#but hofas wasn't THAT good either

[extremely-judgemental]

HOFAS winning the goodreads romantasy with twice the votes of the runner-up is all the proof I need that no one is even reading her books for plot.

[evermorebarbie]

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.

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

I can't even describe how much hatred I have for soft fanart of Feysand or Nessian, especially Nessian

Feysand fanart is just annoying because of his ugly mug but to be fair to him at least Rhysand is soft and caring with Feyre, even if he is an abusive pos. But soft fanart of Nessian fills me with boiling rage every time

It just reminds me how he has never, not once, been soft with her. He is never caring towards her or gentle, never loving or kind. He is always either nasty to her or sexualizing her, or he straight up ignores her and then villainizes her

And the worst part is that people have actually convinced themselves it's canon, that their relationship is actually like that in the books. They have not had a single moment that was even close to soft that wasn't entirely selfish on his part. He has said himself he sees her as an animal, he refers to her as an animal multiple times. He has agreed that she belongs in Hewn City, his inner thoughts about her are either misogynistic and filled with so much hatred or they're aggressively sexual. Their nicer moments are all about him and his ego, never her, never love

This man does not care about her, he doesn't even like her nevermind love. He doesn't caress her, he doesn't cuddle her or read her books or lie with her as she reads. He isn't gentle with her, he doesn't tuck her hair behind her ear, he isn't intimate with her outside of sex. He doesn't hold her outside of possession. They don't cook together, they don't go shopping together, they don't laugh together. They don't share small, gentle smiles. They don't share secret looks

He sees her as a vicious animal that needs breaking. And he did it, he broke her and even that wasn't good enough. HOFAS should have been them in "mated bliss" if they were as solid and in love as people like to claim

Headcanons are nice but let's not delude ourselves here

[daughter-of-lethe]

I don't get why people say that Nesta was depressed in HOFAS

Hi💕

I'll explain my point and I excuse in advance for my written english.

This post contains huge spoilers from House of flame and shadow (CC3) read at your own risk

I don't get it either.

In my opinion they misunderstood her feelings at the end of the bonus chapter with Amber and Randall, she wasn't depressed, she was sad for the situation (not afraid of Rhys), and certainly she was confused by Ember (in a good sense). Nesta never had a loving mother and facing Ember, talking with her, she felt for the first time what a loving mother should say/do.

Nesta kept her guards up, but truly listened to Bryce's mother, and their talk make her think, she needed to elaborate the situation, and the shock to have Ember speaking for her against Rhys, she felt what a mother should do.

Her mood when she and Azriel escorted Bryce was happier, cause of the music, that made even Azriel humming the melody.

But later she had to take a pivotal decision, which causes Rhys and Amren to be angry with her. Personally, I understand both Nesta's reasons and Rhysand's reasons. To me they're both right, Nesta choose to help Bryce saving her world, Rhys is concerned about the threat to his kingdom and the people he cares for, but they're both right, even if Rhys overreacted with Nesta.

If Nesta's mood was a bit down, it was for what she and Ember shared, and for the fact that she's not completely healed. She's happy with her mate, her friends, hopefully things are better with her sisters, she's not like the beginning of Acosf and that's good.

But it's not over yet.

She has a couple of more things to go through and I'm sure Cassian will be supporting her.

Let me put a good word for him because I've read that people hate him because they think he stands with Rhys. But he doesn't.

We don't have his pov on this situation, yes Nesta said that everyone is hating her for her decision, but is it so? That's a pov, we don't get Cassian's pov so we can't be sure of this.

Nesta said "Cassian is the most furious with me of anyone" yes, but he stays with her in this moment, he doesn't yell at her or smt, because he loves her.

When Bryce comes back she find Cassian with Nesta that are peacefully talking with Ember and Randall.

Cassian that stays with her all the time.

He's her mate, he stood by her side when Bryce and Hunt are facing her, ready to defend his mate with his own life.

