A Court of Thought

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Includes

Various Posts for the Month of October 2023.docx

An Assortment of Posts Recently Added.docx

Posts from 9-24-23 through 10-1-23.docx

Pro Elain Archeron

Lucien Vanserra (the Man, the Myth, the Legend)

Pro Elucien

Pro Gwynriel

Anti E/riel

Gwyn Theories

ACOTAR 5?

Bonus Chapters

Crossover Posts

Anti Tamlain

Mor Theories

Amren Theory

I even thought that Sarah's book "Obviously" wasn't for everyone, after finishing "ACOSF" for myself. At that moment, I saw Azriel's book.

But the truth is that nobody wants to wait another 2 or 3 years for their favorite couple. I would say that Elain has been waiting a long time in the plot, and there's no way to leave her out of the main story.

And Elain's story needs her not to actively participate in the war plot in other characters' books, because it's about her stopping waiting and getting out of her comfort zone, stopping letting people only see one side of her.

If she gets involved before her own book, maybe that's not what Sarah wants.

It's that Elain, in my opinion, doesn't show who she really is, which ends up keeping her on the sidelines of the story, because she accepted the role of a fragile young woman for too long.

She conveyed the idea that she had done what she thought Feyre and company wanted and now she needed to get out of that situation.

I find it super interesting that Sarah highlighted how people saw her: fragile, breakable.

But I confess that I'm happy just to have Elucien and Gwynriel, I don't even care about the order, and Elucien won't follow the mold of a couple who pick up swords and go out fighting.

Sarah won't change Elain's personality to be a copy of her warrior sisters. And besides, Lucien doesn't quite fit the warrior profile and I see him more in diplomatic roles…

The conversation about the pairing who kicks off the next book (and whether it will in fact be multi-pov or dual) is a lot like the conversation about who endgame couples are and something my sister reinforced to me yesterday when she as a first time reader said "I feel like the author tries to do too much...follow through on some of these stories instead of trying to do so many different things...there's just a lot going on in my opinion." Throne of Glass and CC could handle "a lot going on" because she was bouncing back and forth between various povs but when Feyre's trilogy was a single POV and Nesta's dual POV, Sarah has given us so many unresolved plot-points and side characters waiting for their stories to be told that "obvious when you get to the end of SF" means so many different things to so many different people and I dislike when anyone acts like their opinion of obvious is a more valid opinion.

To me the remaining sister and the unresolved mating bond we've known about for two years would be the clear and obvious answer especially when SF ended with Nesta placing Elain's rose carving on their father's gravestone as a permanent marker of the beauty and good he'd brought into their world. But to e/riels obvious is Elain and Az considering Sarah has been talking about rejected mates in multiple interviews (whereas I think the rejected mates storyline will be Eris and Mor). But to others obvious means Gwynriel because of the recent buildup Sarah dedicated to those two characters.

The fact is obvious isn't obvious at all when so many have differing opinions and many of these plot points and side character arcs have been drug out way too long because of the way the pov of these books were set up. It's unheard of in Sarah's world for a story, once the action and plots have been introduced, to drag on for over 2 years. I mean the girls that remain kidnapped by Koschei? What have they even been doing for that length of time and why does nobody seem to care? 😂 And to your point, I do think she's holding certain plots on standby until Elain's arc (just like certain plots will be on standby until Az's arc or Gwyn's arc or Lucien's arc). We're not going to see those things play out until we have that character's pov, their full growth will take a backseat until their pov, so now it really is a matter of what needs addressed first?

I like how you wrote this:

I find it super interesting that Sarah highlighted how people saw her: fragile, breakable.

I had a post in my drafts somewhat along those lines. Elain was written to have certain flaws but she's now been dismantling them and the author made a point to address it. Where in book 1 Feyre thought of Elain being afraid to get her hands dirty now we have Rhys reminding Feyre that being a gardener does mean getting your hands dirty so it can result in something beautiful. Where we had everyone talking about "Elain is Elain" and "Elain has never been confrontational" we see her standing up to Nesta, we have Elain volunteering to do something dangerous that even Nesta did not want to do. Where we once had Elain failing Feyre for their time in the cabin now we see Nesta jealous of Elain going out of her way for Feyre. Every complaint the characters and the fandom had about her, the author is showing us that she has grown and she is ready to stand on her own, without living in the shadow of those in the IC (considering those in the IC outside of Rhys and Amren are still struggling to recognize what she has to offer).

