. And maybe she's changed her mind from ACOFAS, when she said to Feyre "I don't want a mate, I don't want a male."

Azriel said "no" to whether or not he has a mate rather quickly. Hmm... the shadowsinger doth protest too much?

It's also potentially important that Nesta said "yes, WE are" curious about Azriel's mate status. Her, Azriel and most of the fandom! 😂

"Okay, okay," Bryce said. "But it'd be cool to know something about your world. Or about you." They were both silent. Bryce asked Nesta, "You have a mate, right?" She nodded to Azriel. "Do you?" "No." Azriel said quickly, flatly. "A partner or spouse?" "No." Bryce sighed. "Okay, then." Azriel's wings twitched. "You're incurably nosy." "I think that's the nicest thing you've said about me." Bryce winked at him. "Look, I just... I'm curious. Aren't you?" Azriel didn't answer, but Nesta said, "Yes. We are." - HOFAS, Bryce, Azriel and Nesta bonus chapter

All in all, while there were no overt mentions of Elain - and really, why would SJM do that in a series that wasn't Elain's own - imo we got the Elain-shaped holes in the text that I was hoping for, and I can't wait to see if there are any more in the full book.

[silverlinedeyes]

Are HOFAS and ACOTAR5 going to be a tandem read ala ToD and EoS?

I know a lot of us have speculated that ACOTAR 5 might overlap some with HOFAS. But the more I think about it, the more I think HOFAS and ACOTAR5 are going to be essentially a(n unrequired) tandem read like EoS and ToD.

Sarah has said that you do not need to read CC to read the rest of the ACOTAR series, and vice versa. And that you won’t need to read HOFAS as an ACOTAR reader. But how would this work in practice?

I think the best and most logical way to do it is have ACOTAR 5 and HOFAS essentially overlap. That way she could show us what happens in HOFAS that’s relevant to the ACOTAR plot in ACOTAR 5, and she can show us what’s relevant to the CC plot in HOFAS, while Bryce is in Prythian. Doing it this way would not require her to spend large chunks of ACOTAR5 giving us the backstory of what happened while Bryce was in Prythian during HOFAS—instead, we’ll see what we need to see for the purposes of ACOTAR actually on the page in ACOTAR5.

Now, I do think that ACOTAR5 will start before chapter 78 in HOSAB (especially since things happened after ACOSF but before chapter 78 that are eluded to in chapter 78, like Az knowing where to find bryce and elain maybe moving to the townhouse) and likely will end after bryce returns to Midgard in HOFAS. But I expect that all of Bryce’s time in Prythian will be within the timeline of ACOTAR5.

Now imagine that at the beginning of HOFAS Elain is sent on a mission to find the fourth trove (to help get Bryce back) or to find the third trove weapon, or even to find out information to help contact Hel or Midgard. And Az insists on going with her to protect her. And a big part of acotar5 is going to be following them on that mission……(and that’s how Sarah unofficially confirms elriel 🤣🤣🤣)

I COULD SEE IT

[galamerapple]

house of sky and breath is my fav comedy

[acourtofthought]

"Nesta sometimes wondered if they would ever see battle. If these priestesses would ever be willing to leave here to fight, to face violence that might summon the devouring demons of their pasts"

This seems to be yet another hint at the return of the Daglan / Asteri to Prythian. I don't think SJM is referring to their individual pasts (Gwyns time in Sangravah and Emerie's abuse from her father) but of a collective "their", as in the "devouring demons" of all the faes pasts.

"The Daglan. They ruled for millennia, and enslaved us and the humans. They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.”

The Asteri:

Bryce is "the key to opening the doors between worlds" and her landing in Prythian just set the wheels in motion for the Asteri.

To me, that's why Koschei, the treaty and Beron are no longer the most major threats.

They need to be dealt with for sure but Koschei is immortal just as Lanthys was and he was easily taken out by Nesta's made sword.

The leftover plots from ACOWAR, ACOFAS, and ACOSF are the equivalent of Captain America Civil War but by the end of an Elucien book, I think they'll find a way to bring peace to the Human and Fae lands and why I think this will occur in the 6-9 months between the end of SF and Bryce's arrival in Prythian (or even spilling over into her arrival in the ACOTAR world).