He may be angry with her but his love for her will overcome the anger.

[rhysands-rightknee]

******* SPOILERS************************

my thoughts after hofas that I can't expand on bc my phone is overheating...

a) sjm bring back your acomaf editors. hofas could have been so much shorter. soo much.

b) you can love rhysand profusely while also being critical of him (looking at u ember and randall chapter) 🦋💕🦋 I can't ignore the power imbalance, and all my pro-rhys sisters shouldn't either

c) where are the missing four brothers of Hell? it's stated that they're in other worlds, so Hell clearly has access to all worlds !!!

d) I knew that little (good) shit Bran was named after Brannon. I MISS YOU AELIN SO FUCKING MUCH AHHHH

e) I need to infiltrate sjms head to understand the timelines between the worlds and where Erilea falls, unless time is like our universe and doesn't exist (time literally doesn't exist y'all look it up. physics in these coming years is going to get so interesting)

f) one of the thousands of mystics will find elain. a seer so rare in a world is a weapon for good or evil.

g) I thought the asteri in prythian was Maeve for a hot second. I was so scared I had to stop reading

h) I still be wondering where Vaughn and Orcus + Mantyx (Maeve's husband and his brother) are at

i) I probably wouldn't have picked up hofas if it weren't for the acotar involvement idc

j) the drawings of the caves in Avallen and The Prison give me a feeling that Mama Archeron wasn't human.... and the three sisters are more important than we think... especially after finding out the Cauldron was an Asteri weapon

[acourtofthought]

Me again and on the same day, so... I hope I'm not being annoying...

But what do you think about ccity3? (if you have already read it)

I may end up releasing some spoilers, so if you don't want to risk it, don't continue reading!!

I mean, more specifically what do you think about the shadows of Az, Ruhn and Comarc?

Today I saw an E/riel girl saying that the shadows disappear when they (Ruhn and Comarc) are comfortable, so they insisted again that Az's shadows disappearing with Elain is a good sign... I don't believe it's the same thing, definitely.

(But I don't have much context from Ccity, I haven't read them yet. Well, just the third one to see my girl Ness and Az)

And if you've already read it, what did you think of the Bryce&Az&Ness extra, the ending in particular; from shadows dancing to Az humming; of the exact words "could have sworn" being used in both of Az's extras twice;

And the song "Stone Mother"; Do you think it has a "meaning" for the future? I've seen people saying this is about Elain, I particularly agree with something I read about it having some connection to his mother (who was briefly mentioned during the extra)

They distorted a part claiming that the shadows danced with Bryce's cell phone, but that doesn't happen. I've never met an Elriel who played fair, they're always trying to change what was said. (Some said they were very confident after Ccity3, and I honestly didn't understand why)

Well, maybe I'm just super paranoid, looking for a little Gwynriel in every line... lol

I actually feel special to have gotten two asks in a day from you so thank you!!

I think if we were to compile a list of everything Az's shadows have ever done from start to finish in series, we'd find conflicting information.

I imagine there was a time where SJM did not truly know what she was doing with Az's shadows or what she wanted them to do for a particular love interest because she wasn't even sure that Az was getting a book early on.

And I think it's also a bit difficult for us to compare them to Cormac because the way Az's shadows came to him is unique. We're told that they came to Az while he was born in the dungeon, an airless, light-less prison where he learned the language of the shadows and it's difficult to say if the relationship he developed with them is equal to that of those with similar powers. Ruhn and Rhys share similar powers however it's evident that Rhys is by far and away much more powerful.

Az's shadows aren't exactly "him". They seem to be a bit sentient when you consider that he tells us they keep him company, that they whisper to him. He is not fully in control of his shadows at all times, they told him to sleep and he thought on how he wished he could.

I'm not saying we'd want Az's shadows to be swarming and ready to strike like snakes at all times, that's clearly not a good thing for either Az or the shadows. But having them tend to vanish around someone when he tells us they've been his companion would be like a friend who you grow up with start disappearing anytime your girlfriend came around. Wouldn't it be better if his shadows remained but were at rest or calm?

