#sjm interview

[emmitaaa4]

People will really look at a character who was raised to be a doll—a pretty face to dress up, her dreams dismissed to gardens and pretty clothes, and an asset on the marriage market only if her beauty held—who was groomed to accept that her future would be determined by others’ maneuverings rather than her own, and still say:

“Ahh yes, it must be that the future of this character will indeed be defined by her looks in a black dress and by the unbreakable™ bond that was imposed upon her. 😍."

“… Matter of fact, the author was soo clever in making it so that others' superficial assessments of her character hold more weight in the narrative than her own declaration of belonging… its obviously meant to show us that everyone (but her) knows what's best for her; she does belong elsewhere. (Guys… what about someplace subtle, like Spring because flowers? Or Day because flowers need the sun?!)”

“The poor girl just doesn’t know any better: she’s exactly like her far-more-independent-and-headstrong sister who was wasting away in a Court where she was deprived of social interactio—wait, wdym she has a job, friends, is hinted at scheming behind the scenes, and calls the place a home... ? Sure, whatever, it’s clear that it's not significant, she's in denial; plus she can’t have a unique arc full of exploration & adventure unless she skedaddles away from the obstacles I dislike and never returns! Skedaddle to where, you ask? Easy: her mate’s court with her mate’s friends & her mate’s family, where she'll become her mate's High Lady... just like *drum roll* her sister! Notice how we don't question whether her mate's relationships are genuine and whether the life he's built (also ‘off-page’) matters?”

“Speaking of that MATE of hers, she is bound to come around eventually and realize that she was placed where she should be. I mean, he’s so hot, so she’s def super attracted to him and trying not to jump hi—what? You’re saying her body language shows otherwise? I mean how can you know, maybe she’s just hidin—oh... she' shown visible signs of attraction to another male? Enough signs that literally all characters, bar the oblivious one, noticed? Well then, it’s clearly because she’s projecting her longings for her mate onto the bloke; the bond means more than her pesky little rebellious feelings (Elain, we see you girl, no need to be stubborn!)."

“Btw, I cant believe you guys missed the memo, but the thing she had with that other dude? You know, the one the author gave her significant moments with and who did casual things like lending her his most prized possession & following the sound of her laugh & making his nightstand an altar in her effigy? Yea, it’s all a red herring. Turns out the author couldn't decide whether Mr. Distraction would be an incel or a fickle fuckboy, so she just went with both. Entitled, lustful prick—love him though! But SJM really fooled yall, it was all made so that readers (somehow) forget that she has a MATE who she is MATED to because there's this real MATING bond that she 100% cant break and that tells us that her MATE is the endgam—"

"...What are you saying? Are you really suggesting that the label of mates being all it took for many readers to overlook the on-page development of a romantic relationship between her & Mr. not-her-mate, in favour of said label, makes the bond more likely to be the red herring? Well, you're delusional... plus I thought that these two characters shared a brother/sister relationship up until it abruptly turned into "just lust" out of nowhere... right? Right. You probably just think it's a red herring cause her mate is red-haired. Ha!

You people need to understand that MATES are always the answer, period. They mean everything—why would you want a lesser love for your fav? It’s not like the author has put into question the nature of the mating bond & whether it indicates true paired souls, or like she spoke about how interesting she found the idea of bond rejections in her most recent interview—oh... damn. She did? But what about mates and the allegedly un-rejectable bond that could induce insanity by alleged cosmic blue balls?? Surely SJM wouldn't make a blanket statement reinforcing the status-quo of Prythian's patriarchal society just to have one of her heroines redefine it! I mean, let's be real, is Feyre becoming a High Lady despite there having been "no such thing" for millennia, or Nesta reinstating a female warrior force and winning the Illyrian-male-exclusive Blood Rite alongside an Illyrian woman and a ¼-nymph priestess, really THAT important? Why would the 3rd sister follow the pattern and subvert the status quo, when she could just make it easier for everyone & reinforce it by fulfilling the destiny she was groomed into?"

-----⊱ end scene ⊰-----

“Elain is pleasant to look at,’ her mother once said, ‘but she has no ambition. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match."

Yet, here we are, expecting her story to be about fulfilling that prophecy rather than shattering it.

Elain’s story isn’t about conforming to the expectations placed on her—it’s about breaking free from them. And if you think a mating bond and a pretty dress are enough to define her or her arc, you’ve missed the point entirely.

[nikethestatue]

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A post shared by Sarah J. Maas Books Updates! (@sjmaasupdates)

A good reminder of how the author herself views the sisters, the characters that she created.

Note how she speaks about Feyre and especially Elain, and what makes Elain's strength so special.

[cassianfanclub]

ITS A GREAT DAY TO BE AN ELRIEL

From Sarah’s interview with TODAY

[shitwillnotbegiven]

Sjm in the interview included in the exclusive edition of Acofas...