(Of course Emerie deserves her story to be told but using her race against others isn't right).

Vassa was kidnapped and is still not fully free. Her trauma and nightmare are still a living thing. Imagine knowing every moment of her temporary freedom is counting down the days until she returns to someone evil who steals girls away?

Vassa, based on Sarah's use of golden-brown for the Illyrians, would then also be considered a POC character and the extent of the ICs interest in helping free her or the other kidnapped girls has been minimal.

Elain has not yet found friends that push her outside her comfort zone, who help her believe in herself and her ability to do more, she hasn't had a real conversation about the loss of her father with anyone, yet Sarah wrote him being important to both Vassa and Elain (with Vassa's own father treating her poorly).

Vassa and Elain both lost their homes, they were forced to live in a place they're not familiar with, both turned into something different against their will.

And though I don't think they'll travel around with Elain she does canonically have a friendship with the wraiths who are not classified as High Fae and are POC yet we've gotten to see very little interaction / conversation between them. I've always said Elain's friendships might not look like Feyre and Nesta's, but instead be ones she has across many courts and places. I think the twins are friends who helped her find some semblance of comfort within the NC and I think they'll always share in a bond the way Nesta and Amren will but I still think Elain's story will be her building additional friendships elsewhere.

It's not that some have a problem with female friendships or POC female characters, it's that some don't enjoy seeing the continued suffering of certain characters after a particular group has already gotten a beautiful story of their own about friendship.

Some of us are also looking forward to Mor finding comfort in her truth, where she no longer feels she has to hide who she is and doesn't worry about Az's reaction to things.

Mor was Feyre's friend from Feyre's trllogy and she's yet to have an arc resolving the issues we know still exist for her character, Mor who also seems to have a sweet connection with Elain.

To date she is confirmed to be LGBQT but struggling to tell others of her sexuality and that too deserves to be a focus, with her past with Eris being intertwined in what she's afraid to face.

Considering fantasy romance books are about the happy ever after for more than just one romantic pairing and a single group of three friends, some of us are simply excited for everyone to find peace and supportive relationships. That includes the three Archerons finding peace in their relationship with each other because until that happens it doesn't matter what found family's they make for themselves, something will still feel off in their lives.

Holy smokes!!!...Helion is Lucien's father!!! 😳

I hope he and Helion find out!!!

Grayson is a d bag…I hope she ends w Lucien…but she’s got this weird connection w az

I hope they are really done (Elain and Graysen)

I want Az and Mor though 😭

Also waiting for Miryam to make an appearance 😬

Thoughts- happy Julian's not a total jerk but wonder what his end game will be- like how he'll help them (besides the elain rescue)...elain - like strap on a pair, girl 😂…Nesta is weird w her obsession w elain…I’m sad about the suriel…and I almost think the author tries to do too much…follow through on some of these stories instead of trying to do so many different things…there’s just a lot going on in my opinion

I forgot to ask- how come their magic is always running out?… what is it supposed to do to replenish it?

Oh dang…ok- I guess no mor and azriel 😂

Papa Archeron, I love him…I think he genuinely tried to make up for everything from the past, and he’s a good man

Oh no!!!…Amren is a bad seed!!! 😭

Of course Elain kills him 😂 (I responded she strapped on a pair for you 😂 )

Still waiting to see what Amren was thinking 😐

Oooh ok!!!..she's not a bad seed

This book is too stressful for my sensitive soul 😂

Oh noooo!!!!…I don’t want her to leave them!!! Stupid book 😭

NOOOOOOOOOOOO 😭 - I figured she got to Rhys's death but when I asked where she was in the book she said:

I can’t even say it 😭

They’re trying to bring him back!!!

Oh tamlin 😭

EEK!!!…Amren back!!!…this is how it should all be 🥰

Wait- is she still immortal?

