Alright, sorry mods for attempting this 3 times! Hopefully this doesn't have formatting issues

1. Partnership vs protection/support

One thing that stands out to me with Quinlar and Feylin is this underlying mismatch in what the FMC actually wants/needs from the relationship. 

Feyre repeatedly begs Tamlin to let her help, let her participate, to let her go with him… Instead, we see Tamlin refuse, shutting down conversations, refusing to explain things to Feyre, and eventually locking her up.

Even when Tamlin tries to "support" Feyre, it's often in ways he thinks she needs. He continually redirects her towards painting and gifts her a traveling paint set... but Feyre describes this gift as

>"looking at that box, at what was inside, felt like examining a crow-picked corpse."

Bryce has a similar (albeit slightly different) frustration with Hunt. A lot of the time he reads less like an equal partner and more like someone reluctantly going along with choices he disagrees with.

>“...I’ll go along with it. I have your back. I promise.”
She blinked. Then blinked again.
“That’s not good enough for me,” she said quietly. “That isn’t good enough for me — that you’ll just go along with it.”

2. The FMC monitoring the MMC’s emotional state

Feyre is constantly aware of Tamlin’s claws, rage, tension, and whether he’s about to lose control. “Claws” is mentioned 56 times in relation to Tamlin throughout ACOTAR.

While not to the same degree, Bryce repeatedly monitors Hunt’s emotional state and volatility as well.

>“Bryce murmured to Hunt, ‘Chill the fuck out.’ Hunt stared at each of the strangers, as if sizing up a kill. Lightning sizzled through his hair. ‘Hunt,’ Bryce muttered, but didn’t dare reach for his hand.”

Even Bryce and Hunt’s first sexual encounter is framed around Hunt’s violent emotional state, with Bryce initiating largely to pull him out of that rage spiral and redirect him.

3. Power unleashed toward the FMC

I actually think there’s an important distinction between Tamlin and Hunt here.

Tamlin’s study outburst reads more as uncontrolled - panic, trauma, anxiety, loss of emotional regulation. But Hunt’s unleashing of his power is intentional - yet it’s framed as protective, justified, passionate, or done “for Bryce.”

Honestly, I think that makes the parallel more interesting. Tamlin loses control and it’s treated as frightening and abusive. Hunt chooses to unleash destructive power directly at Bryce, and fandom often interprets it as romantic devotion 

>Hunt blurted, “Don’t you dare – “ 
Bryce lifted the jug to her lips, but lightning smashed the vessel apart before she could drink. 
She whirled, temper searing through her. 
Hunt was glowing with lightning, furious as he advanced on her. “Do not drink from that-“ 
“This is not the time to go Alphahole!” 
“-without me,” he finished. 
Bryce could only gape at her mate as he grabbed the drinking bowl and held it out for her. 

4. “Why didn’t he help her?” parallel

A major criticism of Tamlin UTM is that he didn’t do enough to help/save Feyre directly.

But Hunt has a moment where he literally has the opportunity to step in for Bryce and chooses not to, saying she can handle herself. 

>“Help her,” Baxian hissed…. 
“She doesn’t need my help,” Hunt whispered. 

Except… pages later, Bryce does need help. And SJM intentionally frames that rescue moment away from Hunt:

>“...light burst from his chest. 
Hunt’s lightning had— 
No. It wasn’t Hunt’s lightning that shone through the Autumn King’s rib cage. 
It was the Starsword. And it was Ruhn wielding it.”

SJM briefly wants readers to think Hunt is the one saving Bryce before immediately redirecting the moment away from him. This feels like pretty deliberate wording to me. 

5. The narrative insists the relationship is good while quietly planting warning signs

We see this much more clearly on re-reads of ACOTAR. It’s easier to overlook those same signs in CC right now because we’re still in the “Tamlin phase.” 

We know SJM has explained that there is a difference between "perfect mates" like Feysand and Nessian, and "nature made a mistake" mates like Rhys's parents and Tamlin's parents. So Feysand/ Nessian have love AND bond, whereas some mates just have the bond.

Yet the mates seem to stay together once the bond is accepted, regardless of love. Rhys says his mother was miserable and that she grew to hate his father, but obviously they never split, and Tamlin's parents were still occupying the same bed when they were murdered. Did they still love each other, but not like each other? What would make you still want to be with someone even when you don't really like them? Is it just a constant pull to be near them/ intimate with them? Is it more powerful even than love?

