#connected to lucien who was also hunt??

[gwandas]

Idk where this Nesta vs. Feyre empathy discourse came from but anyway here are my two cents

I think something to remember is that there is a difference between compassion and empathy.

Empathy is specifically a demonstrated understanding of what another is feeling.

Compassion is characterized by the desire to take action to help someone who is suffering. Compassion often involves empathy, yes, but an understanding of why another person is suffering isn't a requirement for compassion.

In my opinion, Nesta has high empathy and low compassion while Feyre has low empathy and high compassion. To be clear, they've both exhibited both empathy and compassion at times, I just think each character favors one over the other.

Feyre at her core is a fixer. She has always seen people's problems and wants to help—it's a core tenet of her character. Successfully being able to identify when people are struggling and wanting to help is compassion. Some examples of this are:

hunting in the cabin

giving jewels to the wraiths in Spring

desperately wanting to train and do more to help Tamlin rebuild Spring

her interference in Mor and Azriel's relationship

her interference in Elain and Lucien's relationship

dealing with Nesta after the war

starting the art studio for the kids, etc.

At the same time, she has trouble putting herself in other people's shoes—even in moments where she really should've been able to—which are examples where she is unempathetic.

not understanding or caring of why her sisters are apprehensive towards letting fae into their home and what that would mean for their lives (she hated the fae too)

pushing Nesta into sharing her cauldron story

jealousy of Nesta’s friendship and confiding in Amren over her

not understanding why Lucien doesn't want to be in Velaris

not understanding why Nesta was angry about the vote (she herself was angry when she learned about her mating bond)

not understanding why the CoN wants out from the Hewn City (UTM, enough said)

in general her relationship with Nesta is lacking in empathy—something that comes to mind is making Nesta’s attitude in ACOWAR all about her and the IC and completely disregarding Nesta’s actual trauma. (and it goes the other way around as well, like Nesta thinking Feyre doesn’t care about her, those girls do nooot understand each other at all)

There are times where she is empathetic too! A lot of her empathy goes towards Rhys, she understands Elain's apprehension towards Lucien, she connects the priestesses experiences to her own with Tamlin, and the jewels she gave to the wraith and the art studio are also both examples of empathy as well as compassion.

Nesta from the very beginning of her POV in ACOSF (and arguably before too) displays a deep understanding of how she is perceived and why, in addition to more general examples of empathy.

calculating the ships + crying at the thought of humans dying in the war with Hybern

her general awareness of the effect her presence has (ACOWAR dinner scene, ACOFAS solstice)

understanding while Rhys and Mor hate her

when Cassian was sad about being bested by Eris (really all the examples of her empathizing with his bastard insecurities, of which there are many—also Cassian acknowledges the dick sucking (ew) as an act of empathy)

understanding instantly why Cassian shut down while talking about his mother

softening her tone towards Gwyn when she remembered why the library was created

Feyre's comment to Cassian about how Nesta feels more deeply than others... literally the definition of empathy

understanding why the Illyrians were afraid of her (the children should be afraid of her comment or whatever it was)

if we're being real, her ability to pinpoint other people's insecurities is twisted example of empathy since it requires an understanding of how the other person feels and what would cause them pain

giving the Mask to Bryce after hearing about the murdered humans on Midgard because she understands that drive to protect humans

Something that's notable as well is that she not only understands the feelings of others, but also that she doesn't blame others for disliking her. She consistently justifies and agrees with the way she is spoken to and treated because she is empathetic towards how her mistakes have impacted other people.

Nesta however, for all her understanding, has a lot of difficultly taking action when seeing others suffering, which comes out as a lack of compassion

We know she's always harbored guilt over Feyre hunting, but never stepped in to take over that burden

She knows humans will be affected by war, as we see when she cries when the human queens say they won't help, but is reluctant to help (both in ACOMAF dinner scene and ACOWAR when Feyre wants her to share her story)

Knows what everyone wants from her after the war—Amren wants her to train, Cassian and Feyre want her to deal with her trauma, but she prioritizes going about it her way instead of the way that would make them happier (showing up to stuff and being happy?)

She knows full well what sitting on that rock means for Cassian but chooses her own discomfort and rebellion over alleviating his embarrassment

Doesn’t want to scry until threatened that Elain would if she wouldn’t, was also fine with Feyre taking on the danger if it meant she didn’t have to

This isn’t pro or anti either of them. Feyre always wants to help, but sometimes can’t see when it isn’t wanted and can’t understand the other person’s perspective in order to help them the way that they need. Nesta feels and understands a lot but has a lot of trouble outwardly expressing that empathy towards others either in the form of words or actions. This causes her to come off as cold and unfeeling when… in her POV we can tell she’s not.

[gwynrieldreams]

How Gwynriel and Elucien mirror Quinlar and Satharion

SJM creates characters that mirror each other in each world. They have similar appearance/vibe, similar powers, similar backstory/family origins or similar role.

Rhysand, Ruhn and Dorian. Lidia and Aelin. Amren and Fury. Jessiba and Merrill. Connor and Sam. Einar and Beron. Danika and Fenrys or Danika and Nehemia, depending on how you see it. Yrene and Hypaxia. Vassa and Ariadne.

Even the villains, Vesperus and Maeve, the Valg, the Death Gods and the Princes of Hel. Their gods: Deanna and Luna, Hel and Hellas, Urd and Wyrd. Their kings and queens: Theia and Mala-firebringer. Fionn and Brannon. Elena and Helena. Gavin and Pelias.

Acosf and CC were written pretty much next to each other. So, what if Gwyn is Bryce's mirror?

They're both redheads with freckles.

Mixed: high fae + sth else that is considered lesser.

They work in a library/artifact gallery under a strict librarian.

They wear an amulet that librarians wear, with protective powers.

They both have Autumn Court heritage.

They both grew up or spent some of their childhood years in a temple.

Jelly jubilee was used to foreshadow that Bryce was Starborn and the heir of Dusk Court, while the miniature pegasus was connected to Gwyn in the scene where she cuts the ribbon and Emerie mentions that the pegasus liked Gwyn the best.

Bryce has light powers and it's possible that Gwyn also has similar powers. I believe since Bryce isn't interested in ruling or moving in Prythian, then the land will choose someone else. I just think that all those similarities and the miniature pegasus foreshadowing are something that cannot be ignored, in addition to Gwydion and the possibility that she'll be the one to wield it.

And what if Azriel and Hunt are also mirrors?

Hunt is called umbra mortis, which means shadow of death, while Azriel's name comes from Azrael the angel of death and he has shadow powers.

Dark and broody with wings.

Hunt worked as an assassin for the Archangels and hated himself, while Azriel is the torturer of the NC and hates himself. Also, this:

Just like Azriel, who was tortured and wasn't allowed to fly or see the sunlight for years.

Considering, also, the mating language parallels between the two couples, I believe all this just seals the deal for gwynriel endgame and opens the possibility that Gwyn could also be the one to wield Gwydion and/or rule Dusk Court.

Let's not forget their bonus chapters ended the same way.