But who is better to show her the joys of being a fae than a charming courtier who will travel with her, meet the best people, help her find humanity in the fae, and the beauty of the lands.

She’d struggle to be accepting of her new life if she’s with the one who spies and kills the worst of the fae and explores the darkest parts of the lands, feeding her fear and hatred of the fae.

I said what I said.

"At first I'm like "this is a sweet little romance like Beauty and the Beast with Feyre and Tamlin and then whatever page Rhys walks on and I didn't plan him, he walked into that scene…." "Literally I was just writing this scene where I planned for there to be sexy bonfires and through he smoke, here he comes and he's there and I'm like oh no, that's what we're doing"

Demeter is the ancient Greek goddess of the harvest, agriculture, and the fertility of the earth. She is best known for sustaining humanity with the earth's bounty, her role in the changing seasons, and her central place in the sacred Eleusinian Mysteries

Responsible for sustaining humanity by helping crops grow

Beyond just grain and bread,

Demeter’s influence extended to the cycle of the seasons, vegetation, health, birth, and marriage.

Beyond farming, Demeter is famous for presiding over the Eleusinian Mysteries. During her search for Persephone, she spent time in the town of Eleusis, where she taught agriculture to humanity

and established secret religious rites. Initiates of these mysteries were promised a blessed and hopeful afterlife, representing the ultimate triumph of life over death

Demeter is deeply connected to honey. As the supreme nurturer of the earth, she is closely associated with bees and the sweet, abundant gifts of nature, as both represent fertility, sustenance, and the seasonal cycle of life.

To kick start everything I think Koschei's "Tell my Vassa I'm waiting" will finally happen. I think her freedom is now at an end as it's been almost 2 years since the war and the bargain Papa Archeron made for her freedom.

At that point I'd think Elain's Seer visions would be the only way for them to gather additional information about Koschei beyond what Vassa may have shared with Lucian and Jurian. She knows about the onyx box he hides and how it's important to him, she caught glimpses of it in ACOWAR, so I would guess her mission would be to locate that box.

Though she's never confirmed it JK Rowling also seems to have used inspiration from Koschei and the Deathless and just as Voldemort could not be killed until the horcruxes were dealt with, Koschei can not be either. Once the onyx box is located and destroyed (maybe they'll need to use Gwydion in order to do so just as the Sword of Gryffindor was needed to destroy the horcruxes - Elain being made and Lucien having a connection to the Trove should mean they can wield it, not to mention Sarah naming it Gwydion - which is a name found in the Blodeuwedd tale and the uncle that helped make Llew a king by creating him a wife born of flowers suggests a purposeful link) they can travel to Koschei's lake to battle him. I imagine it will be more than just Koschei but maybe not the full scale battle we saw in ACOWAR.

"Vassa knows that the Queens of the Realm will be a threat until they are dealt with."

"Because those stupid human queens are stirring - their army still isn't disbanded. The Queen of Vallahan even asked me what the point of a peace treaty would be when another war, this time against the humans, might redraw the territory lines far below the walls"

It looks like the main current threat, outside of Koschei wanting to rule their entire world, is going to be against the humans in the human lands and the fae on the continent are biding their time for that to happen. I can see the sisters and their individual found family's (Eris too as Beron still needs dealt with) joining Elain and Lucien along with the forces in the Spring Court:

With a new war possible and Briallyn up to her bullshit with Koschei, we need a strong ally. We need the Spring Court’s forces.”

Not my idea but it did make me go searching....

"I would like to combine folklore from all over the world. Maybe the Russian firebird legends." - Sarah J Mass

“They sold her—to … to some darkness, to some … sorcerer-lord …” She shook her head. “I can never see him. What he is. There is an onyx box that he possesses, more vital than anything … save for them. The girls. He keeps other girls—others so like her—but she … By day, she is one form, by night, human again.” “A bird of burning feathers,” I said. “Firebird by day,” Rhys mused, “woman by night … So she’s held captive by this sorcerer-lord?”

