There is something to be said about how from the beginning, SJM has been setting Elriel as the 'couple apart'.
Yes they are part of the IC, of course, but there is an 'otherness' about them that feels deliberate.
Cassian, and Nesta by extension, are heavily entrenched in the IC (I suppose to the dismay of many Nesta stans). From the very first scene when Cassian meets Nesta, there are all these conflicting emotions that are running through him, mostly because of Feyre and his loyalty to her, and he lashes out at Nesta at the dinner table.
As the story progresses, there is all this drama between Feysand and Nessian, warring emotions, Nesta hates Rhys, Rhys doesn't like Nesta, Feyre and Nesta are at odds, Cassian is torn between the two fractions. Add to that Mor, who's had a weird relationship with Cassian for 500 years and who flexes her muscle in relation to him very frequently. Plus, there is Amren, who also interferes at different times for various reasons. Rhys and Cassian have this unbreakable bond of brotherhood and there is a lot of push and pull between them, and in relation to the two sisters. Even from the very beginning, Rhys 'suggested' Cassian, not Azriel, as a potential lover for Feyre. When Rhys was telling Feyre about UTM, he again evoked Cassian saying that it felt like Cassian was next to him when Feyre was battling the Wyrm and in his head he heard his brother's voice 'if you don't marry her, I will!' And then of course in ACOSF, Feyre and Nyx are saved by Nesta.
It's a TIIIIIIGHT knot between all those people.
Which brings me to Az and Elain.
From the start, they are a couple apart. They don't match the dynamic or the behavior of the rest of the group. There is no bickering, no accusations, no push and pull. Azriel, while fully part of the Bat Boy Trio, is also...different. Too different. He is a shadowsinger, his powers far exceed Cassian's but aren't as strong as Rhys's, though Rhys is the only person that goes head to head with Az and then relents. Azriel is solitary and mysterious. He is a man apart in the Cassian/Mor/Azriel Trio as well. One who loves, but one who isn't loved. One who is pushed out, always forced to look from the outside in. Azriel is untamed. He stands up to High Lords, he sneaks into the Hybern camp. Once he says something, he goes after it. He isn't like the rest of them and remains an enigma even to those who are closest to him. Cassian doesn't ask him questions, knowing that Azriel wouldn't want to answer. Rhys misreads him and assumes that he knows him, but he doesn't.
And Azriel's love for Elain is a thing of secret, lovely beauty. It's private and his own. Only she is aware. Yes, some have started seeing the signs, but they are so subtle, no one is quite sure. Only Nesta, it seems, understands him.
Elain is the one apart from them too. She is kept in the dark, she isn't told things, she is left behind. The irony is that it's SHE who is the Seer. The one who actually sees everything (even through Azriel's darkness and aloofness). It's Azriel who Saw her Sight, and his words were 'SHE doesn't need anything. It's WE who need...' They need her, and they don't even realize it. They keep her away and push her aside, whereas she is the one with the Eyes.
it's SHE who shocks them. She sneaks up on the King and stabs him in the throat. She is the one who accepts Truth Teller. She is the one who volunteers to scry. She is the one who offers to beg Lord Nolan for the humans' safety. She is the one who finds the Suriel. She is the one who surprises Azriel with her gifts. The continuous theme about Elain is that no one knows her or understands her. Not her sisters, not her mate, not her ex-fiance.
To Azriel, she is always unavailable. When he meets her, she is engaged to a human. The moment she becomes Fae, she is mated to another. Yes, the pull is strong. It torments him. And while Rhys was willing to go against another High Lord for Feyre, and Cassian was willing to take on all of Nesta's darkness and brokenness, Azriel is willing to go against THEM ALL--The Cauldron, Elain's mate, ALL the High Lords, and his own High Lord.
It feels like Elriel's otherness is deliberate. A set up for a book and a story that is entirely their own, and where they'll have to work through and live through their own unique set of challenges and problems unlike anyone else. A story that takes them out of the confines of the IC, and Night Court and the setup that we've had so far, in order to give them a completely separate storyline.