And that peace will be necessary for when we get to SJMs version of Endgame.

[acotars]

possibly an unpopular opinion but i feel like sjm’s writing/plotting have gone downhill, which is disappointing bc i enjoyed tog so much. i actually did like the first 4 acotar books and hoeab, but her most recent work feels like she’s trying to do too much with the maasverse and it’s not well thought out (i had so many issues with the larger world plot elements of acosf and the regression on bryce’s character arc in hosab…). it feels like as she’s gotten more and more popular, whoever her current editor is doesn’t do a good job at making her ideas work best for the overall story. i’m disappointed bc the premises have so much potential but haven’t lived up to it to me :/

send me your unpopular opinions and i’ll either let you in or not

[shallyne]

I want Bryce to look at the paintings Feyre made and just praise them into eternity so people finally get it in their brains that Feyre is a good painter

[azrielsbxtch]

SJM’s super power is giving vague interviews

We will literally go months without news and she’ll pop up talking about a random mountain from her childhood

[helion-ism]

the crescent city series is kinda sjm’s version of history class

[pollyaunt]

GUYS HOLD THE FUCK UP-

HOUSE OF FLAME AND SHADOW RIGHT?

FLAME= AELIN FROM TOG

SHADOW= RHYSAND FROM ACOTAR

#THEFUCKINGMULTIVERSEISHAPPENING

ps: please be purple cover (literal dream coming true given its my favourite colour)

[offtorivendell]

Is an oily residue corrupting Azriel's hypothetical mating bond and making him feel off kilter? Is it related to Valg-type magic?

Disclaimer: this theory is a continuation of a few of my others that I've been too lazy to post until now - first I was going to post it for Elriel Month 2023, then Azriel Week 2023... it never happened - but like everyone else I'm having massive FOMO before HOFAS, so here we finally go, even though I know I've forgotten something lol. As usual, this makes no claims of being accurate, it's just theorising for fun.

A massive thank you goes out to @wingedblooms, @tswaney17, @silverlinedeyes, @psychologynerd, @ladynightcourt3, @cassianfanclub, and anyone else I've forgotten (sorry!) for all of our discussions that finally became this post. Love you guys. 💜

Spoilers: this is a Maasverse post, and draws from the ACOTAR series, CC 1 & 2/HOEAB & HOSAB, and the TOG series. It is CC 3/HOFAS spoiler free, as I'm waiting to read it in its "original English" 🤓 on the 30th of January. Please be respectful of that if engaging in the comments before it's published!

Plenty of people, including @silverlinedeyes, @icedflames and myself, have posted our thoughts on mating bonds in the Maasverse, and this theory builds on those previously established - though again, as yet hypothetical - ideas. Specifically, this post about the use of “oily” throughout the ACOTAR series is recommended reading.

What we do know is that:

Mating bonds contain threads, and so do spells.

Mates are the song/music of the soul, and their laughter is likened to music.

Different fae, and magics, contain different scents, be that personal or regional

First, let's go back to ACOWAR, when Feyre described the Ravens' entrance into the library as being like an off-kilter chord:

I felt it at the same moment she did. The ripple and tremor. Like … like some piece of the world shifted, like some off-kilter chord had been plucked. We turned toward the illuminated path that we’d just taken through the stacks, then to the dark far, far beyond. - ACOWAR, chapter 30

Initially, I had wondered if the King of Hybern had had Jurian use the Harp to infiltrate Velaris, but it was @merymoonbeam (I think) who theorised that the Cauldron might be mimicking the Harp, and maybe not doing the best job of it. Which made me wonder, could it do the same with mate bonds?

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

Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24

What if the Elucien bond, as either a spell or piss poor Cauldron-Made approximation of a bond, causes Azriel - and maybe Elain, possibly Lucien - nausea when Lucien is around because it's constantly changing, or reverberating over the top of, what remains of a hypothetical Elriel bond?

What if it's making the Elriel bond off-kilter, out of whack, imbalanced?

Does this make Azriel feel sick, nauseous, or simply overwhelmed/overstimulated?

