jasmineandcedar

[jasmineandcedar]

Channelling my inner Azriel, scrolling Elriel fanart in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, sighing dreamily at their perfection.

They're my headache powder.

[jasmineandcedar]

Spelriel 🫶

When you think you’re the biggest Elriel shipper, but your opponent is Azriel🙃😏

No actually I was wrong,it is Spotify!!!

[jasmineandcedar]

She is quiet, she is peace She brings me to my knees

- Azriel, on his knees

why are people hating on elain when this is literally her

[jasmineandcedar]

She is beauty, she is grace

She can sit on my face

- Azriel resorting to poetry

why are people hating on elain when this is literally her

[jasmineandcedar]

The bigger picture | the poorly picked bonds

I’ve been memeing for days, so I wanted to write about something a little more serious. One of the main reasons why I'm excited for Elain's book is it's implications for the agency of the females of Prythian.

Sometimes I think our obsessive love for individual characters in the fandom leads us to not see the forest because we are so obsessed with the trees. But this can turn things a little smaller than they are sometimes, and we narrow down the stories to such small concepts as vibes between certain characters, maybe even individual lines or scenes. I for one am quite obsessed with Elain and Azriel’s dynamics and sigh dreamily at their individual scenes and lines.

Nothing wrong with that, fandom is the space for vibes. And the trees can be very nice. But I want to zoom out and look at the bigger implications of Elain and Azriel's love story, and why this is the story it seems SJM has been wanting to tell for years, has been carefully setting up, and which needs to be told (and why I’m excited to hear it told). The story about the poorly picked bonds.

Female empowerment is an overarching theme in ACOTAR. SJM has said as much, and we can see it in the books. Focusing on the spinoffs, Nesta's book opened up the title of warrior to females, in a social context where they had been excluded from it, despite their competence and willingness. Elain, the quiet dreamer and hopeless romantic, has been set up to grapple with the issue of females' choice in love in her book. 

The ugly side of the coin that is mating bonds

This has probably been pointed out before but since I'm still quite new here I hope you can forgive me if I'm beating a dead horse. The importance of telling the story of a rejected mating bond stretches far beyond just setting up a thrilling forbidden romance trope for Elriel. SJM has framed the rejection of a bond within the context of mated females being seen as the male's possession in Prythian, with the Autumn Court being seemingly the worst (as confirmed in Azriel's BC).

[Rhys, about mating bond rejections] For the females, it is usually easier to ignore, but the males … It can drive them mad. It is their burden to fight through, but some believe they are entitled to the female. Even after the bond is rejected, they see her as belonging to them. Sometimes they return to challenge the male she chooses for herself. Sometimes it ends in death. (ACOWAR)

[…] On the continent, there are territories that believe the females literally belong to their mate. (ACOWAR)

The last we heard of the mating bonds was SJM depicting Elain as losing her boldness around Lucien, and Azriel pointing out how the bond in Elain's case has given her to a male she does not want, asking, ‘what if the Cauldron was wrong?’ In doing so, SJM reminded us of what Rhys and Feyre said in ACOWAR in relation to Elain, Azriel, and Lucien: ‘Sometimes the bond picks poorly’, ‘Is there no free will’, ‘Why not make them mates?’

We have seen two stories told about mating bonds that worked out. But we’ve known since ACOWAR that isn't always the case. Yet we still haven't heard of a rejected mating bond. Certainly not a high stake one like Elain and Lucien’s. Rejecting a mating bond has therefore implications for every female in Prythian. Whether it is simply rejected by Elain, or if she, through her nature of being Made, finds a way to not just reject but actually break the unbreakable bond. 

A (high stake) mating bond rejection has implications for females like Rhys and Tamlin’s mothers, shackled to bad men because of the cultural and religious importance of the mating bond. It has implications for females like Elain, shackled to a male they never chose and do not want (regardless of if we might find the male to be good, because females owe nothing to males simply because they're nice and good). For females like Mor and others who are queer, and more/exclusively into women, and might still be shackled to a male. It has implications for all the females threatened with carrying the responsibility of driving a male they never chose mad should they reject him and refuse to succumb to being his possession. For females mated to Autumn Court males, threatened with the responsibility of their true love's death should he/she be forced to take part in the Blood Duel and fail. This is the ugly side of the coin that is the mating bonds of Prythian. The side which story hasn’t yet been told. The side which story SJM has set up across four books. About the poorly picked bonds.

