u/VelarisMuse

As someone new to the fandom let me tell you this was a wild ride.

These people are in for a rude awakening if a little silly post from a company sends them into a full on spiral like this.

Imagine when BB themselves start promoting without mentioning their ships? Yikes on bikes.

The people who run the accounts, I'm praying for you!

So I'm back after fighting a brutal fever for two days lol and one of the things I've been thinking about with all of that ample free time, is that infamous black dress from Silver Flames. And me, being the Nuala and Cerridwen enthusiast that I am, recalled coming across relevant information that can give framework and bring some clarity to a topic that's been discussed to death.

This might even have been brought up before, but I'll provide textual evidence for what people have been saying for maybe years now, which is: the way Elain looked was intentional and not SJM "foreshadowing" that she doesn't belong in the place her own family lives.

This will be long, sorry, because there's a lot of evidence for what I'm trying to describe, so be patient with me lol. I'll go chronologically, then, starting with Nuala and Cerridwen's first appearance ever during ACOTAR:

>The faeries brought me up through dusty stairwells and down forgotten halls until we reached a nondescript room(...).
From the neck up, I was regal: my face was adorned with cosmetics—rouge on my lips, a smearing of gold dust on my eyelids, kohl lining my eyes—and my hair was coiled around a small golden diadem imbedded with lapis lazuli. But from the neck down, I was a heathen god’s plaything.
ACOTAR, Ch. 39

We experience for the first time the fact that N&C basically work as (because we don't know about the Night Court as a whole, yet) Rhysand's personal stylists for characters going on missions. The goal here was to make Feyre exposed, provocative, with Night Court-like make up: rouge, gold, black eyeliner; and basically put her in a costume that made both Tamlin enraged and everyone else UTM believe that Rhysand was an evil scheeming man that made the human prisoner his new "plaything". And the body paint is self-explanatory. It was purposeful and deliberate.

As we know, the twins vanish after UTM but we meet them again next book:

>My old handmaidens from Under the Mountain appeared at my door just past dawn(...), they informed me that breakfast would be served in thirty minutes, and I was to bathe and dress.
I didn’t bother to ask if Rhys was behind that last order, or if it was their recommendation based on how grim I no doubt looked, but they laid out some clothes on the bed before leaving me to wash in private.
ACOMAF, Ch. 5

They again, select clothes for Feyre to wear, even though not for a specific mission but because Feyre would've had no clothes of her own after being taken from the Spring Court, leaving out some Night Court attire for her to wear. SJM could've had Feyre simply pick out her clothes from a dresser without the twins intervention, but instead they're directly responsible for what she wears on her first day in Rhysand's court. We see this again further into the book when part of the IC goes to Adriata for the half of the Book of Breathings from the Summer Court:

>Nuala selected seafoam green accented with rose gold, curling and then braiding back my hair in a thick, loose plait glimmering with bits of pearl. Whether Nuala knew why I was there, what I’d be doing, she didn’t say. But she took extra care of my face, brightening my lips with raspberry pink, dusting my cheeks with the faintest blush. I might have looked innocent, charming.(...)
Rhysand’s gaze swept over me, noting the clothes that were obviously in honor of my host and his people.(...)
“You’re looking well today,” Tarquin said, inclining his head.
Nuala, it seemed, was a spectacularly good spy. Tarquin’s pewter tunic was accented with the same shade of seafoam green as my clothes. We might as well have been a matching set. I supposed with my brown-gold hair and pale skin, I was his mirror opposite.
ACOMAF, Ch. 34

Go Nuala, right? When I tell you guys that I think the twins are amazing and a key asset to the IC, this is exactly what I mean! She doesn't just dress Feyre to look pretty or to distract Tarquin. She's straight up dressing her to look like she belongs in the Summer Court in order to trick its High Lord into thinking she's an unsuspecting female that can be fully trusted. Again, there's a purpose to the outfits and it's not just the first thing they find to throw on an Archeron. You see where I'm going.

