“He blinked bc it was such a dumb question” or he blinked because Gwyn took him by surprise. He said that it’s not everyday he was taken by surprise but. . .(I can’t remember his exact words but Gwyn taking Azriel by surprise is canon). And he was probably also shocked that she actually asked him something personal, and then shrugged irreverently (which he later called charming).

Exactly! People who say it’s a dumb question are just being cynical. Before she asked I never would’ve guessed Azriel could sing, or would even want to sing. Here is the full quote:

✨✨Friendly Reminder✨✨

DISCLAIMER: This is no hate to Elain, I don’t hate her, I do like her. Take your shit elsewhere. The question was kinda dumb…imo at least.

Gwyn got Azriel to reveal something PERSONAL when he admitted that he could in fact sing. Versus Elain Archeron and her “can you truly fly?” Thats the big deal. We learned something NEW from a question Gwyn asked vs. a duh kinda question from Elain.

Also tell me you don’t know what a Shadowsinger is without telling us. Being a Shadowsinger isn’t anything to do with singing, it’s a type of fae. Please put the books down and step away from them cause girliepop 😳 no he’s never mentioned that he can sing, unless….are you claiming he did it OFF PAGE? 🤭…and while we are on the topic of off page….

sweetheart off page means it wasn’t WRITEN in the book. Like in ACOSF we know the boys had their snowball fight, Cassian tells us it happened, Azriel tells us it happened but we never see it on page. On page we see it happen on page. Like Nesta’s slumber party with Emerie and Gwyn, it’s actual text we can READ. Bless your heart. 🫶🏻

E/riel’s laugh at how Azriel rejected/ignored Gwyn’s handshake (I’m assuming the part where Gwyn reaches the finish line and says “Well?” while extending her hand), but Gwyn never offered a handshake. She did reach out her hand, yes, but not for Azriel to shake her hand. Gwyn didn’t want a handshake, she wanted her prize. When she reached out her hand it was like “hello I proved you wrong now give me my prize!”. I never interpreted it as Gwyn wanting a handshake.

Or they bring up how Azriel didn’t care that Gwyn was kidnapped for the Blood Rite. Azriel’s shadows deepened and his siphons flowed at the mention of her name, and in the audiobook there was a pause before Cassian said Gwyn’s name and there was an emphasis put on it. If Cassian and Azriel did anything to help the girls, then not only would both of them probably face execution, but the Valkyries as well. Not even Rhys could do anything. And Azriel brought up how maybe Amren could find loopholes in the law. And he spoke to Rhys with urgency, and I think he even stammered (for the first time in the entire series). If Rhys couldn’t do anything (most powerful High Lord), then what the hell could Azriel and Cassian do?

And when Azriel saved Gwyn, he slaughtered all the soldiers without hesitation, and we know that he usually keeps two alive for interrogation/torture, but in this one instance he didn’t. Thought sounds like going feral/being in rage to me. Yes, after Mor arrived he left, but he had to go after the Cauldron pieces (war was literally on the horizon here). And Mor had to heal Gwyn from her assault, and Gwyn being left with Mor (another woman) was probably the better thing to do. Maybe Azriel thought Gwyn would’ve felt better with another woman by her.

And they laugh at how Gwyn tried to get Azriel to open up but he shuts her down and tells her to the cut ribbon. Azriel did open up to Gwyn by admitting that he does sing. He didn’t demonstrate his singing, but we still got something from him. Something that we didn’t know, and this is a man who is very private and a bit closed off. And Gwyn gave Azriel multiple chances to leave. She even dismissed him and he asked her “Are you kicking me out?” and he chose to stay and talk. He made that choice himself. He could’ve left at any time, but didn’t. “He was being polite and didn’t want to be rude” he still could’ve left and gave a polite reason. He also smiled and laughed more in ONE scene with Gwyn than he ever has in the entire series.