[tato-acm]

domingo - 01. 10. 2023

Lovable mezzo-sopranos 🩵🎵

The fact that SJM has always loved Taylor Swift - and now her son is obsessed with her too (that’s so freaking cute 🤏🥹✨mini swiftie)

"Taran is obsessed with Taylor Swift. Aren't we all?" "I've always loved her. I think she's an incredible creator and like businesswoman and I have so much respect for her." “But now that Taran is obsessed with her- like, we've only listened to her music in the car. That's it, like all summer long."

I also love TS and I LOVE that SJM made Gwyn a mezzo-soprano too so that I can imagine Gwyn singing every time I listen to a Taylor Swift song 🥹🩵

my favorite mezzo-sopranos 🥰🙌

acosf - chapter 52

Gwyn’s playlist (mezzo-soprano artists - mostly TS 😌)

[azrielsbxtch]

The fandom getting ready to misconstrue, misunderstand and twist everything SJM says tomorrow

[hlizr50]

Just want to take a moment to remind everyone that SJM did NOT say that ACOTAR 5 is up next for publication.

What SJM DID say was that she is currently working on the next ACOTAR novel.

Could that be the next thing that's published? Sure.

But that's not what she said lol.

[starlightbooklove]

ªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªªª

What do you mean

Characters that might pop up

She's talking about another crossover OMG

DOES SHE MEAN TOG CHARACTERS??????

ªªªªª

I have so many questions

[bookofmirth]

We’ll probably get ACOTAR5 by the end of 2024 or sometime in 2025. Do you think she’s just started writing the book? I’m fine with SJM taking her time. I really want the book to be good. It’s crazy to think it’s been almost a decade since Lucien said “you’re my mate” to Elain and we probably won’t get elucien’s book until 2026 or 2027, assuming Azriel’s book is ACOTAR5.

Since they moved back to NY this summer, she probably did start it recently.

She talked about a 200k word draft of hofas that she disliked and scrapped - the reason I mention it is because she said she wrote that in 4-5 weeks. In the past, she has said it took her a week to write like 80k words of acowar (it may have been ToD, it was the same year.) She also said that she’s super excited and focused on writing acotar5. I don’t think it will take her that long to write this book! The editing and continuity and such will probably take far longer than it takes her to write. Not that it matters to us haha we still have to wait.

[lyssasdrafts]

everyone is analyzing that today show interview and all i wanna talk about is the tiktok she made with them with the character brackets. sjm picking az as her number one?? interesting… he’s def a love interest for the next one

[emmitaaa4]

Addressing some fandom BS inconsistencies

Gwyn was shadow mommy, Az was shadow daddy, they were gonna have shadow babies with her extra super pliable bones.

I audibly chocked when I read this @nikethestatue (btw everything said in this post was on point). No but seriously this is how they sound, too many of them insisting that there is nothing wrong with basing the likelihood of a ship on who has the more suitable uterus to be with a man... cause supposedly they're just picking up on the hints SJM wrote for them? She likes babies for HEAs so ofc children are the end all be all of a relationship, plus there's absolutely no way that she could ever write an adoption plot SJM is literally adopted and has done it in other series. Selective reading strikes again.

A minimum amount of critical thinking would tell you that 1) the infamous *magical uterus change* scene was about nessian (& feysand), not about any ship; 2) if SJM had written Nesta changing Elain's uterus, it would have given too much away, not to mention 3) how disturbing/violating it would have been for Nesta to change her sister's reproductive anatomy WITHOUT HER CONSENT?! None of it makes sense narratively; my girl Nes would never, especially given the trauma they both suffered from having their bodily autonomy--and so much more--ripped away by the Cauldron.

This argument is so trivialized that I see it every other day on reddit/tiktok/*insert media app*, and yet elriels are the toxic side of the fandom? The ones whom people are allowed to insult, to ridicule for theories all made in good fun, the women that are villainized over a difference of opinion? Don't get me wrong, there's assholes on both sides and people keep calling one another variations of delulu (and the nastier personal attacks). But by painting this fandom-wide villain there is such a lack of accountability for the plethora of harmful talking points spread by other portions of the fandom. (I've been silently reading the anti-elain & anti-elriel tags for like a year, and I'm on tiktok. Yes, I have self-destructive tendencies).

Anyways.

