#vassien is love

[kopfkino-o]

"You only ship Vassien because you're an Elriel".

Um, no??? I ship Vassien because a romance between these two would be hot. And the plot for their story would be so amazing. The son of the spell-cleaver falling for a cursed queen in a Vasilisa the Beautiful inspired re-telling?

Bitch, sign me tf up. Like that's the sort of stuff I'm foaming at the mouth to read about.

[the-darkestminds]

I’m sorry but I do not believe anyone who says they love Lucien and at the same time ship him with Vassa. Why would you ship him with a human he will outlive by centuries? Sjm has made it clear that the mating bond is rare and cherished among fae. And Lucien clearly longs for a relationship with Elain. If you love Lucien so much why don’t you want him to have that epic, fated love? 🤨

[rizzoreads88]

Vassien/Elriel Parallel 🔥♥️

(Artists & Comissioner credited in picture)

[violetasteracademic]

@nikachansstuff wrote this sweeping, breath-taking piece on Lucien and his journey. It hooked into my brain and I've been in my Vassien feels ever since.

It got me reflecting on this moment:

I wondered if they'd found each other yet...

I wondered if they'd found each other.

As if- it was not only Lucien in search of that lost enchanted queen. But it was also Vassa in search of him.

The errant son of Autumn.

The secret sole heir to the Spell-Cleaver.

The Lord of Fire to her Bird of Flame.

Lucien did not just find Vassa.

They found each other.

[merymoonbeam]

The swan lake

Rambling again so...have fun.

This tale actually makes a lot of sense for Lucien and Vassa when you think about it.

A quick Synopsis

In the tale Odetta gets cursed by an evil sorcerer. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. And we have the prince. He comes across Odette and other swans and Odetta explains the curse to him. They start to fall in love. The prince's mother however wants him to marry so they throw a ball. At the ball the evil sorcerer comes in with his daughter,odile, who he had disgused as Odetta so she looks like Odetta. Thinking it is Odette the prince tells he will marry Odile and odette seeing this goes back to the lake and dies. The prince dies with her which breaks the curse on the other swans

We always say how Elain and Azriel are going to be "your mate was given to another" trope but it is actually Lucien and Vassa as well.

Bc...think...

Vassa as the swan aka firebird.

Lucien as the prince.

Elain is Odile in this which is a twist bc elain is not the evil black swan lol. As Odile took odette's place by appearing as her...elain is taking Vassa's place by appearing to be Lucien's mate.

Sorcerer is Koschei

It is all to get Lucien and Vassa away from each other to not break the curse. Lucien as a fae thinks he has to abide by their tradition even tho he doesn't want to mating bond as welll but...it is fae tradition so he "has to". Which is going to push him away from Vassa bc he already has a "mate"

So it is not Elriel who is being kept apart...it is Lucien and Vassa. Elriel is the burned party in this because "the third was given to another" as to keep lucien and Vassa away but their plot will open up to Lucien and Vassa storyline bc...they are not going to stay away in their book which is going to cause problems.

[ramim]

Justice for Jesminda:

I hate it when people write Jesminda as a mean girl, or a cheater, or a gold digger or whatever other nasty things, just to somehow undervalue the love Lucien and Jes shared so it would be easier for Lucien to move on from her!

I mean... Jes and Lucien's love is a part of Lucien's character...Jes literally died for him and even through her death she proved to Lucien that he can and deserve to be loved!

The love they had, prove that Lucien has no care for status, money or race! It shows how deeply he can love!

You can't just shift+delete the love they had just so you can ship him with another person; it's....just not right!

Jes was such an important person in Lucien's journey, so much so that I believe even LOA or Tamlin can't compete with her!

I hope people stop treating her character so badly!

Lucien can still love Elain or Vassa (or whoever you ship him with) even if he loved Jes once upon a time! It actually can make their love story better...deeper!

Hopefully one day, SJM will give us the whole story of their love and so we can see just how perfect it was...

[yaralulu]

Lucien also hinted at feyre and vassa being a lot alike which is why he said they’d get along.He compared her to Feyre…someone he has a very platonic sibling-like relationship with.He sees them both in a similar light and I somehow doubt he has romantic feelings for vassa when she reminds him of his mates sister 🤷.

