remnants of a dream

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.

༻𖤓༺

⁣⁣⁣⤞ art by @mmariesr (🩷)

⤞ commissioned by me

The featured quote is one of my favorite lines in the series. It encapsulates the yearning, the longing, and the desires of a forbidden romance. And the singular moment that finally breaks the dam of restraint into the exploration of something more.

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Instagram | Twitter | @elriel-month 

“That’s something I find to be very interesting. What if the forces that be put you with the wrong person? Or what if you just decide, eh, I’m not interested. There’s a lot to explore within the concept of mates and your agency about it. I’m not going to say if I am exploring it in future books or not, but it definitely offers a wealth of things to explore with this concept of free will and what is true love. Is it something that’s destined? Or is it something that you make? Is it both?”

SJM on CHD 2026

“There’s a biological component to it, where you can be mated to someone that is not actually your true love. So, there's, like, true, true mates, and then there's kind of, like, nature made a mistake, like Rhys's parents did not love each other, like, it was not a great relationship, but they were mates, and it was, like, there's a biological thing where they're, like, we want to be together, but then it's, like, we're fucking miserable with each other, especially his [Rhys's] mom, so it's tricky, but then when you find your perfect mate, like, Rhys and Feyre, Cassian and Nesta, like, that is the last little piece of your soul that was, like, kind of a little broken and now you found your person."

“You’ve been forcibly essentially married to a stranger who was also involved in bringing you into this world, and betraying you, and shoving you into the Cauldron. It’s a lot. She’s got a lot of shit that she’s processing. And so, exploring a concept of free will, what does that look like with a mating bond? What does that mean? Does nature get it wrong sometimes?”

“It’s just, it's something that I really find to be an interesting concept, versus Feyre and Nesta, where it was so easy for them Like, nature picked right."

ACOTAR SERIES

“Why not make them [Elain and Azriel] mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?”[…] “You said your mother and father were wrong for each other; Tamlin said his own parents were wrong for each other.” I peeled off my dressing robe. “So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden—“that is what she needs? Is there no free will?”

“A mating bond can be rejected.” Rhys says mildly, eyes flickering in the mirror as he drank in every inch of bare skin I have on display. “There is a choice. And sometimes, yes—the bond picks poorly. Sometimes the bond is nothing more than some…preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At it’s basest level, It’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.”

Lmfao

SJM: "... you're married into a stranger involve in betraying you and shoving you into the Cauldron [...] Exploring the concept of a FREE WILL and what does it look like with the mating bond.. what does it mean, does nature GET IT WRONG sometimes? Does it get it right? [...] You're mated to someone and you don't want to be mated like ew, like you're stuck with this person like what? Like what do you do? The guy's like hot BUT WHAT IF IT'S NOT--y'know it's something like I really find interesting [...] Feyre and Nesta it's easy for them, like, NATURE PICKED RIGHT, uhmm..."

Sarah J. Maas in Acowar 2017 Feyre: Why not make them mates (Elriel)? Why Lucien? What if she needs this (Azriel and Elain in garden). Rhysand: Mating bonds can be rejected, there are bonds that not work like my parents.

Sarah J. Maas in Acosf Bonus chapter 2021 Azriel: What if the cauldron was wrong?

Sarah J. Maas in CC Hofas 2024 The cauldron is corrupted.

Sarah J. Maas Today Show 2024 "We’re talking about fate here, but at what point is a character the agent of their own fate? What happens if someone rejects their mate? (Listen, if I were Fae and I didn’t like my mate, whatever God chose for me is not my business.)

“That’s something I find to be very interesting,” she (Sarah) replies. “What if the forces that be put you with the wrong person? Or what if you just decide, eh, I’m not interested. … There’s a lot to explore within the concept of mates and your agency about it." Sarah J. Maas in Call her Daddy Podcast 2026

Alex: Can you just quickly explain what that means in the world's mates?

Sarah J. Maas: It's kind of like you're destined true love in a way, but it's complicated because there's a biological component to it where you can be mated to someone that is not actually your true love. It's like there's "true, true" mates.

And then there's kind of like nature made a mistake, like Rhysand’s parents did not love each other. It was not a great relationship, but they were mates and it was a biological thing where they're like, "We want to be together," but then they're miserable with each other, especially his mom. So it's tricky.

