Shelby. 29. Formerly âThrone Of Ashes and Beautyâ TOG. ACOTAR. CC. Wife. Mother. Christian. Writer. Gamer. Avatar: @emiliamildner. MASTERLIST // MY ASK BOX // GO CHECK OUT MY BFF'S FICS //
Many people have posted images of the bonus chapters from Sarah J. Maas's books, and I thank you for giving us access to content we would have missed out on otherwise. However, no one has posted all of them, so I figure that I can collate the links in one place.
There are minor spoilers below the cut in the chapter descriptions, so be wary of looking too far ahead, if you have not read all the books.
Throne of Glass
The Captain and the Prince - A conversation between Dorian and Chaol before the start of TOG
The Assassin and the Captain - When Celaena arrives back at the castle from her first mission as the King's Champion between TOG and COM, Chaol is waiting to greet her
The Assassin and the Princess - Before the start of COM, once Celaena has been the King's Champion for a month, she and Nehemia do a little shopping in Rifthold
Untitled - Mistward is visited by noblesâincluding one of Rowan's exesâduring Celaena's time there in HOF
Untitled - A bonus chapter while Aelin and the rest of her court travel through Terrasen in EOS
Untitled - Chaol and Nesryn's sea journey before the start of TOD
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Wings and Embers - Cassian goes to visit the mortal world and ask Nesta to deliver a letter to the mortal queens in ACOMAF
Feyre's Perspective - In ACOSF, after Feyre and Rhys tells her sisters about their baby, they have a conversation
Azriel's Perspective - After the Winter Solstice celebration in ACOSF, Azriel is wandering the halls, unable to sleep
Crescent City
Ruhn's Perspective - Once Cormac comes to town in HOSAB, Flynn's younger sister decides to visit
Bryce's Perspective - Part 1 - Part 2 - Cormac invites her to a luncheon at Flynn's parent's villa in HOSAB
Tharion's Perspective - Part 1 - Part 2 - Tharion reminisces about first meeting Hypaxia during HOSAB
An alternative is here; the highlights contain all three chapters
If I have missed any, please feel free to let me know, or link them in the comments/reblogs :D
I cannot even begin to tell you how pissed off I am right now.
If anyone knows where to get a Walmart exclusive edition, hit your girl up. Itâs out of stock at every local Walmart within a 100 mile radius from me.
Itâs funny how Az likes music so much but wanted to shut Gwyn up when she was talking to him about singing. Not very mate-like behavior if you ask me.
If youâre going to base the argument for your ship on hobbies, you may want to make sure both parties are actually interested in sharing said hobbies with one another
Compare that to him staying up past 3am to talk to Elain about her garden plans, sitting in the garden with her, staring out the window towards the garden.
Itâs almost like interest in the partner is more important that sharing an interest.
I love this interview of SJM which shows what she will never do in her books :
So no. The next book will not be about that necklace. The next book will no be about Azrielâs choice. Thereâll be no love triangle around Azriel. Heâs not going to choose between Elain and Gwyn. Elain and Gwyn are not rivals. They will not fight for Azriel. They donât even know each other. Azriel and Gwyn are not even interested into each other.
Thatâs also the reason why Azriel will not have a book because what kind of thoughts would Azriel have in his book ? That would be him hesitating between Elain and Gwyn. And this interview shows that SJM doesn't want to put two women in competition and especially not for a man. And both Elain and Gwyn deserve better than that storytelling.
And honestly, I dont understand why some people want to read a book about a man choosing between two women. Like no one wants to see that.
The gwynriels vs elriels ship wars shouldnât even exist.
The love triangle has always been between Elain, Azriel ( the one sheâs actually interested in) and Lucien (ÂŤÂ her supposed mate ).
And at the end, it will be Elainâs choice. Not Azriel. Not Lucien. ELAIN.
After reading this post by @offtorivendell I was inspired by all of the connections and parallels she made to write this section in Azrielâs POV.
*Dialogue comes directly from ACOWAR.