They argue about the necklace being Elain’s (and yes it was originally her gift), but would Elain really want that necklace back if she knew that Azriel gave it to another woman? And let’s not forget that Elain GAVE it back to Azriel (like she did Truth Teller). She made that choice to return it. “Azriel specifically picked it out for Elain!” I honestly don’t know why they would want Elain to have it back. It was generic enough that he didn’t have any problem with giving it to another woman. What does Azriel know about Elain other than she loves to garden and bake (there’s nothing wrong with baking & gardening btw)? Are roses even her favorite flower? I personally think tulips might be, but that’s just my little headcanon. And I’ve seen some E/riel’s say that Clotho didn’t give Gwyn the necklace (?), but Clotho and Gwyn are friends so? And even if she didn’t give the necklace to Gwyn it still doesn’t erase the fact that Azriel felt a spark in his chest, buried the image of Gwyn smiling/her joy and tucked it into his chest where it glowed, and that it brought a slight smile to his face. (I don’t think the necklace will end up being a big deal though.)

(And in case E/riel’s try and twist canon, Azriel first offered it to Gwyn and then he told Clotho that if there’s another priestess who wants it to give it to her).

Anon here is making a lot of good points ☝️ I have seen all of this and more. Things that don’t support their ship are brushed aside or ignored. Also yes, they definitely misinterpret a lot of what’s written, like the scene you mentioned when Gwyn holds out her hand. They also like to ignore the second half of the bonus chapter. Yes it started with Elain but ended with Azriel distracted and thinking of another female, his chest glowing at the thought of her smile. They also like to pretend that forbidden love would be hot and romantic for Azriel when really it would be the worst possible thing for his character. We got to see more of Azriel’s personality in his very short interaction with Gwyn than we have in the rest of the books combined. Also that moment when he’s watching Gwyn cut the ribbon with “admiration and quiet encouragement...Only time will tell what happens but I think it’s very clear who will be end game. 🙂‍↕️

Whenever I see an Elriel say: SJM told us the mating bond could be rejected for a reason! Elain is going to reject Lucien to be happy with Azriel!

The only thing I can think is: Yes, she did tell us that, but she also told us the consequences of that, and that's the part Elriels always seem to forget or ignore.

Even if Elain does reject the bond, she will never be able to be fully happy with Azriel because she will always feel the remnants of the bond lingering deep inside her chest. Even if she loves Azriel and wants to give him her heart, mind, body, and soul, a piece of her will always be tied to Lucien. There's no getting away from that. It's a simple fact, and as interesting as a rejected bond could be, it doesn't seem fair or right to have Elain end up with Azriel when they will both be eternally haunted by the shadow of Lucien.

And it doesn't seem fair or right for Lucien to suffer a rejected bond, even if somehow the Vassien shippers are right and he ends up in love with Vassa, he too will forever feel the lingering bond and then what? Vassa is human and will die much sooner than Lucien. So I guess they want him to be "happy" only for a few decades, then just go on living the rest of his life alone, haunted by the loss of Jesminda, Elain, and Vassa.

You're so right! If you ask me for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I take away the peanut butter and jelly, I'm just feeding you bread. Sarah has given us a ton of information regarding the bond yet E/riels cling to the random snippets of information that suit their narrative while acting like the rest doesn't matter.