But then when you find your perfect mate like Rhys and Feyre, Cassian and Nesta, that is like the last little piece of your soul that was kind of a little broken and is now, you found your person.

Alex: Is Elain rejecting the bond with Lucien?

Sarah J. Maas: I think Elain's got her own trauma and shit that she's going through right now. I mean, imagine being transformed into a whole new body, a whole new lifestyle. You are gone from the human world, where what is 60 years is a good life to suddenly centuries, like a millennium.

The world looks very different and you’re surprised, you've been forcibly essentially married to a stranger who also was involved in bringing you into this world, and betraying you, and shoving you into the Cauldron. It's a lot. She's got a lot of shit that she's processing.

And so, exploring a concept of free will, what does that look like with a mating bond? What does that mean? Does nature get it wrong sometimes? Does it get it right sometimes? As a writer, I like to find things that make me interested.

You get mated to someone and you don't want to be mated. What do you do? You're stuck with this person. What do you do? I mean, the guy's hot, but what if it's not you know? It's something that I really find to be an interesting concept versus like Feyre and Nesta, it was so easy for them, like nature picked right.

But usually, it's not really 'new' info. It's things that she's been saying for over a decade. And yes, she expands on some of them, adds details, embellishes, but overall, her messaging and her story are essentially the same.

And that's when I realize how so many of her readers do not fundamentally understand ANYTHING about what she is writing.

She is a STORYteller. Not a 'ship writer'.

She's always been an author who writes big, sprawling stories, which have love stories within them. She is a fantasy writer--something she confirmed last night. She is not a romance writer.

Yet, so many readers reduced her no nothing but a ship writer. After a steady diet of hastily put together Romantasy slop, they forgot that SJM wrote TOG, and even CC--enormous books where smut and romance often took a back seat to the overarching story. Somehow, she's been reduced to 'a fated mates author' or to 'it's Azriel's book and Gwyn will...do something, surely'.

What's the ONE question that Elriels have always asked of Gwynriels and of Eluciens?

From day one, since 2021, what's been one consistent question that we've been asking?

WHAT. IS. THE. STORY?

Because Elriels always understood that Elain, and Azriel by association, are the drivers of the overarching plot. She is Made, she has unknown powers, she is a Seer, she is connected to each and every point of the story in some manner.

We can rattle off 12-20 ongoing plot points which are all connected to Elain. We can probably come up with even more. HER story. Not Lucien's. Not Azriel's. Elain's story, where she isn't a sidekick to Lucien's baby mama drama or the deliverer of his 'happiness and his HEA'. We never had to make up farfetched plots--the Illyrian plot???--i order to 'make Elriel happen'. Elriel happens naturally. Organically. Because Elain has a story, so big apparently, that SJM needs 3 books to tell it. Yes, of course it's connected to Nesta's story, and Feyre's, and Dusk, and Koschei. But it's Elain's. It's written and thought of by SJM. It's not some plotless drivel, where Elain would be hosting parties and growing flowers as the Lady of Day? (sorry Helion).

Funnily, we've been Vassiens since ACOWAR. And not because we just want to keep Lucien away from Elain! No. Yet again, we see a STORY with Vassa and Lucien. Something interesting. Something compelling. Something worth reading.

And we've never given any heed to Gwynriel, because yeah, it's dead on arrival. It's nothing. It's fanon, which SJM wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. She's got her own huge story to tell.

SJM writes women, first and foremost. Yesterday was the 90th time she reminded everyone of that. She isn't writing Azriel or Lucien. She didn't even write Rhys. She writes highly imperfect women. Women who struggle and make bad decisions. She doesn't write some scrubbed version of a female who never put one foot wrong in front of her. Lastly, she writes fantasy, which extends to Romantasy. She doesn't write ships to satisfy a noisy TikTok fandom.

THIS. It’s always been about the story. We always centre the overarching plot in our discussions, and it’s part of what drives our ship—why we ship Elriel, and why so many of us have picked up on Vassien & how unique a story it could all be.