The power of Elain's choice

As it appears, we are getting Elain and Azriel’s POV for the next book, and not Lucien's (as the spinoffs are dual POV of the love interests). Given Prythian's history and customs, I think there's a narrative strength in centering the female and her choice when telling the story of their rejected mating bond. Elain's POV, and the POV of her love interest, not because he is Azriel but because he is who she has chosen. And he has chosen her too, despite her being 'given to another' according to the customs of Prythian, a fact even Rhys and Feyre (however reluctantly) are using to their advantage when navigating court politics and try to maintain peace. Azriel is not wrong to question that this is how the mating bond is viewed in Prythian.

Aside from the minor detail we haven't gotten to Elain's actual story yet, it is understandable why SJM hasn't made Elain simply casually reject the bond yet. It is understandable why Azriel has been staying away even though it ruins him. SJM doesn’t have Elain and Azriel just playing forbidden romance for the thrill. And there aren't just short-term political implications of them pursuing each other, potentially resulting in the longer term loss of fragile peace. A rejected mating bond grapples with philosophical questions of agency and fate, as SJM pointed out in her TODAY interview. And as we see in the books, SJM has given it major social and political implications. This is the stuff for a long book. Because it's so much bigger than Elain. Her reclaiming her agency is also reclaiming the agency of the females of Prythian. That's the power of Elain's choice.

And it makes sense it should be the notoriously defiant Azriel who, at her side, defies fate and tradition over his love for Elain regardless of who fate has given her to, which could result in females as a whole gaining freedom from the poorly picked bonds. Azriel, who SJM so clearly has depicted as not only defiant but as uniquely supporting and standing up for the females in his life, and as hating backwards traditions and customs. SJM has tied this story to Elain and Azriel, weaved it into their arcs across several books so seamlessly and with such forethought it is sometimes missed. Because you really have to read all books to see this overarching bigger picture clearly. But when you do, I think it is very clear. 

I think this is the immense potential of Elain's book and Elriel's forbidden love story. It isn't just Elain going "ew, swipe left" in a paragraph. It is about the females of Prythian getting their freedom and agency back. It is about the other side of the coin that is mating bonds. About the poorly picked bonds. And I very much look forward to hearing this story told.

(and Lucien will very likely be just fine!)

[jasmineandcedar]

Asking the existential questions.

why are people hating on elain when this is literally her

[jasmineandcedar]

In the midst of all the fandom chaos, I am pleased to announce I've got a real scoop on my hands. Here's some real-life footage of Elain and that mating bond in her upcoming book. Hard launch.

She's been hiding some serious guns under all those gowns!

[jasmineandcedar]

Inner circle banter ✅️

Unhinged Azriel ✅️

Elain wearing Azriel's jacket while drinking whiskey ✅️

Amren knowing what's up ✅️

Some minor but deserved poking through body parts with Truth-Teller for daring to disrespect Elain ✅️

Sweet and enticing Elriel ✅️

Did I reread immediately? ✅️

What None Saw: Chapter 5 (Rita's)

I could not wait one single more second to post this one. This chapter may be my favorite thing I've ever written, and I hope you all love it, too! It's so fun, giggly, teasy, tensiony. Think violently protective, obsessed, pathetic, comPLETEly unhinged Azriel. Also, Azriel wearing a leather jacket is my permanent headcanon now 🫦

Chapter summary: Azriel reaches new levels of unhinged when Elain joins the family at Rita's. He leaves her with an enticing offer.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61087384/chapters/156827896

“You look very nice, Azriel,” Elain said with an unmistakable touch of shyness. Azriel felt a blush of his own bloom on his cheeks.

He looked down at himself. He had forgone leathers and armor for a simple yet- he hoped- elegant black silk shirt and tailored pants. There was little he could do about the unruly waves kissing his brow and neck but his hair was at least washed and going in the right directions.