I know some of these questions will be explored in the next book, but what are everyone's thoughts right now?

While I love Elucien and hope they happen. I can see that the plot is already potentially setup for Elriel and is canon sensed or acknowledged by other characters.

• Feyre talked about Elriel
• Rhysand believed Elriel would be a diplomatic problem so he tried to shut it down
• Doesn't Mor notice Az changed behavior toward Elain in WAR or FAS?
• Az is into Elain
• Elain is into Az
• Nesta clocks them in SF
• And even Lucien gets grumbly in WAR when he realizes Elriel went into the garden together at the townhouse

Unfortunately Gwynriel isn't perceived by anyone. At this point in the story they are platonic. ( at least that's what Gwynriel ship says...we don't see any romance because it's not their book yet) So other than a noticed eyebrow raise from Azriel or a half body turn and 1 chapter of group chatting in the main book, no character is perceiving a romance between them like they are with Elriel.

Ship Reversal: your least favorite ship is now your favorite (jk 😂). What’s one thing about that ship that makes you go, “Okay, I see where they’re coming from”?

I’m not personally an Elriel, but these stand out to me:

~ when Az gives Elain Truth-Teller

~ their quiet attentiveness to eachother throughout the series gives people a LOT to work with!

~ SJM adding forbidden romance with the Lucien mating bond does seem like something she would do to add tension

P.s. not sure what flair or tag to use

Vassien isn’t bad writing because readers dislike the pairing. It’s bad writing because the world SJM has built across multiple books makes it structurally unsound without retcons, deus ex machina solutions, character betrayals, or the abandonment of established magical and political rules. Every version of the pairing achieving a happy ending requires either:

• A woman surrendering her defining values, her people, and her political purpose for a faerie romance at the worst possible moment for her civilization. It’s both deeply sexist and a betrayal of Vassa's character.
• A faerie ruling humans who just fought to preserve their independence from faerie domination is politically tone-deaf to the series' own thematic architecture.
• A magical inheritance system SJM established as consequential, suddenly becoming ignorable when convenient, is an abandonment of her own worldbuilding rules.
• A mortality problem resolved by a magical solution that retroactively reframes Vassa's most significant character moment as a temporary position rather than a core value.

Here's my deep dive, with common counterarguments and why they don't hold up.

The Sexism Problem

Damsel in Distress Foundation

The Vassien relationship is built on a damsel-in-distress dynamic. Vassa is cursed by Koschei and requires Lucien's help to break it. Lucien is the active agent while Vassa is the passive recipient of rescue. That's a structurally weak foundation for a romance between two characters who should be political equals. 

Leadership Dismissed

By the end of the series, all other human queens will be dead or out of power. Vassa will be the last surviving queen, responsible for ruling and rebuilding the entirety of the human lands on the continent. That’s six kingdoms reconstructed into one. Abandoning that responsibility at the moment her people are most vulnerable is vastly out of character for a woman who still calls herself a queen and wants to return to rule them. It signals that her role as a leader is simply not that important when a man is involved.

 Counterargument: "Vassa has an heir who can rule in her place."

Vassa was given to Koschei because the heir was more fiery and willful. Handing the reconstruction of an entire continental civilization to an untested and temperamentally volatile heir at its most fragile moment is not a stable solution. And regardless of succession mechanics, the thematic meaning of Vassa walking away from her people at their worst moment doesn't change.

The Mortality Question

Vassa's most defining moment in the series so far is refusing immortality when the other queens allied with Hybern. That was a statement of values. She chose her humanity and autonomy over personal survival. A romantic endgame that requires her to reverse that choice retroactively reframes her defining act of resistance as a temporary position she eventually abandoned for love. That's a betrayal of her character, regardless of how it's framed. It's also extremely regressive. 

Counterargument: "Vassa doesn't have to give up her mortality — SJM will find another way."

If Vassa retains her mortality, Lucien outlives her by centuries. That's not a happy ending, that's a tragedy. Lucien could tie his life to hers or become mortal, but that creates its own problems I'll get into below. As for SJM's track record on mortal/immortal relationships: she manufactures magical solutions. The Archerons and Miryam all became immortal. A convenient solution for Vassa would require her to accept the very thing she refused.