Next chapter, we witness the same strategic outfit decission for Feyre with Nuala's help:

>I’d worn the necklace (Tarquin)’d given me, and Nuala and I planned my clothes around it. We’d decided on gray—a soft, dove shade—to show off the glittering black. I had worn nothing else—no earrings, no bracelets, no rings. Tarquin had seemed pleased by it, even though Varian had choked when he beheld me in an heirloom of his household.
ACOMAF, Ch. 35

The goal was to now highlight that insanely expensive heirloom Feyre got Tarquin to give to her, for him and everyone to focus on it and possibly distract them from noticing they had ulterior motives with their visit on top of highlighting that Feyre fit right in the Summer Court. All of this through just her outfit choices.

For the next example, we have the lead-up to Starfall, which we know involves an ICONIC dress which of course is the result of Nuala and Cerridwen's help:

>Crafted of tiny blue gems so pale they were almost white, it clung to every curve and hollow before draping to the floor and pooling like liquid starlight. The long sleeves were tight, capped at the wrists with cuffs of pure diamond. The neckline grazed my collarbones, the modesty of it undone by how the gown hugged areas I supposed a female might enjoy showing off. My hair had been swept off my face with two combs of silver and diamond, then left to drape down my back. And I thought, as I stood alone in my bedroom, that I might have looked like a fallen star.(...)
Cassian let out a low whistle. “I should have let Nuala and Cerridwen dress me.”
ACOMAF, Ch. 44

Yet again, the twins being legends and a key component of major memorable moments across the series. I'll do one more relevant example from ACOWAR and then we'll move on to the black dress itself.

>We had taken my gown from Starfall and refashioned it, adding sheer silk panels to the back shoulders, the glittering material like woven starlight as it flowed behind me in lieu of a veil or cape. If Rhysand was Night Triumphant, I was the star that only glowed thanks to his darkness, the light only visible because of him.
I scowled up the stairs. That is, if he bothered to show up on time.
My hair, Nuala had swept into an ornate, elegant arc across my head, and in front of it(...) The crown.
ACOWAR, Ch. 41

Props to Feyre for recycling her dress, we love an upcycling queen! But again, Nuala - who we see being responsible for most of Feyre's fashion choices way more than Cerridwen - was very strategic about the way she helped her dress that night because they were trying to send a message: her and Rhysand as a unit, as High Lady and Lord, with a crown to match the occasion. Again, strategic choices for the way the main character dresses in order to accomplish something.

And finally, we reach Silver Flames. Here are some quotes for context:

>“You don’t have to do anything you don’t wish to. But Elain mentioned that you have particular skill on the dance floor. Skill that once won you the hand of a duke in a single waltz.”(...)
Nesta asked, “You want me to dance with Eris?” Her heart began to pound, not entirely with fear.
“I want you to seduce him,”(...)
“I think Eris is our ally, and will expect to dance with a lady of this court at the ball no matter what. I won’t let Feyre within five feet of him, Mor might kill him, and Amren is more likely to scare him off than win him over, so you and Elain are the only options.”
“Elain doesn’t go near him,” Feyre said.
ACOSF, Ch. 55

>(Mor) asked Nesta suddenly, “What are you wearing to the ball, anyway?”
Nesta, leaning against the worktable to catch her breath and listening to the strains of the violin through the Veritas orb’s shimmering mirage, shrugged. “One of my dresses.”
“Oh, no.” Sweat beaded on Morrigan’s brow, and her braided golden hair curled slightly with the moisture. “Eris …” She searched for the words. “He’s all about appearances. You have to wear the right thing.”(...)
“I’ll look around.” Morrigan pushed off the windowsill. “See what we have.”
ACOSF, Ch. 56

Now, with this framework we know a couple things:

1. The IC want to show Eris their loyalty by offering him a dance with one of the Inner Circle women.
2. Mor, Amren and Feyre are out of the equation. Leaving Nesta and Elain.
3. Feyre says Elain isn't an option.
4. Therefore leaving Nesta to be the one responsible to catch Eris' eye.
5. Mor confirms it's very important that Nesta looks the right way, therefore she'll see what they have. Not "I" but "we".