He kept the siphons atop his hands and Truth-Teller at his side, naturally. He never knew when he might need them.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “You…”

Fuck. What was he supposed to say? You look like a flawless goddess, Elain? You look like every sublime dream I have ever conjured? You look like a heavenly creature of moonlight and forgotten worlds and everything good in the universe? You look like your body may kill me slowly and happily?

Say something you godsdamned fucking idiot.

“You look rather dashing,” is what came out of his mouth.

Dashing? Dashing, you miserable fucking bastard? Azriel had never hated himself more.

[jasmineandcedar]

Eris' rescue with an Elriel twist and a melodramatic death-lord...

Because Eris and Koschei are two of my favourite side characters, and because I like the theory of Koschei somehow luring Azriel in Elain's book and Elain coming to the rescue—here's a very silly reimagination of Azriel, Eris and Koschei's interactions during Eris' rescue. With a hint of Elriel...

----

Azriel: *arrives*

Eris: *seductively* Well, hello there, you overgrown bat, you... 😏

Azriel: ew.

Koschei: *in a high pitched voice, glaring at Eris* YOU STOLE MY FUCKING LINE! I'VE PRACTICED SINCE LAST SOLSTICE *closes his non-existent eyes and exhales slowly, regaining composure* Azriel, dear, could you please leave and come back?

Azriel: *confused* what?

Koschei: Whatever... *gets back into character* Well, hello there, you overgrown bat! 😈 I've been waiting for you! *dramatic gesturing*

Eris: *rolls his eyes*

Azriel: *plays along awkwardly* Oh... no...

Koschei: *in a spooky voice* That's right! 'Oh no'! Not so cocky now, are we!? Seeing the terrifying Koschei in the flesh!

Azriel: *states plainly* you're practically a wraith...

Koschei: shut up! You're being awfully insensitive *offended*

Eris: *amused* Shadow boy really is very boring...

Koachei: *still offended* For once we're in agreement, you obnoxious creature. No appreciation for theatrics! No excitement... Nice to look at but very bland expressions... No passion! No banter! I have hyped him up too much in my mind, I see. Must be the shadows that had me slightly biased. *shakes non-existent head disapprovingly* This is all rather disappointing, shadow boy. How can you even sleep at night?

Koschei: *Not listening, getting increasingly worked up* Here I have been patiently waiting for some damned page time and then you show up and your heart is just not in it. My working conditions are really in the gutter. Awful pay, no work-life life balance, having to do all the work myself, horrible conditions really! I'm stuck by a damned lake, for Cauldron's sake! *high pitched voice* My big moment! IN A LAKE! And I'm afraid of water! Never know what's lurking beneath the surface. *shudders* All I want is to be free of this damned lake! And perhaps do some minor destruction in the process. All in good fun. But who cares about old Koschei! *waves a non-existent hand dramatically* I dream of the day I am no longer a joke to you all! What has a death-lord got to do to be taken seriously around here? *Stares dreamily into the horizon* I should do a rebranding... ‘Death-lord' doesn't carry the weight I expected... Or perhaps I should start a union. For all the overlooked and overworked death-lords. Do some collective bargaining. Yes... yes... 

Azriel: *dead inside* I don't. 

Azriel: *rubbing his temples, suddenly vaguely inspired to start a union for overworked shadowsingers with sleeping problems and yearning hearts* Ahem… *clears his throat*

Koschei: *yanked from his daydreaming* Oh, you can have the redhead. *shoves Eris in Azriel's general direction* In fact, please take him. He's giving me migraines, and I'm not even sure I have a head. *closes his non-existent eyes and pinches the bridge of his non-existent nose dramatically* He's really awfully obnoxious. I have lived a very long time and a few minutes with him has made me regret all my life's decisions.

Azriel: *nods sympathetically to Koschei and grabs Eris by the collar* 

Eris: *horrified* Not the collar!! Do you know how expensive this outfit was!? *scandalized* For the love of the Cauldron, shadow boy! I like it rough but have some common sense!

Azriel: ew. 

