#acotar speculations

[maybeiwasjustjade]

My favorite running theory on Nesta’s endgame (plot-wise, not romantically; though if you asked me, she’ll forever deserve better than the bat dog) is that when she went into the Cauldron, she unwittingly came out as the High Lady of Dusk aka Theia’s true heir. Nesta’s stolen power made her immensely powerful, even more so than a High Lord. With it gone, and the Mother’s interference, I think whatever’s left is just the Dusk Lady’s magic.

Something I’ve seen often brought up is Nesta’s magic manifesting as cold silver flames. Which, anyone who has read ToG knows is very similar to Aelin’s description of Deanna’s moonfire. Coupled with Bryce’s own starborn powers manifesting as white/silver light, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Nesta’s magic is Dusk’s trueform.

“The age of the starborn is over on Midgard.” That’s what Bryce told Nesta when she handed over Gwydion to Nesta, and told her to figure out what her tattoo meant. Between the eight-pointed star tattoo and her connection to the Prison Island…all of it points towards the still-missing Dusk Court. And we know that Theia’s bloodline favored the females instead of the males (which is why I heavily doubt that Rhysand is the heir to dusk as many (IC stans) believe).

Then there’s also the theory that Nesta actually is a witch from her nameless mother’s bloodline. In ToG, the witches were a matrilineal kingdom so it actually fits alongside the theory about Dusk. And since it’s mostly been accepted that ToG existed long before Prythian, my theory is that the Prythian witches descended from the Crochan-Ironteeth some thousand years ago. But that may just be wishful thinking lmao.

My favorite theory though? That based on the location of each court on the map, and dusk coming before night in the solar cycle, so chances are Dusk and Night’s actual locations reflect Summer and Autumn aka split down the middle. The Prison Island sits on the western edge of Night. I don’t believe that Dusk was just that tiny island—if it was, they wouldn’t have made it a point to mention that Rhysand may be descended from Theia. No, I think Dusk was integrated into Night territory, and the island turned into a prison.

But if the location is right, and Dusk holds the entire western bank? Then it includes Velaris, too. The look on the Inner Circle’s faces (sans Azriel I think, who’s probably also Dusk-born) when they find out that Velaris by rights now belong to Nesta (as HL) would be absolutely hilarious. Rhysand might actually die from an aneurysm. Do I think she’ll take it from him? Probably not, but she sure as hell gonna be goddamn petty about it.

[elidelochans]

Yall are delusional if you think Nesta is going to leave Cassian or the night court. First, they are mated. Not just mates. Mated. They accepted the bond, and SJM loves her Heas. It's a done deal. So either keep reading and deal with it or drop the series and find something you enjoy. Not to mention if they even could break the bond, how empty and broken Nesta would be for eternity. You really want that for her?

HOFAS happened three months after acosf. There's still alot of healing on Nesta’s part. Just because she saved Rhys, Feyre, and Nyx doesn't mean things are swept under the rug with them. Her and Cassian are both fiery and stubborn. They are going to have arguments. Honestly, it's perfectly normal for them to argue on occasion.

This. What Nesta did in HOFAS. Went beyond her and Cassian, beyond Rhys. This was a decision that Nesta should not have made herself. Yes I understand that she saw Bryce's desperation and understood her. She probably put herself in Bryces shoes for a moment. She took a chance. But it's a huge fucken chance because they don't know nor trust Bryce fully. And if she failed the whole of Prythian/Midgard is fucked. They have nothing to defend themselves against the weaponry Rigelus has. They will all die. Including Nesta Archeron.

Rhys had every right to scold her. And Her saying he's not her High Lord isn't accurate. She lives in his lands. Whether she wants to admit it or not. If any of the courts got wind of what was happening with Bryce or that Nesta gave this mask up to a stranger from another world do you know who would be faulted? Not Nesta. Rhys and Feyre would. They would suffer the consequences because Nesta falls under their lands. Their rule.

And now Cassian, who apparently had never defended Nesta once. Again. Nesta was In. The. Wrong. Her actions were beneficial and understandable but wrong. Cassian being upset and disappointed in her would absolutely make sense. Think of times in TOG, when Rowan wasn't happy with Aelin. He stood there silent until they were alone. That's more than likely what happened. Cassian didn't say his piece until everyone left. It's an argument between Nesta and Cassian and no one else.

That argument. The one that happened off page yet everyone wants to fucking crucify Cassian over cause you think you know what he said. When in reality you don't. Is wild. Three months ago, when she was with Emerie and Gwyn, they were taken and placed in the Blood Rite where he was helpless in going to her. He lost her briefly in the bog, watched her put her life at risk. How many times in acosf? He went a year or so watching Nesta absolutely ruin herself, had her lay over his body in front of Hybern, almost losing her, them, then too. Now, someone, a stranger and someone potentially dangerous, opened a portal in his living room where his mate was. And he wasn't there. All that trauma and ptsd he keeps on lock was blown wide open.

So now Cassian is a storm of emotions when he arrives home. Probably arrived mid argument between Nesta and Rhys, and the entire flight was given brief details of what's happening fueling his emotions. His fear, trauma, concern, disappointment, and anger. When Rhys leaves, Cassian and Nesta got into it. Sure he was pissed about the mask anyone would be. I would be. I personally think it goes on beyond that. Far beyond it. Nesta’s life, once again, was put a risk and no one knew what Bryce wanted. Cassian’s worst fear when the portal was open, was Bryce taking Nesta and never seeing her again. All that came out in their fight.