That's not the narrative SJM put out there for his shadows around Elain in SF though. They skittered away from her, he says they tend to vanish when she's around. It's clear that in SF Az is not in a great place so for E/riels to say they disappear around her because he's calm and that's a good thing is a complete contradiction to him thinking on how he's been ignoring her because he's bothered by her bond. She clearly does not bring him peace.

In the same book we're told that his shadows are afraid of the Sun and in HOFAS, we get more evidence that they don't hold up to light very well.

When you consider how SJM often connects Elain to light and sunshine it seems pretty obvious that she's telling us Elain's penchant for those things is not going to compliment what we know of Az's shadows.

She also could not have made it more clear that the shadows responded to Gwyn in a way they never did with Elain. They danced and twirled with her breath, they were content to sit on Az's shoulders and watch when before the shadows were trying to get him to bed, they sang in response to her song (just as they sang in response to Az's humming). Saying they vanish around one female while having them curious and a bit playful with another, even if it's only in relation to her powers (as E/riels like to claim) is still better for the shadows......which are a part of Az but not fully him. They don't need to love Gwyn because the shadows are not possibly mated to Gwyn. But if Az is mated to Gwyn and his shadows have a bit of a thing for her song then is that not an extremely symbiotic relationship for all parties involved?

I'm not even sure Azriel understood the lyrics of the song because Nesta says she couldn't understand them so maybe it was truly just the melody that captivated Az. And the way the melody was described is a lot like the music of the priestesses service.

As likes music.

Gwyn is a singer.

Az himself began humming once the phone stopped playing.

They share a common interest and that's a valid thing to comment on in regards to a ship.

If Az was aware of the lyrics and the lyrics had to do with the Stone Mother legend than I'd hope no one would be trying to turn the words into anything ship related as the legend is Native American and Elain and Gwyn are white. But to your point, it could have something to do with his mother as she is Illyrian.

[gwyns]

"Something in his chest sparked at that."

(Ruhn and Lidia)

"Something sparked in Azriel's chest.'"

(Gwyn and Azriel)

I can't believe readers read this part and go "Gwyn is a lightsinger! She can't be Azriel's mate because the bond between her and Lucien is fake. Azriel is Elain's true mate."

I swear they change their theories every year. First, they wanted to read a book that is not about mates. A book about a chosen love. Then they come out with theories that the Cauldron was wrong because Azriel (my stupid boy) thought so.

Then they said Elain belongs to the Night Court but I saw a theory she will be a High Lady of the Dusk Court with Azriel by her side.

Before HOFAS they claimed Elain will play a big role in the book (she didn't btw). Now there are theories she will be the future owner of Gwydion only to firt into Azriel's story with Truth Teller. (Gwynriels have theories about Gwyn and Gwydion that were made even before House of Sky and Breath, but yeah Elain will be the one who will get Gwydion.)

I also say a theories about Elain and Pegasuses. (Come on we know who loves them.) And apparently Elain will be connecting not with the Prison as they were screaming. Now she will go to Ramiel.

I'm done with them. Nothing is mathing.

they really are scrambling huh? after this many sjm books it's not hard to recognize the language she uses for mates. quinlar had a similar quote too in their hosab bonus chapter so things aren't looking good for the bread babies!

sometimes i forget that e/riel started as a ship for people who wanted a story with more "choice", it's been so long since i've seen them scream about that. all it is now is true mates and the cauldron was wrong/corrupted and blah blah blaahhhh. mates are sarah saying "hey! this couple is it!!" and unless she randomly changes her formula, mates are endgame, in every series and universe

it's so fascinating they claim she'll take the dusk land/prison when... nesta is connected to that? bryce even acknowledged this by giving her the starsword/gwyndion?? like i'm sorry but elain is not connected to that. and why should she be? she already has ties to day through her mate and suspected ties to spring since her sisters commented on how it was made for someone like her

oh yeah i remember the pre hofas theories about how e/riel would team up and save the universe!!! as if this wasn't still a crescent city novel and that would fall solely on bryce, hunt and their frat pack lol. honestly i'm not sure where i stand on the gwyndion theories, i do remember seeing some shortly after acosf's release but i'm unsure if i think nesta will keep it or eventually give it to gwyn. if it's the latter, that would be badass, having two mates have the dagger and sword

to be fair, helion does have the last remaining pegasuses in prythian and again, elain is connected to day through lucien so i can understand wanting elain with a pegasus, on that end anyway lol but it's true that, outside of helion, i associate them more with the valkyries. didn't the old valkyries ride them into battles? or am i misremembering? either way, give the valkyries their pretty winged horses please

RAMIEL??? ELAIN????? the same elain who is connected to the big baddie of the spinoffs? yeah, no way lol. ramiel/the illyrian conflict is a plot all on its own, meaning someone else will take care of it. anyone remember pre acosf when nessian were supposed to deal with the illyrians? and sjm instead chose to push that plot back?? huh i wonder why... it couldn't be because she decided to have az deal with it with his mate or anything...

although, i suppose this is what you have to do when you try so hard to make your ship work in the canon when it's been dead since 2021

[nikethestatue]

Hi!

I took a month long break from the fandom and just now realized after coming back that MANY people have still yet to read Azriel’s bonus chapter. It came out literally 3 years ago. The Gwynriels still think that SJM is gonna create a mating bond for a “relationship” that started and ended in a bonus chapter that MULTIPLE fans didn’t even know existed.

And when we say that, they be like, “of course! That’s why you can google it.” Fans shouldn’t have to google it if that was the true direction that SJM was taking. She would’ve said screw this, I am gonna just write it in Acosf, but she didn’t. She wrote it in a separate story (because that’s what it really is, a separate story) and got rich off it because it served its purpose already.

It’s still not clicking for most people in this fandom. 😭

I know!

Just because THEY think that the Bonus is end all be all, it's not that for 97% of new readers. Besides, they read ACOSF and they just kind of move on. Like the new readers aren't stuck on ACOSF like the previous generation of readers. It was released ages ago and once it's ready, people just move on to the next series--either TOG or CC. There is no recency bias or excitement for ACOSF. It's just another book in the series. No one is sitting there, constructing nebulous fantasies about Gwyn. Gwyn's been put in her rightful place--that of a Nesta friend, with some potential for a future side story. Not the FMC of the next book and Azriel's LI. It's so preposterous it's hilarious that the oldies are still holding on to that fantasy.

Just yesterday on Reddit someone asked me about the Bonus chapter, simply because it was mentioned in the thread. If it wasn't, the person wouldn't have known anything about it.

BB bigwigs are probably sitting there muttering 'well, that escalated quickly!'

They thought it was a simple marketing ploy, but it went off the rails.

Hence, come HOFAS and suddenly they are like 'okay, so seven bonus chapters for this one? Seven. Seven sounds good."

[violetasteracademic]

Oooooh okay LOVE and since we are having fun and just thinking 'bout stuff, here is what sends my mind spinning at 5 am *HoFaS spoilers and multiverse musings ahead*:

What is THIS!? Is this Vesperus mistaking Azriel for something/someone else, or is this a lineage reveal much like Hunt? Are the shadowsingers also a creation of the Asteri (or Valg... what are you, Vesperus 🧐) or the Cauldron- crafted of night and pain?

It has me considering a lot of things as well, especially in relation to the shadows. And the fact that they came to Azriel during the darkest moments of his life. I've been thinking on if shadowsinger abilities are forced out of darkness and pain, and the Asteri assumed soldiers that have been touched with such irreparable darkness are the perfect ones to gain control of. But Azriel, with his themes of hope even when the world tells you to despair seems to have grown beyond perhaps what is usual for a shadowsinger, and thus may have a completely unique relationship with his shadows.