Koschei: *still pinching the bridge of his non-existent nose dramatically* You're being awfully insensitive, Eris! I can't even wear an outfit! Now go, go *waves non-existent hand* I'll think of something else for Elain's book, shadow boy. Without the redhead. 

Azriel: *suddenly not so dead inside, sighing dreamily* Elain 😍😍

Eris: ew.

Azriel: *death glares at Eris* 

Koachei: *Intrigued by Azriel's increasing expressiveness* Shadow boy! Where was that passion just seconds ago? *narrows his non-existent eyes and whispers menacingly* Elaaaaiiiinnn.

Azriel: *sighs dreamily* Elain 😍😍

Koschei: *shadow punches the air in triumph* Now we're talking! That's the spirit! Shadow boy to shadow boy, I knew you had it in you... Big fan of the pathetic yearning... Very nice, very nice... I'm a sucker for the sentimental... *rubbing his non-existent chin* You're giving me ideas, shadow boy! Very nice, indeed... Leave now. I have to sinisterly connect the dots and strategize. I hear we have 84 years until Elain's book is out. No time to loose.

Azriel: *grabs Eris by the collar and winnows away*

Eris: Not the co—

[jasmineandcedar]

“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” ― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

Painting: Ambrogio Alciati - Le Baiser (The Kiss) (1900)

[jasmineandcedar]

That's when I become religious.

And when Elriel will drop the:

“We should stop” while kissing and not stopping

THEN FUCKING WHAT?

[jasmineandcedar]

Exactly!

And the knowing goes both ways.

"Just as he knew she was well aware..."

Not only does Elain know why Azriel acts the way he does. Azriel also knows that Elain knows. They truly know each other.

They really are daemati with each other, without being daemati (as far as we know). What a great way of putting it!

Thank you so much for this! You reminded me this fandom can really be a lot of fun, and a space to share and express appreciation for the books.

I know that many Elriels, myself included, are fairly miffed over the erasure of Elain's contribution to the killing of the King. Very soon after it happened, we started to get this shift from her to Nesta and Nesta taking the credit for the killing.

That got me thinking--WE, as readers, value that scene.

But what does SJM herself values in Elain's narrative? Again, going back to my post from a few days ago, what does SJM remembers and what does she emphasizes herself when it comes to Elain and her story.

And two things jump out immediately.

The exchange of Truth-Teller and the Hybern rescue.

Interestingly, both times, it was Elain and Azriel, acting together. Interestingly, the spotlight is on both of them, and interestingly, when not only Elain, but Azriel too are discussed, it's his knife and his rescuing of Elain specifically that often come up.

In both instances, he instigates something, and then she acts as a result. Which begs the question of whether this is how their dynamic would always be? Whether we are talking more of an Elorcan/Feysand type of symbiotic relationship where both people take center stage, and whether the concentration isn't just on the FMC, like we had with Nesta, or Bryce.

Going back to the two scenes.

The thing that jumped out at me about the TT scene and when it is discussed, even though Nesta is given (an unfair) credit now, the one thing that SJM always emphasizes is --Truth-Teller. It's almost as if the knife is more important than the person who handled it.

When the apparently all-knowing Gwyn asks about the killing of the King, she says 'you killed the King. With the Shadosinger's KNIFE'.

Then, in the HOFAS bonus, when Bryce asks about the war, we have this:

'We defeated Hybern.” Azriel confirmed. A glance toward Truth-Teller at his side. Then at Nesta. “Nesta beheaded the King of Hybern herself.”

The knife was given to Elain, and Elain only. She was the first person, outside of Azriel to use it. It struck TRUE in her hands, like he promised, and SJM chose to include the scene of the exchange in the coloring book, while subsequently reminding the readers again and again about the importance of the dagger.

Now, the rescue, again, is the one thing that gets mentioned in every book, sometimes multiple times. 'I helped rescue Elain, after all,' is what Azriel reminds Cassian of himself. It's something that Azriel holds dear and something that's important to him. It's also something that SJM remembers and keeps reminding the readers about. There was something special about the rescue--not just from a relationship standpoint, though it would seem that that was the 'official' start of the Elriel relationship, but it also feels like it was outside of the realm of reality and possibility that the rescue should've happened all. It was THAT big of a deal.