"You said your mother and father were wrong for each other." "What if - that is what she needs?" They love that line and it's used exhaustively in arguments. But they don't bother to think on why Rhys's parents were a poor matched. Bonds do not make poor matches. Personalities make poor matches. Rhys's father was vicious and cold, his mother was soft and fiery. We KNOW Lucien is not vicious or cold. Az is the one with a temper, an icy rage, a hatred of many people, a torturer. Rhys's mother managed to have two children with her husband and we're not given hints that she was forced against her will, it says she eventually grew to resent him. Why don't they focus on that part? That their downfall came about from their personalities? And with that awareness, how they can they claim the same won't happen to Elain and Az? She might be fine with him for a bit but what if she eventually grew to resent him too? You don't need a mating bond for that to happen, it happens all the time in the real world without bonds. They focus on how Sarah mentioned she has turned the idea of bonds over in her head, is there choice? Once again, proof for E/riels that Elain's choice has been taken away and she's decide to be with Az instead! But they ignore how she goes on to say "or is it both?". For every character so far, it's been both and she even tells us she's not saying whether she'll explore a rejected bond or not which is not a confirmation that it's what we're going to see for Elain. As always, they ignore how Elain and Lucien will always feel a tug to one another even if they reject the bond. They pretend that one doesn't exist but what that means is that no matter how long Elain and Az are together, no matter how happy they might seem, they are BOTH going to know that Fate chose Lucien for her and she'll have a connection to him that she'll never have with Az. That sounds depressing to me and will prevent many readers from ever feeling confident that it's not going to become an issue for them at some point. It raises too many questions, how often will Az be jealous because of it? How many fights will they have where Elain needs to reassure him that she's not thinking of Lucien? That she didn't sense him through the bond? What will E/riel do if Az comes across his own mate some day?

I like the potential of elucien but they currently have no chemistry. How do you think Sarah will go about their story?

For Elucien it's really as simple as forced proximity. Put them in a situation where they're forced to spend "two weeks alone together" (quote from ACOMAF) and I'm 100% certain that we're going to see exactly why SJM mated them. Heck, give me a day with them alone together, no sisters hovering near by, Elain having no choice but to speak directly too him without the heavy shadow of recent loss hovering over it and we'll see it.

I think some in the fandom are confusing Elain's physical attraction to Az as proof that she has chemistry with him but when physical attraction is used to build romantic chemistry between characters it will always result in a shallow love story. Lucien did find Elain to be the most beautiful female he'd ever seen so I'm not saying attraction can't be there but when you have characters giving into that attraction before something deeper has been established, true chemistry is going to fall flat. Having Az tell us he's avoided Elain for a year while she's still recovering from trauma doesn't call to mind that he's someone she was able to lean on, it doesn't make me believe that he feels anything for her because she could have used his friendship during that time (since she wasn't asking for distance) but he chose to stay away.

It calls to mind desperately crushing on someone in high school, where you watch them from afar, hoping for the day you can be together, and then finally you get your wish but you realize you actually don't know this person at all. You're infatuated with the idea of them rather than the real them.

I'm not saying Elain and Lucien have any sort of wild on page chemistry right now but it was kind of difficult for there to be any while she was mourning the loss of her humanity and Graysen. And though there was a little bit of hope that she was ready to move past that by the end of ACOWAR, she regressed in the novella Likewise was zero chemistry on page between Nesta and Cassian in ACOFAS, when she chose to push him away after the war.

Characters can't have chemistry when they are ignoring their possible love interest, you actually have to see them talking.

As far as how Sarah will go about their story, I think there are a few options.

Right now we have already had Elain volunteering to help with the Trove, Rhys saying that Elain is capable of more than they've given her credit for, that gardening results in something pretty but involves one getting their hands dirty along the way, and Elain saying she'll do whatever is needed.

The options are limitless because of the above.

The issues they currently face are:

Beron allying with Koschei and setting his sights on Spring.

The NC reminding us that they need Springs army as an ally but that Tamlin is even worse after the announcement of Feyre's pregnancy.

Koschei preparing to call Vassa back.

Koschei trying to get his hands on the Trove to free himself so he might rule their world.

The NC could decide they need to utilize Elain's Seer powers and send her to Day Court to help her train her powers. They don't seem very knowledgeable on Seers so Helion's library's might be the best place for her to learn how to train her powers.

The could decide a marriage alliance between themselves and other courts might benefit them and Elain could volunteer to marry Lucien because she's so over the concept of love and men after Graysen and Az's rejection that she's decided she'll simply focus on helping the courts rather than marrying for love (the concept was introduced in SF after all and SJM carried it out an arranged marriage trope in HOFAS).