Tbh my “problem” with theorizing was always that there’s just too much to tell with Elain & elriel. When I started piecing everything together toe plot was always too big. Seems like SJM agrees.

the colors shifting from orange to purple..

with nesta’s book being orange, and elain’s being purple…

credit to my darling friend ella, her big beautiful brain 🫶🥹

And what *they* mocked and ridiculed us over

TRUE MATES

SJM: “It's kind of like your destined true love in a way, but it's complicated, because there's a biological component to it, where you can be mated to someone that is not actually your true love. So, there's, like, true, true mates, and then there's kind of, like, nature made a mistake, like Rhys's parents did not love each other, like, it was not a great relationship, but they were mates, and it was, like, there's a biological thing where they're, like, we want to be together, but then it's, like, we're fucking miserable with each other, especially his [Rhys's] mom, so it's tricky, but then when you find your perfect mate, like, Rhys and Feyre, Cassian and Nesta, like, that is the last little piece of your soul that was, like, kind of a little broken and now you found your person.”

We have been saying there are two types of bonds: a biological bond, and a “true mate” bond:

From this post about mating bonds, originally from February 2022.

Elriels have talked for years about how there are two types of bonds*—a normal mating bond that is more biological but can be “wrong”, and a true mate or a soul mate bond. And Sarah just confirmed that.

*we still don’t know if these are actually two different bonds themselves, or two different types of mating bonds. Sarah did not say one way or the other.

ELAIN’S CHOICE AND PREDESTINY VS FREE WILL

SJM: “[Elain has gone through so much trauma, she was human and then is turned fae] And like surprise, you’ve been like forcibly like essentially married to a stranger who like also was involved in bringing you into this world and betraying and like shoving you into the cauldron. And so like exploring a concept of free will, like what does that look like with a mating bond? Does nature like get it wrong sometimes? Does it get it right sometimes? Like what—. As a writer, I like to find things that make me interested. Like, what if you’re mated to someone and you don’t want to be mated. I’m like look, what do you do? You’re like stuck with this person? Like, what? Like, what do you do? … it’s something that I find to be a really interesting concept, versus Feyre and Nesta where it was so easy for them. Like, nature picked right.”

Again, we’ve been saying for years that Elain’s story is going to be about the interplay between her free will and the mating bond that was forced on her:

From this post about why I think ACOSF made it obvious Elain’s book is next, originally from March 2021.

From this post about the Azriel and Lucien setup and why I think it means Elain’s book is next, originally from October 2021.

Elain’s arc has always been about free will and her choice, and the tension between her predestiny and what she actually wants and chooses for herself. And Sarah just confirmed that loud and clear.

And I am not the only elriel who has made these posts. Countless of us have, including @wingedblooms @offtorivendell @icedflames @psychee92 @elriell @psychologynerd @cassianfanclub @dancingwithfae @merymoonbeam and so many others I’m forgetting to name right now I’m sorry. But I am so glad to finally hear Sarah confirm out of her own mouth what we’ve been theorizing about re the mating bond and Elain’s arc for years.

“I think Elain’s got her own trauma and shit that she's going through right now. I mean, imagine like being transformed into like a whole new body, a whole new lifestyle. Like you are gone from the human world, they're like what 60 years? It’s a good life to suddenly like centuries, millennium.

The world looks very different and surprised, you've been like forcibly essentially married to like a stranger who also was like involved in bringing you into into this world and like betraying you and like shoving you into the cauldron.

It's like a lot. She's got a lot of shit that she's processing.

And so like exploring like a concept of a free will, what does that look like with a mating bond? What does that mean? And does nature get it wrong sometimes? Does it get it right sometimes?

And again as a writer, I have to be, very—I'm, I like to like—find things that like, make me interested.

Like you get mated to someone and you don't want to be mated. What do you do? Like you're stuck with this person. But like, I mean, the guy's like hot, but what if it's not — you don't know — it's just something that I really find to be an interesting concept versus like Feyra and Nessa are so easy for them, like nature picked right, but—yeah.”

Sarah’s own words. Redacted.

And confirmed that Lucien WAS responsible for Elain’s turning and that her resentment is justified.

Us: we found out the daglan warped the cauldron!

Us: “why not make them mates?”

Them: “well then what of the Feysand bond??? What of Nessian???”

I think it makes for a better reading, and considering how stifling ACOSF was--at least for me--and how so many stories were just left hanging, I would rather have many characters actually DOING something, rather than read about 2 people.

I would LIKE to read about Vassa and Lucien, I want that story. And I want to read about Nesta, and Cassian, and I am interested in Eris, and in Mor. I want to understand what's happening with Dusk, but also with Koschei. I know we are getting an Erilea crossover.