â-
The shadows woke him, with frantic whispers carried on the wind itself as Azriel started with a gasp, a hand clutched to his chest as he sat upright. The other hand landed on Truthteller, strapped to his bare thigh.
He dressed as quickly as he could, throwing on what he had worn the night before as he struggled to orient himself among the chaos of the shadows, the rush of air in his ears that nearly deafened him with its wrongness.
Something was wrong, wrong, wrong.
He stepped into a shadow, stumbling forward as he directed himself to the center of camp and his HIgh Lord and Ladyâs tent.
Even as he did so, he felt something tugging him in another direction. A pull in his chest, a dull ache that had him looking in another direction even as the world around him shifted, descending into darkness as he moved.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Even if he couldnât put a finger on it. Even if it felt like a weight had been shackled to his ankle, one still turned due north.
His stomach churned, bile rising in his throat as he struggled to remain oriented.
The rest of them were gathered already when he appeared in the center of camp.
âWhat is that,â he hissed.
Feyre knitted her brows, then raised them. âYou can hear it?â
Rhys turned to him, observing quietly. Azriel let his mental shields slide down, a solid wall of darkness that had never been difficult for him to raise.
Azriel shook his head, even as he strained his ears, begging the shadows swirling around him to pinpoint what it was exactly that called to him, that begged for him to listen.
âNo-but the shadows, the wind⌠They recoil.â
His skin crawled, as the wisps of darkness slid over him, covering him as the wind settled. They did not relent, only seeming to grow more agitated as a new feeling of unease settled in his bones, in the space between his ribs. This feeling even more difficult to quell than the wrongness that had come before it.
He tried to speak, his tongue a heavy thing in his mouth as his hand shook - covering the handle of Truthteller still strapped to his thigh.
Mor remained silent, dark eyes flitting to the small movement of his scarred flesh tremoring over the fabled blade.
âI think itâs leaving,â Feyre whispered.
Cassian appeared a moment later, a hand pressed to his chest, Mor directly behind him.
Amren loosed a sigh, said something about the Cauldron wanting to take a look at them. Varian inquired how it was that Nesta, Feyre and Amren could all hear its siren song.
Because they were Made.
Made, as she was.
Blood roared in Azrielâs ears. The ache in his chest had grown to an insurmountable level, the beat of his heart drumming at an unthinkable rate. Panic a stuttering thing that had his shadows pulling in tighter to him, near cloaking him in their darkness as they urged him to do something, say something.
And he knew, before he spoke her name. Knew that with the wrongness that had left the camp, it had taken her with it.
âWhat about Elain?â he heard himself murmur. His shadows finally acquiesced, to a deathly stillness.
The group went quiet, as Azriel felt the last bit of air leave his lungs.
Azrielâs part in rescuing Elain from Hybernâs war camp, combined with their Truth-Teller scene, reads like a mating bond acceptance; a theory
Please don't screenshot this post without credit.
Disclaimer: NSFW / 18+ themes below. Just like every other theory, this post makes no claims of accuracy, and is purely based on my thoughts. I also want to note that, while I suspect that an "intended bond" between Elriel is where SJM is headed, I would really love to read about a chosen, or even - especially - a carranam bond.
Azriel and Elain Archeron have, to date, not only had a friendship that many thought would become something more, but have both displayed behaviour towards each other that many would consider indicative of an underlying mating bond... if Elain wasn't already bonded to Lucien Vanserra.
However, not only do they react to each other in just about every way possible to mirror the behaviour of canonically mated couples, such as Feyre and Rhys, and Nesta and Cassian, but the imagery with which their iconic scenes are written tend to scream engagement (linked post by @solar-lilith), wedding and mating bond.
Firstly, well before Elainâs kidnapping and rescue, we saw Azriel carrying her - bridal style - into the townhouse, with her golden-brown hair snagging on the armoured scales across his chest and shoulders, in chapter 24 of ACOWAR.
Aside from the obvious newly-wed imagery, this scene, to me, appeared to be evoking a bond of golden threads between the two, from Elain to Azrielâs chest. Perhaps a mating bond? A soul bond? Maybe they are carranam? With the little we currently know about the types of mating bonds, it's hard to say with any certainty, though I'm fairly sure that something connects the two of them. As Azriel said to Cassian in ACOSF, if something had happened to Nesta in the Blood Rite, he would feel it in his chest. How could he possibly know this? Read on.
The next quote, from the same chapter, not only tells us that mating bonds can be rejected - in the context of a conversation in which Feyre essentially suggested that she would have matched Elain and Azriel together, rather than Elain and Lucien! - but that, while mating bonds are uncommon, bonds between "true, paired souls" are even rarer. Does this mean that there are different sorts of bonds that fall under the umbrella of a "mating bond"?
While the comment about truly complementary souls may have primarily been about Feyre and Rhys, given it was mentioned in their discussion in which Elainâs bond with Lucien was questioned, I don't think it's a stretch to wonder if there was a secondary, deeper meaning there; namely, what if Elain and Azriel are soul-mates?
Light and dark, life and death, warmth and cold... Elain and Azriel certainly sound complementary to me. I suspect we will see a true merging of their beings, which is why, to me, they jointly represent Dusk, an in-between time, where light and dark meet.
Moving on from Feyre questioning the bond between Elain and Lucien, we have the iconic "I'm getting her back" scene, in which Azrielâs eyes glowed golden in the shadows.
We know, from both Feyre and Nesta, that the threads of their respective mating bonds glowed golden when they were emotionally accepted; Elain is also associated with golden light throughout the series. There is a well-known proverb, "the eyes are the window to the soul," and, following this line of thought a step further, if Azriel and Elain were indeed intended soul-mates before the disaster at Hybern, then perhaps Azrielâs eyes glowing golden is a nod to his hypothetical, buried soul-bond with Elain being visible through the window of his eyes.
Was this Azrielâs - hypothetical - pre-existing bridge/bond to Elain making him aware of a lack of something that joined him to her, at a time when she was shackled with chains that potentially blocked bonds, mating or otherwise? Is this how Azriel knew what Cassian would feel if Nesta were to die? He was incredibly certain, for someone who, canonically, has no mate of his own.
That being said, while the potential lack of Elainâs figurative presence in Azrielâs chest may have been what triggered his awareness of her loss (she was magically shackled very quickly, so I don't blame her sisters for not realising before he did, if this theory does pan out), I suspect that his motivations for going after her were not purely bond related. By this stage, the two of them had been sharing tea in the garden, and were probably on their way to being friends, if not friends already. Given Azriel's loyalty to those he loves - and friendship is indeed a type of love - then I could see that being at least a part of his impetus to go after Elain, and bring her home to her family.
Now that we've established the imagery that represents the existence of the hypothetical bond between Azriel and Elain, let's have a look at passages from the text that describe the acceptance of a bond between officially mated couples - Feyre and Rhys, and Nesta and Cassian - then compare it to the text for Elain and Azriel. The following quotes are snapshots of the relevant text, rather than the complete chapters, as that would have taken up too much room, and probably breached some sort of copyright, as well.
Feyre and Rhys
Nesta and Cassian
Elain and Azriel
The bond acceptance scenes between both Feyre and Rhys, and Nesta and Cassian combined, contain very similar language and imagery to the war camp rescue and Truth-Teller scenes from ACOWAR:
Eyes - widening, flaring, glowing.
Kneeling - the males kneeling before their respective (and hypothesised) mates.
"Devour," "feast," and "taste" - thoughts of, mentions and literal.
"You came for me" and "Hold tight, and don't make a sound" - these are double entendres, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
Threads and chains, unbreakable or otherwise - Feyre referred to her bond with Rhys as forming an unbreakable chain; the fact that Azriel called for Helion Spell-Cleaver, Lucienâs secret biological father, to unravel the spells on the chains that shackled Elain could be significant
Chest - we know that they feel the threads of their mating bonds in their chests; Feyre and Nesta have both mentioned this. I suspect that Azriel holding Elain to his chest, and refusing to put her down until she was taken by Rhys, was because he (hypothetically, of course) needed to feel her presence physically, externally, while he was still unable to feel whatever bridge or thread may remain between them after she was Made by the Cauldron, due to the spelled chains that she wore.
Wall - Nestaâs internal walls came down, Feyre wanted it against a wall, and Elain was rescued from the King of Hybern, who used the Cauldron that Made her to demolish the magical Wall that separated the faerie and human realms.
"Faster," "harder, "again... again," and "moved" - versions of these words were used in each of the three scenes.
Roaring - the males roaring such that mountains shook, hunts were summoned and it echoed off the rocks; lots and lots and lots of roaring. Interestingly, Azriel's roar was the one that "echoed off the rocks," and blasts of his power were noted to "echo" Rhys' later on, during the battle.
Cliffs - Feyre referred to feeling like she would fall off "the edge of the world," and Azriel literally jumped off a cliff with Elain in his arms.
Home - Feyre found her home with Rhys, and realised she could have a life; Cassian slid home; Nesta fell asleep, "home at last" in Cassianâs arms; Azriel helped to bring Elain home, in his arms.
Dawn - "dawn broke over the world" as Cassian roared, while Azriel carried Elain into their camp as "the gray light of morning had broken over the world."
Light and dark merging - Feyre noted the joining of her body with Rhys' had light and dark mixing, and then, when Azriel gave Truth-Teller to Elain, she mentioned something very similar: "Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two." While Feyre and Rhys definitely have Hades and Persephone vibes, there is no denying that Elain and Azriel do, too. An echo, if you will.
Claws - Feyre wanted to claw at Rhys' wings, while Azrielâs wings were literally clawed at by fanged beasts.
A kiss - afterwards, Nesta "reached up" to give Cassian a kiss and Elain "rose up on her toes" to kiss Azriel's cheek.
Souls - Feyre and Nesta both mentioned the fact that their souls were joining with Rhys and Cassian, respectively; I suspect that, in Elainâs rescue scene, this could be represented by Azriel requesting that Helion "get these chains off her." Not only in the literal sense, but perhaps also figuratively. Is something aside from Hybernâs shackles chaining Elainâs soul, or magic, so it cannot connect properly with Azriel? A little earlier that night, when Feyre and Azriel had just found Elain in the King's tent, Feyre mentioned that she reached for a thread of Helionâs power, "to unravel the king's spell on the chains." In ACOMAF, Feyre noted that the bond between her and Rhys became a chain; what if this had a double meaning, and Helion - or Lucien - could also play a role in unravelling any spells that were placed on the chain that could have reached between Elain and Azriel? (Original linked post by @nikethestatue).
Fertility - bonus points for Feyre mentioning a "fruitful womb" in Elainâs rescue scene, when both she and Rhys, and Nesta and Cassian, all had the baby talk in their respective books. Given Elainâs association with the Cauldron (and perhaps the Mother), and the fact that she gardens - is spring personified - giving life to her plants, I wouldn't be surprised if she and Azriel had a child at some point.
I'm sure I've missed other similarities, but I think that I've demonstrated that the themes and imagery with which the three scenes were written were shockingly alike; in my opinion, too much so to be a coincidence, though of course everyone has their own.
To finish off this post, I thought I'd leave you with a passage to mull over. I found it interesting that, while Azriel's eyes glowed golden before he and Feyre rescued Elain, Feyre noted that Elainâs eyes were clear as they returned to their own camp.
What, if anything, is the significance of Elain having clear eyes at the end of her rescue, when Azrielâs were glowing golden at the start? I have a few thoughts, but haven't made up my mind as to which, or any, of them could be correct. Seeing Azrielâs eyes at this point would also have made for an interesting comparison.
Elain was out of danger, safe with her family and cradled next to Azrielâs chest (this was mentioned twice), so whatever lies between her and Azriel had settled, and was no longer sounding the alarm. I don't think that this is a huge stretch, because we know that Azriel and Elain each bring each other clarity and mental peace.
Elain is still wearing the spelled chains that contain her magic/self (depending on the type of bond), and if these chains were the reason that Azriel felt the lack of her that made him ask where she was, then maybe they are containing her end of the bond from glowing through her eyes?
Elainâs bond with Lucien potentially buries, or overrules, her connection to Azriel, meaning that, again, her eyes couldn't glow.
If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging. đ
If you have any other thoughts, please let me know!
So this might be out there (and I haven't read ACOSF since it came out so I don't remember if Nesta touched on this or not and I could be completely wrong) but what if...when Nesta and Elain were put into the cauldron, in order to become fae they had to die just like Feyre died before she could be brought back as fae. Even if it was only a second. And what if, despite how Cassian was nearly unconscious and how injured Azriel was, they both felt it when Nesta and Elain died for those few seconds. They may not have even known what the feeling was in the moment. What if when Azriel says this to Cassian in ACOSF he's remembering that moment? That feeling could also be why he's so adamant with Rhysand in the BC because he knows what he felt.
Like I said I could be completely wrong, but what if!?
Oh I dont think it's wrong at all! I think it's very very likely actually.
I think in Elriel's case, they have a bond (the original bond) and then it was overlayed with the Elucien bond.
When Feyre died, when her neck was snapped, the only thing that she felt as she was dying, was the thread of the bond, which Rhys wouldn't let go. He kept tugging on it and holding onto it, refusing to let the tether snap completely. I think that he knew that then, Feyre would be lost.
I've wondered if something similar happened to the sisters in the Cauldron, because they did technically die, at least for a bit, before being re-Made into Fae. Azriel, at the time of Making, was also almost dead, with an ash bolt in his chest. What if he felt the tether more acutely at that moment, because he was almost dead and Elain died? What if he held onto it, unwilling to let go and maybe that's what kept him alive in the end? But he also knew what it's like to feel Elain die?
I think something definitely happened in that Making which is much more complex than what we saw through Feyre's eyes.
We already know that Nesta stole something, that she felt the rage of the Cauldron, that she felt its eye on her. That her relationship with it was unique and it allowed her to bargain with it and give up what she stole in exchange for Feyre's life.
What happened to Elain, who was also the first one to go in? How did it feel to receive a 'gift' from it? What did it feel like to suddenly receive an unwanted bond too? When and what did she feel for Azriel?
Elucien and gwynriel think the same way elriel thinks when it comes to shipsđ you see their coments and all they said is sjmâs Pinterest is full of elucien and gwynriel and that they have all the canon evidence and similarities with others ship. Elriels think the same way we think we are right and that all the evidence points to us. I mean I have seem multiple elucien saying they canât wait to see our ship sink. The fandom is so clearly divided and each side thinks they are 100% right. They said we make everything about elain and we said they make everything about gwyn or lucienđ¤ˇđźââď¸ is literally the same way of thinking just with different characters. Honestly it makes me a little scared to who is really right when it comes to ship because every side is so sure they are right. I honestly just want elainâs book.
I disagree with this because i think there is a big difference between wishful thinking and canon evidence.
I am sorry, but Gwynriel is just whack. From purely evidentiary POV, if you are not an obsessed fan who spent 3 years looking at the 2nd part of the bonus chapter and thinking you got something, Gwynriel doesn't exist. Like ask ANY casual reader, who isn't influenced by anything (btw, when ACOSF just came out, I was a fan of ACOTAR but I wasn't a crazed Elriel. I was still mostly into Feysand and Nessian, and I wasn't dealing with Elriel, because that was coming later. So I was technically that casual reader) if they think Gwynriel is an actual thing, 99% of them will say no. And look at you like you just fell out of a tree. Literally, yesterday, someone asked their mom about their opinion, since they are reading ACOSF, and the mom was like 'what? Azriel and that teenager?" It's not US. It's reality. There is no Gwynriel. Sorry.
Elucien have a bond. But haven't the last 4 books shown that the bond and the lack of attraction between Elain and Lucien are kind of sus? Again, SJM throwing in a ton of 'what if the Cauldron was wrong? why not make them mates?" isnt there for shits and giggles. Could, extremely hypothetically, Elucien happen? I'd say, yes, it has more chances than Gwynriel, but it's not saying much. Also, Lucien was literally given a girlfriend! Why they keep bitching about Vassa, I have no idea. It's a fantasy. They can all be immortal, it's okay.