The Politics are Messy (even by SJM standards)

The Day Court

Lucien is Helion's heir. When Helion dies, the High Lord's magic transfers to him whether he wants it or not — and SJM already established through Tamlin that when a High Lord neglects his obligations, the land physically suffers. The Spring Court's decay wasn't a throwaway detail. It's a worldbuilding rule. Lucien’s abandonment of Day Court triggers the same consequence. This is also why his becoming mortal or tying his lifespan to Vassa's doesn't work within the framework SJM has already built. Anyone attempting to rule in his place would also have no legitimacy. 

The Human Lands

An alternative to Vassa abandoning her people is for Lucien to move to the continent to be with her. This is politically tone-deaf to the entire thematic architecture of the human/fae conflict. The humans fought a war to be free of faerie rule. Lucien being sympathetic and well-intentioned does not change what his presence in a position of power over traumatized humans would mean politically and symbolically. Humans accepting a faerie ruler requires more suspension of disbelief than bat wings.

Lucien's Family

A common rebuttal to the "he'd be abandoning his family to be with Vassa" argument is that Lucien doesn't belong anywhere right now, so he wouldn't care enough to stay. This misreads both his character and the text.

The Autumn Court colors in his room at the Spring Court manor, a man in exile decorating his space with the colors of a home that nearly killed him, tell you everything about how much belonging matters to Lucien. The revelation of his parentage is significant precisely because it gives him a sense of belonging, purpose, and a future. So is Eris taking the Autumn Court, which would finally allow Lucien and his mother to reunite after centuries kept apart. She helped Feyre in thanks for saving Lucien and was looking for him at the HL meeting. Having all of that culminate in him voluntarily walking away from the family he has been denied his entire life is not a happy ending. It's out of character, and it renders the parentage arc pointless.

The series treats family ties as deeply important — except, apparently, when they're Lucien's. Why would his connection to his family be so much more disposable than anyone else's?

I’ve noticed that discussions about Elain/Lucien vs Elriel often turn into people treating their personal interpretation as if it’s already canon, so I wanted to ask this from a narrative analysis perspective after a debate I had with an Elriel fan.

Some of the arguments used were things like:

> “Elain already made it clear she doesn’t want Lucien.”

> “Lucien is directly tied to her greatest trauma and Sarah would never romanticize that.”

> “Their bond exists to show a wrong mating bond and to criticize women being forced into relationships they don’t want.”

> “Everything related to Elain’s growth happens away from Lucien, and whenever he appears the narrative reinforces discomfort.”

> “If Sarah intended Elucien romantically, she would be betraying her own narrative.”

And I do understand where that interpretation comes from. Sarah absolutely writes about choice, autonomy, and women rejecting roles forced onto them.

But at the same time, I also think there’s a difference between “this is my interpretation of the narrative” and “this is objectively what the text confirms.”

Because from a structural storytelling perspective, Sarah still keeps the bond active and unresolved after multiple books. Lucien and Elain’s connection is still repeatedly brought back into the narrative instead of being fully closed off. And usually in long-form fantasy romance, unresolved tension/conflict still being narratively emphasized means there is still narrative purpose there, whether that leads to romance or to a final rejection.

So I’m curious how other readers interpret this:

- Do you think Sarah is building toward a complete rejection/deconstruction of the mating bond through Elain and Lucien?
- Or do you think the narrative is intentionally unresolved because their story still has development left?
- At what point does interpretation become people treating headcanon as confirmed canon?
- And do you think fandom discussions sometimes confuse “what the text currently shows” with “what readers personally want to happen”?

I’m genuinely curious about the storytelling side of this, not trying to start a ship war 😅

Why are the ships collectively freaking out over these covers? Aren’t these specific to Juniper, and not the official covers?

happy spring angels xoxoxoxo

AO3 Link 

^*^*^

Bryce found the mirror that night.

She and Lidia were in the Archives until their candles had burned out, morning birds already singing by the time they’d made their way to bed. Bryce had laid there for over an hour, tossing and turning while her mind churned faster than the sea.

Hours of research had yielded nothing, only trivial mentions of the demons she needed to slay. Fifteen thousand years on this planet, and hardly anyone had bothered to document the Princes. It was as if a magic bubble of ambivalence kept them out of public discourse altogether.

Fifteen thousand years of separation between this world and theirs, and she’d managed to undo it all with one desperate decision.

She wondered if that’s what happened to Theia. If perhaps she didn’t start out as an egomaniacal conqueror, but her moral compass slowly crumbled away through a series of well-intentioned poor choices that dug her grave deeper and deeper until she couldn’t see beyond it. Until it was too late to turn back. Until those choices were all that was left of her.