This leads me to believe that, considering that in pretty much every instance the FMC had to look a certain way to portray a certain image or convey a certain message, Nuala and Cerridwen, but mostly Nuala, have been the ones responsible for strategizing what they would wear. We're confirmed that what Nesta wears needs to catch Eris' attention, meaning the only other choice available, which is Elain - Eris' brother's mate, by the way, which I think is at least funny, that they have to keep Elain away from him like he would truly not care about that bit of information lol - needs to be ignored by him.

>Both sisters wore black. Both walked behind Rhys and Feyre, a silent indicator that they were a part of the royal family. Had mighty powers of their own. They’d planned it that way, wanting Eris to see for himself how valuable Nesta was.
Elain in black was ridiculous. Yes, she was beautiful, but the color of her long-sleeved, modest gown leeched the brightness from her face. It wore her, rather than the other way around. And he knew the cruelty of the Hewn City troubled her. But she hadn’t hesitated to come. When Feyre had offered to let her remain home, Elain had squared her shoulders and declared that she was a part of this court—and would do whatever was needed. So Elain had let her golden-brown hair down tonight, and pinned it back with twin combs of pearl. He’d never once in the two years he’d known her found Elain to be plain, but wearing black, no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court … It sucked the life from her.
ACOSF, Ch. 57

So let's stop right here before we move on. There's vital context that's constantly left out when this topic is brought into conversation: Elain will leave the Night Court is said and backed by Cassian's inner monologue of "no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court … It sucked the life from her." Sure, he did say that. But he also said other things that are blatantly ignored when that is argued:

• Elain was offered to stay home by Feyre
• She refused because she's just as much part of the Court as any of them
• "Squared her shoulders" and decided to show up anyway to do "whatever was needed"
• Even though she's visibly uncomfortable she pushed through because she probably felt it was important that people also saw her as part of the Royal Family.

None of this points out that Elain is so unhappy she's being foreshadowed to leave. But also, the rest of this same paragraph is hardly ever taken into consideration. Let's notice how she's described: the IC needed Eris to only notice Nesta, so she wore a modest gown compared to what Nesta wore, wich we'll study in a minute, donned a color she'd never worn before and that sucked the life out of her; her hair is described as "down and pinned back with combs of pearl" which is a rather plain look compared to her sisters. So given this description, the goal is achieved. Elain is wearing an outfit, strategically chosen to accomplish the Inner Court's mission, like we've seen time and time again before in other instances.

Now let's see what Nesta was wearing:

>Nesta in Night Court black threatened to bring him to his knees.
She’d braided her hair over her head in her usual style, but atop it, a delicate tiara of glinting black stone rested, slender spikes jutting upward in a dark corona. Each spike was topped with a tiny sapphire, as if the spikes were so sharp they’d pierced the sky and drawn cobalt blood.
Silver thread embroidered the skintight velvet bodice, the straps so narrow they might as well have been nothing against her moon-white skin. The neckline plunged nearly to her navel, where the silver thread gathered to hold a small sapphire that matched the ones on her crown. (...)
Her red-painted lips cocked in a feline smirk as her kohl-lined eyes took in the room watching her every breath.
ACOSF, Ch. 57

Quite a stark difference, isn't it? A very revealing dress, narrow straps, scandalous neckline, covered in shiny threads, sapphires, red lips, dark lined eyes, a tiara. Meanwhile Elain is completely covered, with a plain dress, no noticeable makeup that Cassian describes and no crown despite having just said she's from the Royal Family? Seems like whoever styled her really needed for Elain to be as near unnoticeable as she could possibly be. And yet, still, when they greet Eris, this happens:

>“Ordinarily I would ask you to dance, but my condition has left me unwell enough that I worry about what so much spinning would do to my stomach.”(...)
Now she made a show of looking between her two sisters. Elain gave a passable impression of appearing interested. Nesta just looked bored.(...)
Nesta barely glanced to Eris, who pulled his assessing gaze from Elain to stare at the eldest Archeron sister with a mix of wariness and intent that set Cassian’s jaw grinding. Or it would have been grinding, if he hadn’t mastered himself in time to keep his face blank as Nesta began walking toward Eris.
ACOSF, Ch. 57

Elain looks at Eris, Eris also looks at her first, despite looking indisputably plain in comparison to Nesta who should've caught Eris' eyes immediately, according to Mor who said he's "all about appearances". This reinforces the idea that Elain had to be deliberately styled to appear as understated as possible, otherwise the Inner Circle’s plan to have Eris focus on Nesta as soon as possible would have failed.