Azriel is the one who loves, but isnât lovedâŚ. that is the perfect description for him. Elain seeing through his darkness, they truly are THAT couple.
I just saw a post basically saying âElriels say Elain doesnât like Lucien, as if that isnât one of the oldest and most common romance tropes out there (hate to love)â
I donât even really want to comment on that because, personally, I donât think Elain hates Lucien or even dislikes him. She just seems deeply uncomfortable around him. She isnât annoyed by him, and those are two very different things.
But if youâre going to argue that âElain doesnât like Lucienâ is a common romance trope and therefore shouldnât be dismissed, then you also have to acknowledge that Azriel saying âThis was a mistakeâ is an equally well-known romance trope. You canât treat one trope as meaningful evidence and completely dismiss the other just because it doesnât support your ship.
Anyway, I genuinely donât know how some of you survived five years in this fandom. Iâve only been here for a couple of months, and Iâm already losing my mind.
In this post Iâm gonna connect the wording of chapter 52 to Azrielâs bonus chapter and connection of sirens to chapter 52
Before we start the post these are the posts I will connect to as we go...
Lightsinger part1 , part2 by @silverlinedeyes
Glowed quietly
Cauldronâs song and Gwynâs singing
1.
Chapter 52 Acosf
A bell rang seven times somewhere nearby, echoing through the stones, through Nestaâs feet. Each peal was a summons, a call to focus. Everyone rose at the seventh peal. Nesta gazed at the sea of pale robes and blue stones as the entire room seemed to suck in a breath.
Azriel's Bonus Chapter
Instead, he found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind, standing before Clotho as the clock chimed seven in the evening.
In Acosf chapter 52 there is a bell that rings seven times and from Gwyn we know that they hold services at dawn and dusk.
Gwyn huffed a soft laugh. âIn part. We honor the Mother, and the Cauldron, and the Forces That Be. We have a service at dawn and at dusk, and on every holy day.â
so it is interesting that when they held the service Nesta heard a bell ring seven times and Azriel arrived at the library when clocked chimed seven in the evening.
2.
Chapter 52 Acosf
Not from any instruments, but from all around. As if they were one voice, the priestesses began to sing, a wave of sparkling sound. Nesta could only gape at the lovely melody, the voices from the front of the cavern leading it, lifting higher than the others. Gwyn sang, chin high, a faint glow seeming to radiate from her.
Azriel's Bonus Chapter
Something sparked in Azriel's chest, but he only nodded his thanks and left. He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn's teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason... he could see it.  But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.
In this part what took me back because as you can see...the same words are used? when you look at the context it feels different but when it comes to how the Azriel's bonus chapter was build upon silent music and singing and all...this gave me a pause. I wonder if there is more to it.
3.
Azriel's bonus chapter
He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn's teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason... he could see it.
Chapter 52 acosf
Sheâd never heard such music. Like a spell, a dream given form. The entire room sang, each voice resonating through the stone
as you can see Nesta says that music is like a "spell, a dream given form" like how Azriel could picture Gwyn's eyes lighting up.
Gwynâs voice rose again, holding such a high note it was like a ray of pure light, piercing and summoning. Two other voices rolled in to join, pulsing around that repeated high note, the harp still strumming, voices whispering and flowing, lulling Nesta down, down, down into a pure, ancient place where no outside world existed, no time, nothing but the music in her bones, the stones at her feet, her side, overhead. The music took form behind Nestaâs eyes as the priestesses sang lyrics in languages so old, no one voiced them anymore. She saw what the song spoke of: mossy earth and golden sun, clear rivers and the deep shadows of an ancient forest.
Again in here the music "took form behind Nesta's eyes" and she "saw what the song spoke of" like Azriel picturing Gwyn's eyes.
Another thing is that those orange highlighted parts.