As readers, we know Bryce's intentions are good. They as characters who haven't been given the best view of Bryce dont believe it. Yes, I do think there needs to be more trust in Nesta. Especially where Rhys is considered. Cassian, as her mate, blowing things out of proportion is logical cause all mates have done it at some point. But yeah he needs to trust her a bit more too. He trusts her more than Rhys does that's for sure.

To play devil's advocate, I could be wrong on Cassian and Nesta and their fight. Absolutely. Im not Sarah. But neither are you who are wishing he dies, and Nesta leaves him over a risk that was never hers to make alone when it involves the whole world of Midgard.

If you read this entire thing and disagree. That's cool. The unfollow and block buttons are right there.

[nicolemabes]

Just sitting here realizing that Elain already changed fate when she killed the King of Hybern and stopped Cassian from dying (allegedly)

I wonder what else she would seek to change…

[gwandas]

Alright, time to elaborate on that other post. Elain by far has had the most free will, the most agency out of the three sisters. Elain stans love to say Nesta coddles her when the reality is Nesta consistently relents to what Elain chooses for herself.

In ACOMAF, Nesta doesn't agree at first to Feyre's request to use their house because she doesn't want to compromise Elain's engagement. Elain is the one to push back, and Nesta relents immediately. What Nesta thinks is best doesn't take precedence over Elain's wants.

We know that Nesta doesn't approve of Greyson. She agrees with Cassian that Elain deserves better, but what Nesta thinks is best doesn't take precedence over Elain's wants.

In ACOWAR, Elain is catatonic. If anything, she should be coddled here. Her and Elain were stuck with these strangers for months. Strangers who were also the people who got them into that mess in the first place. Finally, Feyre shows up to help Nesta figure out how to help their sister. Madja is brought in, who recommends Lucien try to figure it out since they're mates. Nesta pushes back in what might arguably be coddling to keep Lucien from Elain. Feyre tells her to shut the fuck up and let Lucien try. And what do you know? She relents again -- What Nesta thinks is best is ignored because Nesta doesn't have any power in this situation.

In ACOFAS, Nesta has pushed Elain away at this point. She tells her “You have your life, I have mine." That's more or less Nesta saying do whatever tf you want Elain it's not my business. Not coddling!

In ACOSF, ohhh the infamous scene when Elain finally develops a personality starts coming out of her shell. Please try to remember at this point, Nesta has been locked in a house and barely sees Elain. The IC doesn't give a fuck about what Nesta wants for this whole book—Why would they choose now to listen to her? Literally everyone except Azriel agrees that Elain should be able to scry if she wants to. It would literally be easier for the IC to let Elain do it over waiting for Nesta who didn't want to do it.

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

Elain says all this and then... goes back to "tend to her little garden." It's a toothless moment. Elain stans would rather blame Nesta for coddling her than consider that maybe Elain just didn't try very hard to take on some responsibility for her sister who was supposed to be in "rehab." It sounds fucking stupid in the context that Elain hasn't seen Nesta at all between ACOFAS and ACOSF -- Nesta physically isn't around to coddle her. Elain doesn't contribute because she chooses not to or because the IC simply doesn't ask her to. We don't have any context for what she's been up to aside from some vague comments about lying about gardening or whatever Cassian said.

Amren admits that they're using Elain to manipulate Nesta. There was zero practical reason for them to do this other than because they care more about Elain's safety than Nesta's safety. The IC are the ones who have the power to "hold Elain back," not her sister who is locked in a house and never sees her—The IC could easily say fuck you to Nesta and have Elain do it. They didn't even need to bring Nesta into this conversation!! They could've gone to Elain first!!

Some Elain stans want so badly for Nesta to be the thing holding Elain back and it's very transparent to me. I have seen people go so far as to blame Nesta for Elain's uselessness in the cabin and that Nesta abused her too—sorry, what? I mean nice try, but Elain already admitted to being just as neglectful, and not even because she was genuinely remoseful towards Feyre—She said that shit to defend Nesta from Cassian.

I'm not even saying Elain isn't coddled but Nesta sure as fuck isn't the one doing it. Nesta doesn't even have her own free will how the fuck is she supposed to take away someone else's? Nesta choosing to do things so Elain doesn't have to isn't coddling. It's well established that if Nesta couldn't successfully scry, they would've gone to Elain, which means Nesta never had the power to stop Elain from scrying. Nesta has never tried to take away Elain's free will and even if she wanted to, she has no power to do that.

[tilseptemberends]

The best thing about writing stories set in the Summer Court is that the characterization of everyone there is so bare bones that I can make shit up and no one can disprove it. Quick fire headcannons:

Varian steals Tarquin’s dessert regularly.

Cresseida like to read at the dinner table.

Tarquin knows each of the kitchen staff by name. Especially those not originally from the Summer Court because he wants them to feel welcome.

All three of them were partying menaces before Under the Mountain and it drove Nostrus a little crazy.

Cresseida had so much of a specific citrus liquor when she was young that she can't hear the name of it without risking losing her lunch.

Varian broke his arm once when he and Tarquin decided to jump between ships in the harbor while absolutely toasted on faerie wine. Tarquin dove in to help and somehow nearly drowned in the process

Tarquin has a tattoo over his heart that he has no recollection of getting but anytime his cousins see it at the beach they cannot stop laughing.