I never understood either how people ever actually thought (or well still think) that gwynriel would happen BEFORE elucien?? It makes no sense logically, narratively, or in terms of characterization & the arc she's set up for Elain, Azriel, and Lucien. Yet it took one controversial bonus chapter for people to decenter Elain in her own story, that is make her choice of romantic partner--which SJM spent 3+ books setting up--Azriel's. It took one bonus chapter that soo many readers are still unaware of, to brush Elain off as a "sexual object" Az is using to distract himself until his therapist-extraordinaire Gwyn comes in and heals him all up. Because ofc she will: she's badass and not the "passive and weak and boring" Eplain (aka "Plant" or "brain dead gardener"), she fits the YA archetype of the spunky warrior-girl so she can handle his darkness, and SJM supposedly spent time fleshing her out because she wrote her as a LI for Azriel; she's made for him, she is what he needs to grow (I actually enjoyed Gwyn's character btw, just pointing out how silly it all sounds). “Next book is a love triangle between Elain/Az/Gwyn” “Elain will turn evil or is secretly evil”. So you're telling me that SJM would pit Elain & Gwyn against each other in a love triangle over a man... all because of a necklace that was not even mentioned once in the actual books? Please, let's be logical for a second.

All this because instead of reading the bonus chapter in the context of the books, some people are reading the books in the context of the bonus chapter. Which now that I think of it is probably why so many people mischaracterize Az the way they do--because yes we know enough of his character to know half of the stuff the fandom diagnoses him with is questionable. Azriel? Entitled incel x fuckboy hybrid (gotta be the first of his kind, minute slay ig)? Interesting tell me more. No joke I saw a semi-popular post on here where a gwynriel said they read the bonus WITHOUT HAVING READ ANY OF THE BOOKS. I'm sorry, ship wars are silly and believe it or not idc who ppl ship, but it makes it hard to take some of the things they say seriously.

All this to say that the fandom isn't even debating the right thing. If you consider everything SJM has said in her interviews:

(she's been planting seeds for Nesta & Elain's book since acomaf; she knows who she is writing the first 2 books about + is keeping things open for the 3rd one--with 5 different ship options--which automatically rules out "Elain will close the series"; she said she's doing research for Elain's book in the ACOFAS bonus & there's seeds for future bookS in acofas; all she said recently about her beloved *heroines* and the themes of fate/true love/choice she finds *very* interesting & wants to discuss)

and if you also consider all she's written in the actual books (elain's characterization + the overarching plot in general & how she fits into it), then it's pretty evident that Elain's book is next.

The question then would be who is the MMC / 2nd PoV in her book, aka would acotar 5 be an elucien or an elriel story? Because logically, gwynriel was always a consequence of elucien. I honestly do not understand how people don't see that.

Oh and they always think they're gagging elriels with the "obviously Azriel is the next MC" as if elriels aren't saying the same thing? And we're the ones twisting info and not making sense. It's just funny at this point.

---sidenote: I realize that this post generalizes some things, and I just wanted to say that I have interacted with lovely eluciens / people on either side of this headache of a ship war. My hard limit is Elain haters though... back off I say 🤺 BACK OFF 🤺

---sidenote 2: I would have written this as a reblog except im not entirely sure how tumblr works and I get no visibility from them rip.

[nikethestatue]

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A post shared by Swetha Mahesh (@smahesh.bookish)

Does it sound like she 'ended Elriel' in this? And that Gwynriel is endgame?

Honestly asking. Because it sounds like she sure was thinking about Rhys and Azriel totally hating on one another the day after Solstice and NOT about Azriel's sparkly chest for Gwyn!

[liilasstuff]

cant believe those weirdos are harassing kelly prince now😭😭😭

[bellaskhakhiskirt]

Guys, did anyone see the time article? I’m scared as a gwynriel Stan . I think elriel might become canon 😭

Extremely thrilled to finally post my big feast for @gwynrielweeksofficial 🖤 enjoy!!

Commissioned with Artcraawl (here)

[tremsing82]

If I ever get the chance to ask SJM questions it would probably solely be centered around this:

Does she SJM truly believe Lucien abandoned Feyre in spring court after UTM? Why did she write Feyre saying that to Lucien? Why did she have to make half this fandom accuse Lucien of being an abuse enabler or apologist?!?!? Like why did she have Feyre make Lucien feel guilty for shit he could not control? This man is apologizing for a made up narrative in this narcissistic girls head.

Like I would really like to know if SJM meant to write Feyre as a lying gaslighter in her narrative. And yeah maybe Feyre being the self center brat she is just thought all the shit Lucien did for her was not enough and proved he abandoned her, but fucken grow up Feyre and apologize to your fucken friend who you obviously missed labeled, misjudged, and ruined the reputation of to your IC of friends.

[starlightbooklove]

Ngl of all the interview, this is by far the thing that impressed me the most

Cause She re-read ACOSF, and said yes, perfect

Like 🫠🫠🫠🫠

Yes I will say that what she mentions here is very true, one of the few points I liked about the book was the depiction of Nesta's self-loathing and depression.

It was very good to immerse ourselves in how harmful Nesta's type of life was not only to others around her but also to herself by pushing away the one's who want to help her.

However

Brooo the book is... Bad, I've already explained the reasoning behind this so I'm not going to elaborate further here, but the point is that I was impressed with what she said, although I shouldn't cause

It would be quite illogical to expect her to say bad things about the book in an interview

But yeah, when i saw the second picture i was like