Summoning literally means "call an image to mind" as @silverlinedeyes pointed in her lightsinger part one post I'd linked above and it is exactly what Azriel saw in his bonus chapter.
But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.
and I made a post about how glowing "quietly" feels odd and added the link above as well.
Lulling is similar to settle as you can see in the screenshot.
and in Azriel's chapter we literally have that.
Gwyn smiled broadly. "Thank you." Azriel dipped his head in a sketch of a bow, something restless settling in him. Even his shadows had calmed. As if content to lounge on his shoulders and watch.Â
I made a post about how this settling could be connected to another "settling" scene with Nesta but it is not in chapter 52 so I'm not including that in this post.
4.
Chapter 52 Acosf
This one was a lilting chant, the words tumbling over each other like water dancing down a mountainside, and Nestaâs foot tapped on the ground in time to the beat. Nesta could have sworn that beneath the hem of Gwynâs robe, the priestessâs foot was doing the same. The words and the countermelodies danced around and around, until the walls hummed with the music, until the stone seemed to be singing it back.
Azriel's bonus chapter
Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer.
both scene have gwyn in it...both scene have singing in it...both scene have "could have sworn"...both scene has singing back to it. It is a bit weird?
Now onto the siren connection.
we will go part by part in here as well.
1.
While I was looking up sirens etymology parts stood out to me.
The etymology of the name is contested. Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin.[4] Others connect the name to ĎξΚĎÎŹ (seirĂĄ, "rope, cord") and Îľáź´ĎĎ (eĂrĹ, "to tie, join, fasten"), resulting in the meaning "binder, entangler",[5][better source needed] i.e. one who binds or entangles through magic song. This could be connected to the famous scene of Odysseus being bound to the mast of his ship, in order to resist their song.
and in Chapter 52 of Acosf we have this
It was like a braid, the songâa plait of seven voices, weaving in and out, individual strands that together formed a pattern. Halfway through it, a drum appeared in the hand of the singer on the far left. A harp began strumming in the hands of one on the far right. A lute sounded from the center. Sheâd never heard such music. Like a spell, a dream given form. The entire room sang, each voice resonating through the stone.
sirens are described as "binder, entangler" and the music in acosf described as individual strands that together formed a pattern. and sirens bind or entagnle through magic song and Nesta explains the music as "like a spell, dream given form"
2.
Another thing is that Sirens are described as birds.
The sirens of Greek mythology first appeared in Homer's Odyssey, where Homer did not provide any physical descriptions, and their visual appearance was left to the readers' imagination. It was Apollonius of Rhodes in Argonautica (3rd century BC) who described the sirens in writing as part woman and part bird By the 7th century BC, sirens were regularly depicted in art as human-headed birds.
and in Chapter 52 Gwyn's voice is described as a bird.
Gwynâs voice soared like a bird through the cavern as she started the third song with a solo, and Nesta closed her eyes, leaning into the music, shutting out one sense in order to luxuriate in the sound of her friend. Something beckoned in Gwynâs song, in a way the othersâ hadnât. Like Gwyn was calling only to her, her voice full of sunshine and joy and unshakable determination. Nesta had never heard a voice like Gwynâsâby turns trained and wild, as if there was so much sound fighting to break free of Gwyn that she couldnât quite contain it all. As if the sound needed to be loose in the world.
and the orange part is interesting because Nesta singles out Gwyn's voice from others. As if her singing is different then other. I touched upon this in my Cauldron's song and Gwyn's singing post. In that post Cauldron's luring song parallels to Gwyn's singing as described in that scene.
As you can see Nesta describes Gwyn's beckoning song as "in a way others' hadn't" and "like Gwyn was calling only to her" and with Cauldron's luring it presented itself as Graysen to Elain...beckoned her and told her he'd come for her.
Also beckoning is literally means "lure,charm, entice.."
3.