I'm wrong? Where? Do you have a passage in the book that disproves these? All we got for any of them is "Tarquin is progressive and kind" "Varian is into Amren" and "Cresseida is lonely so let Rhys flirt with her"

[huntquinlan]

had an epiphany the other night falling asleep, this js about eris. sjm named him after the greek goddess of discord and strife. the one who’s infamous uninvited appearance at the wedding of achilles’ parents led to the trojan war. it was the apple she left, inscribed with “to the fairest” that led to aphrodite promising paris, a trojan prince, the hand of helen, if he selected her to be the recipient of the apple.

dissection of this and speculation under the cut:

the three goddesses who fight over this title/apple are as follows:

- hera, the queen of the gods/the heavens

- athena, goddess of war strategy/wisdom

- aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty

to correspond three acotar characters to these three goddesses, we already have three sisters:

- hera = feyre (high lady of a celestial court)

- athena = nesta (valkyrie warrior, cunning, strategist, gray/silver/blue eyes)

- aphrodite = elain (floral imagery, beauty, famously has two men interested in her, lucien and azriel, not unlike how hephaestus and ares sought aphrodite)

do i honestly believe eris is going to show up with a golden apple and somehow cause the sisters so squabble over who the prettiest is? no.

BUT i wouldn’t be surprised if eris came to nesta and cassian’s mating ceremony, the uninvited guest. with a proposition for aid from the sisters in his quest to overthrow his father. and i think it’s possible that elain, fed up with being coddled and sidelined (and jealous of her sister’s having found happiness in their mating bonds) may take him up on whatever he offers

what do you all think?

[infiniteetcetera]

THE FOUR PATHS I SEE THE ACOTAR UNIVERSE TAKING NEXT:

(not in order of likelihood)

OPTION 1) Next book Elriel

This book could include any combination of Elain, Elain and Az, or Elain, Az, and Lucien’s POV. The big idea here in terms of romance is just that Elain breaks her bond with Lucien and winds up with Azriel. I see this book being a lot like ACOSF in that it’s very heavily focused on character/romance over plot. We’d get a lot of in depth knowledge on Elain and Azriel’s background, definitely some secret/hidden romance, and an eventual stark break from the Night Court that will fuel a lot of the plot. I.E the inner circle falling apart/being divided meanwhile a whole lot of mess happening with the continent and the Autumn court. I’d love this book to be a reckoning for Rhys about how he runs things and treats his “family,” and an eye opener for the Archerons on their mates. I think we’d maybe see some bigger/destiny stuff with Az/Elain and the dusk court and I think there’s a decent chance something happens to Nesta here (kidnapping, power loss, etc) that forces Elain to step up. Honestly, don’t expect a lot of big plot moves here, maybe just a cliff hanger/chaotic ending.

Next book: We’ve been promised a novella and I feel like in this scenario it will definitely be Mor centered. HOWEVER, I honestly don’t think it’ll be a Mor/Emerie centered thing (not just bc I don’t like them and think Emerie deserves better❤️) . I see the two options for this as a Mor on the continent centered thing (maybe she has a LI there?) or a past centered novella of Mor and the human queen during the war (SJM has said she has an idea for a past centered ACOTAR book and I think this idea is the one with the most promise). Either of these options could still end with some hints of Mor/Emerie but I think it’ll mostly be focused on Mor’s character and her development with her family and accepting her own sexuality. Probably a decent chance she has already “come out” by then in Az’s book but no guarantee. Ultimately, just not very plot centered, more a TOD style thing for her.

Last book: A large multi-POV KOA style story with all the sisters, the bat boys, Lucien, Mor, and potentially Tamlin/Eris/Gwyn/Emerie POVs. If Mor/Emerie and Lucien/Vassa get together I see it happening here. I think (hope) this book ends with a lot of drama and some actually impactful character deaths. My best guesses would be Amren, Helion, Tamlin, etc my dream picks would be Cassian or Mor (mostly for the drama but also no i’m not fond of them). Ultimately this book would be a very standard big SJM finish with war, battle, romance, drama, etc. Big focus on the sisters, definitely one of Feysand/Nessian having A LOT of issues and maybe/almost ending, a lot of Autumn court stuff finally, just a general big scope thing. Because she’s alluded a lot to it, I could also definitely see this book or its ending opening up for a big crossover series.

OPTION 2) Next book Elucien

Same as above, I see this book being any combination POV of just Elain, Elain/Lucien, or Elain, Lucien, and Az. If we do also get an Azriel POV I could see us getting crumbs of him and his LI (Gwyn) but not them getting together. This book will definitely serve some form of forced proximity. My ideal vibe for Elucien is more of a friends to lovers sort of thing bc it’s something we really haven’t seen in this series but I could see SJM milking the enemies to lovers thing again with them. I still see this book being very character/romance driven more than plot but I could see a lot of the plot centering around the autumn court and their role in this whole Koeshi mess. I think we’d get to see more of Eris (my love) and Lucien’s family drama and I think Elain would really have to reckon with her place in the NC. I could see her having a big confrontation with her sisters and the Azriel drama still coming into play in a “why is my brother in law literally controlling my life” way. I feel like in this route there is a STRONG non zero chance we see Nesta leave Cassian in this book, or at least the beginnings of it. SJM has said there will be a broken mating bond storyline and if it’s not Elucien I feel like Nessian is a strong contender. I can see Nesta/Elain really starting to mend their relationship in this book and Elains eventual choice to be with Lucien bc he’s Lucien and not bc he’s her mate resonating with Nesta and getting the ball rolling. I also feel like the Vassa storyline gets addressed here with her really rooting for Elucien and Elain saving the day (Id love for them to be friends) but again a big plot twist ending/cliff hanger situation.