Same goes for Sathia and Elain:

light brown hair and pretty

associated with flowers

in love with sb who broke up with her but still they went after him (Elain with Graysen, Sathia with Colin)

mated/married with a redhead who has done nothing but respect them and still wants to be with them after everything

Elain is soft and kind, loves to hold court. Her mother saw her as a "doll to dress up" and that she'd only marry for "love and beauty." Sathia is similar.

Lucien and Tharion also share similarities:

redhead, charming and sarcastic

no place to call home. Lucien is from the Autumn Court but his biological father is Helion, HL of the Day Court, he was emissary for Spring and now he's working as an emissary for Night, while staying in the human lands and in Spring Court/Tharion is mer but loves all things Above, he was hunted by the River Queen, he was staying with Ruhn, Flynn and Declan, until he was forced to make a deal with the Viper Queen

emissary work, Tharion is Captain of Intelligence but as we see he was sent as a representative to the Summit

Lucien wants to get to know Elain but her love for Graysen and her trauma makes it difficult, Lucien respects her decisions/Tharion married Sathia to get her out of a difficult situation but Sathia still went after Collin, Tharion respected her decision but still went after her in order to save her from the Viper Queen.

I think it's possible that Tharion and Sathia are also mates like Elucien, especially when we consider how protective she was of him against the Viper Queen -even though Colin was the one actually in danger.

[litnerdwrites]

So remember when Cassian told Nesta to leave Velaris and go somewhere else? I was thinking, where would she go? Putting aside how she had no money, or connections or even friends to call her own, where would she be able to go to truly disconnect from the IC?

She can't go to the Spring Court because it's in shambles (thanks to someone, cough Feyre cough), Tamlin probably wouldn't want here there anyway, and it wouldn't be a place she'd be truly safe until it's rebuilt. If the NC + Eris can just show up for secret meetings whenever they want, wha't to stop anyone worse showing up?

Autumn has Beron, so unless Eris would be willing to hide her, she'd probably be killed on sight. Or worse.

Summer is out because Amren has connections with Varian, who has sway over Tarquin. So they'd likely be able to monitor and control her from afar using him. Amren doesn't seem to shy away from lying and manipulating to get her way, so if she really wants to, she could make life hard for Nesta. Or even monitor her while she's there. If they need her for something, like trove hunting or something, then they'd have access to her.

The same can be said for Winter, because of Mor's ties to Vivian. I also think Mor is more likely to make Nesta's life hard through Vivian out of spite, or just to hurt her. Remember when she showed up to watch the training in windhaven in ACOSF, before insulting her while she sat on the rock? Yeah, I picture that happening a lot if Nesta goes to The Winter Court. It would, once again, give the IC access to her if they needed it.

Then there's The middle, which is dangerous, Nesta knows nothing about, and at that point, wouldn't be able to survive in alone.

The Day court might be an option, but Helion is too much of a wild card due to his relationship with Rhysand. I feel like, if he felt it was necessary for his court, he'd gladly throw her under the bus. Especially if Bryallin is coming for her, with the trove, potentially. If the IC play their cards right, they might actually be able to manipulate him into seeing Nesta as too much of a liability. I don't really know enough about him to be completely sure though. Given that the IC know that Lucien is his son, and they have Elain, Lucien's mate, they have a pretty solid bargaining chip if they ever need to access Nesta. Again, however, he is a bit of a wild card.

Then there's The Dawn Court. She might be safe there, so long as other courts aren't pressuring him, which they might if Mor and Amren use their influences on Summer and Winter. Or even if just Helion demands it. There's also the issue of Bryallin and the trove. Would he still protect her, knowing that Bryallin has items as powerful as the trove, and wants to use them to hurt Nesta?

The human lands mean certain death, so they're out. It also leaves no protection for Nesta, in case something happens.

If nowhere in Prythian, Nesta could go to the continent. However, places like Valahan still refuse to sign a treaty declaring that they wouldn't try and take The Mortal Lands now that the wall is down, and were considering allying with Hybern during the war. They're also the ones with the most to gain from conquering the human lands, which Hybern would've pretty much done for them, if it weren't for Nesta. So, I doubt Nesta is particularly well liked over there, after killing the king. She wouldn't be safe there either. Best case scenario, kingdoms try to recruit her to use her powers as a weapon, worst case, they try to kill her. That's not even considering Bryallin and Koshchei, who would also target her.

With all that in mind, the best case scenario is gaining citizenship from The Dawn Court, while praying that The NC don't do anything too insane, like threaten military action, slander, or abduct her, all to maintain control over her. Otherwise, there is literally nowhere else for her to go. Not after they asked her to get involved in a war. Not after they asked her for help in that war, again, without giving her a chance to really heal. Not after they forced her into that life, after not doing the one thing they promised to do in exchange for her help in the first place: Protect her and Elain.

And the worst part is that Nesta's made it clear her dream is to see the world. To travel. Now, there's nowhere she could travel too without certain precautions, like training or guards, which defeats the point of separating herself from the IC. It also gives them more control over her.

Where can she go? What can she do? She's essentially isolated from the world she wants to see so badly. And even if she doesn't want to be, if she's a part of the IC, or considered part of it due to being Feyre's sister, can she really travel anywhere without being considered a diplomat or emissary of some kind? For all that the IC claim she has a choice, she seems to have terrifyingly few, both in and out of the NC.

[stargirlie25]

Me having a conversation with an e/riel. Feel free to fact check by looking at the books.

Me: Why do you ship Elain and Azriel?

E/riel: Well for starters, he was the only one to go save Elain when she was in hybern.

Me: First of all, Cassian offered first. Second of all Feyre was also there and saved her (what Elain said)

E/riel: Ok but still it was romantic

Me: But it was not. Because her sister ALSO saved her :) Feyre went to UTM and got tortured,SAed,killed people and died all for Tamlin anyhow...

E/riel: Well Madja said a mate knows whats wrong with their own mate and Az figured out that Elain was a seer.

Me: Elain being a Seer was not what was wrong with her. Also Rhysand figured out Nestas power.

E/riel: Az gave Elain truthteller when he had given it to no one ever.

Me: Only because Mor begged him with tears in her eyes to stay back. Cassian offered her first (again) and then Az offered her TT bc he would not have to use it. Not to mention, Elain only took it when Feyre assured her she would not have to use it. She gave it back without a glance

E/riel: Well Feyre imagined Elain and Az as ´´Death and his lovely fawn´´

Me: Okay. Well did you also catch when she said TT is the only connection between them? Not to mention something admirable about Elain is that she is always full of light. What literally takes away Light? Darkness=Azriel. Not to mention, Azriel is death and his home sucks the life from Elain. Not that Feyres aesthetic painting mind matters anything to me :)

E/riel: What about the fact that Lucien thought Elain was crazy?

Me: What about the fact when he travelled all around to find somebody on a quest so dangerous and the only confirmation he got was from Elain?

E/riel: Elain was wearing Cobalt blue the first time she met Az.