It feels like SJM keeps pointing at the two scenes and telling us--look, this is important! Pay attention.

While we are free to concentrate on things that appeal to us, small moments that we all hold dear, it seems that we should also concentrate on where SJM herself is pointing at.

[jasmineandcedar]

I’m so excited I saw your post, so much so I’m writing this impulsively on a whim, which I rarely do.

100% all of this. I think this is the route SJM is going with Elriel, but I’ve been a little afraid to post about it, because I worry people will see it as minimizing Elain. I don’t think that it is minimizing Elain at all.

For one, whilst I personally want Elain to get credit for killing the king of Hybern. I’m not so sure the character that is Elain, as she has been written, feels a desire to get credit for killing the King of Hybern.

Secondly, and to the core of this post, I wholeheartedly agree with you about the symbiotic nature of Elriel's relationship. I read and reread all books over and over for years before joining the fandom. One of the things that stood out to me so much about Elriel is exactly what you are pointing out. SJM is repeatedly emphasising the symbiotic relationship between Elain and Azriel. So much so, that SJM had me connecting them in my mind as ‘Elain and Azriel’ long before there was anything romantic connecting them. I found myself thinking of Elain whenever I thought of Azriel, and the other way around.

If we want to understand where SJM is going, we should listen.

Repeatedly emphasising the Hybern rescue several books after the rescue takes place, in a book that is neither about Azriel nor Elain is extremely peculiar. It served very little purpose narratively for ACOSF, especially in the scenes were Nesta weren’t involved, and must be seen as something SJM does not want us to forget about, moving forward.

It's the exact same thing with TT, as you so concisely point out. Not only are these two instances extremely telling for how SJM is viewing and working with the idea of Elain and Azriel, but the same dynamic is also seen in their less “dramatic” scenes together.

On top of that, we have one short bonus chapter from Azriel’s POV. SJM chose to spend several pages of that short bonus chapter showing how Elain and Azriel communicate without words, even explicitly pointing it out. They are so intertwined even before a relationship is even established, before they have even really touched each other or really had a deep and personal one-on-one conversation (I’m assuming, as it’s nothing we have been privy to), that Elain can understand Azriel without him uttering a single word. Azriel, who is notoriously hard to read – impossible even. Not even his family who have known him for 500+ years understand his emotional state, as Rhys points out. And yet, Elain can already access his inner world, understand his emotional state, after knowing him for less than two years.

This dynamic was not some surprise that SJM chose to introduce in the bonus chapter as a gotcha to anyone that doubted Elriel’s dynamic. It has been seen since ACOMAF how they can uniquely read each other, for anyone paying attention to the quiet ones in the background. Elain read Azriel’s relaxed state at the first dinner, and relaxed herself as a result. The dinner that pretty much set in motion the dynamics between Nessian and Elriel, which have only been solidified since. Azriel discovering Elain’s seer powers, Elain’s gifts to Azriel, TT, how they cooperated wordlessly during the rescue, and so on...

This is what I’m paying attention to. What has been on my mind for years.

If we want to understand where SJM is going with Elriel, we need, as you say, to pay attention to what she is emphasising about Elriel. And what is she emphasising? Their symbiosis. And this fits Elain’s personality perfectly. It isn’t erasure of her, in favour of a male. It is the opposite. It is celebrating her qualities, which are different from the typical girl boss FMC many of us also appreciate in different ways.

Elain is perceptive, attentive, kind and humble. She's also sharp and action-oriented in her own right, but humbly so. It makes sense she would work in perfect symbiosis with a male who possesses all those qualities too, and that they together can utilize all the quiet strengths of them both combined – as opposed to simply have him support her in the background, to enable her to achieve her full potential. I believe Elain’s full potential is found in her perceptiveness. In her ability to see what others miss. In her quiet and thoughtful nature. And I think her symbiotic relationship with Azriel perfectly celebrates those qualities. I am glad this seems to be where SJM is going.

I know that many Elriels, myself included, are fairly miffed over the erasure of Elain's contribution to the killing of the King. Very soon after it happened, we started to get this shift from her to Nesta and Nesta taking the credit for the killing.

