#hofas thoughts

[kataraavatara]

and another thing. the acotar fandom is the only fandom i’ve seen where a character gets backlash for canonically saving the world

[moondrawss]

—You remind me of the wind. —He tried to explain. —Powerful and able to cool or freeze with half a thought, shaping the world itself though no one can see you. Only your impact on things. 🔥

Lidia Cervos portrait

[throneofspicybooks]

I’ve finally read the Ember and Randall bonus chapter. I’ve nothing more to add except for the fact that it just solidified to me how much I see myself in Nesta.

When you have such a strong and independent personality people just stop standing up for you. I’ve been in a similar situation to Nesta where people who should be and who I expected to be standing up for me don’t necessarily. The way I know what Nesta is feeling in that moment is almost enough to make me ball.

Ember is so incredibly important. I want an Ember in my life. I want someone to stand up for me just like Ember did for Nesta. I don’t think it will ever happen for me (22 years of living has been proof of that) but I’m glad Nesta finally knows what that’s like.

Also Cassian stand up for your Mate my guy 🤨🤨

[highqueenofashandstars]

✨HEAR YE, HEAR YE✨

MY SPOILER BAN IS LIFTING ON HOFAS

If you haven’t read it yet, it’s been exactly one month. That’s on you.

PREPARE FOR HOFAS SPOILERS FULL STEAM AHEAD CHOO CHOOO 🚢💨

[thebellekeys]

And what if I said Bryce and Hunt being mates makes way more sense than Cassian and Nessian being mates ever did?!

[ladyelainaes]

waiiiit, i’m confused…HOFAS Spoilers

On chapter 25, we read Bryce, Nesta, & Azriel discovered an Astri at The Prison. It was then revealed to be Vesperus

Vesperus announced she is the evening star

Towards the end of Chapter 25 and throughout Chapter 26, Nesta killed Vesperus.

BUT THEN

on chapter 96 (literally seventy chapters later…)

Hesperus is standing next to Rigelus. Alive.

and the next scene, chapter 97;

Hesperus, along with another Astri, Eosphoros, “died” in a black hole. They’re officially gone.

so my question…huh?

It is confirmed (starting chapter 18) that the Daglan in ACOTAR series are actually the Astri, just in a different name.

Vesperus and Hesperus are the same person right?

If so, how was she dead in chapter 26 in Prythian and seventy chapters later, she’s standing alive in chapter 96 and died again, in chapter 97?

Am I tripping or did SJM + her team did something wrong & did not edit this book. even though half of us waited for about 2 years and 7 months for it…

[the-shadowsingers-whore]

HOFAS SPOILERS

current pg: 650

NESTA'S BACK???

omfg i'm so fucking excited i thought we were done with the acotar homies

[kopfkino-o]

Azriel Shadowsinger 🤝 Declan Emmet

being the only one in their respective friend groups with a 9 to 5 lmao

[girl-who-writes-stuff]

Have I been dragging the last 100 pages of House of Flame and Shadow because I don’t want to finish the book and have to wait a year or more for the next SJM?

…maybe.

[manon-and-the-thirteen]

Random Thoughts Post-HOFAS (Spoilers)

So, I, like an idiot, immediately got attached to Danika when I read HOEAB. She was my fav and then immediately DIED and was the subject of a murder-mystery. It’s fine, I’ll just get over my grief real quick (this is a lie, I miss her everyday).

Well guess what my dumbass did almost immediately upon reading those first few chapters of HOFAS: Got attached to the innocent, headstrong Sigrid. ONLY TO HAVE HER DIE EARLY ON. Why do I always pick the characters that are destined to be killed as my favorites? Really need some closure on her storyline too, cuz we don’t see her again after she runs from Ithan when he becomes Prime. She was such an interesting character to me, new to the world, and curious but principled. Like a kid in an adult body. Made me sad to see her manipulated and used at every turn after being resurrected. I really hope she gets a second chance and isn’t relegated to being an evil reaper creature.

Anyways, I liked the book.

[secret-third-thing]

i don't specifically mention hofas spoilers but i allude to them

I was RIGHT my god I predicted so much correctly and I'm not even halfway through hofas - the trove, the tithe. I literally stood in my kitchen a week ago ranting to my roommate about these theories and how i got a lot of skepticism. well haha IM RIGHT

I'm actually fucking impressed with myself for getting so much correct - though at the end of the day sarah is borrowing from mythos we've been talking about for thousands of years and I managed to pin down her very specific methodology of weaving it all together.

but sarah. i see you and what you're doing. very little surprises me now but i'll enjoy the ride

[capriciata]

hofas spoilers, kinda

A lot of the child death is really hitting me close to home. I'm struggling with it a lot.

[lyssasdrafts]

Feyre: We decided that if, Cauldron forbid, anything happens to us, we would like Nesta and Cassian to be Nyx's god parents

Nesta: That is great news! Nyx! When something horrible happens, you'll be all mine!

Rhysand: It really is an 'if' situation

Nesta, taking Nyx: All mine!

[highqueenofashandstars]

To all my SJM followers: I will not be posting any spoilers for a month related to HOFAS. I personally hate scrolling and getting spoilers, and I don’t want to contribute to ruining a big moment for someone else. I will have a one month HOFAS ban because that is ample time for people to get their hands on a copy and read it.

I have finished it so if anyone wants to talk about it, DM me privately! ❤️

[offtorivendell]

Why I think Elain's book needs to be next, regardless of ships

Disclaimer: this is, of course, entirely my opinion, and people are free to think otherwise.

Spoilers: the entire Maasverse is discussed, beware.