They could send Elain as an emissary "spy" to the Spring Court. Not in the shadows or anything, just acting as their courtier, where she would gather information on the situation there, to be sure Lucien's reporting has been unbiased.

Elain could end up dreaming of the drums of Calanmai and find herself pulled to Spring on her own.

They could send Elain to the continent to retrieve Mor since Feysands daemati range does not work that far and have Lucien accompany her.

Or something SJM imagines up! I don't think any of us guessed how Nessian would end up being forced together in SF.

“Gwyn nodded her farewell, again facing the ribbon. A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone.”

Charming irreverence.

It’s crazy how people don’t see a future in gwynriel.

One conversation and we find out the fact that he can sing. Which btw didn’t come up in 4 books that we have known him. We now know he finds her charming as well.

And the fact that it’s so visible that she can break down his walls by surprise and wont even know it.

It’s hard to take the Shadowsinger by surprise but Gwyn strikes one conversation and there it is.

Something that's been circulating around all the shipwar drama is the fact that Cassian said that Elain didn't look good in the black dress, and I don't get why it gets so much traction, and heck even that it means she should leave her friends and family to go live in a court she's never been to?

Listen. I look bad in yellow. I know that, I avoid yellow because of that. But guess what? I live in a really sunny part of the world with palm trees and stuff. Does that mean that because I look bad in a sunny colour, I should just pack up and move to some place where the sun never shines? No. Obviously not.

Night Court has equal times of day and night, same with Day Court. It's literally just a colour. Chill.

There are a thousand arguments for each side of this shipwar but the opinion of one (1) man about a girl in one (1) dress does not automatically confirm any ship no matter what.

I need Eris to call a Blood Duel against Azriel on his brother’s behalf and I need Eris & Azriel to be kissing by the end of it.

A sword fight of a totally different caliber, if they so please.

Day 7 for @nestaarcheronweek - Free Day

Who should Nesta's new partner be!

Tumblr destroyed the quality of the whole piece so I had to split it. Full picture below!

Look at our sexy babies!

This is by @/averil.finds.and.draws on Instagram!

Link to post here

headcanon where Nesta gives everyone a specially decorated Made dagger as Winter Solstice gifts EXCEPT Amren & Rhys

Inspired by a post from @stargirlie25 about Elain flower braiding Lucien's hair. I just had to!!

Azriel officially going 299 to 1 in snowball fights ❄️🪨

@azrielappreciationweek Day 7 | Free

“Rhys & Az were so mad at each other during the snowball fight that they were fighting dirty. Like putting ice & rocks in the snowballs & throwing them at each other at 500 mph. And Cassian, because he was all twitterpated, was just kind of smiling & half-paying attention, so after Rhys & Az just beat the sh*t out of each other, they both threw a snowball at the same time and knocked each other out, leaving a smiling, stupid Cassian the winner” — SJM in a post-acosf interview 😆

Here is the depiction of Az after he lost the most recent snowball fight, we imagine he was quite fed up with Rhys 🤭

♡ 🎨 by the remarkable @nanna.arts on Instagram

♡ Commissioned by @duskcowboy and me!

♡ Please do not repost. Reblogs are preferred.  

How perfect is she?! Gwyn by @Elizianna.the.one on Instagram - follow her account HERE

@nestaarcheronweek | Day Six: Birthday Girl

I like to imagine Nesta celebrating her birthday with those she feels overwhelmed with happiness to be with. And as they are the first to completely accept the way she is, I love imagining that Gwyneth and Emerie, the chosen family, would also be celebrating with Nesta, first thing in the morning.

Art by: Jéssica Brasil (jessi.brasilart)

Commissioned by: @podemechamardek

🚫 Please do not repost.

I bet Papa Archeron met Lucien and thought “wow thank the gods my sweet daughter Elain has such a good and loyal male for a mate. Whatever happens, at least I don’t have to worry about her being taken care of and treated well.”