The "Vassa is more like Jesminda!" argument is kind of fucking hilarious when you recall that Chaol was deeply in love with Celaena and then went for a woman the complete opposite of her in Yrene. Because Chaol is not the same guy he was in books 1 and 2. He's not that gallant, put-together soldier anymore. He's raw, he's broken, he's matured far faster than he ever wished to, and he needed someone like Yrene.

Lucien is not the same guy who fell in love with Jesminda. Centuries have passed LMAO.

[myromanempiree]

Why I love Gwynriel.

I don't do shipwars very much, but by god you won't get me to shut up abt Gwynriel.

Shes the kind of female Az needs. He needs someone to challenge him, someone to banter with, someone to keep him on his toes and make him undoubtedly happy.

Shes already such a well developed character despite us only seeing her in one book. She was SA'd, afraid to leave the Library, and overcame her fear and trauma, but she still has a story to tell.

Azriel needs someone who he won't have to hide in the shadows with, elriels talk abt hidden romance and what not. But how the hell would that be good for Az!? I love Elain, shes the sweetiest sweetheart, but she isn't right for him.

With Gwyn he can be bold, he can be flirtatious, he can properly pursue her (and not have the confidence to only do so in the dark when everyone is supposed to be in bed). Because no matter what theorys antis come up with, Elain and Lucien will still be mates. And pursuing Elain will always have some sort of lingering guilt. Because, while Azriel is broken, he is not an unfeeling cold hearted bastard.

Plus, the only thing presented with the bonus chapter that is clearly presented to me, is that Azriel just wants a mate. He wants what his brothers have. And his brothers both are mated to Archeron sisters, so he had more of a 'well two plus two' kinda moment...except he got six.

Gwynriel has the chance to be a story of healing, a story of overcoming insecurities, and being true to yourself.

(And Elucien has the chance to be a story of healing as well, Lucien learning that he can and is worthy of love and Elain overcoming her ingrained distate for fae and need to be human again. But that's for another day)

To be loved is to be changed, and I don't think there would be any character development if Elriel and Vassien happened.

Idk, I just think gwynriel is much more poetic.

[works-of-heart]

For E/riel to happen,

A lot of major changes to the story need to occur. E/riel theories are often convoluted and contradicting, but let's go over some of the things that need to happen, for these E/riel theories shall we?

Elain and Lucien's bond has to be 'wrong or corrupt' while everyone else's is perfectly fine.

Lucien and Azriel need to have a blood duel where Lucien dies.

The bond is fake and they'll both have a good laugh about it.

Elain will reject the bond, but will always still have her bond with Lucien. She'll just go with Azriel and he'll be totally ok with it.

BOTH Elain and Lucien will reject the bond, which...somehow it just what, goes away? They will both find love with someone who isn't their mate, Az/Vassa, but constantly feel the pull to eachother since the bond doesn't go away. Lucien will eventually be driven mad.

Lucien has to be a cheater. Being a mated male and his whole characteristic of being fiercely loyal? Out the window.

Jurien has to betray them or die, since Jassa is a contendor to Vassien. Jassa cannot happen so we must get rid of Jurien.

Gwyn has to be evil

Gwyn's a Lightsinger/luring Azriel, so him wanting to see her cannot be of his own volition or a draw to any mating bond, it's because he's under a spell.

Gwyn is going to betray Azriel

Gwyn and Elain are going to fight over Azriel, which Gwyn will reveal her evil ploy

Gwyn cannot exist past SF and will fade into obscurity

Someone is forcing Elain to be with Lucien, in which she and Azriel must sneak around with their forbidden desires before someone steps in and fights for their happiness.

Lucien just fades into obscurity or dies trying to protect Elain which she goes to Az anyway.

Elucien happens in the first book, but then Lucien turns into a sudden asshole and pushes Elain away where she realizes she loved Az all along? The second book is Elain and Azriel getting together...which would be all of 5 pages.

For Elucien to happen,

Elain and Lucien need to spend time together and get to know eachother.

For Gwynriel to happen,

Azriel and Gwyn spend time together.

Azriel stops focusing on his lack of a mate and listen to his shadows who are clearly telling him the woman he's looking for is right in front of him.

That's it.

For Elucien/Gwynriel to happen, all they have to do is spend more time together. We don't need anyone to lose their HEA, we don't need to kill off any characters, or make anyone suffer. Everyone gets a HEA, which in a romance novel that's about soulmates and love and healing and fantasy, that's what it's about. This isn't GoT/SOIAF where people need to be scheming and die.

