#and elriel in acofas and acosf are just *chef's kiss*

[roselensedeyes]

the tension between feyre and rhys, nesta and cassian, and elain and azriel before they get together makes me go insane

[kimsnnn]

Part 1

Disclaimer: This post is in favor of my ship, Elriel. No hate, just an opinion. This is what makes sense to me. If this isn't your cup of tea, and it came up on your feed, no worries just skip please. 

If you look at it this way:

If the series were to officially end at ACOWAR then that would mean that there would be no need to add any more books due to the majority of the plot being resolved. If there were slight questions or plot holes that were left open, we as readers can basically create our own conclusion based of where these characters and their stories were left off at. That’s the beauty of being a reader, being able to use our imagination to extend the stories based on canon information to infer or even speculate what happened to those beloved characters of ours.

If its easy to answer these questions, fill these plot holes and resolve any issues within that story, then there would be no need for any additional books, and lets say there were questions that were pressing but not complicated to answer, a simple extra book could be added to resolve that like ACOFAS. ACOFAS could’ve concluded everything. She could’ve also showed Feyre or whoever freeing Vassa and then created a whole spin off on Vassa and her adventures including the plot of her defeating her captor Koschei while also dealing with the queens and humans basically introducing us to a whole new world and continent with new fae/fae territories (like chaol introduced in his book from ToG). Her LI would most likely be Jurian because Lucien would have ended up with Elain which we know because she resolved that in ACOFAS.

BUT

That’s not at all what happened. Things were not answered/resolved during ACOFAS.

The author which in this case is SJM knew that whatever obvious inferences/speculation we the fandom would have is not the accurate ending she had for these characters. So she decided to introduce far more books into the series as standalones but, still part of the overarching plot to truly get the full scope of what she has in store for these characters. Why make additional books based on the obvious ?  She’s a writer, she knows the importance of creating mystery or writing plot twists that we either didn’t or decided not to realize or even accept. So ACOFAS and even ACOWAR wasn’t there to answer last minute questions, to show us that our favorite ships did end up together, no it was there to be used to set up future stories like SJM said and be as close as can be as opposite of obvious.

At the End of ACOWAR we have :

Nesta

-THAT Nessian moment 🥰  (& Nessian moments in general in ACOWAR)

We can infer based on where those characters were left off that :

-They would end up together eventually.  I mean come on, Cass’s line *chef’s kiss*.

BUT what people forget is that was also her breaking point (trauma) 

-We didn’t know how her trauma would affect her, her life and loved ones, & how she’d heal Or what were even her powers. These questions were built up throughout all of ACOWAR

So what did SJM do?

-She wrote the answers to those questions in ACOSF while also resolving questions about Nessian’s status especially since Nesta first had to start healing to let herself be loved.

The evidence ? The set up to gain support to find these answers ? Its in ACOFAS

-Nesta’s drinking, isolation, rage, fear, loneliness and self hate

-Nesta’s avoidance of her sisters, the IC and Cassian

-Cassian’s persistence, confusion. Feeling helpless.

Same thing can be seen for Elain

At the end of ACOWAR

Elain

-Civilness between E and L.  She seems more at peach and want to plan gardens/rebuild

We can infer

-Elain talked to Lucien so she forgave him or is on track to forgive him. From this we can assume the possibility of Elucien being endgame.

Elain also must be healed because she smiled and wants to help rebuild. So that all equals acceptance of her powers (on occasionally seeing things and that it, that’s her power), her new life and bond

BUT what we forget is the iconic Elriel moments (Hybern camp & truth teller connection), Elain’s world/future going up in flames, the consequences/trauma of having been gifted these powers

-We don’t know the full scope of her powers, why the cauldron adores her, how she feels, why were we given blooming moments between Elriel 

So again what will SJM probably do?