Nesta is dressed to dominate the room, meanwhile Elain has her usual beauty, which has been brought up very frequently across the series, muted to achieve the previously established goal. Much like in previous books, the styling choices of the Night Court attire were carefully carried out with a purpose, and not because they're meant to be foreshadowing of a certain character "not belonging there". They're a form of manipulation of the environment and perception of those around, to create a specific impression and image.

I've been reminded multiple times about this particular Lucien dialogue that some people seem to think proves that he holds this incredible power derived from his heritage that would make him a match against other characters.

The point of this isn't to discuss his power however, but the scene itself. It surprised me that I'd forgotten myself, and that the context is so overlooked or downright ignored by a lot of people.

I was surprised every time this came up because, from what I've gathered from his descriptions he's not precisely a super powerful Fae. But allow me to bring some textual evidence before I get to my point. Let's take this quote for example:

>I’d never realized that while Lucien had been trained as a warrior, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Rhys were Warriors. Cassian could wipe Lucien off the face of the earth in a single blow.
ACOMAF, Ch. 47

Or this small moment at the beginning of the same book:

>(...)and Rhysand mentioning two people named Cassian and Azriel. Both of their faces had tightened at that, but they didn’t mention if they knew them, or of them.
ACOMAF, Ch. 7

Which reminds me of:

>My mate leaned against the carved archway and drawled to Lucien, “I assume Cassian or Azriel has explained that if you threaten anyone in this house, this territory, we’ll show you ways to die you’ve never even imagined.”
Indeed, the Illyrians smirked from where they lingered in the dining room threshold. Azriel was by far the more terrifying of the pair.
ACOWAR, Ch. 15

Now I bring both of these quotes together because I feel it paints a picture of what the Illyrians and Lucien's idea of each other was and the tensions there. Lucien is threatened with death twice within the same chapter, the next one being Rhysand saying he'd rip his throat out if he didn't start respecting his house, Court or mate.

Combined with what we've learned from Lucien from Feyre before, it seems he wouldn't really be able to come out victorious from a violent encounter with them if "wiped off with a single blow" is any evidence. And from Lucien's own words:

>“Well, I never want to fight in another battle as long as I live, but … yes, I’m in one piece.”
ACOWAR, Ch. 78

I can gather from this he's not a person who'd willingly put himself in the middle of a confrontation unless absolutely necessary.

So that brings me back to the "Easy scene" from Silver Flames. This scene specifically involved Cassian, as we all know, and with this context, I as a reader, come to the conclusion that:

1. Lucien would naturally avoid conflict with him
2. If conflict does happen Cassian would defeat him, in Azriel's words, "with little effort" (SF Bonus Chapter, page 7)

Regardless, Lucien intervenes against the textual evidence that he shouldn't or wouldn't in a scene that Cassian is having a moment of rage because Nesta's safety was being put into question, product of his mating bond to her, surely. So this leads me to come up with a few questions:

• Why would SJM go against her own character building of Lucien and have him show dominance over Cassian?
• Why would Lucien step in knowing he's probably at a disadvantage strength-wise?

Now for the scene in question. What prompts this exchange is the following:

>(Cassian) asked, “Which of the queens would do something this bold?”
Vassa’s golden face tightened. “Briallyn.”
(...)She’d made no secret of her hatred for Nesta. Her desire for revenge.
If Briallyn made a move against Nesta, he’d kill the queen himself.
Cassian tried to think over the bellowing beast in his head that tightened every muscle of his body until only bloody violence would appease it.
“Easy,” Lucien said.
Cassian snarled.
“Easy,” Lucien repeated, and flame sizzled in his russet eye.
The flame, the surprising dominance within it, hit Cassian like a stone to the head, knocking him from his need to kill and kill and kill whatever might threaten—
ACOSF, Ch. 7

What changes by this instance is the third person involved in this conversation: Vassa. We were told in this very book a couple chapters before how his loyalty now lies with her, the woman he now lives with and whose curse he's looking to break.