Lasty we have this about sirens
The early Christian euhemerist interpretation of mythologized human beings received a long-lasting boost from the Etymologiae by Isidore of Seville (c. 560â636): They [the Greeks] imagine that "there were three sirens, part virgins, part birds," with wings and claws. "One of them sang, another played the flute, the third the lyre. They drew sailors, decoyed by song, to shipwreck. According to the truth, however, they were prostitutes who led travelers down to poverty and were said to impose shipwreck on them." They had wings and claws because Love flies and wounds. They are said to have stayed in the waves because a wave created Venus.
one sang...one played the flute...the third the lyre
we are gonna look at the paragraph before the bird connection also I'm adding that paragraph as well.
They finished, and started another songâled into it by a rolling drumbeat, then a single voice. Then the harp joined, a second voice with it. Then the lute, along with a third. The three sang around and into each other, another braid of voices and melodies. They reached the second verse, and the other four joined in, the room with them. Gwynâs voice soared like a bird through the cavern as she started the third song with a solo, and Nesta closed her eyes, leaning into the music, shutting out one sense in order to luxuriate in the sound of her friend. Something beckoned in Gwynâs song, in a way the othersâ hadnât. Like Gwyn was calling only to her, her voice full of sunshine and joy and unshakable determination. Nesta had never heard a voice like Gwynâsâby turns trained and wild, as if there was so much sound fighting to break free of Gwyn that she couldnât quite contain it all. As if the sound needed to be loose in the world.
a single voice...harp joined...then the lute...
like the three sirens I added above.
one sang...one played the flute...the third the lyre
And again the music is describe as a "braid" like the first point how the sirens were described as ""binder, entangler", and they bind or entangle through magic song. and right after it Gwyn's voice describes as a bird which is what sirens are described as.
so that's about it.
Special thanks to @offtorivendell . Thanks for always listening my rambling thoughts about these theories and helping me.
Last night I was rereading this scene from ACOWAR and noticed something... Iâm not sure if Iâm reading too much into it, but I still find it interesting:
In the scene, Elain talks about what she heard through her visions and Azriel immediately picks up on it, meanwhile, Feyre keeps questioning her but Elain just keeps rambling about the visions ignoring hee entirely. Then Azriel asks, âWhat did you see?â and thatâs the impressive part: Elain never actually said she saw anything; she never specified it was visual, but when he asks her, she answers him directly even turning back to look at him:
That moment; him realizing that what she was describing was something sheâd seen--basically makes Azriel the one who realizes sheâs a seer, even before he says it outright chapters later!
Like how was he able to piece that together when everyone including her "mate" thought sheâd gone mad? I know it could be part of his abilities as a shadowsinger and spymaster, but the way he connects the dots really gives off mate-behavior. Which brings me back to what Madja said about the bond--how itâs a bridge between souls:
It almost feels like Azriel, without even realizing it, already sensed what was happening to Elain... that he understood her in a way that only he could. đđŠˇ
did you know both nesta and cassian knew of the risk for the pregnancy with a winged babe in a court of silver flames, ch. 31?
âMost females die, the babes with them. Thereâs no way for magic to help, short of fracturing a femaleâs pelvis to widen it for the birthing. Which might kill the babe anyway.â âFeyre is going to die?â Her words were a whisper. For a heartbeat, every bit of spite, of anger, of bitterness faded away. Pure, clear panic replaced it.
did you know nessian officially slept together for the first time in a court of silver flames, ch. 37 after finding this information out?
Cassian leaned down to kiss her. And as his tongue slid into her mouth, he thrust home in a mighty, final push.
then continued to fuck every which way after that?
did you know the nessian mating bond clicked in officially in a court of silver flames, ch. ch. 58?
Hours later, days and weeks and months and millennia later, when they were both finally spent, when their souls had cleaved together entirely, Cassian pulled out of her and collapsed against the bed.
did you know cassian confronted nesta about it in a court of silver flames, ch. 62?