On a first read, I thought for sure Azriel was Starborn because of this:

But re-scanning over the crossover while reflecting on everything, I can't get over that line from Vesperus- assuming Azriel was one of her soldiers that she had crafted. Is it the shadowsinging? Is he Made, as the sisters were, which may allow him to wield Truth-Teller, the Starsword, and possibly the Trove? Azriel's true lineage and abilities are going to play a huge role in the story ahead, I have no doubt!

There are also the Valg connections and similarities between Rhys and Maeve (the violet eyes, the ability to spin mass illusions and break into minds and alter their reality.)

In terms of the multiverse, I often find myself wondering what Aelin will make of Rhys when she sees him- looking so similar to Maeve and them sharing similar powers. I don't think it is going to be easy for them to trust each other. But I think that the Fae on Prythian, that Azriel and Rhys, represent hope. When dark and terrible powers are used for good instead of evil. So I wonder if the shadows are inherently good, bad, or neutral, or if they have formed a relationship with Azriel and his emotions. He came out of a darkness many wouldn't have and uses his dark powers for good.

In regards to Elain's power as well after seeing how the Mystics were used by the Asteri and the Astronomer on Midgard, both Elain and Azriel are unique beings with rare abilities that would be coveted by great and evil powers. Perhaps Koschei? I think he would try to get both of them in his clutches. Elain is also unable to see past Koschei's mist, so her power has a weak spot when it comes to him. What I am most interested to see now is if Azriel, being either Made or Starborn or something else, is protected from the influence of the Crown as the sisters are. Cassian wasn't, but we haven't seen it on Azriel. I think we are gearing up for both Azriel and Elain to be the next main targets as Koschei continues to try to free himself from the lake.

And nooooow I wanna write a fic where Azriel and Elain both pretend to be under Koschei's control to spy on him. It actually doesn't feel that far off to me as an actual plot point!

Anywho. @gracie-rosee and @nikachansstuff are awesome. And there is just so much juicy fun stuff to think on!

I am dying for this book!

Early morning 5AM thoughts and (a LOT of) questions about Azriel’s powers. Longer post, I’m just having fun with theories.

First of all, I was inspired by @violetasteracademic and @nikachansstuff. Not by any particular post, but because they are just so cool and have very smart thoughts that got the gears turning in my head.

So I often wonder about Azriel’s shadows. We learn that his powers started to show when he was locked up by his father as a child. But did they come to him, or are they a real part of him that he was born with?

It’s just something that I’ve never been able to fully wrap my mind around. If he was born with this immense power—enough for seven siphons—why did they suddenly show up after what, 11 years?

The thing is, the power he was born with, the one that requires seven siphons, that’s the Illyrian power he got from his father. Right? That power requires seven siphons. So… his shadows have to be separate, and had to have come to him afterwards. (For now I won’t be talking about the possibility that he inherited shadowsinging powers from some long ago ancestor. This post will not be going in that direction, and instead focuses more on the powers themselves.)

So it begs the question(s) then: if they came to him, are they like, their own entity? Or are they literally just shadows and nothing more? Though the idea that they CAME to him implies that they are more than just shadow. Do they speak to him? If they came to him, could they potentially leave? Does Azriel even control them at all or do they just like… work alongside him? Do they have… thoughts? Do they have a personality? Why did they choose him?

But there’s also the elephant in the room: Elain.

Did she wield his shadows? Did Azriel send them to her? Or did the shadows find her and help her on their own?? SJM told us Elain stepped out of a shadow, when winnowing is described as a literal blink to/from a place. So she 100% came from his shadows. (Side note: this whole stepping out of shadows, and not to mention her being the only one to use TT thing, just solidifies that Elain is, and always will be intertwined with Azriel, regardless of who they end up with.)