>Mor took another bite from her pastry. “Lucien can’t be entirely trusted anymore.”
Cassian started. “What?”
“Even with Elain here, he’s become close with Jurian and Vassa. He’s voluntarily living with them these days, and not just as an emissary. As their friend.”(...)“He’s spent months helping them sort out the politics of who rules Prythian’s slice of the human lands,” Cassian said slowly. “So Lucien can’t be unbiased in reporting to us on Vassa.”
ACOSF, Ch. 4

And this I think is a callback to what Feyre notices as soon as they reunite after war:

>“The human queens are still out there,” I said. Maybe I’d hunt them down.
“Not for long—not if Vassa has anything to do with it.”
“You sound like an acolyte.”
Lucien blushed(...)
ACOWAR, Ch. 78

What this tells me is, from the very beginning, Lucien has been captivated by her and her resilience and strong personality. Feyre tells us in book three and we confirm this by book five.

Going back to Chapter 7, we also have this:

>But Vassa said, “The queens require no teaching. They were well versed in treachery before they ever contacted Hybern. And have dealt with greater monsters than him.”
Cassian could have sworn flames rippled across her blue eyes.
Both Jurian and Lucien stared at her, the former’s face utterly unreadable, and the latter’s pained.

Now this is obviously up for interpretation, but that's exactly what I'm doing so, I shall: Cassian isn't exactly known for being able to pick up on exactly what's happening at the moment, but I personally think it's just a literary device for SJM to give us little nods into future plots but without downright voicing them. Take this scene for example:

>“Because of the shit with Elain?”
Azriel stilled. “What happened to Elain?”
Cassian waved a hand. “A fight with Nesta. Don’t bring it up,” he warned when Azriel’s eyes darkened. Cassian blew out a breath. “I take that as a no regarding the meeting topic, then.”
“It’s about what I discovered. Rhys said he requires you both there.”
“It’s bad, then.” Cassian surveyed the shadows gathered around Az. “You all right?”
His brother nodded. “Fine.” But shadows still swarmed him.
Cassian knew it was a lie, but didn’t push it.
ACOSF, Ch. 19

As readers, we know that Azriel is clearly angered at the idea that Elain is upset by the fight with Nesta. It's as explicit as it can be without being dumbed down for us. Yet Cassian doesn't figure it out that exact moment, what's currently happening with Azriel, even though he's known him for centuries. He "can't tell" that Az is upset because he's feeling protective over Elain. Yet for some reason, with Lucien, whom he has barely any interactions with and doesn't know nearly as much as Azriel, he can tell he feels pained about Vassa's experience with the queens and the situation she's currently at because of it.

What does this tell me? That it must be a pretty obvious sentiment Lucien is portraying at that moment. One could say wearing his heart on his sleeve, considering how many times people notice his reactions towards Vassa, to the point the IC is questioning whether Lucien can make unbiased reports anymore. That sounds like a loyal man, and Rhysand would agree:

>“You know them better than I do. But I will say that Lucien is loyal—fiercely so.”
ACOWAR, Ch. 24

Fiercely so.

So fiercely loyal that he'd step in against a man who'd probably win over him in a one to one fight, in order to protect Vassa because she's in immediate danger?

There's further textual evidence to support the theory that SJM is building an "entaglement" of sorts for these two, however that could be its own post, as this one's long enough. But I think this might be the most overlooked moment, which I find curious considering how many times this scene is brought up by people who are his passionate defenders.

Although this isn't a shipping post per se, I think it's good evidence that he does care very much about her, and would intervene in the middle of a mate's rage (which he wasn't aware was such, fair enough) to protect her. Which, and I'm open to being corrected, I'm not sure has been the case with him around other females.

Let me know your thoughts on this analysis! I always love any kind of feedback even if you disagree 💞

https://preview.redd.it/e40saresb00h1.png?width=805&format=png&auto=webp&s=b07a074eb02fb257ba255a28b5805603a6cce3f5

— ACOWAR Ch. 30

I bring this scene up constantly, and it lives in my mind rent free, because I remember the first time I read it, giggling kicking my feet, at Feyre telling us Azriel was worried about her back aching too much, enough to bring her a cure for it, when he could've just shrugged and said "alright, see you next time".