What sounds more likely? 2 books left focusing on 2 different ships like Eluciend and Gwynriel? Seeing 4 people get their HEA and possibly some blooming side ships like Jassa and Mor/Emire? Or, 2 books, one focusing on Elriel, where one of the many horrible and depressing options happen, with the second book being someone else entirely, or Vassien? Which again, would be breaking characters.

You tell me.

[bloomingdarkgarden]

the way this fandom is sleeping on Vassien.

In the story of swan lake, a princess (cough Vassa) is enslaved to an evil sorcerer. Only an act of faithful love can break the spell on her. While cursed, she forms an attachment with a prince.

The sorcerer bespells another woman to take on the form of the princess, in an effort to fool the prince and keep the princess his captive forever.

But by still falling for the princess instead the other woman, or let's say, Lucien willingly choosing to walk away from his mating bond to be with Vassa, an act of true, faithful love occurs- and the curse on the princess/Vassa is finally broken.

(Don't even get me started on how SJM made a cursed woman become immortal via her curse in CC3. Happily ever after, indeed.)

It's a hella romantic story actually.

[violetasteracademic]

Lucien Vanserra's Hero's Journey with Vassa- The Firebird Legends

Hello friends! This is my very first tumblr post, and is IN DEPTH. It seemed like a good place to explore some of the the themes I've been discussing on TikTok regarding Sarah's book structures, how closely Sarah utilizes The Hero's Journey for ACOTAR, and how many "ingredients in the fridge" as I like to call it are already there for Lucien and Vassa's story, despite arguments that there is very little on page action with The Band of Exlies. If anyone is interested in nerding out about book structure with me, I'll do a quick run through of The Hero's Journey with ACOMAF as the example (I made a video about this already!) and then fill in a possible hero's journey beat by beat for Lucien using only what is on the page. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I could literally plot out and write this book today with everything Sarah has given us!

A few things to know about me: I love all of the characters involved in these ship wars. I am a die hard Elain stan, Az is my favorite Bat Boy, Lucien is one of my all time favorite characters and one whom I deeply relate to (I actually think I relate to Elain and Lucien the most, and I'll share how they mirror each other quite well) and I literally had to pull over in a Sprouts parking lot listening to the ACOSF graphic audio when Gwyn told her story. An elderly woman knocked on my window to ask if I was okay because I was sobbing. I do get passionate about my ships (Elriel and Vassien) because of my reading experience and how I process Sarah's structures. It would be the shock of my life if it goes in a different direction. BUT I love all the characters and respect all ships. My only goal is to get people excited about everything possible for our Bird of Flame and Lord of Fire, because their story stands to be by second favorite after Elain and Azriel!

Here is a quick rundown of The Hero's Journey: A three act structure famously based on the works of Joseph Campbell, an author and educator in the field of comparative mythology.

I will try my best to *briefly* break down the first act of A Court of Mist and Fury (I could do the same for Nesta's Journey in A Court of Silver Flames!)

Step One: The Ordinary World Status Quo. Feyre's status quo after Under The Mountain is the simultaneous evolution of her new life as Fae, and devolution of her spirit and personhood. In her new ordinary world, she is being kept in the dark. She is relegated to wedding planning and isolation.

Step Two: Call to adventure. Feyre is called to adventure on the day of her wedding, when the status quo has become unmaneagable. She calls out for help, and Rhys whisks her to the night court. In the Call to Adventure, our Hero learns a truth about the world that they will have to face. In Feyre's case, it is that the war is immenent. She realizes there is a threat to the safety of her sisters, and Rhys pushes her to train so that she is not unprepared if she is the only thing standing between them and Hybern.

Step Three: Refusal of the Call (in other structures or variations this is called The Debate.) The Hero is not sure if this is their story, if they are the one to face the call. They experience a period of maintaining the status quo a little longer. This is when we see Feyre sinking back into life with Tamlin. He is loosening the reigns, she doesn't want to rock the boat. She believes The Ordinary World might improve without her having to take the next step.

Step Four: Meeting the Mentor. Our hero meets someone that will assist them in their journey, and help them move forward in answering the call. This can be friendships, trainers and teachers, mystical guides, any number of things. In Feyre's case, it is dinner with the Inner Circle. She hasn't yet decided if she will join Rhysand's court and work with him in the efforts against Hybern, however she agrees to meet his court members. Each of them provide guidance to Feyre. In strength and training (Cassian and Azriel), emotional resilience (Mor), and histories/education on how the court and Fae lands function (Amren). Feyre agrees to work for Rhysand and then we cross the threshold into act two.

When I talk about "ingredients in the fridge," I am talking about a dinner that has been planned, ingredients purchased, and everything ready to go for book dinner to be on the table tonight. At this point, Sarah has been grocery shopping for future book plots for many many years! This is my personal interpretation of a really powerful story for Lucien and his hero's journey to free Vassa from Koschei.

Step One: Ordinary World. Lucien wakes up in the human lands in the manor he shares with his Band of Exiles. (I also am obsessed with how messy and hilarious it is that this was gifted to him by his mates ex fiance but I digress.) He has become so close with Vassa that he is no longer trusted to do his job for the Night Court. All the while he is worrying about Koschei, and when he will come for Vassa. Her enslavement to the deathless sorcerer pains him, and the pressure is building.

I hate to poke holes in another ship, however it is important to note that during all of these conversations Elain is not present or mentioned by Lucien in any way. However, Mor states that Lucien is choosing to live in the human lands despite Elain. And of course, in ACOSF Lucien makes it clear that even being in Velaris doesn't mean it is to see Elain, and the thought of his presence being expected only for his mate makes him uncomfortable.

I'm not saying these things couldn't change in the next book, I am however just setting Lucien's Ordinary World or Status Quo. Lucien is living in the human lands with the Band of Exiles and his main areas of concern and growing conflict are with Vassa and Koschei. This is what is being built to send the status quo to a breaking point *at present* His interest or efforts in Elain are devolving while his connection to Vassa and interest in defeating Koschei or freeing her are evolving.

Step Two: Call To Adventure. Lucien already has a powerful possible Call to Adventure (or inciting incident, as other similar structures call it) set in place. Koschei decides to reign in the leash on Vassa and force her to return to the lake, being ripped from her home with Lucien and Jurian and no longer able to provide assistance with the human queens.

Step Three: Resisting the Call. The reason Lucien is so perfectly suited for this is because he is the only character with such torn loyalties. He is loyal to Feyre and the Night Court, he attempts to be respectful to his mate, he is glad to work for Rhysand. There are many other threats present, Lucien's own father Beron suspected to be at risk of allying with Koschei. The human queens in the wind who have powers and a vendetta. While the Firebird legends retelling *could* take place with Jurian and Vassa, my issue with that is similar to my issue with Gwynriel. There is literally nothing, and I mean NOTHING that would create conflict for the character or a debate period. There are no obstacles or stakes in place that could keep the characters apart, which is critical to all storytelling but Sarah utilizes so much conflict. Lucien is the lost wanderer, torn from court to court, abusive home to abusive home, without a true family until the Band of Exiles. But it is still a matter of chosen family over loyalties he still feels to Feyre and her court. So, Vassa is taken by Koschei. Lucien now must be spurred into action, but is *he* the hero of this story? Is he going to be the one to take on Koschei?

Step Four: Meet the mentor. Oh, I think we all know where I am headed with this! What better mentor could there be in place for Lucien in freeing Vassa from her curse than Helion Spellcleaver. Aka Lucien's biological father. Helion also has maintained a consistent presence, being called in to attempt to manage the dread trove items. He has returned to the page in ways other High Lords haven't. We are gearing up for Helion 100%

Now, to get a little farther into some of the details beyond act one, tests allies and enemies, innermost caves, ordeals, so on and so forth, I simply want to focus on the stakes of this story specifically, and why I find them the most powerful.

As far as theme for Lucien, he has been aimless and suffering and ultimately ended up with no home and nowhere to spend Solstice. Feyre and Elain were a default because, in his own words, he had nowhere else to go.

Feyre urges him to call the Night Court home, but he has found a true home with Jurian and Vassa. He cares deeply for them and for their safety. He is amazed by Jurian's leadership, literally saying "Thank god for him" keeping everything together. Even at his best with Rhysand, Lucien has never put full faith in Rhys as a leader (which is very similar to Nesta who, while still an Archeron sister, continues to dismiss Rhys as her high lord and has found her calling and found family with The Valkyrie's.)

Lucien learning Helion is his biological father pairs perfectly with his metal eye, which can see through glamours. We may come to find that Lucien has hidden spell cleaving abilities making him uniquely suited to save the woman he loves. However, this brings us to...

THE BLOOD DUEL.

Lucien and Azriel blood dueling over Elain makes no sense plot, character, or world building wise. Lucien does not identify with the Autumn court or its laws, and he has been nothing but respectful of Elain's lack of interest in him and by all accounts is moving on in a very healthy way. It is stated clearly that Beron knows Lucien is not his son, hence why Lucien received such additional torment and ab*se as well as Beron's treatment of Lady Autumn. However, for Lucien to publicly display Helion's powers would make Lady Autum's affair public knowledge. This gives Beron cause to call for a blood duel with Helion over LoA. These are incredibly high stakes and obstacles. Does he risk the life of his mother and newly discovered father to save the woman he loves by revealing his true power?

As far as Lucien being sole heir to the Day Court, there is another possible outcome where Helion wins the blood duel (thus securing Eris's place as the new High Lord of Autumn, another long established plotline) and Lady Autumn and Helion get a second chance while Lucien still chooses his found family. Or, at the very least, as long of a life with Vassa as he could get before taking up the Day Court. Sarah also of course has had both mortal characters choose mortal life spans for love (Elorcan) or make mortals immortal (Feyre and Miryam.) However, Lucien stated he never had any interest in being a high lord. Of course this is up for interpretation, but I believe his character development still maintains that. This man has been through so much. He just wants to live in peace, and I think it would be a beautiful thing to know that his mother is now safe and not a political pawn.

Speaking of political pawns, this is also why I believe Elain and Lucien have a lot to heal with each other. When Lucien discovers that he could have been raised by Helion and not Beron, but his mother was sold and used as a political pawn and her agency taken away, he is going to face quite a few demons. I do not personally think Lucien's story (or Elain's) is most powerfully served by he and Elain choosing to de-escalate all the conflict and spend time with each other and wind up falling in love. It COULD happen, and if it's what Sarah chooses to do, it will be lovely! But Elain is such a mirror to Lucien's own mother. The only difference being that Lucien is a good male while Beron is a monster. Lucien, when faced with this, would be motivated to prevent his story repeating itself. Elain and Lucien's mother are the only two alive today presenting as unhappy with their pairings. I believe this is what Sarah was referring to when she said Elain was a better mate for Lucien than Nesta (her original plan) because of the healing they could provide each other. While I am not stating this as fact, it is my opinion that there is enough foreshadowing for rejected mating bonds, the suffering of poor matches and females being owned with archaic laws, that Sarah always intended to have Lucien participate in the rejected mating bond story line with one of the Archeron sisters. Lucien and Elain as a rejected bond is a much better fit as Lucien and Elain are actually both quite passive about their mating bond, letting the plot develop and build elsewhere whereas Nesta would have likely just burnt Lucien to a crisp or had it take up a lot more of ACOSF which would have been truly tough to fit in.

I could go on and literally plot out the whole book beat by beat with the Hero's Journey, but I would be here all day. I truly think Lucien and Vassa in the Firebird Legends would be so beautiful and powerful. I've teared up thinking about it! It always disheartens me to see characters getting thrown under the bus for the ship wars, or to be accused of hating Lucien because I ship Elriel. I am brand new to the online ship space, and this was truly how I experienced the books as someone who loves all the characters and wants the best for them. I believe Lucien has been nothing but respectful towards Elain and deserves to be happy. I just don't think Elain is his happiness. Even Feyre and Rhys had moments of trust and connection building in A Court of Thorns and Roses before ACOMAF. Their relationship was not out of left field at all. Elain and Lucien have a LOT of work to do to make their interest in each other suddenly believable, and in my opinion now we are getting into poorly paced and structured writing to accommodate it.

I've definitely seen compelling compilations about how both Elain and Lucien are tied to Koschei and it could just as easily be their shared love story while saving Vassa, and I won't go into a rage if that is what happens. It is simply difficult for me to ignore all the conflicts that would conveniently resolve and obstacles that would be removed. I know people love to call the three brothers and three sisters "lazy" but three is simply a motif, not book structure or line level prose. In my opinion, a sudden resolution to active political conflicts by putting two characters together is much lazier when it comes to the actual writing of the book.

These are just my musings, and the things I picked up on whilst reading (and re-reading a million times tbh) and experiencing books! What do you guys think of Vassien? I personally am so excited by how beautiful it could be!

[lovemyromance]

Things I would love to see in the next ACOTAR book:

The sisters mending their relationship

Rhys & Elain’s friendship

Elain, Nuala & Cerriweden friendship

Elain exploring her Seer powers

Elain the Spy (not torture and interrogate spy, like charming circles in ballrooms, the woman you’d least suspect)

“You came for me.” - Azriel

Elain proving she’s got a backbone of steel

Sweet Elriel garden moments

Amren & Az helping Elain train her powers

Elain & Lucien friendship

Vassien crumbs! A “be happy, Lucien” from Elain would be chef’s kiss 🤌🏼🤌🏼

Dusk Court?

Truthteller + Elain

People being so shocked when Elain shows her power / snaps

Sweet, sweet desperate elriel pining

Az snapping and having a “I burn for you” bridgerton moment 😭😭 “I cannot stay away”

Elain’s charm and beauty bringing people to their knees 🤩🤩

Elain saving the day, once again, as the person you’d least expect it from

Elriel baking/gardening moments

Elriel choosing each other

Elriel as Carranam?

Elriel marriage ceremony

Hand kisses

Dancing in the garden, under the cover of the night

Kissing in the rain

“Sssh, they’ll hear you, sweetheart.”

Bossy Elain

Elain meeting Azriel’s mom in Rosehall, and his mom being immediately enamored with our flower girl

Playing footsie under the dining table

Sly touching and brushing of their fingers

Drama, angst, desperation!!

I love them sm, I really hope their book delivers and satisfies this obsession 😭😭 After ACOSF, I want a LOVE story so badly. I want that Elriel all-consuming love!

[violetasteracademic]

I've been summoned!! Sarah dropped banger after banger line during Lucien's heritage reveal, arguably one of the most important details to set up his future plot and an exceptionally memorable moment. And his being the Spell-Cleavers son/sole heir to the High Lord of Day did not send Feyre thinking about Elain, or how well she does in the sunshine. Nope. Everything is about Vassa:

Lucien, Helion's sole heir.

An enchanted queen.

A bird of flame... and a lord of fire. I wondered if they found each other yet.

Spell-Cleaver. That was his title.

She spelled it all out for us in just a few short paragraphs, beat by beat.

The "Feyre is an unreliable narrator" conversation has gotten so out of hand. Feyre is not unreliable at this moment- she is a literal vessel for the author to weave foreshadowing and pass along information.

Feyre did not consider Elain at all when discovering L/ucien's true heritage. The books have never once indicated that Elain can or should have anything to do with the Day Court. There has never been a thought or sentence uttered regarding L/ucien's heritage and the connection to his mate. She did, however, set up L/ucien as the Spell-Cleaver's son while he searched for the enchanted queen. And the first time this queen spoke on page, she was asking for someone to break her curse:

Again, Vassa needs someone to break her curse. Again, the conversation centers around L/ucien and Helion being his father.

And then the language changes after referring to Helion Spell-Cleaver, the true father of L/ucien: I don't know how to break those kinds of spells.

Still, to this day, in this year 2024, Vassien has built while E/lucien grew further and further apart from each other plot wise. Elain already dropped everything she could about Koschei from her sight. Vassa does not need nor is she asking for a seer. She needs and is asking for someone to break the enchantment. She needs a Spell-Cleaver.

Vassien's story is SO EPIC dear god!

One of my favorite things to do is discover new parallels and breadcrumbs in ACOTAR that SJM strewn for us in her writing.

SJM has been actively planning the Archeron sisters’ books since ACOMAF.

In an ACOSF interview, SJM talked about how while editing ACOMAF, she was currently writing ACOWAR and already thinking about the journeys Nesta and Elain were “in the middle of,” laying the foundation for their books after she infamously pitched her editor their stories over drinks.

Which brings me back to the larger Sleeping Beauty meta that Elain and Azriel have been interwoven with throughout the series and a prediction I have for their book.

Let’s begin 🤓

THE EVIDENCE

In ACOTAR, the inner shields of a characters’ mind are a large part of the imagery surrounding them, as seen through Feyre’s Daemati powers.

Let’s start by looking at Elain’s:

Solid iron. Covered in vines of flowers. Blossoms sealed, sleeping buds tangled in leaves and thorns.

This imagery screams Sleeping Beauty. And it also harkens back to the post I made about the imagery of the beasts in the Hewn City, who Feyre compares to Azriel and Cassian.

This repetition of imagery and symbolism isn’t a mistake. The sleeping beast amid vines of jasmine and moonflowers. It’s a deliberate echo of language used to tie both couples and their themes together.