But seriously, I cannot CANNOT compare Gwynriel, which is just a combo of headcanons, what ifs, random wants and delirious TikTokers, with what is actually in the books for Elriel.
Seriously, what are we even comparing here? Huge scenes like the Hybern rescue, the TT exchange, the murder of the King, and I want to eat Elain out, to what, exactly?
I wanna cut the ribbon! Go ahead. Cut it.
Or
absolutely NO Elucien scenes. Name ONE Elucien scene? Other than him having a long ass monologue in his head? NONE exit.
So, I am gonna be honest, and will put on my 'Crazed Elriel' hat and say one is definitely not like the other two.
The way I would drop SJM if gwynriel happens. I wont hate on her or anything. I will keep reading her book if elucien happens depending on how elain character is develop. We all due respect Gwyn is a lovely character in my opinion but the fact that all those elriel hints were just to mislead us just so gwynriel could happen makes me kinda sick. I love elriel a lot but honestly at this point i am not 100% sure that elriel will happen the whole glow in the chest thing is really tricky especially if it was use in the bryce/hunt bc on HOFAS. I will still support my ship but I wonât go to hard on it cause honestly I just donât want to get disappointed. Something that this new release has show us is that one thing is what we want and another is what she as the writer wantsđ¤ˇđźââď¸very few theories have come true and I just think at the end of the day we really know nothing about whatâs going on in Sarah s head
Same. Definitely same.
But Gwynriel won't happen. There was a n interview/Live that SJM did at the height of Gwynriel mania in 2021. She was kind of prodded and pushed to answer a Gwynriel question which she didnt but she DID say that not every interaction should be interpreted as 'romantic'. She was clear about that--that even if a reader wants to read it as such, they aren't. Obviously, it was in response to the question about Gwynriel. She didn't outright negate it, but she dropped a pretty heavy hint.
That, clearly, cannot apply to Elriel, since SJM herself wrote a very romantic interlude between the two of them. Theirs ARE romantic gestures and interactions and should be taken as such.
Gwynriel was never coded as romantic. Everything about it--and I've said it always--is mentor/mentee conded, with vague overlay of barely there friendship. Gwyn wants to impress Azriel with her achievements. Azriel challenges her and the others and wants them to push harder. That's it. Nothing about their interactions is even vaguely romantic, not even flirtatious. Also, we KNOW from Azriel's own POV that the entire time he was involved in training of the priestesses, including Gwyn, he was completely CONSUMED by Elain.
No one seems to address that. The timelines are concurrent. Gwyn is cutting the ribbon, Azriel watches her attempts, he trains the priestesses, he does whatever he does with all of that--all the while, he only thinks of Elain. He doesn't look at Gwyn's cut ribbon on his nightstand. He looks at the headache powder. He doesn't avoid training, because he can't be near Gwyn since he wants her so much. He avoids dinners and meetings at the River House, because he wants Elain so much.
Has anything changed after we got the Solstice POV? No. We learn from another SJM interview that Az and Rhys tried to borderline kill each other, because Az was so angry with him. We know that after things sparked in his chest, the next day, he was even more aloof than usual during training and barely spoke to Nesta. Has anything changed, narratively, in his approach to Gwyn after Solstice? Nope. Still the same.
I know it's hard to not hear all the noise and the mad confidence of some readers, but Gwynriel won't be happening. It's not me saying that. It's SJM.
I canât count the number of people who say that.
Especially when itâs false. Where is the books itâs written Elain doesnât belong in the night court.
Cassian was talking about hewn city and actually, he was talking about Elainâs dress. Not Elain herself.
Itâs also funny how people forgot Elain said the night was her home.
Nesta also said that Elain was glowing in Velaris.
People love to ignore this because they just donât want Elain in the night court, near to Azriel. They know if Elain is still there, she always be in Azrielâs thoughts so they want her away. Away from him.
Itâs also funny how none of their theories talk about Lucien staying at the night court because Lucien already said he doesnât want to stay in Velaris.