That got me thinking--WE, as readers, value that scene.

But what does SJM herself values in Elain's narrative? Again, going back to my post from a few days ago, what does SJM remembers and what does she emphasizes herself when it comes to Elain and her story.

And two things jump out immediately.

The exchange of Truth-Teller and the Hybern rescue.

Interestingly, both times, it was Elain and Azriel, acting together. Interestingly, the spotlight is on both of them, and interestingly, when not only Elain, but Azriel too are discussed, it's his knife and his rescuing of Elain specifically that often come up.

In both instances, he instigates something, and then she acts as a result. Which begs the question of whether this is how their dynamic would always be? Whether we are talking more of an Elorcan/Feysand type of symbiotic relationship where both people take center stage, and whether the concentration isn't just on the FMC, like we had with Nesta, or Bryce.

Going back to the two scenes.

The thing that jumped out at me about the TT scene and when it is discussed, even though Nesta is given (an unfair) credit now, the one thing that SJM always emphasizes is --Truth-Teller. It's almost as if the knife is more important than the person who handled it.

When the apparently all-knowing Gwyn asks about the killing of the King, she says 'you killed the King. With the Shadosinger's KNIFE'.

Then, in the HOFAS bonus, when Bryce asks about the war, we have this:

'We defeated Hybern.” Azriel confirmed. A glance toward Truth-Teller at his side. Then at Nesta. “Nesta beheaded the King of Hybern herself.”

The knife was given to Elain, and Elain only. She was the first person, outside of Azriel to use it. It struck TRUE in her hands, like he promised, and SJM chose to include the scene of the exchange in the coloring book, while subsequently reminding the readers again and again about the importance of the dagger.

Now, the rescue, again, is the one thing that gets mentioned in every book, sometimes multiple times. 'I helped rescue Elain, after all,' is what Azriel reminds Cassian of himself. It's something that Azriel holds dear and something that's important to him. It's also something that SJM remembers and keeps reminding the readers about. There was something special about the rescue--not just from a relationship standpoint, though it would seem that that was the 'official' start of the Elriel relationship, but it also feels like it was outside of the realm of reality and possibility that the rescue should've happened all. It was THAT big of a deal.

It feels like SJM keeps pointing at the two scenes and telling us--look, this is important! Pay attention.

While we are free to concentrate on things that appeal to us, small moments that we all hold dear, it seems that we should also concentrate on where SJM herself is pointing at.

[jasmineandcedar]

Recap of ACOSF

Since it might only be a decade more, or so, until Elain's book is out, I thought we all could use a recap of ACOSF.

Azriel: *obsessed* what happened to Elain?

Cassian: *showing Nesta all his cards at once*

Azriel: *scandalized* in front of my dinner!? 😱

Cassian: *instructing* hands on the headboard 😏

Azriel: *increasingly obsessed* remember that time I saved Elain? 

Amren: *cranky* will you shut the fuck up!?

Lucien: *snarl!* but also, did I tell you about Vassa?

Azriel: *sleep deprived from emo glaring at tylenol* sure, bro, but Elain though? *emo glaring at tylenol*

Elain: *Impressed* definitely smash! *smiles shyly* 🌸☺️🌸

Azriel: 🤯🫠😵‍💫 *wants and needs and razor-sharp thoughts*

Nesta, Emerie, Gwyn: 🏋🏽‍♀️🤸‍♀️🧘‍♀️

Elain: *sassy* should I tend to my little garden forever? 🌸😡🌸

Azriel's shadows: *gathering in the corner* 😎 got your back, baby 😎

Rhys: *yells at Nesta*

Nesta: *yells at Rhys*

Mor: *the only one actually working*

Feyre: Uhm.. Hi guys!

Nesta, Gwyn, Emerie: *taken to the Blood Rite* Oh no!

Cassian: *hyperventilating* kfospeirjfksoskebfekow!!

Azriel: *~Elain though~* Relax, bro. Now where's Eris?

Koschei: *eyeing Azriel spookily with intent* will I actually get any page time, though?