When people are feeling off-balance, for whatever reason, they can feel sick or nauseous. It's one of the symptoms of vertigo, which can be triggered by severe headaches such as migraines. And guess who rubs their temples? Azriel!

Alternatively, certain chords played loudly enough on a string instrument can really mess with your chest - and where do mating bonds attach - if you're standing close enough for them to vibrate through you (at least, they do for me haha). It can be weirdly disconcerting, and I'd imagine that if Azriel or Elain feels something like this, no wonder he describes such severe discomfort that he needs to leave, and she shrinks away from Lucien, the unintentional cause of her pain.

Same with the smell; if the magic of the Cauldron, in whatever way, is messing with the smell that should be there? Contaminating it? Unbearable.

Is this too crack for you? Well, let's get even crazier.

I have previously suggested that the Cauldron's actions throughout the series could be tracked, in part, by SJM describing a feeling or quality as “oily,” and I've also wondered if the dark maker of the Cauldron - Koschei? - could have hijacked it in some way, as the Book of Breathings being made from leftover iron gave me “One Ring” vibes. I still stand by that, but with a clarification (and here is where the TOG and CC spoilers come in, FYI). I think it's only half of the magic belonging to the Cauldron that is "oily":

Throughout TOG, the Valg are heavily associated with “oiliness,” in terms of their blood and magic. The smell “reeks” and always results in the involved characters experiencing extreme revulsion, including headaches. Sound familiar?

Wyrdstone has an oily, hideous aftertaste.

Even in CC 1/HOEAB, Danika was described as oily when she came into Griffin Antiques.

Celaena looked at the sealed door, her stomach turning. A half-dried pool of blood lay at the base of the door, so dark it looked like oil. She crouched, swiping a finger through the puddle. She sniffed at it, almost gagged at the reek, and then rubbed her finger against the pad of her thumb. It felt as oily as it looked. - COM, chapter 45

“What the hell is that?” Rowan demanded, kneeling beside her, sniffing her outstretched hand. He jerked back, snarling. “That’s not dirt.” No, it wasn’t. It was blacker than night, and reeked just as badly as it had the first time she’d smelled it, in the catacombs beneath the library, an obsidian, oily pool of blood. Slightly different from that other, horrific smell that loitered around this place, but similar. So similar to— “This isn’t possible,” she said, jolting to her feet. “This—this—this—” She paced, if only to keep from shaking. “I’m wrong. I have to be wrong.” There had been so many cells in that forgotten dungeon beneath the library, beneath the king’s Wyrdstone clock tower. The creature she’d encountered there had possessed a human heart. It had been left, she’d suspected, because of some defect. What if … what if the perfected ones had been moved elsewhere? What if they were now … ready? - HOF, chapter 45

The overseer roared, thrashing as her magic swept into him, melded with him. But there was nothing inside to grab on to. No darkness to burn out, no remaining ember to breathe life into. Only— Aelin reeled back, magic vanishing and knees buckling as if struck. Her head gave a throb, and nausea roiled in her gut. She knew that feeling—that taste. Iron. As if the man’s core was made of it. And that oily, hideous aftertaste … Wyrdstone. The demon inside the overseer let out a choked laugh. “What are collars and rings compared to a solid heart? A heart of iron and Wyrdstone, to replace the coward’s heart beating within.” - EOS, chapter 15

* Side note, it's giving Tamlin and his stone heart.

Danika didn’t just look like she’d been rootling through the garbage. She smelled like it, too. Wisps of her silvery blond hair—normally a straight, silken sheet—curled from her tight, long braid, the streaks of amethyst, sapphire, and rose splattered with some dark, oily substance that reeked of metal and ammonia. - CC HOEAB, chapter 1

The Hind held Ruhn’s gaze as the game began. She was the spitting image of Luna, with her upswept chignon, the regal angle of her neck and jaw. As coldly serene as the moon. All she needed was a pack of hunting hounds at her side— And she had them, in her dreadwolves. How had someone so young risen in the ranks so swiftly, gained such notoriety and power? No wonder she left a trail of blood behind her. “Careful now,” the Harpy said with that oily smile. “The Hammer doesn’t share.” The Hind’s lips curved upward. “No, he doesn’t.” - CC HOSAB, chapter 33