Which then leads us to Nesta’s mind:

Nesta’s mind evokes images of war, a continually repeated motif that aligns with Cassian, their larger roles in their family structures, their drive to fight and protect, and for Nesta in particular, the visual manifestation of what she has to overcome in her journey. Not just within herself but with Cassian.

How do we know? Well, SJM told us.

In ACOSF, when Cassian and Nesta’s mating bond is revealed.

It’s only after Nesta bares her soul to Cassian and they meet in their mutual coupling of acceptance together that their mating bond truly comes to light and the threads of that bond are finally woven together in harmony.

So what does this mean for Azriel and Elain?

For the restless Spymaster, who “can’t sleep” despite his shadows imploring him to, and the Seer who’s “always dreaming these days,” I believe that like how Nesta’s inner walls came down when her and Cassian accept the mating bond, Azriel and Elain’s mating bond is somehow asleep, waiting to be awoken like the slumbering gates to Elain’s mind. Only then can their bond be brought to light like the sun at dawn, as right now it is asleep and half-hidden in shadows.

While the nuances of the narrative for how their “sleeping bond” would be revealed are still a mystery until we get their book, the foundation for a story of their love awakening and blooming is scattered across the series (“color bloomed high on Azriel’s golden-brown cheeks,” anyone?).

Some ideas to consider:

Could Azriel and Elain’s bond be Mother-blessed? Could the faebane arrow from ACOMAF have led the Cauldron to give Elain to Lucien instead, in defiance of the Mother? Did Koschei cast a spell to tie Lucien to another when he alone could be one to break Vassa’s curse with True Love’s kiss as a Spell-Cleaver? Will Elain and Azriel “weave” a bond of their own making?

I’m so excited to find out what SJM has in store for Elain and her journey where she will fully bloom with the love of her life 🌸💙

[acourtofthought]

Why is what Elain wants the most important thing?

It's always used against Elucien's, how one side of the fandom claims moral superiority and that they care more for Elain because they ship her with Az since Elain wanted to kiss Az (she wanted Graysen to take her back too but that doesn't seem to matter to them), that Sarah is a feminist author therefore what a female wants is more important than what the male wants.

I love Elain, she is my favorite, but she's not the most important character left in the ACOTAR series. So why would her choice be more important than Vassa's choice or Gwyn's choice?

We KNOW there will be more books which means a female other than Elain is getting a POV. Some say the book after Elain's will feature Lucien and Vassa because Lucien is comfortable around Vassa but based on the arguments being tossed around shouldn't Vassa's wants be more important than Lucien's comfort? Where does the text support Vassa wanting anything romantic from Lucien?

They'll claim Lucien with Elain gives off "guy friend pining for female and not taking the hint" vibes but Lucien and Vassa are actual friends. They'll say with the utmost confidence that despite Lucien longing for Elain on Solstice in SF he does want to be with Vassa yet we have no evidence of Vassa showing interest in Lucien in that way so how is that not the exact same thing? Yet they push that ship with the force of a wrecking ball.

I don't think Lucien wants to be with Vassa at all but if that's the argument they're using than why would it even matter what Lucien wants since to them it's about what the female wants? Suddenly with the Vassien ship they care about what happens to Lucien, that his "feelings" for Vassa matter despite her lack of romantic feelings for him.

Elain's wants are the most important thing when it comes to E/riel. Lucien's wants are the most important thing when it comes to Vassien. What selective feminism.

Also, what if we find out in the next book Gwyn does want Az even if it's Elain's book? It's a pretty big deal she felt comfortable alone with him after what happened to her. It's a pretty big deal she started playfully calling him "Shadowsinger" and wanted to wipe the smirk off his face especially. There is way more textual evidence to suggest Gwyn might have an interest in Az than Vassa does Lucien.

Based on the argument, why does it matter if Az wants Gwyn right now when it's about what the female wants and why should one female's wants trump that of another?

I realize my points are all a bit ridiculous because these characters don't want anything that Sarah doesn't decide for them and the pairings will work out as she wants them to regardless of what anything looks like at this stage in the game. Really the point is just that the cries of feminism are very performative, where it only matters so long as their ship happens, where it only applies to the female they like best.

[acotar-taylorsversion]

Future ACOTAR Books

Ok, so Sarah is contracted for 2 more acotar novels and a novella, right?

Here's how I'm thinking its gonna be laid out.