Nesta, Gwyn, Emerie: *engaging in various forms of ass kickery* 🤺🤺🤺

Azriel and Elain: *gazing chargedly at each other* 🤩🤩

Nesta: *knowingly* is that supposed to be a secret? 😏

Koschei: *offended* am I a joke to you all?

Azriel: *finally lost his mind* I need to know what the skin of her neck tastes like. What those perfect lips taste like. Her breasts. Her sex. I NEED HER COMING ON MY TOoONGUuUEEee!!! 🥵🥵 also, please don't look down, Elain dear *pants straining*

Elain: *Impressed* definitely smash! *glowing like the sun at dawn* Put it on me. 🌸😏🌸

Azriel: *on his knees, internally* 🫠🫠

Rhys: *stressed out High Lord* well, actually... 🤓

Azriel: *raging in an icy manner* 😡

Elain: *unbothered queen* Find me when you wish to begin. 

Koschei: *increasingly offended* I am a joke to you all!!

And then Feyre had a baby, Nesta found the troves and Koschei got some page time. The end. 

[jasmineandcedar]

ACOWAR in a few sentences

I decided to rewrite ACOWAR in a very condensed form, for the times when I don’t have time for a full reread.

Elain: *blinking* I can hear her—crying... Everyone thinks she’s dead... young hands wither with age... a box of black stone... a feather of fire... *blinking*

Feyre: *frustrated*  What does that mean?

Madja: *wisely* If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate.

Elain: *tired of this bullshit* No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.

Lucien: *confused* A bramble of words.

Azriel: *enlightened and smitten* The Cauldron made you a seer.

Feyre: *relieved* Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding, our understanding … it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.

Mor: *nodding knowingly*

Amren: *existing, in various degrees of crankiness*

Cassian: *horny* Morning Nesta!

Nesta: *snarls, somehow approvingly!*

Azriel and Elain: *being quietly handsome together*

Feyre: *wisely impressed* Why not make them mates?

Rhysand: *panicked High Lord* Am I allowed to request that you not play matchmaker?

Feyre: *wisely* Is there no free will?

Azriel: *ravishing* Would you like me to show you the garden?

(Lucien, in the corner: *snarl! but also someone take me away from this chaotic court!!*)

Elain: *impressed* Beautiful.

Feyre: *Impressed* What if that is what she needs?

Perhaps, love would trump even a mating bond.

And then they won the war. The end.

[jasmineandcedar]

Finally someone else who liked the az bc. What do you think will be the outcome of it in Elain’s book?

Hello anon!

I do like Azriel’s BC (and Feysand’s). But I think we've already seen the outcome of it.

[Nesta, at training after Solstice] Three days passed with no word from Cassian. He’d been replaced in training by a stone-faced Azriel, who was more aloof than usual and wouldn’t even give her a smile. (ACOSF)

Nothing really.

Nothing narratively important, I should say. Azriel is just more distressed and aloof. Distressed and aloof, which he has been all of ACOSF.

I think we should view a BC as a mirror to what we’ve read, that points at what might be the focus moving forward. Not as new content that establishes new trajectories. Therefore, I don’t think there’s an outcome of the BC. There are only outcomes of the previously laid out trajectories that BCs might highlight.

I'll explain what I mean.

I think Azriel’s BC is just a condensed version of what we had already read. In essence:

Elain’s choice in love -> forbidden romance / the mating bond

Azriel’s hesitation / internal conflict

Powers and the role of the priestesses

What I mean is this:

Elain's choice -> forbidden romance / the mating bond

This is about the external obstacle to Elriel's romance. Azriel and Elain’s romance was already forbidden pre-BC by nature of Elain having a mate. Otherwise there would be no reason for them to sneak around on Solstice, and for Azriel to stay away. There would not just be secret glances and brushing fingers. There would have been "blatant unrestricted touching" long ago. I think Rhys’s orders are simply a condensed version of/mirror to this forbidden aspect. Azriel questioning why Elain was given to Lucien when she doesn't want him, "What if the Cauldron was wrong?" and “You can’t order me to do that” is a hint at what’s to come.