Did she truly find joy in destroying all those mortal villages, or had she struggled to sleep at night, haunted by their faces? Maybe they were faceless like in Bryce’s dreams, identities lost like pawns in someone else’s war, never to be found again.

We were here.

Bryce finally decided sleep had eluded her for the night when Lidia’s soft snore echoed through the wall adjoining their rooms, tiptoeing down the steps and into the humid night. She hadn’t thought much of where she was going, pausing only to sling Godslayer over her shoulder and tuck an extra handgun in her waistband before she ended up on the roof. She’d had the trellis put in last fall, which was now overflowing with jasmine that got in the way of her impulsive and annoyingly difficult climb.

The roof was flat, edged with stone that showed centuries — no, millennia of sun-bleaching. She’d brought an old iron café table from the Gallery, imagining that someday she and Hunt would be dining at it while they watched the sunset, planning for their future. She swallowed down the image, yet another dream that would never come to pass. Beside the table was a colorful wide chest made of stained glass.

Bryce took out the blankets lining the chest, shaking the dust off of them and layering them into a pile in the middle of the roof. She bunched up the last one to use as a pillow, reclining against it to finally gaze at the sky.

The stars were breathtaking. They danced and glimmered so bright it was almost blinding. There were rich colors sweeping behind them, deep ambers and violets swirling through the midnight cobalt to create a magnificent galaxy.  No light pollution rose from the land to filter out the depth and abundance of those stars, the sight of them settling a deep unease within her. Each twinkle was a like greeting, a reminder that she was not alone. We see you. We know you. We are you.

This view was the best part about Avallen. At least besides the flying horses.

She sighed at the immensity, keeping her eyes locked on the endless starlight while she fished around in her bra for the mirthroot she’d stocked earlier. She lit it cautiously, taking extra care to not burn holes in the antique, highly flammable blankets beneath her.

Maybe coming here had been a mistake. She’d been so certain that Avallen was the best place to look for answers, but maybe she’d been naive to assume Helena would bother leaving behind any clues for her descendants to find. At least beyond the ones that centered her own powers.

Who has the time to write a dissertation on Hel when they’re busy carving an entire cave system with their own story?

Bryce groaned, taking a deep drag. The sky was so utterly dark — the kind of blackness that was so deep it hurt her eyes. The kind that made even a hint of light glitter and shine like a beacon in the endless void, the perfect backdrop for the brilliant display of starlight gleaming above her.

And the moon — it was just a sliver tonight, soft enough to allow the stars to dominate. A perfect crescent hanging low over a sleeping city, one which resembled the home world of the fae far more than this one. One filled with hateful people who despised Bryce for interrupting their endless privilege — and those who had been deeply abused by that privilege, to whom the beauty of these lands was no more than an illusion. A prison. The surrounding waters but a vicious, unforgiving corral to keep them isolated.

She had vowed to do everything in her power to make things better, to help right these ancient wrongs. And she had tried, even if it turned out that everything in her power didn’t amount to shit.

The mirthroot took the edge off her simmering rage, her veins growing so hot she worried she might boil alive. But it wasn’t fire she felt when she considered the obligations she had vowed to fulfill, both to the Ocean Queen and to herself.

It was ice cold fury, a chill like hoarfrost that stung to the bone.

Bryce smoked and stargazed well into the night, finding a strange mixture of solace and commiseration in the emptiness of the world. Her brain meandered the more she smoked, wondering if the moon keeping her company was the same one hanging outside Azriel’s window. The same one watching over Nesta during her nightly training, or illuminating Elain’s masterful garden. She hadn’t thought to pay attention while she was there, but from what she remembered, it looked about the same. But how could it be? How far away were they?

She couldn’t help but wonder how Azriel was doing — if he could think or feel anything while he slept. If he dreamed. She hoped his brain was finally quiet, allowing him a rare moment of blissful calm while his body healed. Bryce had the feeling he didn’t get nearly as many of those as he needed, especially with all his spymaster duties.

Did he ever know peace? Or were his shadows constantly chattering away in his ear, always forcing him to surveil the world around him instead of living in it? She’d certainly added to that noise this last week.

She grimaced, images of the Depth Charger slipping from the mental tomb in which she’d tried to lock them away.

Hunt lives. End of story.

Bryce ground her teeth and shot upright, suddenly needing to get off of this roof. She needed to do something — anything.

She didn’t plan on going to the Cave of Princes. She didn’t plan anything, really, except to move long enough to outpace her own thoughts. But here she was, a mere insect compared to the mammoth opening before her. Azriel’s golden dagger still gleamed bright against her leather-clad thigh. While stiff from lack of wear, the leathers were surprisingly comfortable, even with the late summer heat casting a dew of perspiration over her skin.

She’d had enough sense to take some flashlights from the Ocean Queen’s armory, a decision she was especially grateful for as she trudged through the pitch-black caves, too drained to rely solely on her star. The only sound aside from her clumsy footsteps was the steady, lulling drip of water leaking somewhere deep in the tunnel. Bryce shivered, spreading the beam of her flashlight wider while the shadows enveloped her.

The air in the cavern was frigid enough that she could see her breath, even without any of the black salt in her system. All the hairs on her skin raised at her proximity to Hel, terrified to inhale too deeply lest the airborne particles send her hurtling right into their clutches, even as each step drew her closer to the very cavern where she and Hunt had visited them all those months ago Allegedly, they couldn’t hurt her while she traveled that way, but at this point, who knew if that was even the truth? If there even was a reliable truth to know anymore?

Honestly, she didn’t know if she cared anymore either way.

She followed the trail of violence etched in stone all the way to the sarcophagus blocking the hidden stairwell. It took considerable effort to move on her own, but she certainly wasn’t going to let a heavy slab of stone deter whatever this mission even was. She had to brace her back against it, squatting low and pushing through her heels to slide it far enough for her to crawl past while she panted from the exertion.

The room was empty save for the black ewer bowl in the center of the room, shattered remains of its accompanying jug still scattered about. Her eyes followed the flashlight roaming the rock walls, looking — searching for any kind of clue. 

There was nothing in this godsdamned room.

She considered drinking the salt water just for the Hel of it, but some primal instinct — the kind that still cared enough to keep her alive for the time being — held her back.

But then why was she here?

She let out a long sigh, squatting low and holding her head in her hands. She’d been so sure, her starlight seeming to agree as she’d edged closer to this moment — and now, there was nothing but walls.

Walls.

Miles of rock, which had been carved up by a cruel artist’s hand. A mural and a record. If the original history becomes warped or parts lost to time… here it is, etched in stone.

She scrambled back up the staircase. Her vision narrowed on the first of the cave portraits, drawing her in like a moth to a flame as she studied its textured surface. Her finger hovered just above it like she would trace the ridges, but she paused, years at the Gallery rendering her reluctant to touch old, strange art unless absolutely necessary.

This was why she had come, she realized — to feel useful for the first time in as long as she could remember. Researching in ancient books hadn’t gotten her anywhere good at CCU, and it certainly wasn’t going to start now. She stared and stared at the first carving, depicting the hunt of the pegasuses. The beautiful, magnificent creatures with ropes of starlight — her starlight — wrapped around their throat, yanking them from the skies. Perhaps this had been Theia’s original sin that began her descent into madness.

Bryce finally gave in and placed a hand against the cool rock, channeling her light into the stone river running through the chamber. It ran down the walls like a dam broke, filling the floor and even the ceiling with liquid starlight until everything was cast in iridescent white light.

At least it’s still good for something.

There were no gods, she realized. For all the glory and carnage depicted around her, there was not one deity carved into the stone. The Fae were certainly portrayed with a certain air of divinity, but the lack of true religious iconography was strange. Even the Prison carvings on Prythian showed the Cauldron from which their world was supposedly born, plus Theia wielding the Dread Trove on her throne while her devoted subjects cheered.

She had this nagging sense that there was some missing piece locked deep within her brain. Why hadn’t Theia fought harder to survive? She had the Horn and the Harp, plus Starsword and Truth-Teller, and she could have world walked anywhere… so why did she lose? How did she lose?

And where the Hel was Aidas? Silene said that he was away fetching an army, but… Rigelus said Aidas betrayed her. Even Apollion said that her trust in them had been her downfall. What did that mean? Who could she trust more?

None of them, Bryce realized as she shook her head. She couldn’t trust what anyone said. Even these carvings were stories, not facts, shaped by the minds who cut through mountains to tell them. History was always written by the victors, art included.