"Kastchei (also spelled Koschei) is the immortal sorcerer and primary antagonist. He imprisons innocent princesses and turns men into stone using his dark magic. The benevolent, magical Firebird helps the hero, Prince Ivan, defeat Kastchei by putting his evil subjects to sleep and revealing how to destroy the sorcerer's soul"

The Firebird: A magical creature of light and guardian spirit who is captured by Prince Ivan but offers him a glowing feather in exchange for her freedom (I wonder if this is any way connected to the deal Papa Archeron made for her temporary freedom).

Prince Ivan: The brave hero who enters Kastchei's enchanted garden and seeks to free the ten enchanted princesses.

Kastchei the Deathless: A sinister ruler whose soul is locked inside a magical egg hidden within a casket in his palace. (Palace could equal the castle that had enough spells and wards to trip up even Helion). Anyone who destroys the egg destroys Kastchei himself.

The Climax: When Kastchei's monsters attack Prince Ivan, Ivan waves the Firebird's golden feather. The Firebird casts a spell, forcing Kastchei and his horde to dance frantically until they collapse in exhaustion. The Firebird then helps Ivan destroy the egg, vanquishing the sorcerer.

Her voice hoarsened. “Koschei is no mere sorcerer. He’s confined to the lake only due to an ancient spell. Because he was outsmarted once. Everything he does is to free himself.”

“Why was he imprisoned?” Cassian asked. “The story is too long to tell,” she hedged.

“I fear what may happen if he ever gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows he could strike, and strike hard, and make himself its master. As he once tried to do, long ago.” “Those are legends that predate our courts,” Eris said. Vassa nodded. “It is all I have gleaned from my time enslaved to him.”

Lucien stared out the window—as if he could see the lake across a sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.

“Maybe not.” Eris shifted on his feet, and grimaced again. “But you and yours have more important things to think about than ancient history. My father is furious that his ally is dead, but he’s not deterred. Koschei remains in play, and Beron might very well be stupid enough to establish an alliance with him, too.

Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate.”

While we spoke, I said down the bond, Helion is Lucien’s father. Rhys was silent. Then— Holy burning hell. His shock was a shooting star between us.

Helios is the Titan god of the sun in ancient Greek mythology. Personifying the actual sun, he drove a fiery, four-horse chariot across the sky each day.

He’d wanted to enter the dark city in a golden chariot led by four snow-white horses with manes of golden fire, Rhys had told Cassian, but Rhys had forbidden the chariot and horses, and let Helion know that he could winnow in or not come at all. Hence the pegasus. Helion’s idea of a compromise.

Because his light reached everywhere, he was the god of sight who witnessed all secrets.

“I can’t leave it here like this,” I said, refusing to let go of its hand. I didn’t care how Helion had found me. Why he’d found me. He looked to the fallen creature, mouth tightening. “I’ll take care of it.” Burn it—with the power of the sun.

He raised his fist to the door, but the wooden slab pulled away before he could touch it. Lucien’s scarred, handsome face appeared, his golden eye whirring. “I thought I sensed someone else arriving.”

Lineage: Son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, brother to Eos (the dawn) and Selene (the moon).

In Greek mythology Helios was the son of Theia and brother to Selene. (Theia and Silene!!)

"I knew Lucien and Elain were going to be together! Hopefully Mor and Az will end up together too"

"Marrying Rhys sounds fun to me 😍😂"

"I'm not sure what's up with Jurian. He thanked Feyre for helping with Children of the Blessed but he's also a bad guy."

"Dang it - now I started reading for a minute and this book is stressing me out."

"Lucien is off in the human lands looking for the Queen, I'm glad he's helping them." them = the Night Court

"I'm a little freaked out about Elain's vision about Cassian"

"The war started. I don't get why she keeps saying how Rhys is the most powerful High Lord and can do all this insane stuff, but then he never has shown his actual power because his magic keeps getting blocked. I want to see this power. Like these High Lords are supposed to be so powerful they but they never get to use any of this magic."

(When she said the war started, I thought she meant the battle scene but she said they're just getting ready to head to the Summer Court. She was only referring to one of the characters saying "the war has started" but they're heading to the meeting of the HL's).