Next Book: Very similar to above. I still see this having a Mor center, the only difference is I could see this having more of an Azriel focus too. I.E. if this is set in the past maybe an earlier Az realizing Mor is for the girls and some exploration of the Az/Rhys sister fan theory people love so much. If it’s in the present, I think we’ll see the after math of a potential Elain and Nesta leaving the NC through Mor & Az’s eyes and get some hints of Gwynriel along with Emorie. I’d love to see Az and Mor also leave the NC with the Valkyries in this case and also just generally mend their friendship.

Last Book: Again VERY similar to above. Big Multi-POV Avengers Infinity War type hoorah. I think the biggest differences I could see here with an Elucien endgame are Elain and Lucien probably separated (physically not emotionally, think Rowaelin) in this book, Nesta and Cassian break up (and the Neris romance we deserve, maybe a Nesta/Eris/Lucien looking for Elain sort of thing), a Gwynriel getting together arc here, and a big “what TF do we do with our court now” reckoning for Feyre and Rhys. I still feel there’s a likelihood for the same people to die in this one but I think there’s a stronger chance we loose Cassian or maybe even Rhys with this route. Same general idea for the ending though, Prythian is “saved” but something happens that sparks the crossover series. Everyone in the IC winds up in different courts but for the most part they’d be okay.

OPTION 3) The Boring route

I’m honestly totally fine with both options I listed above if they follow some of the general patterns I laid out, but I do think there is a very stereotypical boring route SJM could take here. I.E:

• The next book is very love triangle heavy, whoever Elain winds up with feels like it barely matters because she’s split so much time with both of them, she/her partner wind up still very rooted in the NC if not straight up staying there.

Next Book:

•Love triangle part two situation. Whoever Elain doesn’t wind up with gets a novella centered on them. Their LI (Gwyn or Vassa) will get a POV but so will some third party (Mor if it’s Az’s book or Eris/Jurian if it’s Lucien’s). This would be a very TOD style novella and probably better than the last one but generally not plot heavy or world view shifting. Again, I think everyone winds up on the same “side” here. I feel like this book would be the most interesting one with this route (I would LOVE a Lucien centered book or a Gwyn/Az novella) but it would keep the general plot very minimally changed in terms of characters and alliances.

Last Book:

•Same multi POV idea except probably scaled back more, i.e. just the sisters or maybe just the sisters and the bat boys. Probably very stereotypical big happy family moves, death more in the realm of a Helion or like Amren than anything. Sort of “big happy family” ending. I could see Eris dying in this too, ultimately the focus would be very NC/IC heavy, even if Lucien is factored in or Gwyn, they would just be “absorbed” by the group. This “boring route” so to speak would be the most likely where a High King story is explored and it would definitely be a Rhys/Feyre or Nyx getting it situation. Maybe Lucien (the only one who deserves it) but even then it might feel like he’s a NC plant and I think it’s more likely if he doesn’t wind up with Elain.

OPTION 4) Something chaotic

This is the least likely option but honestly the one I’d be most intrigued by. The path going forward for ACOTAR seems pretty straight forward (as you can tell from above) and that’s because of the way SJM’s writing (recent ACOTAR Books, CC books) has been lately. BUT I would love if she could bring back some of that TOG energy and do something big, exciting, shocking with the rest of the series. What this would mean to me is:

•New central characters. Either straight up new POVs Manon Blackbeak style OR giving side characters like Eris, Tarquin, Jurian, Balthazar, Vassa, ETC a big spot light. I’d also love to see a new character being someone for the CON, the continent, or Illyria. I think they could make an awesome new perspective and an interesting LI for Elain, Lucien, Mor, or Az.

•Big shifts away from the NC. I’m talking entire books set in other courts or on the continent. A lot of external views on our current MCs in a way that they have to reckon with themselves and learn from their past and mistakes.

•An unexpected romance in the next book. I think by now it’s clear no combination of Elain/Az, Elain/Lucien, or Gwyn/Az are unexpected. The fact there are dozens of paragraph long posts for each of these ships explaining their likelihood says enough. I think to go an unexpected route for the rest of this series SJM would have to start with the next book, and to me that means the couple would have to be unexpected. Some options I can see are: Az/Eris, Elain/Tamlin, Az/Nesta, Gwyn/Tarquin, Lucien/Gwyn (im sorry this would be SUCH a funny fake out) or New character/Az,Elain,Lucien. I think there’s still room for one of the options from our core love square to happen here but I think one if not both of the other characters should wind up with someone unexpected then (or my dream route, Elain gets a why choose with Lucien/Az but SJM is not so bold)

•A BIG betrayal. I feel pretty confident the “betrayal” SJM keeps alluding to is probably just Amren or a betrayal that isn’t actually a betrayal but someone standing on business (i.e Elain and Az leaving to be together or something) BUT i think a bigger plot twist like Rhys or Mor being EVIL evil or someone like Azriel or Nesta genuinely swapping sides completely (probably to work with the Autumn court) or even someone turning dark could be so fun and unexpected.