âAsk me why I vanished for nearly a week after Solstice. Why I suddenly had to do an inspection right after a holiday.â Nesta kept her mouth shut. âIt was because I woke up the next morning and all I wanted to do was fuck you for a week straight. And I knew what that meant, what had happened, even though you didnât, and I didnât want to scare you. You werenât ready for the truthânot yet.â
did you also know both of these chapters happened before nesta changed her body for an illyrian anatomy in a court of silver flames, ch. 77?
Nesta buried her face in the cold sweat of Feyreâs neck. She opened that place within herself, and said to the Mother, to the Cauldron, âIâll give back what I took from you. Just show me how to save themâher and Rhysand and the baby.â .. Feyre began sobbing then, too, taking her son from Mor, hardly. noticing Madja suddenly leaning between her legs, inspecting what was thereâthe healing. âIf I didnât know better, Iâd say youâd developed an Illyrianâs anatomy,â the healer muttered, but no one was listening.
did any of this stop nessian from being endgame?
no?
then why the fuck is it such an issue for elriel?
you donât have to like the elriel ship, but letâs not make up bullshit like, âSarah wrote it that way for a reason!â when trying to drag gwyn into this hurtful and gross mess..
sarah wrote gwyn having SLIGHTLY more pliant bones because it helps with her training. it LITERALLY says it right after:
âMy grandmother was a river-nymph who seduced a High Fae male from the Autumn Court. So Iâm a quarter nymph, but itâs enough for this.â Gwyn gestured to her large eyesâblue so clear it could have been the shallow seaâand her lithe body. âMy bones are slightly more pliant than ordinary High Faeâs, but who cares about that?â Perhaps that was why Gwyn was so good at the balancing and movement. 29
sarah wrote nessian being endgame despite knowing the risks WAY earlier on..
and even after finding out the risks, it didnât stop feyre and rhys from still being endgame..
and even now, a little power of nestaâs remains AND she has the knowledge in a court of silver flames, ch. 78. so when elain and azriel are endgame, and should elain decide to want to have children (a choice that will be made with her partner), nesta is there to help! but a friendly reminder that children arenât the be all and end all for a relationship to work!
So Cassian asked, âIs your magic ⌠The powerâs really gone?â The brisk spring wind whipped her golden-brown hair across her face. âI gave it back to the Cauldron in exchange for the knowledge of how to save them.â She swallowed. âBut a little remains. I think something elseâsomeone elseâstopped the Cauldron from taking all of it. And I made some changes of my own.â The Mother. The only being who would see the sacrifice Nesta had made and give a little back. Perhaps it was she who had peered out at them through the Mask. âWhat did you change?â Nesta rested a hand on her abdomen. âI changed myself a little, too. So none of us will have to go through this again.â
itâs the big 2026. so, grow up, bugger off and have the day you deserve, you misogynistic horrible piece of freaks..
Wydm Tamlin and Lucien who are HUNDREDS of years old donât shield their minds ??? Like Feyre was shielding everyoneâs mind at the SC. It just really shows you how incompetent they are as a court đ¤ˇđžââď¸
Elain is not for you!!!! Elain is for the girls who were constantly talked to and under estimated. Elain is for the girls whose femininity was constantly mocked until they hid it. Elain is for the girls who put everyone before themselves and still came up short.
And I think about teen rhys who thought he finally had made a friend who understood the weight of being a high lords son and the power that came with it, thinking he could confine in tam/in, enough to the point he told that monster about his beloved mother and sister. Just for his âfriendâ to sell out Rhysâs family and have confirmation of the killing be told to rhys through sending their severed heads down a river to an Illyrian village. And wings are supposed to be sacred to Illyrians, yet tam/in made sure his family took that from rhys too and burnt them. So rhys could never have closure of that. And then I think about how rhys still chooses to let tam/in live all these centuries later, even after he abused Rhysâs mate and betrayed prythian, rhys still chose to let tam/in live out of the kindness in his heart. And bitches still saying rhys is evil and kicked their fav inbred down at his lowest. He didnât do ENOUGH to that thing.
germansingergirl
andulkaphoto
blakekathryn
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
snowghoul
jacobvanloon