I think the dark maker of the Cauldron could have been Valg, whether that's Koschei or someone else I don't know though Koschei currently makes the most sense. I also don't know when the dark maker would have had the chance to influence the Cauldron; was it always made from dark and light, or - as @fawnandshadows theorised a while back - did Koschei bastardise it after the fact? Where the Valg would fit in with the Daglan and the Asteri is also a mystery, though my current train of thought is that they could be family names or allegiances, like different clans of the same parasitical species, thanks to the description of Danika in HOEAB.

But, back to Azriel and his severe reaction to the Elucien bond.

I know I'm not the only one who wonders at the very Valg-ish themes with which Rhys and Azriel's powers have been described - maybe one day I'll post my thoughts about the possible link between lightsingers, shadowsingers, daemati and the Valg (but it is not this day lol) - and how that may have come about. For example, are the Valg interwoven, genetically, with the Avallen people, or is it because the Princes of Hel are also involved, and have similar magics? Are the Princes of Hel a similar species as the Valg, Asteri and Daglan, or completely different? Ugh, let's stop this spiral here.

Oily: the obvious train of thought being that oily things are slippery, which can lead to an imbalance… ie. becoming off-kilter.

Sounds like Azriel could be suffering from some sort of vertigo, of which symptoms can include nausea; severe headaches, such as migraines, may trigger an episode… and who rubs his temples enough that Elain noticed it?

Maybe Azriel can sense the corruption in the bond, either the current Elucien bond, or the hypothetical original bond between Elain and himself; if like calls to like, and his shadows are Valg-ish, maybe it is because his OG bond was fucked with. So, what if:

Azriel's shadows can slip away from spells and binding magic (Slippery > oily > Valg).

The guards at the prison know what he is.

Valg magic making Azriel nauseous and Elain sourcing/making a healer's powder for him? It's giving Chaol and Yrene. Especially since Elain (and Mor) make his shadows brighten.

So, we have in-text mentions of Azriel feeling overwhelmed due to the proximity of the Elucien bond, as well as Elain shrinking from Lucien - an action that parallels Azriel hanging out in the doorway, and even Lucien retreating to the human lands, if he feels any bond-related discomfort around Elain. But what about his initial response to seeing Elain, and thinking she was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen? The quote that sent me down the “oily” rabbit hole to begin with?

Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate. - ACOWAR, chapter 24

Well, Aelin felt oily disgust at the thought of marrying someone who wasn't Rowan:

“There are no allies,” Darrow said. “Unless Her Highness decides to be useful and gain us men and arms through marriage”—a sharp glance at Rowan—“we are alone.” Aelin debated revealing what she knew, the money she’d schemed and killed to attain, but— Something cold and oily clanged through her. Marriage to a foreign king or prince or emperor. Would this be the cost? Not just in blood shed, but in dreams yielded? To be a princess eternal, but never a queen? To fight with not just magic, but the other power in her blood: royalty. She could not look at Rowan, could not face those pine-green eyes without being sick. - EOS, chapter 5

This example from Aelin could describe Azriel and Elain’s potential future if Elain accepted a theoretically Cauldron spelled bond to Lucien, but also for Lucien and Jesminda, if they were originally true or fated mates before she was murdered.

Some final thoughts:

We know from TOG that healing light is known as the Valg executioner. In a parallel to Yrene killing Erawan with her healing light in KOA, Elain killed the King of Hybern - who I suspect was possessed or assisted by a Valg, as Feyre described his magic as a “galaxy” in his palms - with Truth-Teller, which had recently devoured the (her?) sunlight; does this mean that Elain could heal or purify Valg possessed things, with or without the magical, Made dagger? Could this be extrapolated to Azriel's magic, the Dread Trove, or even the Cauldron (possibly with Feyre and Nesta for the bigger ticket items)?