ULTIMATELY I know these are all just ramblings and not super specific but I feel like however the next ACOTAR book goes it will be very telling of where the universe is headed. I do feel confident on some things like:

•Next book is Elains

•We will not end the series with both Elucien & Nessian together

•Last book will be multi-POV

•The novella book will be “skippable” (i.e. not super plot focused) but interesting

•Gwyn/Az will not get their own book (I actually love them but I just don’t think it fits into the amount of books left. also a SUPER bad look if everyone in the IC gets their own book except the one LGBT character). If they wind up together it will definitely be in some sort of joint book situation (which isn’t a bad thing, I’d love a Valkyrie centered book)

•Beron is dying. I think there is a 50/50 though of whether Eris takes over or Lucien (I’d love to see that explored and just generally for their brotherly bond to mend)

•Amren is either evil or dying

Everything else is pretty up in the air. I genuinely feel like SJM had no/very loose plans for this next book and still did not know who would wind up together when she finished ACOSF. The fact that everything has been kept so under wraps does not inspire confidence in me, but I’d really just like to see her acknowledging some of the problems with the IC and the treatment of others in this book. Even the small but significant acknowledgment of Rhys and Cassians shady behavior in CC3 gives me hope. I’d just love for Elains romance (whoever it is with) to not feel so stifling and toxic like what we’ve seen recently and I do think Lucien and Azriel are both fine contenders for that as long as SJM doesn’t do anything shady❤️

[bluecornfrito]

Tamlin Defense post #2 (continuation of ^)

acotar/acomaf/acowar spoilers

Alright okay. A Court of Mist and Fury starts and I have no idea what to expect. I already have a hunch that Rhysand is going to be a bigger character regarding the bargain and such but I had no idea how it was going to play out. And then That Scene happens and my heart is BROKEN, for both Feyre and Tamlin. (At that moment, Feyra more so for obvious reasons). But I’m here to talk about what predated that and What The Fuck Happened.

Okay so. Man where do I even start. They go back to the Spring Court and suddenly Tamlin has the task of rebuilding, of visiting towns and helping his citizens. He’s suddenly a very busy man and so he and Feyra don’t get time together. All they have time for is to Fuck and that’s it. That’s all they do, other than argue. It’s unhealthy.

What’s also unhealthy, is the fact that neither of them even think to talk to the other about their trauma and anxieties and inner demons. It was stated that they both had Nightmares and they knew the other did too, but they never talked about it, never consoled or confided in each other. Their trauma going untouched was a big motivator for what happens. We already knew what was going in Feyre head so I’m not here to talk about her.

Again, We Don’t Know what’s going through Tamlin, what he’s thinking, what his fears are. But I can guess from major context clues, and from how Feyre describes him. He’s a Protector. He had to sit and watch as Feyre got tortured and hurt and taken advantage of, and he could do Nothing about it (he had probably told himself that. There was no hope, that’s what he thought). But then she won! She gave her all and suddenly a fragile, illiterate human girl saved the entirety of Prythian. That’s a big deal! But all Tamlin can think is that He Couldn’t Protect Her. She didn’t have to go through that, she could’ve stayed home and stayed out of it all, but she came back, For Him. She came back and was the one to save Him, not the other way around.

In Tamlins attempts to protect her, he was unknowingly doing the thing that was pushing her away. Would he have kept doing it? If he knew the true deep affects it had on her? I don’t think so. I think he thought he was protecting her, in a way he couldn’t before. Because even before UTM, his power was drained and he had to fight off monsters everyday just to keep her safe. So, he kept her in his home, somewhere where he could always know where she was. She was there, and she was Safe.

Then the wedding happens. There’s no doubt in my mind that he didn’t see her hesitation, her fear. Would he have called it off? Just to see her happy? But, then Rhysand shows up. Three months of the bargain going untouched, he’s doing it now? What was his gain? Why here, at their Wedding? Then Tamlin had to watch her go. All his attempts, at protecting her, keeping her safe, snapped in an instant by Enemy Number One (atm) and now he didn’t know where she was. What Rhysand, who was Evil in his head, was doing to her. He didn’t know. That protector side of him is crushed and wounded.

He snaps, he breaks, he’s lashing out. He’s having a trauma response. He can’t go to the Night Court, it could set off a dispute and he didn’t want that. He can’t talk to her, know if she’s safe. At least UTM, he could See her. Now she was on the opposite end of Prythian and he couldn’t protect her again.

Oh man.

Then she comes back, seemingly unscathed. But he knew where she just was, Who she was just with. A man who could alter her mind and take it over. I don’t doubt there’s now a small sense of distrust, but it never gets talked about. So he interrogates her, the woman he loves, because he let her get taken by the High Lord of the Night Court. He doesn’t know What Rhysand did. Feyra tells him that she was taught how to read, bullshit, that nothing happened, bullshit, that she didn’t know anything. Bullshit.

This was Rhysand they were talking about. The man who took over Feyres mind right in the middle of his home, the man who made him bow, the man who hurt her and took advantage of her Right In Front Of Him while he was defenseless. He was Amaranthas Whore. He killed Tamlins family and he terrorized Everyone for centuries. There’s no way he didn’t do anything to Feyre. He ups the guards again, and he shelters her. He keeps her safe. He protects her. That’s what he’s doing, he’s protecting the woman he loves.

He keeps her out of danger, keeps her from the eyes of people who would want to hurt her, take her. He tries to keep the knowledge of her potential powers down, fearing the other High Lords reactions to knowing she took some of their powers. He wants her safe, protected. That’s All He Wants.

Then she’s taken again. He couldn’t stop Rhysand again and that was it. He wouldn’t let her leave again, wouldn’t let her get taken by the High Lord of the Night Court again. When she comes back the second time, he makes that promise to himself. He had to protect her, keep her safe, because time after time again, he couldn’t. He wasn’t strong enough to keep her safe.

The scene where Tamlin locks Feyra in the house is horrible and it broke my heart. Tamlin didn’t know half of what Feyra was going through, what’s going through her head and how deep the trauma from UTM goes for her. They never talked about it. She told him she felt as if he was drowning her. But to him, he wasn’t doing that. He was protecting her, all he wanted was her to be safe. He makes an awful horrible decision in a last ditch attempt to keep her safe and because neither of them had an actual conversation about everything; the attempt was the one to drive her away permanently.

This is the part of the book where we break away from Tamlin completely and I want to talk about that. That will tie into how we see him in book three so I’ll make a third and final post about that.

Take away: I fully believe Tamlin thought he was doing all he could to protect her. His only drive was to protect her and keep her safe. He loved her, he didn’t want to hurt her. But due to lack of communication (we wouldn’t have a book series if the Fae knew how to Sit The Fuck Down and talk about their feelings, so) he does it anyways. He never did it on purpose. He didn’t lock her in the house with the intention of breaking her. He didn’t shelter her because he didn’t think she was strong. He knew that she was strong! She caught the suriel, killed the naga, FREED PRYTHIAN! He knows she’s strong but his own fear and trauma blinded him to what he was doing.

I love him your honor and I need him to be happy.

Alright, third and final Tamlin Defense post coming soon.

[cressidagrey]

In completely unrelated news to that waaaay to long story that’s rumbling in my brain...what powers could a theoretical 4th Archeron Sister be given from the cauldron?

My brain has only come up with either some kind of of empathic ability (Like Jasper Hale from Twilight...which is a choice, I guess) or literally being able to make lightning, but I like neither...

[lordofhaterism]

Okay i'm just gonna say it here. We do not know SJM, we are not privy to her personal life, and the liklihood that ACOTAR is Like That because shes secretly being abused by her husband and projecting onto her charecters rather then literally being a consequence of her trying to write deeper themes while having a really limited understanding of them is weird as hell speculation. Do not write mental fanfiction about this womans relationship, PLEASE.

[shipperoffanonships]

Just legit floated into the forefront of my mind

Okay so it was speculated for quite a while no that whilst ToG and ACoTaR are not set in the same universes, there is some connection between the two. In the part where Aelin's spirit was traveling or something (IT'S BEEN SO LONG I CAN'T F*CKING REMEMBER THE SPECIFICS) somewhere long she saw two Fae, right? A pregnant female and a male. Once gain my recollection is foggy asf but wasn't there a line about how some kind of darkness magic kinda softened her fall or something? Fae couple= Feyre and Rhys? Probably?

[bookishfeylin]

Also AGAIN why didn't she do more cultural world building. Its not even like JUST weird and makes the world hollow its also a TOTAL missed opportunity. Further talking abt illyria culture could lead to stuff like them engaging I the fun cultural practises rhysand still does or like having a small illyria ceremony for Nyx or like just generally cute SHIT. Like my own understanding of illyria is like a culture centered around its military and with a strong sense of customs and roles as a result and even that small blurb seems like more thought then was put in here. Also again HYBERN IS A WHOLE SLAVERY BASED COLINIAL POWER RAN BY A POWERFUL MAGE AND HIS INCESTUOUS NIECE AND NEPHEW and it feels BORING TO TALK ABOUT I am SO MAD

Because there's no real, concrete worldbuilding!!!!

Which would be fine if she didn't advertise this as a High fantasy series, but it's practically a paranormal romance at this point (and it honestly has been since ACOMAF) and it should be advertised as such.

[tadpolesonalgae]

Who do you think is the most intelligent?

Out of the girls I think it’s Nesta and Gwyn(Gwyn in the library and in the second book Nestas Calculations) but out of the boys I am kinda torn between Eris and Rhys.

Like all of them are smart people but you know the ones who have broader knowledge, who are more knowledgeable hungry and have a thirst.

Lucien and Emerie would be runners 🏃

-🩰

Oh my gosh, please anyone else chime in on this because I’d be really interested to hear some other answers!!

Warnings: a lot of blabbering on my part 🫢, the majority of this is me assuming things that might not be canon, so 🤷

First of all I think it’s nice to just preface that I believe all of them are smart in their own way: Elain probably has a lot of knowledge about gardening and baking, Cass is probably excellent with emotional intelligence and good at gauging people’s limits for training and such, so they all have their own strengths.

However, if we’re going at it in terms of overall knowledge, encompassing a wide variety of topics as opposed to how well familiarised they are with specifics, I think I agree with you about Rhys and Eris.

Rhys is the one who explicitly mentions he had a thorough education as a child, and it’s also mentioned he has what sounded like a mechanical reconstruction of their solar system in his study—which he built himself??—so immediately that’s something that stands out to me. Not to mention he likely had to learn a heck-ton of politics and history, probably some kind of magic theory, different spells, fighting techniques, maybe languages?, economics, on top of general etiquette, and how to handle social interactions—and master them.

Since Eris likely grew up in a similar situation to Rhys, he probably has a similar arsenal of knowledge over various topics? I think Eris probably wasn’t given as much freedom as Rhys was growing up, so I’m torn between whether that would have helped or hindered his discoveries? Whether it would have quashed his curiosity or only encouraged it as he grew up? He seems more than capable of thinking for himself, so I’m tempted to say that means he went in search of his own answers?

Probably overall I’d be swayed to saying Rhys has more overall knowledge, but that’s influenced mainly by Rhys having been able to see the world through so many different lenses, and that’s beyond just heir to the court and High Lord. He’d grown up in Illyria so would have that slightly rougher experience of growing up, and getting to compare that to the wealth that would wait for him on his father’s side, then he’s played the role of benevolent ruler to Velaris; cruel dictator to the Hewn City; warrior to the Illyrians, and slave to Amarantha.

Obviously we know a lot more about Rhys than we do about Eris which probably heavily impacts this, since we don’t have a full picture, but from the things we have seen I’m inclined to say they have an equal amount of knowledge over academic subjects but Rhys has a wider variety of personal experiences.

For the ladies 💁‍♀️—Amren’s been alive for the longest, but then she also doesn’t remember a chunk of her life before the prison? She seems to be more familiar with old spells and history, as well as having personally lived through that history so she probably has a lot of general knowledge?

Nesta I think has the potential to know a lot since she reads frequently, probably noses at Cass’ war books too, has access to the library and Gwyn, so can get some different recommendations? She also grew up probably with a good education—again with her calculations for how many ships would be needed—so she seems to have a grasp on mathematics and maybe also some wider topics like agriculture to understand how, if the queens were going to ship the humans off the landmass, how much food and clothing would be needed not only to sustain everyone but to set them up to stand on their own?

With Gwyn, while she’s been in the library for a while (I think it’s about two years?), I don’t think she has the knowledge that Nesta does? Of course with her working for Meryll (idk how to spell it) she has specific knowledge on what’s probably a very complex topic that requires understanding in other fields too to properly grasp what’s going on, but I don’t think her general knowledge encompasses as much as Nesta’s does.

Mor is also probably a good contender but we know so little about her character I don’t feel like I can make a conclusion about how much information she has ☹️

[iambutmortal]

So I did a little digging, and according to the Bloomsbury annual financial report

[cressidagrey]

My two front runners are yellow (because Elain has been said to need sunshine/ most flowers also need sunshine to bloom) or purple (because it has mystic connotations and she is a seer).

(But then I have not yet understood why ACOSF is eye-blinding orange like a traffic cone, so what do I know 😂)

What color do you think the next acotar book will be?

[violetasteracademic]

I just finished cc3 and I’m worried the next book will be about nesta. Why do you think the next book is still about elain?

Hello my darling anon! Congrats on finishing CC3, you have sent this to a rare bird in the wild who actually enjoyed the hell out of it despite the flaws. So I hope you had a good time!

I'm a bit nervous to show you guys this side of me. Well, I suppose I've been showing it, but to compile it in such a way is quite another ordeal. That being said, I have toooons of links and resources to share why, for me personally, it is so clear that Nesta's story is *not* over, and Elain's book is undoubtedly next. Both of these things are true, but it has everything to do with the direction of the multiverse, which is very tightly woven, and *not* ACOTAR 5/6, which has been in the works for near a decade. Save this. Come back to it. Take your time working through it. I'm giving you everything, anon!

We have two parts at play: ACOTAR and the new series, which I have no doubt in my mind is Twilight of the Gods (more on that later) so lets start with facts before we move on to theory.

I am positive Elain's book is next because Sarah's messaging has remained 100% consistent since signing on the ACOTOR spinoffs in 2016. Moving forward from ACOWAR, she wrote ACOFAS as a novella to "bridge the gap" between ACOWAR and the spinoffs, and set up the future of ACOTAR. That was completely true for ACOSF, where everything that was set up has come to pass or been expanded on so far. The introduction of the Blood Rite, Nesta's mental health struggles, Morrigan being assigned to Vallahan, and the continued escalation of Elain's relationship with Azriel and Lucien's with the Band of Exiles. We meet Emerie, we learn more about the struggles of the patriarchy in Illyria, so on and so forth.

Then, we have ACOSF. The first dual POV romance of ACOTAR. This was only the beginning of a long term plan of dual POV romances coming to fruition. Here is youtube video from early on in the process describing the spinoffs as standalones that feature a different romantic pairing each book, but form a backbone when united.

By 2020, after ACOSF was announced, Sarah reiterated again that the new spinoff series features a new couple each book, with their own miniature plot and romance resolving within the overarching story of ACOTAR. Here she also shares that she plans to write a *lot* more than what she is contracted for, and has a ton of different ships to choose from. You can watch that here.

And now we move to 2021, after ACOSF was released, and Sarah confirms she always planned to write a book about Elain here.

This is actually a great interview and one of my favorites. You can watch the whole thing here. Eva Chen is a real one.

As far as ACOTAR goes, Sarah has continued to confirm in multiple interviews that her initial plans regarding the spinoffs have not changed, and still largely follow that initial outline she pitched back in 2016. And it was always going to be Nesta and Elain.

I will reiterate, ACOTAR is its own series with its own structure. Every ACOTAR book will feature a new couple with their own romance story. ACOTAR will continue to be exclusively a romance series from here on out. A lot of people speculate a lot of things on the future of ACOTAR. That we'll get a big finale with a multi-pov, that the story will end after Koschei, that we'll have a Kingdom of Ash style book. None of this is true. Sarah is going to keep contracting ACOTAR books until she runs out of couples. If you think this sounds odd, keep in mind that SJM herself is a fan of and grew up on Nalini Singh, who has series that started in 2006/2009 and are still going, featuring a new couple each book:

So, this is not strange behavior for the genre, and I think SJM is excited to have an ongoing fantasy romance series like this. And I'm excited for us to read it!

So, no KoA multi-pov finale. No second Nesta book. ACOTAR is an ongoing romance series with an "unspecified number of books remaining."

Okay! Now let's talk about Nesta! Bone Carver voice: Nestaaaaaaa

I'm going to do something just for you, Anon. And whoever catches this in the next week or so. I left titkok as far as booktok/content making and whatnot and privatized all my videos with my face on them (for a variety of reasons. Some fandom/bullying related, some not) but I did a massive breakdown of SJM's publishing contracts and all of the lore for Twilight of the Gods build up. I did get some of my screenshots from other Tumblr accounts, and linked my sources in the caption! Give this a watch (it's long) and pop back over.

Obviously if you spend some time in the comments section, mostly the questions at large are regarding timeline. I'm happy to chat theory, but focusing on Nesta, it is incredibly important and specific that she had her role in CC3 and that she connected The Valkyrie to Midgard, aka Middle Earth in Norse mythology which is where Twilight of the Gods, aka Ragnarok takes place. We have seen Midgard, Hel, and I have no doubt we will see Asgard.

But take a look at the difference between Nesta and Azriel's journey in CC3. Nesta had a deep emotional arc with Bryce. She developed trust and a relationship with her that Azriel didn't. In the HoFaS bonus chapter, Nesta forged a bond and a relationship with Bryce's mom, Ember. Nesta and Bryce's development is what is important here: Nesta has now created the bridge between the Valkyrie and Midgard. Valkyrie are the chosen fighters of Odin in Twilight of the Gods- the war at Ragnarok.

Twilight of the Gods is coming, fam. Crescent City three also revealed that The Mother, Urd, and Wyrd are all the same entity. The Goddess of all creation and fate. She oversees all worlds, and another important but oft overlooked element in the CC3 crossover is the frequency of the conversations about the Gods:

So yes, Nesta still has a huge arc coming up baby! She is not done. No one is done. But the Valkyrie are gearing up to play a major role in TotG, not the next ACOTAR. I believe this also grounds the continuation of the tension between Nesta and Rhys, and these two powers at odds when it comes to making decisions. Rhys will protect Prythian first. Nesta is building the bridges to other worlds, and is willing to fight alongside them. Rhys has no relationship with Bryce and Midgard. Nesta does. And lets not forget the Pegasi!

CC3 was not about Nesta. It was about Bryce and Nesta. Giving the Starsword back to Nesta is simply because that is who Bryce had a relationship with, and will continue to have a relationship with in the multiverse, not because Nesta is getting another book. Honestly- who else was she supposed to give the sword, Mask, and Truth-Teller back to? Twilight of the Gods will feature characters from all worlds. Sarah confirmed it will be emotional to write because of the old faces we'll see pop up in her Today Show interview here. This interview was thoroughly structured and planned, and released on the same day as HoFaS.

Speaking of the Starsword, let's talk Azriel and his role in CC3. Azriel is now the only person we have seen carry both the Starsword (likely Gwydion from here on out) and Truth-Teller. Light and dark. The power that combined to unleash the magic on Avallen, otherwise known as the Prison/Dusk Court in Prythian. Nesta has her own sword, Ataraxia. We have not seen Nesta touch, wield, or use Gwydion. Only Azriel has.

There is only one other character at home in Prythian who has also wielded and used the full power of one half of that pair of weapons: Elain.

Nesta used Truth-Teller to cut off the kings head, yes, but Elain used Truth-Teller to travel through the shadows across a battlefield with no experience and no training. She held that blade, and it worked to her will, tapping into its magic.

Azriel also learned about the corruption of the Cauldron. This was his primary experience in the crossover- discovering that the Asteri, who force mates and curate bloodlines to create powerful offspring which they then churn through a soul meat grinder for food warped the Cauldron to enact their will. Azriel did not form a relationship with Bryce, or Ember, or form any sort of additional connections to Midgard the way Nesta did. His part of the story revealed the problems at home. His (likely) love interest is the only person who has used his blade there, while Azriel is the only person who has used Gwydion. Bryce notes that Azriel must have some Starborn blood in him. Silene confirms that the Dusk Court can only be nurtured and looked after by Starborn heirs.

So while Nesta's compass in the crossover pointed to Midgard and her developing relationship with Bryce, as well as her clear willingness to work with her, Azriel's compass pointed home. It pointed to his lineage, to the corrupted Cauldron, to being one half of Gwydion and Truth-Teller combining, the Dusk Court. All of which points us to...

Yup. Elain.

If this STILL isn't enough for you, I have made a few additional posts regarding The Glass Coffin (aka Sleeping Beauty, which Bryce plays for Azriel in the HoFaS bonus chapter) and some, but not all of the little Elain coded details in HoFaS. You can find those posts here and here.

I could keep going forever. I can reiterate that there was not one but two ACOSF bonus chapters, and both were about Elain. I can talk about about the fact that SJM always planned to write a book about each sister, and ACOFAS was about- duh- each sister. But this is already so long and full of so many links and resources. The wrap up is this- ACOTAR is now an ongoing dual POV romance series. Until she tells us that is no longer true, it is true. A new couple each book. Nesta and the Valkyrie are key players in Twilight of the Gods. Sarah confirmed she was writing Crescent City and Twilight of the Gods at the same time. The multiverse is happening, and it just takes a little bit of exploration to understand where the characters are likely headed.

I'll end on this note. Azriel and Elain are light and dark. This belongs to them. The bridge of connection between them- Truth-Teller:

Now look at how the combination of the Starsword and Truth-Teller is described in HoFaS, and tell me if it looks familiar to you:

And now alllll together again, fam! Who are the only two characters who have properly wielded and/or tapped into the power of the Starsword and Truth-Teller in Prythian?

Azriel and Elain.

I think that's everything. I hope this comforts you. I genuinely don't ever feel worried or confused. It is all so clear to me how Sarah wove this together, and I think it's absolutely brilliant. Eep! I just get so excited! So take a little bit of my excitement and release the fear. Half of the people making content on this blatantly hate one half of the next book and they willfully ignore that she has had one of the most beautiful, breathtaking, well foreshadowed and woven storylines in the history of SJM's writing. Of course that is only my opinion, but honestly, how could you NOT be impressed and excited?!

I can't wait. I just can't heckin' wait.

If you got through all of this, wow. You're the real MVP.