Sometimes they are genuinely hilarious. Who’s going to tell them that Gwyn and Lucien are already free, that Gwyn isn't even involved in this mess and is just Nesta's friend, and that nobody is even wondering about her bloodline?

Also, I saw this one comment that said: "AS A GWYNRIEL SHIPPER, l SHIP ELRIEL NOW. GET THAT DUDE AWAY FROM GWYN!! GET THAT WOMAN AWAY FROM MY LUCIENN"

LMAOOOOO. Don't worry, Azriel doesn't even see Gwyn as a friend, and Elain doesn't want Lucien. Y'all can keep Lucien.

And I don't remember if it was a post or a comment, but I saw someone seriously claiming that Azriel owes Gwyn an apology before he can "deserve" her. BE SO FR RIGHT NOW. They crack me up, I swear.

By @ruisfree on ig

I wonder if the guy can actually practice what he preaches 🤭

​"His salvation—that was what Elain was, what he’d been willing to fight for."

"The bond snaps for Az & Gwyn, Gwyn rejects Az" what bond??

"Rhysand and Gwyn will be besties for sure" yeah sure, just sideline Elain when it's canon

"The book will literally be about the valkyries, wagner's cycle is a reach" comprehension must be dead

"Elriels think Az having a limp stuff is romantic and a win" but a regifted necklace is??

"I'm so disappointed in Az" wait for the context on 27th

"But Nesta didn't change Elain's anatomy" yeah like all women should give birth. Talmbout gwyn having pliant bones

"Elain is a wh0r£ for getting intimate with Az" so 1½ body counts is whoring? Y'all antis must be pure

"Azriel and Gwyn are endgame" I must have read acosf missing several pages

"Elain should have stood up for herself instead of crying" Hmmm, barge into my room while trying to score and offer you tea. Gtfoh

But seriously, what bond?? I'll be damned if that bond snaps for GA

OK so we are learning a lot about Azriel's shadows. I'm leaning on them not being that great for him. It's interesting that they seem to read other people's behaviours / thoughts / intentions unprompted.

If this next book truly doesn't have Elain's POV, I wonder then if we at least get a second hand account of her thoughts /intentions via his shadows?

*"Elain is relieved to see you are joining for dinner."\

"Elain is upset that the lordling is here but resolved to help her family." *

*"Elain fantasises that one day you will replace her rose necklace with a pearl one 🍆 😉😏"\ (haha couldn't help myself).

What do you think?

Edit : don't know why italics worked for some

I am in full Azriel mode right now lol, Lucien gets zero sympathy from me. He was never my favorite, and even though I validated him a few times in the past, I genuinely do not care about his heartbreak right now. In fact, I completely despise him at this point.

And his stans are NOT helping at all. They’re running around crying "Poor Lulu," calling Elain a whore, and celebrating him spitting at Feyre's feet like it’s some iconic badass moment.

Right now, I am thoroughly disgusted by both him and his fandom, sorry not sorry. 99% of Lucien stans are out here pushing straight-up misogynistic takes. (The 1% doesn't need to take it personally.)

I wonder if anyone else feels the same way, because Elain getting dragged over spineless Lucien is seriously getting on my nerves.

Spoilers/speculation regarding the ACOTAR 6 leaks.

I've been thinking about the reactions to the ACOTAR 6 leaks this week, and honestly, the hostility directed at Elain has been genuinely upsetting. I can't help thinking about the misogyny underlying some of these reactions.

We live in a society where women are routinely expected to manage men's feelings, reciprocate their interest, give them a chance, and take responsibility for disappointments that aren't theirs to fix. Seeing these same expectations reproduced in discussions about a fictional woman, seemingly by a largely female fandom, is particularly disheartening.

Because what are we actually asking of Elain? That she give Lucien a chance because he's a good man, because he's suffered, because he deserves happiness, or simply because a mating bond exists?

Since when does a man being a "good person" mean a woman owes him romantic or sexual reciprocation?

And this isn't just about Lucien or the mating bond. It's also about the way Elain is treated by the fandom.

Look at Azriel. He's reserved, quiet, and difficult to read, yet so much of the fandom finds that compelling. His silence becomes mystery, his emotional guardedness becomes depth, and his lack of openness leaves room for people to imagine him as sexy, tortured, complex, and in need of someone who can finally understand him.

But why doesn't Elain receive the same grace?

She's equally reserved and difficult to read, and we know just as little about her inner world. Yet where Azriel's silence is romanticized, Elain's is often used as evidence that she's boring, weak, useless, or shallow. Why is his mystery attractive, while her quietness is a character flaw? Why are people so willing to imagine layers of depth in a reserved male character, yet so reluctant to extend the same generosity to a reserved female one?

And Elain isn't even on equal footing with the men around her. She's in her early twenties, comparatively inexperienced in relationships and sex, while Lucien is around 300 and Azriel around 500. She's been thrust into a new world she barely understands, and people seem to expect her to navigate it with a certainty and emotional maturity that centuries of experience haven't necessarily given the men around her.

Let's not forget what she's been through, either. Her transformation in the Cauldron strips her of her human life and leaves her naked, exposed, and vulnerable. Lucien's mating bond manifests in the immediate aftermath of this traumatic experience. Later, she's abducted again through Fae magic she has little knowledge of and virtually no means of defending herself against. Twice, her autonomy and safety are taken from her.

And her response to all this is to withdraw into herself, to garden, to cook, and to try to rebuild some semblance of a life. She doesn't become cruel or confrontational. She doesn't constantly vocalize her pain. But a quiet response to trauma is still a response to trauma. Trauma doesn't look the same in everyone, and a character doesn't have to become angry, abrasive, or openly broken for her suffering to be taken seriously.

And this brings me to the reactions to the leaks.

From what we've seen, Elain crying feels entirely in character. I don't see weakness or a woman who needs to toughen up. I see someone who's been through a tremendous amount and is overwhelmed by her circumstances. Crying doesn't make her pathetic, and vulnerability doesn't negate her agency. A woman doesn't have to respond to adversity with defiance to prove she's strong

Which brings me back to Lucien.

Some people seem more concerned with the heartbreak Lucien might experience if Elain doesn't reciprocate his feelings than with Elain's right not to reciprocate them in the first place. Why is his potential heartbreak treated as something she must prevent, while her own discomfort is so easily dismissed?

Lucien's own responsibility in this situation deserves more consideration. I don't care that this is a fantasy book or that the bond is supposedly too powerful for males to resist. He's not a passive victim of Elain's choices. As readers, we should be able to recognize that if, after two years, she still hasn't shown romantic interest in him, the healthy response is to acknowledge that, step back, and allow her to make her own choices without the bond hanging over her head. Especially if the bond itself, rather than a relationship they've actually built together, is the main thing connecting them romantically

I felt the need to write this because it genuinely saddens me to see a fandom that so often idealizes its male characters while tearing its female ones apart, holding women to standards shaped by men's needs and treating their right to choose as negotiable.

I’ve seen way too many people claim the leaks are AI-generated, that SJM’s writing has gone downhill, etc. And as someone who has spent way too much time analyzing her work, I have to disagree. Those six pages reads like her writing style to me. I find it hard to believe an AI tool could replicate her voice that convincingly.

I’m fully aware that my headcanons are just headcanons. Sure, I’ve come up with some pretty solid, well-thought-out theories, but some of those have also been debunked, and that’s okay! At the end of the day, this is SJM’s story, not mine. I can analyze the text, connect dots, and try my best to predict where she’s taking things, but ultimately, I’m not the one writing these books. And I’m perfectly okay with that. I’m here to have fun theorizing, not to convince myself that I know better than the author herself.

Previously I had posted a theory speculating that Azriel is a Vanserra. And since these leaks came out, I keep seeing this possibility being true.

BUT I’m also completely okay with letting this theory go if it turns out not to be true. I can’t exactly argue that it’s correct when it relies on so many layers of speculation: the idea that the narrative itself is lying to us, the possibility of time manipulation, and a whole host of other assumptions that would need to fall into place.

It’s a fun possibility to explore, but I’m not going to pretend I have it all figured out. At the end of the day, I'm only theorizing, and I’m just as excited to see where SJM actually takes the story—even if it completely dismantles everything I’ve come up with.

But I do want to include some additional findings from the leaks, that keep making me side-eye that possibility.

There are a ton of theories that have speculated that Azriel's mother is a seer like Elain, and when re-reading Queen of Shadows, I stumbled across this line:

"Inside it is a coven of Yellowlegs witches, all taken by the duke... to create demon offspring." (32)

And from the leaks we see this line: "That male. That monster. That demon." (ACOSH, 20)

Now, from what we understand we know that Azriel hates himself and his Illyrian heritage. But I really don't know if he is truly Illyrian or if he was Made similar to what had happened to the Archeron sisters.

"I glanced at the others. Rhys was frowning, Cassian and Mor were both grimacing, and Azriel... It was pity on his beautiful face. Pity and sorrow as he watched my sister." (ACOFAS, 12)

With Sangravah being confirmed to reside in the Night Court right against the border of the Illyrian Steps, I can’t help but to wonder if there’s a connection between the Autumn Court and the Illyrians.

Lucien seems familiar with Sangravah, as suggested by his recognition of the carpet in the townhouse. Gwyn and her twin are also from Sangravah, and they have Autumn Court heritage through their grandfather. And interestingly enough, Gwyn feels unworthy to wear the Priestess stones—that unworthiness is something that Rhys says is an Illyrian trait.

And then there’s Eris, an outsider, who seems to know a surprising amount about Illyrian lore and warfare. What if these details are connected? Could the Illyrians have ties to the Autumn Court that we haven’t fully uncovered yet?

"The Illyrians... dwell in clans and camps deep in the mountains of the North and do not like outsiders. Especially High Fae who try to tell them what to do. But they're just obsessed with lineage, and have their own princes and lords among them." (ACOMAF, 16)

Lucien shares this bit of lore of Autumn: "Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs." (ACOWAR, 11)

So, then I wonder: we assume Lucien is referring to the lands within the Autumn Court, but what if there’s more to it? It brings me back to the idea of Azriel’s father being a “local lord.” How local are we talking? And is Lucien really referring to the Autumn Court specifically, or could he be talking about Feyre and his lands more broadly—the entirety of Prythian?

Just how far does Beron’s bloodline actually extend?

“The Lady of the Autumn Court was sent to stay with her sisters, her younger children packed off to other relatives. To spread out the bloodline.” (47) 

Now of course Illyrians are a different species/class, referred to as "lesser faeries," but Rhys comments how "lesser faeries resent the term—and wish for us all to be called one thing." (ACOMAF, 21)

And what I find really interesting is that Autumn/Dusk are connected by the Horned God/The Dark Mother of the Three-Faced Goddess.

• The Horned God: Warrior (Autumn/Dusk)—Father (Summer/Day)—Sage (Winter/Night)
• The Dark Mother: Maiden (Autumn/Dusk)—Mother (Winter/Night)—Crone (Summer/Day)

And with Dusk being confirmed to have once been the Prison—Bryce being the daughter of the Autumn King, Einar Danaan, who is descended by the Starborn Fae, those originally from Dusk...

"[Azriel] must have had some sort of Starborn blood in him, then—a distant ancestor, maybe. Or maybe his possession of the knife somehow allowed him to also bear the Starsword." (HOFAS, 24)

And then, going back to the leaks, we have this passage:

“Searing power crackled from the High Lord of Autumn’s youngest son. Az’s hand curled at his side, the Siphon atop it flaring to life. But if he manifested that power, drew a weapon—

What worse could he do to Lucien? The male had already found Az in bed with his mate.”

Now, this is a stretch, but there’s something interesting about the way this passage is structured. Typically, when we begin a new passage, we establish the subject. Here, SJM doesn’t identify Lucien by name. Instead, she uses his title: “the High Lord of Autumn’s youngest son.”

On the surface, this makes perfect sense as a callback to Lucien’s fire-based power. But I want to challenge those who are interested to reread the passage with one small change: replace that title with Azriel’s name.

“Searing power crackled from [Azriel]. Az’s hand curled at his side, the Siphon atop it flaring to life. But if he manifested that power, drew a weapon—

What worse could he do to Lucien? The male had already found Az in bed with his mate.”

Suddenly, the passage takes on a slightly different feel. You can almost read it as though Azriel is actively suppressing his own power—as if the searing power belongs to him, and he’s holding himself back from unleashing it.

Again, I know this is a stretch, and I’m not claiming this is definitive evidence of anything. But given how much we’ve speculated about Azriel’s parentage and the possibility of hidden connections to the Autumn Court, I think it’s an interesting detail to play around with.

I got the Indigo house of wind book nook. It came with book stickers to put in the library section. Some of the titles are super hard to make out lol, but some of the titles are giving secret, slow burn romance, or remind me of Elain and Azriel! The ones I could make out: The Secret Garden, Secret of the Old Mill by Enid Blyton, Destroy the Day, Reign of Shadows, The Rebel by Sophie Lark (dark mafia romance), If Only You (good girl/bad boy sports romance), Broken Vow (another Sophie Lark book), The House That Grew (lucy boston). The title choices could be totally random (kids books and some romance novels), but my tinfoil hat is on. 😂

ETA: I just go the pages and will be reading them on my lunch break!

Thanks everyone who replied and offered to share what they knew!

This really is the best corner of this fandom!

I needed a little distraction from the world and I ran across a post on IG that said there were spoilers for the new book. I'm afraid to ask... but what are they about? Can anyone help a sister out?

I'm sorry if this has been talked to death. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'll read whatever posts have been made.

really need GOOD angsty yearning fics for elreil that has a plot and is well written and ofc smut? optional tho x also on thats acotar styled x 💙🩷

I'm not really a visual arts person, but sometimes I enjoy drawing cute round things :3 And I had the urge to draw my favorite creepy fae couple as ghosties for Spooky Season, and I wanted to share them with you!

So here! It's baby's first fanart! hahahaha

If someone I associated with trauma, humiliation, discomfort, violation, etc forced themselves into my personal (safe) space while I was naked and vulnerable, I would also cry out of anger, fear, embarrassment, you name it.

Antis have to be intentionally ignoring this very normal and valid response simply because they hate Elain. It is crazy. But I hope they hate the leak enough to leave the fandom.

My 15 years young account got caught in a spam filter 😂😭 Think I was over zealous with my excitement over the leak yesterday. So I'm wanting to celebrate my shadow ban lift by sharing my NC inspired nails.

Some accounts take months to get unbanned, I was like 😦 not before the release!!

I don’t get it. Why are people so quick to call Azriel icky or gross when Lucien is literally exhibiting textbook possessive and boundary crossing behavior in these leaks?

In the leaks, Lucien claims ownership over Elain, walks into her room, and tries to kick out the male she actually chose to be with (Azriel). He spits at Rhys and Feyre because he says Elain is his mate, that she belongs to him, and asks how they could allow this. LUCIEN IS ACTUALLY CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OVER ELAIN.

And yet, people are disgusted by Azriel, who literally thought about Elain through the entire chapter? He protects her with his wings, keeps her behind him, wants to go to her side to comfort her, and explicitly states that her body and her choices are hers to make. But HE is the gross one??

Also, this "poor innocent Lucien" narrative needs to stop. People have created a fictional version of him in their heads that doesn't exist in the books. This is who he’s been from the very beginning. A male who just goes wherever the wind blows and has zero respect for women.

Azriel stood up for Elain’s right to choose, protected her, and recognized her as an independent person. Meanwhile, Lucien treated her like stolen property. Yet somehow Azriel is the icky one?

The hypocrisy in this fandom is wild.

So sometimes dreams manifest out of what’s most on your mind, and in this case it was ACOTAR and the frustration that is dealing with fanon shippers. Maybe someone else will get a laugh out of this, because I did.

To set the scene: Gwyn and Az are sitting on the outer rim of what I’m assuming is the training ring talking.

Gwyn: expressing her feelings for him
Az: “I’m sorry, I wouldn’t even consider you a friend.”

When I tell you I woke up laughing immediately, I mean it. Dreams that make light of stressful happenings are a boon to my sanity.

This amazing person put so much hard work into this and it’s so impressive!! A fantastic resource that I felt was getting under appreciated in the sub it was posted in so I wanted to share it here.

Even after the leak, I am still unsure and SO scared. I think that’s how I am in life though, until I get confirmation I still doubt. My rational mind is telling me that we are going to get FED in this next book. And book 7 is where Elain will take center stage and we will have the romance of our dreams, but idk 😭

Pre leak, post leak - how are we feeling and how are your confidence levels?

What do we think?? 🫪

I saw this on Instagram: Official Elain licensed SJM art for the ACOSH midnight release party??? Even without confirmation of Elain POV, I think she plays a central role in this book. And in ACOFM, we’ll finally jump into her POVs!!
Interesting choice to include only her character art 👀 And did the artist just drop a hint?? Elain special edition cover maybe??

today rocked idc