-Set Elriel to be endgame. Cause civility/friendship/forgiveness/CLOSURE between Elain and Lucien. Get In depth about her powers, her trauma and how it has affected the life she thought she would have. Have her come into her role in the NC and have self growth. 

The evidence? Its in ACOFAS & ACOSF

-Elain’s anger and desperation to have a choice, to have her own agency

-Elain’s avoidance, tolerance, discomfort of Lucien ( she wilts and regresses)

-Elain’s push to contribute more and firmly declare she’s a member of the NC

-Elriel’s tension & build up ( glances, smiles, blushing, gifts, humor, awareness, longing, protectiveness, attraction, actively trying to distract themselves, etc I could go on and on)

-Confirmation of Elain’s power still existing. Her whereabouts: where is Elain when the IC are facing obstacles?

-Her visions still to happen. The fourth dead trove needs to be found: it makes sense that it would be found by Elain (& Az) ( the crown: Braiylln, the harp & mask: Nesta, the fourth trove: Elain)

*If there are 3 cauldron made and Braiylln found one (& is now dead), Nesta found 2 but couldn't get a good read of the fourth, that means it'll be up to Elain & Azriel because they are basically the only two in the IC who closely work with shadows and even mist. Maybe Nuala and Cerridwen would also join in searching which id love.

Now let’s ignore the evidence.

From that moment at the end of ACOWAR again: 1) we see Elain who seems better and 2)we have Elain and Lucien who seem to be in a civil place 

So we assume she’s healed or on track, and her relationship with Lucien is looking up. So why would SJM write a whole standalone on the obvious?

If she’s healed and okay, if she and Lucien will be a sailing ship why be so secretive and unclear on Elain’s story, on who she ends up with?

Nessian was so clear, there was no REAL doubt that they would not end up together despite the obstacles between them, two of them being her rage and trauma. But Nessian would be and are endgame period. All the other “prospects” were just for angst, development and humor. Not real threats.

She wrote Nesta’s story because the worry and question wasn’t on Nessian’s validity, she established their validity and their romance when Nesta prepared to die with Cassian, when Cassian promised to find more time with her, when Nesta called for Cassian, when Nesta Wass worried for Cassian, when Nesta would constantly pay attention to him without realizing it (his wings) when Cassian ran after her during solstice, when Cassian bought her a gift etc. The worry and questions were ALWAYS on and about Nesta’s role, powers, and trauma because they were the influencing factor that affected everyone’s future, Nesta’s life/health and Nessian’s ability to finally able to come together.

If Elucien were endgame we as a fandom would know without a doubt that they are. There would be many more moments of ooh’s and hmmm’s and less mystery and confusion on their validity. There would be far more angst and these characters would have be seen more often together (seeking each other out, but Elain never does) or at least have them have more than one scene of mutual civilness where they dont talk awkwardly, and have a real conversation not one that seems forced, especially by Feyre. Even with the obstacles between them and their distance (because of the obvious elephant in the room) we should have scenes that showcases clear interest between them but we don’t. There is only one true scene where we have that and its at the end of ACOWAR, Im not blind i could see where people might interpret it as Elucien confirmation and who knows maybe I'm wrong and it is but, I read that differently. That to me was confirmation that a friendship between them is possible. Something completely platonic but just as sweet in a different way. That scene to me wasn’t charged it was not even a slow burn or even a spark it was healing and the foreshadowing of a possible friendship.

ALSO:

*Possible ToG spoiler below*

I don’t think it’s too far fetched to assume that Vassien is a thing. And in all honestly I also don’t think its too far fetched to have Lucien (& Vassa) have their own book like Chaol (& Yrene) did. Chaol was an important/original main character from the very beginning of the series who ended up doing grave mistakes. He found himself lost in life to later finding himself gaining a new purpose outlook & perspective when he left the continent to only meet his new LI Yrene freaking Towers who SERIOUSLY changed the whole game ( I freaking love her) and was extremely valuable to winning that war. This is so similar to Lucien’s story so far and Vassa (the firebird) who I expect to resemble Yrene in value and vitalness  BUT it is important to state that Lucien is nothing like Chaol and is far more SUPERIOR. So No this is not me saying Lucien is like Chaol. This is just me seeing the resemblance in their journeys so far, which might be due to SJM possibly reusing the same template on purpose.

Part 2

[dewitted]

I needed to shout this into the void and this is best I could come up with but: on the Azriel, Elain, Lucien, Gwyn clusterfuck

Spoilers for the Feysand chapter//

Let me preface this by saying my ultimate ship is Azriel X peace & happiness. I just want him with someone who will hold his hands and look at him like he lights up the room. I went hard for Moriel in ACOMAF ("Azriel would likely love Mor until he was a whisper of darkness between the stars." -- I mean are you kidding??) But I was also not wholly surprised when SJM obliterated that ship in ACOWAR cause let's be honest, she loves to set 'em up just to knock 'em down. (Just look at Chaol and his many false starts; Celaena, Nesryn, and finally Yrene.) But I LIVED for Elriel once that was introduced, my heart was on fire for Death and the Fawn. Lucien is precious and deserves all the happiness in the world but the pining kernels we had for Elriel were just *chef's kiss*. I wanted Lucien to be happy but I didn't want him with someone who felt like they were "settling" for him, he deserves better than being someone's second choice. He has so many wounds around belonging and rejection that he deserves a love where he is treasured wholeheartedly, which was simply not apart of his dynamic with Elain in ACOWAR/ACOFAS.

Now regarding the above quote, we have had on numerous occasions the association of roses when talking about Elriel/ Azriel in context with Elain. I read this and felt SJM just about scream "Elucien endgame." To me she's clearly laying the foundation that the next book will absolutely be Elriel-centered in all its forbidden romance glory, but things will get very messy and not end well. We've seen in ACOSF the budding of Elain's depth beyond sunshine and smiles and I feel like Rhys' comment here about getting your hands dirty alludes to that. The characterization of a "stubborn rosebush" feels like a nod to Azriel's insistence in seeing Elain as too pure for him, sullied and thorny as he is, to touch or get close to. That deep down he feels his involvement with her would somehow spoil and ruin her, a sentiment we see echoed in Azriel's POV chapter. I can very easily picture him retreating from a deeper emotional intimacy with her for fear of his perceived unworthiness. Now obviously there's also hella tension between them and a recklessness I'm sure we'll be getting more of so I don't think his beliefs on this will prevent anything from developing here, but eventually as their relationship attempts to grow that imbalance will become a wedge. They cannot be equals as Feysand and Nessian are if he places her on a pedestal. Imagine Elain's heartbreak at this revelation, that someone she thought actually *saw* her (something we know is top on her priority list) instead sees her as some idealized version of herself and not the person she's been working so hard to grow into. That realization could very well pierce her heart like a thorn.

I think a lot of Elain's character arc will be centered on how sheltered she has been. If she is to truly become her own person she has to figure out for herself who that is, not be told what's best for her. Once you get dirty and wounded you have the experience to appreciate the things that might spare you from that in the future. Ultimately, I think her time with Azriel will deepened her appreciation for who Lucien is and what he has to offer. Not to mention all the breadcrumbs we've been given that hint towards Elucien: Elain thrives in sunlight and Lucien is the heir to the Day Court; the three sister peaks, two in the Night Court and one further south; Elain's need to be seen and Lucien's uniquely perceptive eye.

None of this even broaches on the beautiful brewing potential of Gwynriel. This post is mainly an affirmation of SJM's hints to an Elucien endgame but I can only feel confident in that with the understanding that Azriel will truly find his match in Gwyn. I've seen plenty of posts floating around that detail all the Gwynriel nuggets we've gotten so far, but at this point the only thing I need from the rest of the series is to know this quiet and scarred bat boy is loved and very much *not alone*.