She realized that she might never discover the full truth she was seeking. That the motives and history of Hel might very well never be revealed to her — unless she failed, anyway. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe she just needed to mind her business and focus on killing them all. But how?

And how was she supposed to save Hunt?

She swallowed, turning back to the carvings. Her mind was stuck on Theia’s death, much like the dreams that swallowed her whole whenever she wasn’t too fucked up enough to remember them. She could feel it, like she had been the one waiting to be slain, her mate’s hands desperately trying to reach through worlds for her before that eternal darkness won.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she played it over and over, not sure which parts were from Silene and which her night terrors invented. Theia had died so easily for someone with so much power, and it just so happened to be at the exact moment her mate was too far to intervene. But not before she split her star and her weapons between her daughters, almost as if… as if she’d known they would end up on different worlds. As if she’d wanted to separate those powers so no one besides her true heir could wield them — or even find them. Maybe Aidas was the one she’d been trying to evade, if trusting him was such a mistake.

But why? Why didn’t she just take her daughters and leave the world to rot if she was such an evil tyrant? Even if she wasn’t — had she even tried to stop Pelias?

Bryce closed her eyes, stomach turning and bile rising in her throat as she tried to see herself in Theia’s place. Not because it was so unimaginable, but because it wasn’t. She knew what it felt like to make a split second decision to sacrifice herself for the sake of her world, even with the Asteri still at large. She knew what it felt like to give everything to save those she loved.

She knew what it felt like to give up.

And if Theia was anything like Bryce, she didn’t do anything without a reason. She had a goal — a mission. But it couldn’t have just been to save her daughters, or they all could have escaped together. She wanted to save all her people.

But how?

The questions circled and spun until the sun was high into the sky, sleep a distant memory. Bryce pulled out one of the mirthroot cigarettes tucked in her pocket and lit it, watching the flicker of her lighter bounce off the cave walls and illuminate the menacing faces carved within them.

One spot in the corner caught her eye, rock smoother than pebbles in a stream. In the very center of the spot, there was the faintest eight-pointed star, its outline barely indenting the black salt. The light skittered as if the stone itself chased it away, a small shadow among the glittering black salt walls flowing with the starlight river. Bryce approached it slowly, mirthroot dangling from her lips as she raised her hand. She hesitated with her fingertips hovering just above the smooth rock, heartbeat stuttering as if it could feel the power slumbering just beyond her touch. After several long drags, she shrugged at herself before pressing her palm flat against the stone.

Nothing happened.

For a long moment, she stood there with her hand against the matte midnight black spot, sighing at herself. The next, she felt the shift in the rock, sending her star gleaming while a rumble groaned beneath her feet.

The wall parted, crumbles of sediment and debris raining from above. She instinctively shielded her face with her arms, dust rising to choke her as she blinked through what felt like an explosion. As soon as it had started, the moving rock clicked into place, taking the cacophony with it.

The following silence was eerie, like pressure before a storm weighing on her ears.

Before her was a wide, open room; if the hidden passageway to Hel blended naturally into the stone, this room leapt from it, shining and glistening as if the rock had been meticulously polished. There was a massive moonstone bed in the center of the room, which laid on a thick tapestry rug made from varying shades of emerald and lavender. Glass orbs hung from the walls, seemingly spelled to glow for eternity.

And on the wall directly across from the bed, thick ivory curtains laid in ruffles on either side of a colossal mirror.

Bryce didn’t have to get any closer it to know this was the mirror she was supposed to find. She knew it in her bones — in her soul. Its frame was encrusted with jewels of all different hues, sparkling and gleaming under the soft glow filling the room. Small carvings swirled underneath it, looking eerily similar to the markings tattooed down her spine. The ancient language of the fae.

The glass was so clean it looked like liquid. Bryce approached it warily, feeling ripples of power emanating from it and bouncing throughout the room. It seemed to hum, the light on her chest glowing brighter in anticipation.

Bryce might not have recognized this place, but her star certainly did.

She got so close to the mirror her breath should have fogged up the glass, but not a speck of dust appeared to cover its smooth surface despite millennia of neglect. I really need to learn these cleaning spells, she reprimanded herself as she raised her fingertips to the inscription.

It dawned on her that she probably should have bothered to learn some of this language by now, too — or how to work this mirror, for that matter. All it revealed was her haggard, sleep-deprived appearance, which she wasn’t too eager to stare at for longer than necessary at this particular moment.