If the Asteri are the same species as the Valg, and the Valg somehow had a hand in making or twisting the Cauldron, it could follow that they used the Cauldron to create offspring bonds for a more powerful food source. If this pans out then Elain, bright light, could hypothetically heal the Cauldron. Maybe that is why Azriel describes her with purity language? Not because SJM wants to display Azriel's apparently toxic thoughts about her (🙄), but because she, along with her sisters, will be his/their salvation? Rhys once said as much to Feyre!

@mrspettyferr has suggested that Azriel's shadows ability to hide him from binding magic - see: the High Lord's meeting in ACOWAR - could have prevented his true bond from snapping with Elain when she came out of the Cauldron. This could be supported by any Valg/shadow link.

Thank you for reading! Please don't mention any CC HOFAS spoilers in the comments or reblogs until after it has been officially published. 💜

[sjmnextgenweek]

Hello all! This is @starfall-spirit hosting my first event, SJM Next Gen Week 2023! Go ahead and get cracking on your fanfics, artwork, mood boards, or whatever else you’d like, because from March 6th-12th we celebrate the children of all your favorite ships from Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City.

Rules:

Children of any and all SJM ships, canon or crack are welcome here.

If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Attacks on other authors/artists/contributors will not be tolerated here.

Lastly, have fun and write/read/draw for you before anyone else. Don’t forget to use #sjmnextgenweek2023 and tag @sjmnextgenweek to make sure your works end up on my daily masterlists! Fic writers can also submit to the Next Gen AO3 Collection.

Questions: I’ll answer from this ask box/messenger or from my personal account. Please reach out if I overlook your post. Each and every submission is valued here!

Prompts:

Day 1-Family Time

Maybe it’s their training, maybe it’s an annual holiday. How does your next gen character interact with their parents, siblings, cousins, and close friends?

Day 2-Pick an AU

Are they a modern day university student? Are they the hero of a fairytale? The answer is up to you.

Day 3-Crossover

How would your next gen character meet a person or group from another SJM world?

Day 4-Young Love

How would your next gen character meet his or her mate or love interest?

Day 5-Pick a Trope

Platonic, romantic, enemies, or whatever else, show your character facing our favorite fictional plights.

Day 6-Rising to Power

Be they an heir taking the crown or a child learning to control the family gift, show your character finding their way to who they’re meant to be.

Day 7-Free Day

Go wild, friends!

[darklove9314-blog]

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Hunt Athalar/Bryce Quinlan, Lidia Cervos/Ruhn Danaan, Baxian Argos/Danika Fendyr, Celestina/Hypaxia Enador, Declan Emmet/Marc Rosarin, Ithan Holstrom/Unnamed Wolf Mystic, Ariadne/Tristan Flynn, Juniper Andromeda/Fury Axtar, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Elain Archeron/Azriel, Azriel/Gwyneth Berdara, Elain Archeron/Lucien Vanserra, Amren/Varian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Emerie/Morrigan (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Lucien Vanserra/Vassa, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn, Manon Blackbeak/Dorian Havilliard, Yrene Towers Westfall/Chaol Westfall, Elide Lochan/Lorcan Salvaterre, Aedion Ashryver/Lysandra, Nesryn Faliq/Sartaq Characters: Bryce Quinlan, Hunt Athalar, Baxian Argos, Hypaxia Enador, Lidia Cervos, Ruhn Danaan, Tharion Ketos, Cassian, Elain Archeron, Emerie (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Gwyneth Berdara, Lucien Vanserra, Morrigan, Nesta Archeron, Nyx Archeron, Rhysand, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien, Rowan Whitethorn, Dorian Havilliard, Manon Blackbeak, Chaol Westfall, Elide Lochan, Aedion Ashryver, Lorcan Salvaterre, Sartaq (Throne of Glass), Nesryn Faliq, Declan Emmet, Ithan Holstrom, Tristan Flynn, Celestina (Crescent City Series), The Autumn King (Crescent City Series), Rigelus (Crescent City Series), Aidas (Crescent City Series), Apollion (Crescent City Series), Sabine Fendyr, Ariadne (Crescent City Series), Ember Quinlan, Jesiba Roga, Juniper Andromeda, Fury Axtar, Pollux Antonius, Danika Fendyr, Connor Holstrom, Cormac Donnall Additional Tags: Crossover, Fantasy, Romance, Angst Summary:

Since it'll be a while until we get HOFAS, I thought it would be fun to write a fic of how I think the story will turn out. (Major Spoilers for House of Sky and Breath if you have not read it yet. Proceed with caution!!)