So either 1. Elain can wield them, 2. Azriel sent them to teleport her, or 3. His shadows left him and sought Elain out, meaning she would also have to communicate with them so she knows where they’re going.

But ALSO!!!!! OF ALL PEOPLE WHY ELAIN? IF HIS SHADOWS LEFT HIM OR AZ SENT THEM TO FIND SOMEONE TO GO UP TO HYBERN AND KILL HIM? WHY ELAIN?????!!!!!!! WHY NOT AN ACTUAL SOLDIER??!

Okay but I NEEEEED an Elain POV of this more than anything. More than I want the next book. I need to know how it went down, because it would answer a lot of questions I have.

Here’s how I’ve envisioned it happening:

Option 1: Elain anxiously pacing with Truth Teller when suddenly a familiar shadow flies toward her, tells her that her sisters are in danger and whisks her away to help after she doesn’t even hesitate.

Option 2: Elain receiving a vision of Nesta and Cassian dying, then calling out to Azriel’s shadows to take her to them.

Option 3: Azriel seeing Nesta and Cassian dying, so he sends his shadows to fetch Elain so she can help.

I find option 3 VERY hard to believe, because why on earth would Azriel send Elain, with no combat experience whatsoever, to walk right into the middle of a literal killing field. He would never voluntarily put her in that danger. So it had to have been a variation of options 1 or 2. Meaning Elain and the shadows communicated in some way.

His shadows sought her out on their own. To which I ask, WHY?!

Or Elain sought the shadows out herself, to which I ask HOW?!

I’m so mad everyone just glosses over this. Do you know how many fucking times the death of Hybern was brought up? Like every damn chapter. And yet no one talks about Elain and how she suddenly wielded shadows.

Like hello? How did Nesta not even question it at all? I guess maybe she didn’t see how Elain arrived in shadows, but she still didn’t question how she arrived period. Nor did Feyre. Feyre who was narrating. And I’m assuming she showed Rhys as well as everyone else how the Hybern died afterwards. And yet. No. One. Freaking. Cared. HELOOOO??!!! I smell an intentional diversion.

Ugh. So many thoughts. So many questions. I have more questions that I’d like to pose to anyone reading this far about Azriel’s shadows themselves, but this is pretty long already. If anyone wants to know my thoughts on shadowsingers and shadow magic itself, let me know.

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

Why do people act as if the Cauldron loving Elain is a good thing? Like it's some sort of teachers pet situation and is a point in her favor? And I'm not saying it's a point against her but her experience wasn't good, it traumatized her to the point that she was borderline comatose.

Going into the Cauldron is an allegory for rape or at the very least assault. The Cauldron loving her is like a predatory man that wants a woman as his prize. And that becomes even more apparent when you compare both sisters experiences. The Cauldron hates Nesta because she fought back, she took from it. If you look at it based on the metaphor, a predatory man usually doesn't want a woman that will put up too much of a fight. The Cauldron loves Elain because, we can assume, she's more docile but has power that could be manipulated. It's concerning, not girlboss. Especially considering HOFAS.

The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced...

This is not something you want to be the favourite of. I would be concerned about Elain either being corrupted (I would personally rather die than read about the soft girl turning evil or whatever, for the love of god SJM let one of the sisters keep her personality). Or attacked/taken again which could work well for a romance hurt/comfort or savior trope so it's highly possible with SJM

[nikethestatue]