ACOTAR -1, ACOMAF -2, ACOWAR -3, ACOFAS -novella 1, ACOSF -4

ACOTAR 5 - Elain's book with Azriel as love interest. I believe she will reject the bond with Lucien and help Nesta and Az with the trove and locating Koschei, the prison, Az and Nuala and Cerridwen helping her with her seer skills since it can be related to spying, and all that. There's much that could happen here and some many questions could be answered.

Novella 2 - this can be Vassa and Lucien's. I truly believe that if Elain would reject the bond, Lucien would allow himself to discover something with Vassa. This would push the story along for the Koschei storyline because I believe that Lucien and Vassa will be heavily involved with that. Sarah made Lucien a part of this band of exiles for a reason. We could also see or hear about what the inner circle is doing through their povs or through some type of correspondence through Lucien. This could possibly start while Elain's story is going on as well, if she rejects the bond early on in her book. She could even tie in Mor and what it is that she's doing since she's trying to get more allies for Rhys. And even Eris since he will be dealing with Beron and the aftermath of being caught. Seems like a lot but Tower of Dawn was meant to be a novella and look how that one turned out.

ACOTAR 6 - this could be a multi pov novel that centers around all the sisters and their chosen loves. And don't tell me she won't because she did it in acofas. OR it could be in feyre and Rhy's povs because they are sarah's favorite couple and if she had to end the series with any couple I believe it would be them. But anyway, I believe that Koschei will be the final big bad for acotar and its gonna take a lot to defeat him. it's gonna take everyone coming together just like they did with the king of Hybern. I also believe that people are gonna die. I've always felt that Mor would be the one to die and maybe Lucien, and Helion, and Tamlin. I think that a couple of courts would be left without high lords and this would allow Rhys and Feyre to become High King and Queen, especially after what we learned in HOFAS, its pretty much his birth right. Wouldn't be something since Tamlin told Feyre that there were no such things as High Lady's and she would end the series as High Queen! lol

This is what I think will be happen, and it's my opinion so I don't need anyone telling me that I'm crazy or delusional, none of that. Based on what happened in frost and starlight (the one that sarah said she set up the rest of the series in), I believe this is what could happen. Do I think Nesta's story is done? No, and we could have her pov in the last book with her sisters. Do I think the valkyries are gonna be main characters? No, I don't because I think they are there mainly for Nesta and I only see them helping with battles and maybe some research. That's it. Do I think the illyrians will be important? Maybe, but sarah has been known to forget about some plots or just completely shut them down in the next book. Remember how we all thought Kallon from frost and starlight was gonna be Cassian's enemy #1 in silver flames? Don't remember him at all? Exactly.

Sorry for the long post, I just have to get all of this out of my head before it drives me crazy. Just so y'all know, I'm pro elriel, feysand, nessian, vassien (if Lucien survives). I don't see how elucien could ever be a happy mated couple, and I don't see how people think Gwyn and Az could ever be romantic and you can't say the next book is Nesta's and say that sarah will have gwynriel as the couple when they would be side characters. Each book will be centered around a couple, right? Did she say new or established? I can't remember but the main couple wouldn't be in the background. And I don't see how Gwyn could carry an entire novel. I'm sorry, I just can't. It would be half of silver flames and I don't think Sarah will do that. And I do think its messed up how sarah and Bloomsbury have let this nasty ship war go on for this long.

But I do believe that this series started with Feyre and her sisters and it will end with her and her sisters. I believe Sarah has made such a big deal with 3's for a reason. Do you guys remember that scene in mist and fury where Mor (whose power is truth) painted the 3 sisters and 3 brothers on the wall in the cabin? That meant something. Mor's reaction to almost every Elriel interaction means something just like it did with Nesta and Cassian. Azriel being able to smell Elain's mating bond and questioning the cauldron means something. The sisters being Made means something. The fact that the cauldron was messed with means something.

Anyways, these are my thoughts. Sorry that this is so long. Please be kind.

[lakewillowmerewraith]

I’m probably so late to the game but Somehow, I always missed the last part that Lucien says here in ACOWAR when he volunteers to go find Vassa:

““This eye …” Lucien gestured to the metal contraption. “It can see things that others … can’t. Spells, glamours … Perhaps it can help me find her. And break her curse.”

He didn’t say that just for Lucien NOT be the one that helps Vassa break her curse. And you can’t tell me that the male who helps Vassa break her curse won’t be her love interest. Vassien and Elriel all but confirmed right here 🔥