[acourtofthought]

I'm thinking SJM made the Trove in the likeness of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings. The ring was also sentient in a way, doing it's best to be "found" by those who might help it along it's journey and calling to those who it felt could lead it back "home" to Sauron.

“Made objects tend to not wish to be found by just anyone,” Amren cautioned. “That they have faded from memory, that even I didn’t think of them immediately in the fight against Hybern, suggests that perhaps they willed it that way. Wanted to stay hidden. True things of power have such gifts.” “You say that as if the objects have a sentience,” Cassian said. “They do,” Amren said, storms drifting across her eyes. / Made objects back then tended to gain their own self-awareness and desires. It was not a good thing.”

The Dead Trove seems to have purposely stayed hidden all these years, waiting until the right time......

“Or perhaps the Dread Trove wants us to know of it now, for some dark reason of its own.”

When Nesta first wears the Mask, it's as if it knows it's on its journey to where it wants to be:

Her blood was a cold song, the Mask a slithering echo to it, whispering of all she might do. Home, it seemed to sigh. Home.

SJM spoke of the consequences that would result from Nesta changing Feyre's anatomy and I think those consequences are not because of the physical alterations made to their anatomy but because she wielded all three items at the same time:

Koschei may very well know something about the Trove that we don’t—some greater power that manifests when all three are united.”

I think the three items worn together sent a signal into the world, possibly to the horn which led to Bryce landing in Velaris. And that event will alert the "original" masters of Prythian to it's location (the Asteri have long since forgotten where the ACOTAR world is). Remember, it's as if the items wanted to be found for a dark purpose of their own, perhaps to return to:

“They were Made in a time when wild magic still roamed the earth, and the Fae were not masters of all. / They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.”

As the ring was eventually destroyed, I imagine the Dread Trove will be too.

But first, in a crossover battle I think Nesta will call armies of the dead to her (just as Aragorn did), in their world and others:

Thousands and thousands of bodies. But she would not call thousands. Not yet.

"Open any door, and you could move that army of the dead wherever you wished"

Emerging from her cocoon of grief and rage, this new Nesta might very well send entire courts to their knees. Kingdoms. (I think this line is hinting that the dead across kingdoms will kneel for Nesta, awaiting her command).

And as that golden light broke the surface before them, the dead knelt.

"you could make any enemy territory and its people bow to you.”

I don't think the Dusk Court will ever become an actual Court so much as being a portal between their worlds and a way for the characters to come to the aid of one another in a final showdown. The whole "sword and dagger being reunited and so too shall our people" prophecy could simply mean the ancestors of all the original major players from different worlds coming together for one last battle (not to live) in order to defeat the Asteri for good and a place where Nesta can raise the dead who were once trapped within the stone.

I keep trying to figure out how Helion and Lucien will be tied into everything. Since Helion had a reaction to the Mask, that means Lucien would be connected to it as well.

I wonder if Lucien will play a role in destroying it in the end?

The reason a hobbit was most suited to the task of destroying the ring was because they were less likely to fall victim to the greed that plagued men however even Frodo struggled to do what needed done when the time came.

Especially if she were to march into battle wearing the Mask. No enemy could stand against her. She’d slay Beron’s soldiers, then raise them from the dead and turn them on him.” Cassian’s blood chilled. Yes, Nesta would be unstoppable. But at what cost to her soul?

Wielding items of power usually come at a cost and it's possible that by doing what needs done to save others, the Mask will latch on and make it difficult for Nesta to destroy it. I think SJM has written Lucien's character to not fall victim to temptation (just as Aragorn did not fall to temptation by taking the ring from Frodo) and I could see him freeing her of its burden (I actually love the idea of Lucien and Nesta having a moment like that 😍).

[mystical-blaise]

Me today

Can't stop, won't stop

All I wanna do in this fandom is theorize and create fun things, dammit!