I've spoken about this a few times, but never dedicated a post to the topic, so here goes. I'll try to keep it brief, but no promises lol. Please be kind in the comments/reblogs.

To provide a quick overview, the following are the main reasons why I believe Elain needs to star in ACOTAR 5, rather than waiting for the 6th (final?) book. I know that SJM has suggested that further ACOTAR books may be planned, I'm referring to the three novels that are most likely to follow the "Koschei" plot, and not whatever happens afterwards.

A chance to become proficient in her powers before events escalate in the final book

Elain needs to make a mistake

True choice in her romance

The mating bond

The crossover

A chance to become proficient in her powers before events escalate in the final book

Aelin, Feyre, Nesta and Bryce have all had the chance to hone their respective skills before the events in each series came to a head. Aelin in Mistward (and beyond), with Rowan; Feyre trained with Rhys and Cassian; Nesta trained a little with Amren, and then more with Cassian when the Valkyries were reformed in ACOSF (we know they need to keep training as a unit, but the foundations have been laid for this, and the rest could, imo, happen in the background of ACOTAR 5); even Bryce trained with Cormac and Hunt in HOSAB, to learn how to harness their associated powers.

If Elain isn't afforded this opportunity, she will be much less able to work through any of the expected quirks in her powers before her proficiency in them really matters. I suspect she's relied on luck and rage so far, but that will likely only get her so far. Because...

Elain needs to make a mistake

Following on from my first point, each protagonist has - in the course of her training - made some sort of mistake. Aelin couldn't harness her Fae powers until she learnt to shift into her Fae body; she also made plenty of tactical errors throughout the books, notably the end of EOS, though she thankfully came through unscathed. Feyre and Amren almost died in the Summer Court retrieving the Fae half of the Book of Breathings, and she made yet another mistake in Hybern, when she joined the two halves together. Nesta erred in the Prison, when she underestimated the Harp and almost lost Cassian to Lanthys, and she barely survived the Bog of Oorid. And Bryce? There were multiple errors made, such as the events that led her to Prythian.

To clarify, I am not criticising any of these characters for having made these mistakes, because we all have to learn and start somewhere. Rather, I'm saying that if SJM follows this pattern, Elain needs to make a decently sizable mistake in book 5 - will she accidentally set Something or Someone free, if those of us who think she has the ability to traverse the murky realm, or unchain the land are correct? This would set the stage for ACOTAR 6, complete with drastically raised stakes.

True choice in her romance

I know people disagree with this take, but for me, there is no true choice for Elain if there is only one option available to her. This wouldn't be such a big deal if she hadn't shown such displeasure at the existence of her mating bond with Lucien, but seeing as she has - and also considering the "hurt and confusion" that she experienced at Solstice, I would be so disappointed to see Azriel move on first and get his HEA while Elain is left upset. This is not a critique of his character, but I would find it very difficult to believe that she wasn't settling for Lucien if he is the only love interest left to pick.

Aelin chose between Chaol and Rowan, Feyre between Tamlin and Rhys, Nesta between Eris and Cassian, and Bryce between Cormac and Hunt. I - like many others - think the love triangle that we should be focusing on is the one that centres Elain, not Azriel. Will she choose Lucien or Az? We all have our own thoughts, but again, it's only a true choice if there is more than one option.

The mating bond

Picture this: it's 2026 (we hope), we have just finished reading ACOTAR 5, and Elain and Lucien still haven't acted on their mating bond, either way. The hatred that Elain receives now, for simply making her apparent disinterest obvious, or taking the time to decide what she wants (whatever the reason), will get a thousand times worse. I don't want to be around for it, it's bad enough now.

The crossover

I haven't spoken about this before, because when I originally discussed what I've mentioned above in reblogs or on Reddit, the crossover didn't yet exist. But to me, it also plays a part in why I think Elain needs to be a protagonist in ACOTAR 5, and not 6.

The fandom loves to laugh - and I get it, we all expected the Prythian crossover in HOFAS to be more extensive than it was - but many Elriels, myself included, read "roses and bread" at the end of HOSAB and immediately thought of Elain, who has been tied to both roses/gardening and baking bread, and for whose story the phrase "bread and roses" could hold significance, as @psychologynerd has suggested. Obviously, it didn't amount to anything obvious in HOFAS, because SJM appears to have focused on Bryce's underground adventure with Nesta and Azriel in the end, rather than having Bryce spend any time at all in Velaris, but for all of that, I don't think our theories have been proven wrong. They're just in their "watch this space" era.

One of the issues that my fellow Elriels and I discussed before HOFAS came out was that, while many of us have noted how well-suited Elain's powers appear to be for intergalactic travel, be that mentally/spiritually, or even physically (her sisters, too, I think, but this post is focusing on Elain), we didn't think SJM would want to spoil the reveal in a POV that wasn't her own. In the end, we ended up with a lot of Elain-shaped gaps in the plot.

So, knowing that SJM has said that the next book after ACOTAR 5 will likely be revisiting an existing world - many of us think Erilea - and knowing that the precedent has been set for worldwalking, wouldn't it be ridiculous to see Feyre and/or Nesta visit Erilea, but not Elain? They're almost certainly more powerful together, three links like an Archesian amulet. We need to know about Elain's magics simply so such a powerful character - a Cauldron Made Seer who is hinted to have other strengths as well - can be utilised.

It would be such a waste otherwise. Think what you like about Elain personally, but kingdoms would kill for someone with her (hypothetical) skill set.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and once again - if you choose to interact with this post, please remain kind and respectful. 💜

[areptvclown]

Vesperus: You don't even know how to use that do you?

Azriel: