I would love your breakdown on the Nessian solstice necklace scene vs the Elriel necklace scene. Some fans say both couples BCs plus this solstice debacle are SJMs pattern of set up. I know the BCs are completely different but I love your analysis
Hi there!! Thank you for kind words 🥰
I actually think it's odd an e/riel would think comparing the Cassian bonus / Solstice scene to the Azriel bonus would work in their favor and that's for a few reasons.
First off, we have to remind ourselves that Cassian had known Nesta for weeks, WEEKS. When you compare that to Az having known Elain for years, the differences become even more pronounced.
Right off the bat we see that Cassian and Nesta aren't tiptoeing around one another. Some will say that's what makes Elain and Az so sweet, how they're so bashful and hesitant with one another but to that I say, do they know which author they're reading? People cannot discuss these books based on this trope done by that other author they like, they need to read and discuss them from the lens that Sarah is the author. Every single one of her endgame couples came right out the gate swinging. They saw the worst of one another from the start and that means when they do choose each other they're choosing everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly because if someone wants to stand by your side at your worst than the rest is cake. After two years there's no reason for two people who had access to one another (meaning they could have easily spent time together if they wanted since Elain wasn't pushing Az away) to behave in that way. These are two grown ups, not children in middle school.
We also see Nessian tackle complicated topics, like what Elain is doing marrying Graysen and Nesta's assault at the hands of an unnamed male. Again, this is for a pairing who just met and they're already diving in to deeper topics. But Az, having known Elain lost her father, having known Elain is dealing with the difficulties of a bond she didn't ask for, having known that she is a newly made fae and mourned her human life, couldn't be bothered to ask a single question that broke the surface. It's mind boggling to me that he was there for every horrible thing that had happened to her in the last year and a half, including her fights with Nesta, and he just had nothing to say outside of mentioning how he didn't want to give her the necklace in front of Lucien? Even with that he didn't finish his thought, "leaving the rest unspoken".
We also see Cassian thinking over his complicated past with Mor and Az. We see Sarah giving us an explanation for why he did what he did with her and how he regretted it. We also have him hesitant to tell Mor about his reaction to Nesta which to me suggests that he's never really had to explain having these feelings for someone else to her before. Again, this is within weeks of meeting Nesta who completely disrupted whatever thing was going on between Azriel, Cassian and Mor for the last however many centuries.
But Az? Couldn't give Rhys an answer on where things stood with Mor and no, that does not mean it proves Az is over Mor. Not when we've had 4 books knowing that he's loved her from the moment she walked into the Illyrian camp and even in the most recent book he interrupted Nesta who had asked Feyre about Elain so he could ask if Mor knew of her pregnancy. If Sarah wanted the reader to believe he was truly past whatever he felt for Mor she would have given us that reassurance when he was asked point blank.
They dumb it all down to "Cassian was hot for Nesta in their bonus too so why do they act like Az is a bad guy for lusting after Elain in his!?" but that misses the point a thousand times over because there is so much more going on in the Cassian scenes, things that are much deeper and more meaningful and it makes the lack of those same things that much more obvious with Azriel's.
Cassian was attracted to Nesta but we also had this:
"This woman standing before him like a pillar of steel and fame."
Cassian notes, not just Nesta's physical features, but her personality. Something that has nothing to do with him and his attraction to her but who she is as an individual.
Lust does not automatically equal endgame for Sarah's pairings. Feyre lusted over Tamlin after meeting Rhys, Nesta was hooking up with multiple others after nearly dying with Cassian in the war and she got hot over her fantasy of Az. Lust means nothing if there is not admiration for who they are.
What exactly did Az tell us about Elain? I don't remember him talking about her bravery during the war or her kindness to the fae in Velaris, nothing about her intelligence or her humor. Az was only fixated on her looks and things that pumped up his ego "she got me a gift but not her mate."
As for the gifts and how each male handled theirs....
Cassian was so upset over Nesta's rejection of his gift and of him that he threw hers into the river. That is the impulsive reaction of someone who is feeling too much because of her rejection.
Azriel in comparison reasonably planned to return Elain's. He didn't see the gift and in that moment feel such devastation at the thought of having lost her so he, say, punched a wall. He also didn't respond like a male who would long for her from afar, tucking the gift of into his drawer in hopes that maybe he'd have the chance to give it to her again one day. Dude was really like "Ima get my money back". It doesn't even matter that he then decided to give it to Gwyn, it's that he showed zero reaction at the thought of Elain not having it.
Some will say the aggression he had toward Rhys at the snowball fight proves he was upset about Elain but this is Az who in the same book pouted because Feyre told him not to go after Briallyn. The same Az who Mor said would pout when she had to do something dangerous. It's a personality flaw of Az's to be pissy when he doesn't get his way regardless of the why. They love forgetting what Sarah actually writes about these characters outside of the random lines they think support their ship.
Another thing to note is how Nesta shared in Cassian's pov, almost like Sarah wanted us to know what her thoughts were on the almost intimate moment with her future endgame person. If e/riel were endgame than it's extremely odd not to give us Elain's thoughts on their almost kiss and his subsequent rejection. It also seems weird to theorize a forbidden romance for two characters when one character clearly has no idea what happened with Rhys. Elain's lack of pov in this supposed huge scene for e/riel is telling to me, almost like those events aren't going to matter all that much when it's time for her story.
And the biggest difference of all? Cassian never left either of these scenes feeling a spark in his chest at the thought of another females happiness.
In his bonus he left the human lands feeling like Nesta's eyes were watching him all the way back to Velaris.
During Solstice we had this:
He watched her until she was a shadow against the darkness—and then she vanished completely. He remained staring after her, that present in his hands.
But Azriel? He didn't spare Elain another thought at the end of his.
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