Me: Considering Elains devotion to Graysen, there is a high chance of her wearing that color for Graysen because his crest is cobalt blue. Even if its not true, Lucien wears a coat that´s fawn brown (exact same shade of Elains eyes)

E/riel: A smile and blush bloomed on Azriel in regards to Elain.

Me: Dont care. Thats just an action. Although since you say that, did you know that a smile bloomed on Elains face after her father died (who she loved dearly) in regards to Lucien?

E/riel: What about when a charged glance went through Elain and Azriel.

Me: Sexual attraction. Lots of characters have it like Feyre and tamlin,Aelin and Chaol,Azriel to Mor....

E/riel: Well, Azriel jacks off to Elain every night while looking at the gift he got for her.

Me: Dont be shy you dont have to say a gift. You can say he jacks off to headache powder. No problem. Almost like when Nesta slept with multiple men. Trust me, that does not affect me!

E/riel: Elriel is true mates because Az was the only one to smell Eluciens bond.

Me: Bryce smelled Nessians bound, Ruhn and Lidia smelled bryce and hunts bond, Tamlin smelled feysands.

E/riel: Gwyn is a lightsinger because Az chest sparked because of her.

Me: Well than ig Lidia and Bryce are lightsingers too. Get those evil bitches away from Hunt and Ruhn right?

E/riel: There is nothing romantic for Gwynriel

Me: Thats literally just your penny for thought. Why would i care when SJM provided common banter, mate language and history for Gwynriel, and scenes where they challenge each other when she said history,sparks,conflict,and challenge all makes a good couple.

E/riel: Elain gave two gifts to Az. Not lucien

Me: Headphones for Az bc Nesta and Cass fuck so loud? So romantic i cant! Im so glad my girl SJM is saving the good,meaningful gifts for Elucien.

E/riel: Az waited for Elain to come to the table and told everybody to not eat until Elain came back.

Me: he was thinking of his mother being a slave. Thats what the situation of eating when Elain was tending to everyone reminded him of. How his mother was treated. Its not romantic but it is a very sad thing to think about.

E/riel: Azriel loves Elain. He only has not thought about a future with her because he does not allow himself to!

Me: Honestly i don´t mind that you think that! Although that is not canon. Sleeping with Elain is the only thoughts he PLEASURED himself to. Not allowed himself as some say. Again, that´s just your penny for thought. He says ´´He hadn't gone that far with his planning´´ Meaning sexual thoughts is fine but anything further is like nope, nope,nope,nope,nope too far.

E/riel: Elain literally loses her newfound boldness around Lucien.

Me: There is so many more reasons that we could come up with than what meets the eye. Have you considered it was because she didnt know what to do. Or she saw the look on Lucien ´ s face and shrank because she did not intentionally cause it and felt bad? Or maybe she FELT Luciens pain and shared it because of the bond? So much possibilities to think of especially considering we have limited text and not the actual characters POV. Also i wonder how far she will shrink when she finds out about Az and Rhysands conversation in the bonus chapter. Or maybe she heard it already?

E/riel: Azriel actually gets Elain.

Me: The way he literally does not though! When Elain begs the IC not to kill graysen Az says its best for him to be killed in acosf. When Elain says nesta cant make choices for her and then Az says she should not be exposed to the innate darkness even though later we figure out Elain is willing? When Elain says she is not a child to be fought over and than Az says he will defeat Lucien in a blood duel with her?

E/riel: Scrying is dangerous! Of course Azriel did not want her too.

Me: Yet, he said ´´Nesta really should do scrying´´ but not Elain because he underestimates her. Which is the ONLY thing SJM provides to what Az could have been doing.

E/riel: Azriel listened to Elains laugh probably because he loves the sound!

Me: Maybe its because Elain never ever laughs like that around him or the ic He was literally monitoring them which means to keep tabs on someone which directly relates to his fricking job 😂. So many words to choose from and SJM chose monitoring.

E/riel: Az gave Elain a rose necklace.

Me: Ok and? Elain gave it back. She does not want that shit. He gave it to another person. It felt wrong to clasp it around Elains neck but it sparked something in his chest and made him smile for Gwyn.

E/riel: Lucien only sees Elain for his mate but Azriel sees her for her.

Me: Nope. His reason for wanting to kiss Elain was simply ´´What fi the cauldron was wrong´´ and refers to Elain as the 3rd. She is literally a theory or more so a possibility to him. One he has not thought through in the slightest. Also, Lucien was going crazy in hybern in regards to Elain before he knew of their bond AND Elain has not accepted the bond yet he still cares for her.

E/riel: Elain called Azriels scars beautiful.

Me: first of all, its a 50% chance she called his scars beautiful. Feyre said she was not sure which one she was complimenting, the scars, or the big glowing cobalt siphon atop his hand. Second of all, even if it was 100% fact that she said his scars specifically was beautiful, it seems he does not believe it at all. He tries to not to look at his hands. He does not want to taint her with his presence or touch her beautiful skin with his scars.

E/riel: His shadows vanish around Elain and lightens. They also do that around mor who he was in love with for 500 years. Also his shadows are like snakes ready to strike in regards to Elain.

Me: Shadows lighting and vanishing are the same thing. Light takes away darkness as darkness takes away light (another reason why they are horrible together) His shadows are losing its darkness around Elain and Mor. Mor was wrong for him. The amount of pain it caused him to be in Love with her? Want that to continue with Elain and Az? Azriel does not need his darkness to be hidden. He needs it to be embraced *insert Gwyn*

E/riel: SJM would never pass on a good angsty trope like forbidden love!

Me: firstly, the only thing forbidding e/riel is Elain herself. If she rejects the bond, she can be with Az all she wants and NO ONE has a say on that. Not Rhysand. Not feyre. Not cassian. Not Lucien himself. Although she hasnt after 2 years. There is an answer to why. Its not like Elain knows she has to wait until her own book to reject it. Second of all, Forbidden love is the absolute WORST trope to give BOTH of them. For Elain, she has always hid in the shadows of her sisters in the series and the fandom. You really think Elain Archeron always full of light wants to hide in the darkness and play out Azriel´s fantasies? As for Azriel, he has been secretly silently in PAIN loving Mor for 500 years. So you want him to go through it again with Elain? No. He wants the bond nessian and feysand have. The love they share. The joy of being with your equal. The connection of a mating bond. Being proud to showcase it to the world. Forbidden love would just tear them apart.

E/riel: SJM does not write about virgin romances! Plus Gwyn is a virgin!

Me: Yes she can. Gwyn already lost her virginity against her will so biologically she is not going through the bleeding and the actual losing her physical virginity. Although it is a fact she has never slept with someone. The scene where Cassian *ahem* first enters nesta is very descriptive and SJM describes the pain of Cassian entering her......So yes she can for sure write about Gwyn having sex. This is also goes against the statement that Gwyn cant have sex because of her trauma. False. She is interested in romance books and asks Nesta if the sex was good. I think Gwyn would enjoy sex with someone she trusts in and out.

[starborn15]

“Azriel shows more mate behavior than Lucien!!!!”

Does he?

ACOMAF: Lucien - “Don’t just leave her on the damn floor!”

- Breaks free of his restraints to walk to Elain, past the king, not caring what happens to him to get to her.

-Azriel snarls when the king says: “My what a Queen you are” to Mor it’s very obvious so can we please stop with this now?

Also in ACOWAR prior to this is is Lucien Vanserra who says:

“I’m getting my mate back.”

Please see chapter 24 ACOWAR:

Lucien going against Feyre and Rhysand’s rules (which I mean come on.) to stay away from Elain, to see her; just once…to know if she’s worth it. A lot of people hate on Lucien for this but I mean Lucien had never met Elain and you know what? Lucien’s “father” hates him, his brothers hunt him down, he has no home, no prospects that he knows of. He has nothing. So what is..worth it?

Worth a life shackled to him.

Nesta and Feyre create a rift with Elain and Lucien. Lucien sees that Elain mourns Graysen, that she was to be married and knows the role he played, the mistake he made and he follows he vision and brings back an army with her FATHER.

And was she worth it?

Lucien shows up, every solstice and we are lead to believe more often to try and connect with her: “until Lucien got the message and left.”

Lucien is saying..you are worth it, every time he shows up, does Elain owe him anything? No.

But this is a great set up for, he fell first but she fell harder trope, and I love that. Of he’s the one holding out his hand, putting his foot forward waiting and when she’s ready he won’t be there and she’s going to have to chase him and I LOVE that potential for their book.

So when people say Azriel shows mate behavior.

Show me where?

[acourtofthought]

Prythians history as they knew it (Silene later confirms she twisted the actual history):

What actually happened:

It wasn't the Priestess that dipped Gwydion into the Cauldron but Fionn.

I wonder if Fionn could be connected to Lady of Autumns line:

And if Sarah will connect Lucien to the first High King of Prythian.

Fionn in mythology was the leader of a band of hunter - warriors and Sarah wrote Lucien as hunting / tracking a few times in the series:

"but it was luck that we caught your scent on the wind"

Lucien had tracked it down—and we’d lured it, carefully, over hours, back to that camp.

“I used to stay here while hunting. Before—I left,” he said.

“Where’s my dear friend Lucien?” “Hunting for our dinner.”

Someone who could also fight:

Like Rhys, he usually opted for words to win his battles, but I’d seen him and Tamlin in the practice ring. He knew how to handle a weapon. How to kill, if need be.

Fionn was also a Seer and poet, who was given a magic thumb that bestows him great wisdom.

For Lucien we have a magical eye that allows him to see things others cannot.

(side note, I like seeing the part about a poet and remembering the “Your eyes are like stars, and your hair like burnished gold” line 😂).

Fionn in mythology was also depicted as hunting with hounds, a storyline Sarah attached to the Autumn Court through Eris in Silver Flames.

I mentioned it in a few other posts but I also think Sarah may have further connected Lucien to the sword Gwydion through the tale of Blodeuwedd.

Llew in the tale is similar to Lucien as Llew had a wife created for him out of flowers, the most beautiful maiden ever seen (who went on to become the Welsh Goddess of Spring) which parallels Lucien's mating bond with Elain, her connection to flowers and her beauty (this is not to say Elain is more beautiful than other characters however her looks are a noted plot point and Lucien finds her to be the most beautiful female he'd ever seen). It was his uncle Gwydion who created Blodeuwedd so that Llew could become King.

Gwydion therefore was a King maker just as Gwydion in the ACOTAR series was a symbol of the first High King of Prythian, Fionn.

Fionn being a Seer in mythology would also tie in nicely with Elain by Lucien's side as High Queen. Not necessarily with them leading battles or ruling over the courts so much as them being the keepers of the peace across the various places in their world just as Fionn once kept the peace of their lands.

(also, that would mean Az would have to play nice with Lucien since his dagger likes to catch up with the Starsword. Fionn once had the sword and his friend Enalius the dagger, time for Az to put aside his issues 😂).

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Another idea thats been rolling in my head is a Dynasty/Emperor Au. Where either some of the boys are Emperors or working for one and the listeners are Concubines trying to get away. Or one listener being a Emperor of sorts and all of the boys are their Concubines.

The only one I see being a Emporor is Auron, but it would be intresting if a different boy was one of a different region. I can see Auron having lots of Concubines but letting them do whatever they want with restrictions of course. He's the son of one after all and knows that they can have worth for things they wish to do.

Faust being Prince would be intresting bc he was going to be Emperor. But the more he sees Auron dealing with shit he enjoys having the privilege he has. Seeing Star though the main entertainer of his brothers harem want to see if he could be friends with them. He does ended up getting them in the end, only because Star told Auron truthfully they wanted to be with him. The read head was happy his brother found someone.

Alphonse has a candy shop still but also works at a Brothel. This caused him to meet Boo, who also worked there but was picked up by Auron because he loved their cooking. When Boo was given one wish by Auron they asked if Alphonse could come with them. Alphonse ended up being Boo's helper in the kitchen when baking. He makes candy treats for everyone, he confessed to Boo with a candy bouquet Finn helped him make. Auron made a comment once saying he was glad that Al finally confessed his feelings.

Seth is tricky to see in this au, but he was a theif but turned bounty hunter who works for Auron. He can see Alphonse is happy and decided he should too. Their still friends but he sees a fighter in the harem's ranks, Scout. Their more like a body guard for Auron only joined because they were bored. Both spar and go hunting together for new bounties for Auron. Seth tried to give Auron money to buy Scout from him but Auron just let them be.

Charlie works with Jack to get information. He also helps Boo serve food to the concubines telling them what they wanted to eat for the day. The listeners were ease to serve for but when he saw Casper again for the first time he froze. Casper was a successful merchant that asked to be apart of Auron's harem for protection. When they saw Charlie again they rushed to him and spinned him around. They connected again and Casper demanded that they wanted to be with Charlie. Auron smiled when he realized the person Charlie wanted to find again found him first.

Finn is the main gardener for Auron, he knows how to make the palace look lively for him. Sunflower is a poison make for Auron and taster. When meeting Finn they loved how he could identify the flowers they used based on smell. Finn tried to suppress his emotions but Auron told him that he only keeps Sunflower because they make sure he's not poisoned. He basically helped the two get together.

Lucien is a son of a warlord that tried to conquer Auron's empire. But Auron welcomed them into his palace, then poisoned Lucien's father with Sunflowers poisons. Big red was happy he did so he even took the title of being the new warlord and decided to make a trendy with Auron. Angel joined the harem because they were on the run from the deceased warlord, Lucien actually help then escape. The two had a crush on eachother and so to get them back Lucien asked if he could have them back. Auron agreed but told him if they are even hurt slightly by him he'd kill Lucien.

Jack is the one that does any job Auron needs done. Hunting someone down? On it. Information is needed from a different region? Here you go your Majesty. Buddy is like a Jester in a way from Auron, they were gifted to him by their parents who were wealthy nobles. They cracked a joke at him and Auron laughed at it. The two meet when Jack is giving information about a family and Buddy tells a joke. Caught off guard Jack laughed, Buddy really liked how it sounded so they always tell him some.

Auron is just happy that his concubines are well taken care of. He saw what being one was like by his mother, and what being the Emperor's favorite will do to them. So when Rook finally joined, they became part of his public image helper. They showed everyone that Auron wasn't a cruel tyrant he just seemed as one because he couldn't let other regions think he was weak. Slowly they broke him down and he asked if they wanted to be his partner. He knew nome of the others would want to hurt them since they were in love with other people and Rook accepted.

But when I think about just one listener being the Emperor (used gener neutral) is intresting as well:

All the YV boys are very different and some probably would never want to share a partner. But they were either gifted or picked by Listener to be in their harem.

Alphonse was picked because they loved how he made them feel normal. Just joking around and giving them candy when they went into the city to be normal for a day. So they asked if he wanted to come be in the palace and be taken care of for the rest of his life. Platonic or not they would respect his decision. He accepted.

Seth is tricky as well because he was trying to find Alphonse after leaving his pack of thieves. But heard he was taken to the palace he went to challenge the Emperor for his hand. The deal was if he won they give him Alphonse back but if they win he was to join their harem. They won but had a long discussion with Seth about why they took Alphonse and just wanted to give him a better life. He accepted after thinking over what it would be like a life without struggle.

Charlie was a childhood friend that listener had as a play mate when younger. Sadly when listener came of age Charlie left, he was threatened for being so close to them. He worked as a theif under Auron, but when listener saw him again they asked if he could just come back with them. He didn't want to at first but then said that no one would hurt him. After spending time together again he agreed to it, Auron even sent him off with money in case something went wrong.

Finn was apart of a family that was broken by the old Emperor before Listener took over. He was picked out from other nobles to become a concubine for them. Listener remembered him when younger meeting him in a garden where he was rambling about flower facts and how he wanted a flower shop. Listener told him of their memory and said they would fund it. Finn felt so happy he finally got his dream that he agreed.

Faust was given to listener by his father when they were born. He was also a playmate of them to get them use to nobles. Listener is more of a friend to him and let him do whatever he wants. They know what training he had to endorse to become the perfect 'groom' for them. Faust keeps most of the other concubines in check if they try something that will displease listener who has a thousand other things to worry about. He likes causing problems for the advisors he and listener doesn't like.

Auron is a powerful and influential merchant that basically runs the market. Since he knew Listener through Faust he supports them. Listener knows of his other job but chooses to not knowledge it, they know better not too. But lots of people kept pushing for them to either marry or make Auron a concubine for them. So to get hem off his back listener gave him a title of honorary concubine. Faust wasn't happy but listener told him they only did so because Auron is someone they're expect and want to keep safe from other power hungry nobles. Helps keep nobles and concubines stay in line with Faust.

Lucien is a son of a warlord once again in this. He was gifted to listener by his father because he lost a battle against them. Seeing that he loves to cook listen let him become their personal cook. He was just happy that he was able to have a semi normal life so he makes sure to give listener a feast when they wish. He gets along well with Alphonse and butts heads with Faust sometimes. But in all he's pretty chill with everyone, and is used as a intimidation factor for listener when dealing with other warlords and nobles that try and test them.

Jack is their handy man they chose because Finn told them all of the things he can do. Jack was a normal commoner that became friends with Finn bc his family worked for Finn's. He was a butler of sorts for Finn when he was picked by Listener but as time went by Listener liked how good he was at a lot of things. Auron even praised his work ethic once and told Listener that they should add him to the harem. So they did asking Finn and him if that was okay, they were happy to be closer to each other again. Now they can hang out without any of the other concubines out of the YV boys commenting on it.

[silverdreamscapes]

Not sure how exactly a Bryce, Nesta, and Azriel bonus chapter confirms Gw*nriel but I guess here we are.

It could just as easily be Elriel related because it’s not as if Gw*n is the only connection that Nesta and Azriel have between each other. There’s also her sister Elain who both are obsessed with.

It says that Bryce, Nesta, and Azriel discover more about each others world. I’m pretty sure they’re all going to be doing that anyway throughout the book and if it’s important it wouldn’t be in a bonus chapter. So what more could they learn that would be in a bonus chapter. A mate bond perhaps? We know where Bryce comes from, they choose mates. Bryce chose her mate Hunt. Hmmm…Wouldn’t this be interesting information for Azriel to know?

And it’s in keeping with bonus chapters not being needed to understand the book. It’s information that you wouldn’t need to know for the plot of CC3. It’s not something you would need to know for ACOTAR 5 if it’s Elriel. We already know Azriel wants Elain. And we already know Nesta knows Azriel’s secret.

Which would also explain why Nesta is there because when I first saw the list of bonus povs I did the biggest WTF with this one. All of the other bonus povs make sense. Bryce and Hunt. Ruhn and Lydia. Bryce and Danika. Ember and Randall. But Bryce, Azriel, and Nesta seemed weird. But not so weird if Bryce and Azriel are discussing how mating bonds work in each other’s worlds, and Nesta who knows Azriel wants to be with Elain, and has said that Elain “was no such thing” when she was called Lucien’s mate is also part of that conversation.

At the end of the day, this bonus could be about anything and probably isn’t ship related. But acting as if this is confirmation of a ship based on nothing is just bizarre, when it could just as easily be Elriel related.

[silverlinedeyes]

An initial list of questions spawned from HOFAS

HOFAS spoilers below the break.

I’ve been thinking about some big and some small questions since I finished HOFAS last night and wanted to preserve them here with some of my thoughts for later discussion. I am also planning some larger theory posts to try to answer some of these questions.

Also, please reblog with any additional questions you may have if you’d like!!!

Where are the other Hel princes and what are they fighting?

Are Valg related to the Asteri or the Hel princes (or both)?

Are Valg children of the Void like the Hel princes?

Is the Under-King Valg and has he been hiding in the Under-King body living off of some of the Second Light?

How do Koschei and the Carver and the Weaver fit in with this?

Is Az also a descendant of the second daughter since he’s Starborn?

Is ToG on the same timeline as Prythian and CC?

Are the tall fae that came to Midgard from Erilea coming from the same time period depicted at the oasis in ToD when Yrene and Chaol find those carvings from the first demon wars, before Elena or Gavin were born?

Who on Prythian is a powerful enough starborn to wield and use Gwydion and TT? Is Elain? Or will the three Archeron sisters together make Theia’s light anew, as @offtorivendell @wingedblooms and I have theorized that each Archeron sister has part of Theia’s light.

Will the Archeron sisters be able to wield TT and Gwydion together to kill the unkillable—Koschei?

Did Bryce revive Dusk by taking Silene’s light back like she did Avallen when she took Theia’s light out of it? Or will someone (Elain???? Cc @wingedblooms) revive Dusk?

Does Urd = Wyrd = Chaos = the Dark Mother?

Is the temple in Hel that looks like Urd’s temple a temple to Chaos, Hel’s version of Urd and Apollion’s mother?

Were the ToG gods and the Asteri sucked (back into?) the Void, and if so, can the Void send them back or can they be retrieved from the Void by something?

What IS the connection between the gods in all these worlds, like Bryce asked when she was in Prythian?

Why do all these different fae societies oppress the females? Is it because only females can be powerful starborn, and some forces are at work to suppress that power to protect darker beings? Like how Pelias seems to have created a society that doesn’t allow women to get access to anything related to starborn to prevent another starborn queen from rising?

Can only females be powerful starborn/light wielders and can only males be powerful dark wielders/shadow wielders? Like how Hypaxia says six pointed star is two triangles, one male one female one light one dark (three brothers who are dark princes, three sisters who are starborn/princesses of light?)

Are there male lightsingers or female shadowsingers, or do singers follow these same rules?

Are morven and the murder twins descended from people from Hybern? The murder twins are daemati and remind me of the Hybern twins, and Morven’s shadows are described like ravens.

Does this mean TT has slewn two Hybern kings?

Where does the Starborn power come from?

Where in Prythian are the avallen from?

Are the Starborn and Avallen the same people?

Was Fionn the original king of darkness/shadows and theia the original queen of light/starborn queen? And are the males of their line the former, and the females the latter?

Where in Prythian did Fionn and Pelias come from?

Can TT unMake a mating bond?

Can Elain wield Gwydion and TT together to unMake her bond with Lucien and Make a bond with Azriel?

Aidas tells Hunt some higher power must have made them Mates. We have all these super powerful fae finding their powerful mates right before these huge universe altering moments. Is this part of how Urd is using them as pawns in her plans/games?

Why does Amren’s timeline not match Silene’s re the creation of the Prison? Was this just a continuity error, did Silene manipulate memories, or is this fishy on Amren’s part?

Was Enalius one of the people with Fionn and Theia on Ramiel when they made Gwydion and TT?

Did Nesta give up some of her Starborn powers when she gave back what she stole from the Cauldron, and does this mean she won’t be able to wield and use Gwydion and TT, which will lead to Elain’s role with this?

[nightcourtreader]

Day by day I’m solidified in my belief that Azriel’s & Gwyn’s book is next rather than it being Elain and Lucien’s. I just think in my opinion it makes more sense that elucien will be last. Though I could still be wrong. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I would like to to be known this is long and everything stated are MY opinions.

SJM said it’s obvious who the next book is about after the readers read acosf. Azriel was a prominent figure in acosf. Way more than Elain was and that was shocking to me. Based off how nesta & Elain’s relationship was in the earlier books.

Yes Elain did get character development a little bit in acosf but she still wasn’t a prominent figure, she was once again pushed to the background. And I get that because it was nesta’s story but we still got so much more of feysand, Azriel, emrie, Gwyn, and even eris over Elain.

In a recent interview, I think it was the one last year. A girl asked SJM about having Elain and Azriel’s book being next, I forgot the form of the question. But I just remember SJM saying that “we will get Elain in some form.” That doesn’t sound like the next MC to me. And she didn’t even mention nothing about Azriel at all. SJM is known not to say too much about her books and spoil them. The way she was answering questions in this recent interview in September, she doesn’t like to spoil anything. So for her to say you will get Elain in some form and not say you will get Elain AND Azriel in some form and she just didn’t mention Azriel at all makes me just believe that it’s Azriel that’s going to be next and they’re def not getting a book together.

Ive seen so many people say “why would SJM give Azriel a book over Elain. She wouldn’t do that.” But how would we know that? Chaol got a book in the middle of the TOG series over everyone other characters, why can’t Azriel? It’s already a proven fact that the series is not just about the Archeon sisters since SJM has 2 more books planned about a couple coming together and there’s only 1 Archeon sister left. No matter how hard people try to argue with that fact. She mentioned how Azriel’s story is something she’s excited about writing and not just about his bed habits. So why is it far fetched he will get a book next? I also like the idea of having the series start with an Archeon sister and ending with one.

Then the bonus chapters. Azriel got one. He’s also a part of a second one for hofas. I saw an argument that well Cassian got a bonus chapter for acomaf and he didn’t get a book until acosf (or part of one). I think SJM did it like that because she wasn’t done with feysand’s story. It wouldn’t make sense to give Cassian/nesta a book when she wasn’t done writing feysand’s story in my opinion. Plus the first 3 books with Feyre pov was already planned before having a sisters book spin off.

I also think acofas was a perfect book to connect the series to Cassian’s pov & nesta’s pov to get the readers away from feysand’s pov. And her bonus chapter for Azriel is also a good example of that too. She wouldn’t put so much emphasis on Azriel’s bonus chapter for no reason in her interviews. Now that feysand’s & nessians story has been told, it makes more sense to have the next mc have a bonus chapter so we can get inside of the next MC’s head like we did with Cassian & nesta.

And I do get the fact that there are so many plot points that are unresolved in acowar, especially with koschei, but to me koschei is a last book level threat like how Maeve and erawan were in TOG. The two caused problems throughout the series but they weren’t defeated until the very last book of the series. That’s a pattern of SJM. In acowar (feysand’s last full novel) hybern was defeated. I already mentioned TOG. In Crescent city 3, I think she’ll have Bryce and Hunt defeat the asteri and hofas is the last book for Bryce & hunt’s story. To me that makes sense plot wise. Elain and Lucien are the only ones connected to koschei from the main characters that’s left.

Plus koschei was using braillyn to do his dirty work for him because he can’t leave his lake. I’m pretty sure he has tricks up his sleeve because I secretly think he and Merrill are working together since he whispers on the wind and she can listen to whispers on the wind (and that connects her to Gwyn. Especially since Merrill is suppose to be clotho’s right hand & Clotho appeared at the end of Azriel bonus chapter) But koschei’s back to square 1. I don’t think he poses a great risk at the moment. He needs to regroup and do another plan.

I know everybody wants the spring court to be back up and running and it needs to be back up and running before the next major war happens. SJM has brought it up too much for it not to happen and for it not to be important. But to me spring isn’t really the pressing matter, the autumn court is because of Beron trying to align with koschei like an idiot.

After the night court, the autumn court was the second most talked about court in acosf, then spring was the third. I understand that we have plots from acowar but we also can’t forget to acknowledge the plots that happen in acosf. We also got to see more of eris. I know Lucien has ties to the autumn court but he literally doesn’t fuck with anyone in the autumn court besides his mom and I don’t think he even sees her at all. Lucien calls eris a snake so Lucien isn’t on good terms with them so I really don’t connect him to autumn as much.

And until Beron is out the door, which I’m hoping that happens next book and we get eris as high lord, the autumn court is not going to be in good hands. And I really think Gwyn has autumn court ties to explore 👀. I’m a firm believer she has no spring court ties what so ever and she’s just connected to autumn.

And SJM tends to have her characters hit rock bottom in the acotar series or like them having an emotional conflict. When nesta had her book, since she was the prominent figure in acosf, it’s obvious that she hit rock bottom before acosf came out. She isolated herself. She drunk all the time and slept with men to keep her powers at bay. I don’t think we’ve really seen Elain hit rock bottom yet or have a prominent emotional conflict. Like it’s obvious Elain is suffering in silence just like her sister were, Im 100% certain Elain isn’t 100% happy, but to me shes a lot more chipper than her sisters were at the start of her journey from what we’ve seen.

At the end of acowar she was like happy and was like the world is going to need more gardens and she was looking bright for the future, and I didn’t expect that since what all happen in acowar. She’s snapping back at her sisters in acosf. Trying to advocate for herself as well. With Feyre we see in the beginning of acomaf she was depressed, not eating well, not really regulating her emotions well. We see how nesta was, I know Elain already went through that phase in acowar. But I’m just not 100% convinced that Elain is ready for her own journey just yet.

Now we see with Azriel, he’s just all over the place. To me he’s definitely having emotional conflict when it comes to the mating bond. Trying to ignore the whole thing about Mor knowing that needs to be addressed. Questioning if the cauldron got it wrong. The whole thing with Elain. Him wanting a mating bond. To me Azriel has hit rock bottom emotionally as well. A little different from both nesta and Feyre but to me all the same. Especially seeing now how his bothers has a known mating bond besides him. Romantically, since acotar is more romantically driven than plot driven it makes sense for him to be next. Especially with the plot with the Illyrians, which I think has been a long time coming as well.

Then just imagine Elain seeing that? Everybody else with their mating bonds & happy. How would that make her feel, I think it would make her hit rock botton and have that emotional conflict especially with the whole choice thing and her being stubborn, but we still don’t know because we haven’t gotten her pov but guess whose pov we do have and know who’s struggling? Azriel.

And no I don’t get the argument that Elain hasn’t gotten a bonus chapter because her visions will spoil it. Doesn’t make sense to me because SJM can write it without Elain having visions in the middle of it but still get her insight. Elain also said she needed time to ge reacquainted with her powers in acosf, so it’s not 100% certain she’s still getting visions anyway. No one can confirm or deny because we haven’t seen Elain really and no one has been around her enough to notice since everyone’s focus was on feysand & nessian.

I personally don’t think there’s a valid excuse as to why SJM didn’t give Elain a bonus chapter over Azriel. If people would question why would SJM give Azriel a book over Elain we need to question why she gave him a bonus chapter over Elain.

[acourtofkindness]

Thank you for sending in all the stories, here you can find the collection! Some of these are one-shots, some are longer stories, just click your way through them and also check out their other fics!

A Ballad of Thorns & Roses: How the High Lord of Spring told his Tale (Feylin/Tamcien)

by @positivelyruined When Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court of Prythian, finds the clock counting down to his final battle with Amarantha — two things push him into action: the sudden death and bloody sacrifice of his friend Andras and the fierce vexation of his close friend Lucien. With no more time to waste, he offers shelter to the one person that he should despise the most — the girl who murdered Andras. His heart has been bleeding for a decade. Will their connection be enough to break the bond that holds the Spring Court captive, or will this burning love only spurn Tamlin’s heart? In this tale as old as time, only time will tell.

Spirit Meets the Bones (Eris x OC)

by @lucienarcheron Eris and Iris. Son of a high lord. Daughter of a fiend. An arranged marriage brought them together and beneath all the hate, the two are more alike than they’d like to be.

To Dust Or To Gold (Neris)

by @queercontrarian Eris calls in his bargain with Rhysand: he wants Nesta to join him in the Autumn Court to help him in his scheme to bring down his father.

Flame of Autumn (Eris x OC)

by @climbthemountain2020 "He quashed his hope like a bug beneath his heel. They would meet, marry, and produce a child. How hard could it possibly be to copulate and wash his hands of it? It’s not like he hadn’t regularly found release in the hundreds of years of living. This one would just be attached to him a bit more legally." Eris Vanserra is forced into a marriage with a magic-less daughter of Autumn from a strong bloodline. Despite his best efforts to remain apathetic, the universe has other plans.

A Court of Threads & Daises (Lucien x Tamlin)

by @shi-daisy Tragedy almost struck the Spring Court when Tamlin Evergreen tried to take his own life. Lucien Vanserra manages to save his former Lord, but not his power. Now that the Spring Court has a new High Lord and the horrors of war are behind them, both Tamlin and Lucien agree to help the new heir navigate court life and attempt to rebuild the broken Spring Court, along with healing themselves. They weren't expecting to fall back in love in the process.

A Court of Song and Desolation (Tamlin x Lucien)

by @achaotichuman With his Court in ruins and everyone gone, Tamlin lives amongst the broken pieces of his Court and has no intentions of changing that. Lucien, however, will not stand to leave his oldest friend alone. When Lucien takes Tamlin back to the human lands, they discover a darkness coming for Prythian. If something does not stop it, it will completely rewrite the way Faeries and humans alike live as they know it.

Of Hearts and Swords (Feysand, Nessian, Manorian, Quinlar, etc.)

by @QueenofNightmares (on ao3) 5 years have passed since Bryce Quinlan fought the Asteri—and lost. 5 years since the Horn in her back was then used to permanently open the gates between worlds. Midgard, Erilea, and Prythian are now in open war--the reunited Fae of each world working together to fight the Asteri. But much has changed in the war-ravaged years that have passed. The Crochan Witchclan fights alongside the Valkyries. Hunt Athalar has sought day and night for a way to bring Bryce back from the dead and end this war. And the beloved High Lady of the Night Court--Feyre Archeron-- left Prythian for Erilea, just after their Inner Circle was cleaved apart forever by a newcomer. As war rages on, the Asteri have found an unlikely ally in Prythian--one that might turn the fortunes of battle against the Fae. This is an alternate ending to CC3 (HOFAS) where the Asteri win. Bryce was killed in the conflict that followed and the Horn in her back was then used to permanently open the gates. It will follow each of the main character ships (Feysand, Nessian, Rowaelin, Lysaedion, Manorian, Quinlar, etc.) as well as introduce some new ones for some other beloved characters (Azriel, Fenrys). Lots of relationship angst with a happy ending.

Flame of Autumn (Eris x OC)

by @climbthemountain2020 Eris Vanserra is forced into a marriage with a magic-less daughter of Autumn from a strong bloodline. Despite his best efforts to remain apathetic, the universe has other plans.

Beyond (Helion x LoA)

by @areyoudreaminof The Lady of Autumn has agreed to come live at the Day Court, though she seems hesitant. Can Helion convince her that she belongs at his side?

[starsreminisce]

The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

Again, I love seeing little bits of Elucien in the books I’m reading. The idea of a home is not really a new concept in literature, but it's another one that SJM loves exploring: how home is also a person.

Feyre came back through her mating bond with Rhys, whom she called home. She ended ACOTAR by saying to Tamlin, "Let's go home," and then spent the rest of ACOMAF finding that she truly belonged in the Night Court with her mate.

This theme was expanded further in HOFAS as Bryce tried to find a way back to Midgard until she concluded that she would always make it back to Hunt because Theia and Aidas found their souls across worlds. They were mates, each other's home.

It's interesting that both Elain and Lucien are adapting to the Night Court as their new home, but Lucien has better luck when he isn't in Velaris. He thrives as an emissary in environments where he can use his skills effectively. He lives with humans now, helping to "humanize" the Fae, and is permanently stationed in Spring, a court where he is seen as someone who sets the example.

In ACOSF, Elain struggles to make Velaris her home. She wasn't considered when searching for the Trove, and even when she offered to help, she was used as a carrot-on-the-stick for Nesta. She had to insist on coming to Hewn City for their celebrations, and even then, her wearing black visibly showed that she was not truly part of the court, no matter what she said.

Sometimes it's not the person who should adapt to their surroundings. Sometimes the environment just isn't suitable for the person.

I wonder if this is something Lucien will help Elain with, challenging her idea of what a home means. Will it be a place where she tries hard to fit in, or will it be somewhere that feels easy and natural?

And how long will it take for her to connect the dots that Lucien is the sunshine she has been looking for?

[colorlesschristmastree]

Why is it that you can’t bring up how silly the valks winning the blood rite was without one of their stans being like “b-b-but feyre 😖😖” What about her?

The walked away from the fight with the wyrm about to get sepsis and die from her injuries. She walked away from the rainbow because she wasn’t just fighting with a sword she had her magic that she had been training extensively for months at that point. She’s able to winnow and get away from opponents, none of her fighting in that scene was one on one and she had many many resources available to her. Then Im sure someone will bring up the twins from Hybern and that fight.. yk the one where she was fighting side by side with Lucien and again had the ability to winnow and would’ve lost were it not for that ability, Lucien’s presence, and her quick thinking to burn one of them. All of those fights were pretty reasonable? She’d already been training for some time in acowar and acomaf, has always been canonically a quick thinker and someone who is very observant and in tune with her surroundings.

Meanwhile the blood rite erased already established canon in order to ensure they’d win. The monsters of the illyrian steppes that were said to attack anything they find suddenly having magic noses that exclusively detect illyrians? The illyrian males present simultaneously being willing to put aside anything in order to hunt those three down because they’re females and the illyrians are sexist while also being too distracted fighting each other because they actually don’t care that much about the females to bother hunting the valks down? Which is it? Are they evil monsters who will stop at nothing to hunt down women or are they stupid brutes who only care about fighting each other? Those same illyrian males who at this point in their training are meant to be some of the best sword wielders in Prythian actually can’t fight for shit and despite being brutally trained from a young age are blundering fools who actually can’t fight well and are sloppy and careless. Don’t even get me started on the friendship bracelets situation because that was just so stupid. At least when Lucien helped Feyre in acowar it’s because he was already there, not because his eye is actually magically connected to her bc of their beautiful friendship and bond and he can find her anywhere.

It’s totally ok to have enjoyed the blood rite in that book but admit you enjoyed it because it was entertaining, not because it made any sense. Don’t try to deflect the poor writing in that plot onto fight scenes that are nowhere near as nonsensical.

[stygiansun-totaleclipse]

Author you can’t say there are rumors out there about MC and NOT tell us what they are 😩 and does the MC have any groupies 👀❓(whether in the empire or anywhere else)

🤭 teehee (also u guys can call me Fen if you want)

Most of the rumors surrounding MC and their siblings revolve around their connection to their grandmother, the Mad Empress. People outside of Theia assume MC is just another power-hungry bloodthirsty royal and that MC, like their grandmother, has been hunting other Starfellans and Celestylians to use their ichor for themself in an effort to become immortal. Some of MC’s own soldiers wonder if that might be true—if MC really has consumed more ichor or if perhaps they’ve inherited some of that from their grandmother and if that might have…changed them. Made them more powerful—given them powers one with Theia’s blood would not normally be privy to.

There are even whispers that MC and Nour were complicit in their own siblings’ deaths in an effort both to climb the line of ascension and to harvest their ichor, or if not complicit that they still harvested the ichor from their bodies to use in themselves. After all, why let it go to waste? Though one should take care never to mention such rumors around the pair; MC does not take kindly to such vile slander and while Nour is quite slow to anger, their temper runs hot once that fire is lit.

As for groupies, MC has admirers, sure, but right now really only in the empire. I wouldn’t necessarily call them groupies considering most people treat the royals with some distance—a large part of Theian culture is all about respect, so it would be improper for lower ranking individuals to act too informal with the royals. Most Theians revere the royals as akin to holy figures seeing as they have a bit of their goddess’s own blood in their veins, so MC is well revered (and also feared) both for their royal status and for their contributions to the war effort. MC is respected at court but they’ve also been away from court for many years as they’ve spent the majority of the past several years in the battlefield, so their relationship with most nobles has been either as their commander or they haven’t seen them in a long time. Their soldiers respect/fear them, but still, MC has found it difficult to make any real friends with how people put them on a pedestal. Their only friends right now outside their siblings are Aurynn, Samira, and their Theian serval, Farwah. In private people might fantasize about or fangirl/fanboy over MC, but it wouldn’t do for them to fawn over MC where someone of importance might see them. Imagine the scandal! 🫣 Lucien/Lilith could be considered MC’s groupie—perhaps their only one outside of Theia at this point and the only one who doesn’t care enough about decorum to hide it. Most people outside the empire are very unhappy with the Theian royal family, so MC is going to be VERY unpopular in Celestyl.

[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

[acourtofthought]

Hi!! What do you think of:

SJM writing a “swan lake retelling” ? I heard people say she said she would, and some of her old tweets talking about how she’d love to. Would that fit into the Elucien or Gwynriel plot?

I think Sarah already set this up for an Elucien book:

"Swan Lake is the love story of Prince Siegfried, who on a hunting trip encounters a flock of swans, falls in love with the Swan Queen, Odette, and swears his allegiance and undying love to her. As a result of a curse by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart, Odette can only take human form between midnight and daybreak"

"flock of swans" - "Their feathers are white as snow. They glide across the water - while she rages through the skies above it.

"curse by the evil sorcerer" - "They sold her - to ...to some darkness to some ...sorcerer-lord"

"can only take human form between midnight and daybreak" - "By day, she is one form, by night, human again."

I think Sarah has combined the tales of Koschei the Deathless and Swan Lake for Vassa / the human girls trapped at the lake and these things are connected to Elain and Lucien. Elain through her visions and Lucien because of having been to the continent to search for Vassa (because of Elain's visions) as well as the friendship that has now formed as a result. Also, the fact that Sarah had Elain's father as the one who bargained with Koschei to free Vassa and he seemed to have become close to both Vassa and Lucien on their way to the war. I also think Jurian ties into it all with Lucien's reference on how he "would be King" if it weren't for Vassa, (as there is a Prince who falls in love with the Swan Queen in the tale) being that there seems to be a romantic setup between Vassian.

In don't see Az or Gwyn connected to that particular tale as Vassa and Koschei don't seem connected to the Illyrians / time travel stuff that SJM seems to be leaning in the direction of for a Gwynriel story.