She closed her eyes, trying to channel her energy as if she were opening a portal. Find Nesta, she willed the mirror, her fingers still tracing the inscription. Bypass the gate between worlds. Find your sister.

Bryce could have sworn she felt a surge of power vibrate through her bones on the last word. Sister. The glass began to ripple like a pond disturbed by a breeze.

She took a step back, hands automatically gripping both guns as her heartbeat jumped to concerningly high levels. The surface continued to dance and shimmer until a sharp, unforgiving female face came into focus, judgment glowing in her striking metallic eyes.

But it wasn’t Nesta on the other side of the glass.

The strange woman was unnaturally gorgeous. Her hair was white as the moon, nearly the same shade as her porcelain skin. Her eyes were deep gold, glowing in the sunlight that was illuminating her beauty. She wore a deep red hooded cloak, which was pulled up over most of her her hair. Bryce was mesmerized, her face a perfect blend of angelic and demonic.

“Hello, witchling,” her cruel, hypnotizing voice crooned, her smile revealing rows of iron teeth so sharp they looked like they could pierce through her own jaw. Bryce suppressed a shudder, forcing her face into a mask smoother than the stone beneath her feet. “Why has a pretty thing like you come knocking on my mirror?”

^*^*^

First of all it’s fine if you don’t ship Gwynriel. This post isn’t meant to necessarily change your mind, just to show some hypocrisy in anti Gwynriel arguments.

1. “If Gwyn and Azriel end up together she’ll be his third choice!”.

If you feel like this, fine, but then why do you ship other couples? Like Vassien? Vassa would be Lucien’s third choice too. First Jasminda, then Elain and then suddenly Vassa? Why is it only an issue when it’s Gwynriel? Most SJM endgame couples aren’t together from the start and explore other options. That doesn’t mean you’re “second choice”. Plus, Elain would be Azriels second choice after Mor. Or Azriel would be Elains second choice after Grayson.

2. “Azriel lusts after Elain even after he met Gwyn. If they were mates or endgame, he wouldn’t want another woman”

Then why ship Elriel? Because in acofas, after Azriel knew Elain for a long time, he still looked at Mor with so much heat Feyre had to look away. He was sexually attracted to Mor while knowing Elain. Does that mean they can’t be endgame too? Tog spoiler: >!and Lorcan was annoyed at Elide for cockblocking him. He was sexually attracted to another woman while knowing Elide!< and they still ended up together too. Same again for Vassien. Why is this only a dealbreaker for Gwynriel but not these other couples?

3. “Gwyn hasn’t shown romantic interest in Azriel so we shouldn’t ship them”

Then why ship Vassien? Neither Lucien or Vassa has shown anything but friendship and fondly for the other. Or why ship Bryceriel then? Bryce hasn’t shown romantic interest in Azriel either. Just because someone hasn’t shown romantic interest yet, doesn’t mean the foreshadowing isn’t there. That’s literally what foreshadowing it for.

Just for fun!

I think Neris would order a Sea Salt Maple Latte. Because Nesta is a little salty, and Eris just can't himself from oozing sweet praise to Nesta.

An Elriel story that spans 3 books and over 1000 pages makes no sense to me, especially if it doesn't involve other POVs. They're not involved in the same plots, and shoehorning them into each other's (or someone else's) plots would not make sense.

We have some significant plots that are ready to be explored, including:

• The Dusk Court: Azriel and Nesta are very tied to this plot. Elain has nothing to do with it. She was not even present during this entire arc.
  • Ramiel: this could be considered its own plot but I also think that it's part of the Dusk Court plot as well. Again, Elain is not connected to this mountain whatsoever. "Three sisters, three mountains" is nowhere in the books.
• Illyrian unrest: I consider this somewhat of a background plot, but I do think it will need to be addressed at some point since it's been a recurring theme throughout multiple books and was focused on in the last book. Azriel is tied to this because of his heritage and position in the Night Court. Elain isn't tied to this at all. If any female is involved in this plot it should be Emerie - who actually has personal involvement in it.
• The Trove: These items are related to multiple plots (including Dusk and Koschei). I don't think anyone could argue that they are exclusive to one plot. Both Azriel and Elain are connected to the trove (Elain volunteered to scry for it, Azriel has seen various items in use by Nesta and others) but because they are connected to different plots, this connecting plot doesn't really "connect" them together - ESPECIALLY since Azriel claims "the trove has a darkness that Elain shouldn't be exposed to."
• Koschei: This plot has been on the back burner for several books and encompasses all of Prythian, the continent, and the Mortal lands. Every character is at least partially connected to this plot, but Elain was the one who first introduced Koschei and Vassa through her visions. There's also her father's very mysterious involvement with Koschei (and Vassa) which we still know nothing about. Azriel is very loosely tied to this plot and is no more significant to it than Cassian or Rhys - in fact Cassian is more "involved" in it than Azriel due to him picking up more of Azriel's responsibilities in Silver Flames at Rhys' request. For example, Cassian was the one who met with Vassa in the Mortal lands and got more information from her on Koschei.
  • Beron allying with Koschei: This seems like a possible Eris POV to me, or a Lucien POV. This would make far more sense to involve Elain in it rather than Azriel.
  • Human unrest: We have several characters mentioning that the human lands below Prythian are uneasy with their alliances - both between each other, with Vassa/Jurian, and with the fae. I have a feeling this will be tied to the Koschei plot, as it directly involves Vassa. Elain, who used to live here and who's ex fiance is right in the middle of all this, is directly related to this. Azriel is not.

Additional "plots" with less page time, but still (might) be addressed:

• Mor in Vallahan: SJM has mentioned that she was excited to tell Mor's story - why would this story involve Elriel? I've seen Elriel theories that involve Elain and Azriel traveling to Vallahan to "help" Mor. To me, if this plot gets addressed it will have Mor at the front along with some kind of tie in to the Valkyries to explore her and Emerie.

Things that are not plots:

• Nuala and Cerridwen (the wraith twins): These two have been on page longer than Cassian and Azriel, yet we know nothing about them. Sarah has never bothered to develop them in the FIVE BOOKS we've known them. When we met Feyre and Nesta's close friends, they were immediately given importance, backstories, etc. Nuala and Cerridwen have no relevance to any plot listed above.
• "Elain the Spy": This is another "storyline" that isn't actually tied to any plot (except a hypothetical Elriel endgame). What would Elain be spying on? When? Where? For what purpose? Again, Elain and Azriel are connected to different things - why would she be spying with Azriel in Vallahan? Why would she be spying on Koschei with Azriel when her mate, who has far more relevance to that plot is right there? And if they were spying on Koschei, how would that advance the Koschei plot when Vassa, Jurian, and Lucien aren't POV characters in an Elriel book? Why would she be doing any kind of spying/exploring of Ramiel, the prison, Illyria, etc with Azriel when the books have not tied her to those things whatsoever?

To me, the way the plot(s) are heading a multi-POV makes far more sense than a 3 book Elriel story with Elain and Az only POVs. Personally I think the only way Elriel could happen is via a multi POV throughout the next three books in order for all these plots to be addressed. In addition to this, SJM would have to intentionally abandon their current ties to various plots and stuff one of them into the other's plot - for example involving Azriel far more in the Koschei plot and leaving Dusk, Ramiel, Illyria, etc. for someone else (maybe Nesta?).

If you think Elriel is endgame, what plot do you think will be "theirs?" Do you think there will be other POVs or do you think it'll be just Azriel and Elain? If they get together, Elain's bond with Lucien will need some page time as well - how will that play into the story? I'm genuinely curious because looking at the information we have - Elriel just doesn't make sense to me.

Polling to see how much of this group has read the different SJM series. I think this is important because there is extra knowledge (and possible cross series ship) in CC and all three books series are tied together. I think in order to debate, one really needs to know all the information about their subjects.

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Help! What do I do?!!

I matched with this guy on spark, so we met up last night for a coffee date. Casual, low pressure, nothing fancy like an official dress up date or anything like that. I could tell we were both a little nervous at first, but then something shifted and conversation flowed. We are both early risers so we called it a night, when he left he had a smile. Overall I thought the date was really good, and it ended positively. But before I left I used the ladies bathroom. And when I was in there, another woman came in behind me and told me:

"hey, I'm so sorry to say this and it feels awkward because I saw you were on a date with that guy, but as a girls girl I have to tell you that before that guy came inside to meet you, I saw him making out in another woman's car."

Then she left!

What?! I have this amazing coffee date with this guy and I find this out! Right before he met with me?

UGH! I don't know what to do! Like it's bleak out there ya know, and I really thought we had a spark, a connection. Should I trudge forward and pretend I didn't know because maybe this guy could be the one, or should I block him and move on?