The question was always--what would the last book be about? what couple?

In a way, I am happy she is moving away from the rigid 'one couple' format, because I don't feel like it was serving her well. She literally needed to expand to Crescent City, to capture these stories.

And we are getting potentially FOUR books instead of 1 or 2! Yeah, I don't mind that at all.

I also think she does better with multi POV structure. Not all authors can handle it, but she can. So leaning into what works best for her is optimal.

The exclusive edition of acofas included these two pages,

Notice how elriel’s background matches whilst Nessians match each other. And then when you fold the book, Elain is with Azriel. Nesta with Cassian.

SJM didn’t set up a potential mating bond rejection plotline FOR ELAIN TO ACCEPT THE MATING BOND.

SJM didn’t have Feyre say “let’s focus on helping one sister [Nesta] before we start on the other [Elain]” FOR THE NEXT BOOK TO BE ABOUT GWYN.

What if there are actually two types of bonds in the ACOTAR world? A mating bond, and a soul mate bond? And the former is what Tamlin’s parents had and what Rhys’s parents had and what Elain and Lucien have, but the latter is what Rhys and Feyre have, what Cassian and Nesta have, what Miryam and Drakon have.

This would explain why Feysand and Nessian’s bonds seem so strong, and why Lucien’s instincts about Elain do not seem to match those of the former mated pairs.

Maybe the mating bond is bestowed by the cauldron and the soul mate bond by the Mother (or vice versa). And the mating bond is about procreation like Rhys suggests, but the soul mate bond is about a true pairing of souls (and significantly rarer I would imagine).

If this is possible, it makes me wonder if someone can have two bonds with different people—a mating bond with one person, and a soul mate bond with another.

Could Lucien and Elain have a mating bond, but Elain and Azriel a soul mate bond? This would explain why Azriel reacts so strongly to Elain being taken, how azriel is able to figure out what’s wrong with her (that she’s a seer), why he reacts so strongly to her being threatened or insulted, and why he can’t stand to be around Lucien and Elain’s mating bond.

And following this path, could Eris and Mor have a mating bond as @dancingwithfae suggested in this brilliant post, but have a soul mate bond with other people?

So supposedly in HOSAB, Ruhn is the one to tel Bryce she and Hunt are mates, and this is what he says:

TRUE MATES. The way fae are mates, IN YOUR BODIES AND SOULS.

Is this like the soul mate bond i theorized about above? Where you can have just mates, but then TRUE MATES, which are basically soul mates??

So can a person have a Mate and a True Mate? Is Lucien Elain’s Mate, and Azriel her True Mate?

Are mates given by the cauldron for bloodlines, and true mates by the Mother/Chthona (cc @merymoonbeam )

First, Rhys names several options for who might make the bond (maybe two of them do 👀)

Second, Rhys acknowledges that the mating bond isn’t always chosen right. “The bond sometimes picks poorly.”

Last, and most importantly, Rhys says this: “some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.”

The mating bond. is not. an indication of true, paired souls. 🤯 WHAT?!?

Well, what if there really is a separate bond for true, paired souls. The True Mate bond?

It seems Sarah might have been telling us this the whole time.

In KOA:

“His true mate, the song of his soul.”

“She was still up there, his mate-who-had-never-been. And his true mate…”

In ACOMAF:

“I had found my true mate.”

All of this sounds similar to what Ruhn describes above: True mates, in their bodies and souls. And we know all of these specific pairs were soul mates.

As opposed to just mates, not true, paired souls. Maybe where the bond feels like a thread tied to a rib, rather than your chest or heart or soul:

And of course, Rhys’s joke in the Feysand bonus:

Very funny. I see what you’re doing here Sarah. Because maybe she actually could have another mate. Just not her True Mate.

As you answered here:

“There were several definitions of the term mate”!!!!!!

SJM: “Yes! What?! I don’t— Where does that come from?!”

Alex: “Well, there are a lot of theories that Bryce’s true mate is Azriel. Is there any truth to that?”

Some bonds are simply biological and do not work

Elain has a lot of trauma to work through

Lucien contributed to that trauma when he betrayed everyone and pretty much shoved her in the cauldron

Brycriel is not happening

Sarah slipped up and said “it was easy for Nesta and Feyre because nature picked right”, implying that in her mind nature did not pick correct for Elain…..👀👀👀👀👀