They understand when Lucien say he doesnât want to stay in the Night Court but Elain say the Night Court is her home and suddenly they turn a deaf ear.
And then they say itâs not misogyny.
Also, all the people who love and care about her the most are in the night court.
Her brothers-in-laws especially Rhysand. (I canât wait for their friendship btw)
Her sisters with who her relation seems to be better and better (I need more moments between them in the next book )
Her friends, Nuala and Cerridwen, who are here for her since the beginning. ( and her story with them just start because sheâs probably taking lesson with them.)
And then, there is Nyx now. Her nephew.
How someone can imagine that she will leave all these people ?
SJM loves happy ending.
So youâre telling me that Rhysand, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, Feyre, Nesta, Amren, Nyx, even Nuala, Cerridwen, Emerie and Gwyn will all live happily in the night court while Elain will be in a other court or the human land with people she barely cares about ?
They will all spend time together while Elain will be alone with a man who makes her lost her boldness, and another man who made a r*pe joke about her and laughed at her (Btw people who ship Vassa with Jurian, you also have a problem. This man doesnât deserve a LI).
Elain Archeron deserves better than your misogyny and your hatred.
Piggybacking off of other posts Iâve seen about Gwyn potentially being a light singer with siren-esque powers, I think this really gels with what we already know from Crescent city.
So hereâs the passage again from Azrielâs bonus chapter thatâs often interpreted as them being mates đ
And here are passages from both Ruhn AND Bryce describe the Starsword calling to them:
Itâs so similar! This just underscores how Gwyn is calling to Az on a magic-magic level. The same way the Starsword is calling to B & R because of their lineage. Gwynâs magic is calling to Azriel because thatâs what it does. It lures you in.
I donât recall this type of language ever being used to describe a mate/romantic attachment. But it HAS been used several times now to describe a magical pull (Nesta experienced something similar with Gwyn as well)
Just thought this was relevant especially since ACOTAR/CC worlds are officially connected.
iâm convinced that people on here have issues with comprehending text bc never once did azriel threaten to k word elainâs mate out of nowhere. rhys literally from text said âhe (lulu) has every right to enact the blood duelâ and azriel (knowing heâs one of the 3 strongest illyrianâs) said heâd defeat him with little effort (be it true or not)
this argument of az being a fuckboy who is entitled to elain is so funny coming from that lot who base their entire ship off entitlement bc of a bond where one party has yet to show any interest but is pursuing someone else under his nose so idk
Frantically searching for random words in E-Readers and then exclaiming 'it's a parallel!' doth not, in fact, a parallel make.
Azriel wearing cobalt siphons and Gwyn having teal eyes is....not a parallel.
Lucien wearing a brown jacket in some scene in ACOTAR and Elain having brown eyes is...not a parallel.
Searching for the word 'glow', for example, and then declaring 'look, Gwyn glowed!' is not a parallel to anything. Because Elain glows all the time. "Like the sun at dawn". "With good health".
A parallel is essentially mimicking something, for lack of a better word. For example, Cassian being rejected, dejected, tormented, sad and hopeless at the end of ACOFAS parallels Azriel being rejected, dejected, tormented, sad and hopeless in ACOSF, and both times due to their apparently crumbling relationships with a specific Archeron sister.
The imagery is so beautiful. Do we want to talk about golden threads binding them?
âAzriel arrived first, no shadows to be seen, my sister a pale, golden mass in his arms. He, too, wore his Illyrian armour, Elain's golden-brown hair snagging in some of the black scales across his chest and shoulders.
He set her down gently on the foyer carpet, having carried her in through the front door.
Elain peered up at his patient, solemn face.
Azriel smiled faintly. 'Would you like me to show you the garden?'
She seemed so small before him, so fragile compared to the scales of his fighting leathers, the breadth of his shoulders. The wings peeking over them.
But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away as she nodded- just once.
Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm. I couldn't tell if she was looking at his blue Siphons or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, 'Beautiful.'
Colour bloomed high on Azriel's golden-brown cheeks, but he inclined his head in thanks and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.â
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