Azriel's hesitation / internal conflict

This is about the internal obstacles to Elriel's romance (on Azriel's side). Azriel has been staying way from Elain for a year, he does it pre-Solstice, and keeps doing it post-Solstice. I understand why he does that, but I think, just like not following through with the kiss, we have been made to understand that him staying away is not something Elain encourages (she has always invited him). In the long run, it is also destructive for himself, because he is isolating himself and reinforcing his destructive prioritization of duty and being useful over being happy.

I think the “this was a mistake” and the bleakness it brought to Elain's eyes, and “until he felt nothing, was again nothing at all” after following Rhys’s orders is just a condensed version of/mirror to his choice to stay away and the negative impact of it on his character development. Elain initiating the kiss and Azriel not being able to maintain his iron-clad restraint (despite his sense of duty and loyalty to Rhys) when she invites his touch is a hint at what’s to come. I think it hints heavily at Elain's reclamation of agency, in a very beautifully written way.

Powers and priestesses

Throughout all of ACOSF the role of the priestesses was a recurring plot point. I include in this the curioius circumstances of Gwyn and her singing, of Merrill and her suspicious behaviour, and question marks around Clotho (and just to clarify, I don't mean to say that any of these characters are evil, just that there are unanswered questions about their behaviour, which can mean all kinds of things - good and/or bad and/or nuanced). Additionally, Azriel’s shadowsinger gifts has been a steeped in shadows throughout all the series, and in ACOSF we find out Koschei has an interest specifically in Azriel. I believe the second part of the BC is a condensed version of/mirror to this, and Azriel’s shadows acting “out of order” (not warning him, despite him wanting to be alone that night) is a hint at what’s to come.

In essence, that is what I believe was the purpose of the bonus chapter. It is a bonus chapter after all. And although I like it, it should probably not be given the narrative importance it is given. Any outcome of the bonus chapter will be an outcome of the already established trajectory that it mirrors. The same can be said about Feysand's BC. It mirrors Elain's newfound boldness. The reason I like both BCs is because I think SJM so effectively managed to condense so much of the core of the laid out trajectory of Elain's story into two short BCs.

If I had interpreted the bonus chapter in a way that gives it a tangible new outcome on the story, I would assume that I had not interpreted the bonus chapter the way the author intended and simply reread it. Because that is not the purpose of a bonus chapter in general and it is not how SJM and BB have used bonus chapters. I can still interpret it as I please, I’m not a believer in “right” or “wrong” interpretations per se. But there is an interpretation that aligns with the author’s intent, and that is the one I want to identify if I want to understand what’s next.

Bonus chapters essentially allow publishers to sell special editions of the books. I suppose they allow publishers to sell a book again, to a reader who likely already owns the book. In that sense, they are used for marketing. They have limited releases, and close to no international readers, and very few readers in general, will have access to them. I can read the whole ACOTAR series in my native language, but I will never get to read a single bonus chapter in my native language. And still, people who only read ACOTAR in my native language (or any of the 40~ languages it's been translated into) will not be completely lost when they open the next book, because they will have read all the narratively important content in the actual books. They will not find that an unknown bonus chapter has impacted the story (but they will have missed a nicely written almost kiss…).

So, TLDR, I think nothing that happens in Elain’s book will be an outcome of neither of the BCs, but a natural progression of the trajectory set out in the actual books, which the BCs just mirrored.

Just like it turned out to not be of narrative importance that Nesta kicked Cassian in the balls in their BC. It was simply forgotten, even though I imagine a kick to the balls from Nesta Lady Death Archeron is probably quite unforgettable.

[jasmineandcedar]

'Someone beat me to it' certainly does imply a level of intention to really need to get there first by any means necessary 😂 I always picture it like that too.

And it's even more funny that, despite her choice of words for his actions (which seem rather eager, especially for Azriel), Feyre's description of his exterior seems so calm and serene in that scene ('no sign of the warrior'). It's like he's calmly hurling Feyre out of the way, but internally waging a valiant battle.

He's really lost it over Elain.

10/10 Elriel moment.

Azriel literally sprinting to beat Feyre to wish Elain a Happy Solstice is still one of the top 5 funniest things I've ever read. 😩😩😩 I love it so much

🎨 happilyeverafterreads