I thought "damn, that's the most husband behavior I've ever read!". And I already liked Azriel a lot. I liked him since Mist and Fury obviously, but this sold me on him being a super endearing potential love interest as well as a badass warrior and I loved that duality; because there's bits and pieces of him being such a soft-hearted person despite his rough, terrifying exterior.

A few pages before this we had the Nephelle Philosophy monologue, which is one of my favorite Azriel scenes ever. And the one he talks in the most too lol

He's all in all a super wise, calm and soft guy and I can't wait for him to have his spotlight in Elain's book. I also can't believe some people like to paint this guy as a sex-crazed womanizer who's going to be choosing between all these women throwing themselves at him in the future 💀

So my question is: what was the Az scene that gave off such husband energy that you went

https://i.redd.it/7uusfbg7c00h1.gif

A bit of a rant here again, pretend to be shocked 🤣 but hear me out.

This isn't about the ship per se. I am very certain that SJM has laid out a beautiful love story for Az and Elain, a slowburn for the past four books that will finally resolve itself by the next installment. I have zero doubts about that, unlike some people who seem pretty shaken up. I know it will come, I have been waiting patiently, even if I have been waiting significantly less than most Elriels 🥹

The wait itself doesn't bother me either. We have a release date, the days won't go by faster by me complaining, but what bothers me about this current wait is the incessant need for people who claim to be "open to reading Elain's story", when we all know what the truth is, to try to disprove her relevance at every chance, over and over. She's not tied to enough plots, she's not interesting enough, she can't carry such a long book on her own, she'll be leaving the Night Court so literally everything that revolves around our main setting is out the window so she'll leave to do absolutely nothing to the human lands apparently. *Proceeds to list an endless biased list of reasons why Elain isn't important enough for such a long book*.

I don't bother arguing anymore, I've given up long ago. I know very well who's actually curious about Elain's story and who's just fishing for interactions.

But can people be so serious for a second? Before Silver Flames who could've thought Nesta was going to have so much story to tell? Could anyone have predicted the Valkyrie plot? The Blood Rite? The Dread Trove? The Made weapons? Sarah wrote stuff for her, you know...as an author does? More plots for her to be tied to, stuff for her to do, developments to make. And yet for some reason the same logic can't be applied to Elain?

Elain is much more than just her love interests, a little gardening and some bread making, as much as people like to reduce her to, and also paint us as if that's all we expect from her; a "trad wife", when in reality we're the only people actually interested in seeing her grow further, finding happiness where she belongs and it doesn't have to be tied to a man. When has that ever been the case for a SJM boo? The women find happiness in their empowerment; coming into their power, finding themselves, and the men are there to help push that story further.

Elain is a tough girl, she put up with her life being stolen from her with a brave face, her ex-fiance humiliated her for being turned even when she was forced to and yet she moved on and didn't give up on love; she said the Cauldron experience was traumatic and yet people forget she went through that because she acts like she's fine. She finds hope where the world feels like it's lost it all; she offered to scry and be an asset for the Inner Circle and has asked them to find her when they needed her to, she's not afraid of her own abilities. Her two best friends are Azriel's closest spies trained by himself and the narration has suggested that they've been training her in stealth as well. Like...in what world is this girl boring, or irrelevant, or weak, or whatever she's accused of being?

Will this tiring discourse around how she can't carry a book on her own end, even after this October book? Because I'm so tired of a woman being dismissed constantly just because she's not in pants throwing punches.

Reeks of internalized misogyny.

Okay so this just occured to me, although it's not my idea I saw it recently somewhere else, and I hope people participate! I'll make a couple sequences with emojis and you guys have to guess the scene I'm thinking about. Bonus points if you comment with a quote from the scene.

I'll make it mostly ACOTAR-related but I think doing the whole Maasverse could be even more fun, if more people wanna participate in the comments. Is there a prize? No lol but I think it's fun 🤭