I feel like the timeline of releases also has to do with why HOFAS was bad and why I’m nervous for Elain’s book. So much time passed between HOSAB and the release of HOFAS. Maybe if they didn’t make us wait so long for a mid book, people wouldn’t have been so mad about the book being mid. And SJM is so fickle, the time in between publishing books she changes her mind so much I think. That’s why IMO her older books were more consistent, she wrote them so close together back to back, whereas now she’s taking over a year. Prior to September 2023 when she said she’s working on the next ACOTAR, I think the last time she touched ACOTAR was summer 2020. That’s the main reason I’m now nervous for Elain’s book. 3 years in between writing is just a recipe for disaster when it comes to SJM. First because we’ve had so long to think of all it could be and theorize and get our expectations and hearts set on an amazing story. Second because i don’t think SJM will deliver a good story based on where she is and how she’s writing rn. And like, if you’re gonna take that long, you better have been working really hard and the book better have no flaws! HOFAS felt like she rushed it yet she had 2 years to get it right?? Idk. Well, I guess we can only hope she will suddenly get back on track with Elain’s book! Wishful thinking tho. (I honestly don’t even mind if the Elain book is mid overall, so long Elain is true to character, has a good arc and gets to shine, and has a good romance storyline with Azriel, I’ll be happy.)

it saddens me that after HOFAS, all or most of hope and excitement over the next ACOTAR book kind of died down. I think it will come back once we know something, but seeing how SJM didn't stay true to anything in HOFAS, it seems that the wind's been taken out of everyone's sails. Whether it's Eluciens, Elriels or Gwynriels. It seems that everyone is very meh now.

I think whoever is still excited about this is not genuinely thrilled about the potential of the book, but is more like, let's get it over with. Which again, is sad.

Let's hope that she got new ideas, that now she doesn't need to hold back, that the crossover explained a lot of things that she can now incorporate into the ACOTAR world.

Let's hope that Koschei is a red herring and we'll be in for a true shock over the real villain Amren. Let's hope that because there wasn't much romance in either CC or ACOSF, SJM is yearning to write something romantic and a love story and not just cringey smut.

Let's hope she is brimming with amazing ideas and will deliver an incredible book.

[gwyns]

“i don't think it'll be announced as a "gwynriel" or "elucien" book or whatever. it'll be announced like acosf was, as the mc's book.”

I didn’t mean Sarah would announce it like that! I should’ve clarified more, I’m sorry! I think when she does release the book title it should give us a good gauge as to who the mc of the book is. I think the novella will be Mor’s and the full length books will definitely be Azriel’s and Elain’s. The ship wars definitely won’t end, they might get more hostile, but I want to hope maybe things will improve and become more positive. I would like the next book to be Azriel’s, and after Silver Flames and HOFAS, I think it’s more than likely his, but who knows. It could very well be the novella (I would actually laugh in amusement & I think I saw somewhere that said Sarah talking about how she wouldn’t mind the releasing a novella after SF I could be wrong tho but I thought I saw it) or Elain’s book.

oh no need to apologize! i wasn't talking about you specifically, more so the fandom as a whole because some seem to think she'll announce the couple with the book and i'm sorry but that's not going to happen lol. it wasn't directed towards you at all <3

but i agree! i do think the title will help us figure it out, honestly i'm scared for the announcement, i just know it'll be chaos no matter what and it makes me anxious just thinking about it 😭

agreed again! i've thought az was next since a couple of weeks after acosf and hofas only reinforced this for me. like yeah elain does have some setup but i find it odd she was hardly present in acosf and not there at all in hofas if she's next. i find sjm shining a spotlight on az and his struggles similar to what she did with nesta in acofas. we know elain isn't well either but she's hiding it for now whereas az is letting it directly affect him. he's getting worse and acting out

of course, i could be totally wrong and elain is next but... idk it just doesn't make sense to me narratively. like why would koschei be killed halfway through the spinoffs when he's seemingly meant to be the big baddie? it makes much more sense to me if gwynriel dealt with the illyrians, ramiel and maybe the remaining queens first. throw in an autumn court subplot and boom, bam! we got a way to setup the elucien book

nobody better get upset at me putting gwynriel in the autumn court or i will go full bitch mode, gwyn has autumn court heritage too, it's not me taking from elucien so shush

honestly her releasing a novella would be the biggest troll ever and i'd laugh so hard. many are frustrated and i get it but acotar is my favorite series so i don't mind waiting since i don't want it to end just yet 😢