Elain's trash

We are starting with the second half of the question and we will get to the elriel part.

I said this so many times that I think my friends in the fandom are sick of it but I read the pov first and the book later. I was like “oh yes elriel but why this new character is in the bonus?” That was my thought. I thought it could go either way

Sarah wrote romantic scenes for gwyn and azriel in acosf so that's why gwyn is in the bonus chapter

There is another reason why she is in the bonus chapter

And then I read the book and saw that they had no romantic scenes. I'm going to talk about those right now.

@silverdreamscapes made a post And in the post she states how gwyn and azriel had their first line of dialogue in 82% into the book and their last dialogue is in 84%. Other than that they don’t talk and the talking they did in that 2% is about training.

Other thing is that when valkyries were captured by the illyrians cassian was losing his mind about what could happen to nesta. He couldn’t even focus what the IC was saying.

Cassian couldn’t breathe. Hadn’t been able to breathe or speak for long minutes now. His family had arrived, and they all surrounded him in the wrecked bedroom of Emerie’s house. They were speaking, Azriel with some urgency, but Cassian didn’t hear him, heard nothing but the roaring in his head before he said to no one in particular, “I’m going after them.”

Cassian couldn't even speak but azriel was speaking with some urgency

Feyre gripped his trembling fingers, squeezing tight. “Did you— Cassian, weren’t you listening at all when we got here?” No. He’d barely heard anything

But Azriel is talking about his spies and can focus on what the IC is saying and he is even giving informations.

No. He’d barely heard anything. Azriel said tightly, “My spies got word that Eris has been captured by Briallyn. She sent his remaining soldiers after him while he was out hunting with his hounds. They grabbed him and somehow, they were all winnowed back to her palace. I’m guessing using Koschei’s power.” “I don’t care.” Cassian aimed for the doorway. Even if … Fuck. Hadn’t he been the one to tell Rhys not to go after those soldiers? To leave them be? He was a fool. He’d left an armed enemy in his blind spot and forgotten about it. But Eris could rot for all he cared. Az said, “We have to get him out.”

So when you compare the two reactions you see the big difference how they react.

Other thing in reaction is azriel's reaction to elain being captured

From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

Azriel was ready to die to save Elain but with antis claiming that gwyn and azriel are mates he is not showing the same reaction as cassian who is nesta’s mate and nesta was also in the blood rite.

And I gathered sarah’s other mated couple reactions to their love interest being in danger.

Rowan and Aelin

Rowan losing his shit over Aelin being in danger (Heir of Fire)

Gavriel held out an arm. As if to stop him. “She’s in bad shape, Rowan. I think—” Rowan ran, shoving aside his oldest friend, shouldering past the other towering male who now appeared—Lorcan. Even Lorcan had answered his call. The time for gratitude would come later, and the dark-haired demi-Fae didn’t say anything as Rowan rushed to the battlement gates. What he saw beyond almost drove him to his knees. The wall of flame was in tatters, but still protecting the barrier. But the three creatures … Aelin was standing in front of them, hunched and panting, sword limp in her hand. They advanced, and a feeble blue flame sprang up before them. They swiped it away with wave of their hands. Another flame sprang up, and her knees buckled. The shield of flame surged and receded, pulsing like the light around her body. She was burning out. Why hadn’t she retreated? Another step closer and the things said something that had her raising her head. Rowan knew he could not reach her, didn’t even have the breath to shout a warning as Aelin gazed into the face of the creature before her. She had lied to him. She had wanted to save lives, yes. But she had gone out there with no intention of saving her own. He drew in a breath—to run, to roar, to summon his power, but a wall of muscle slammed into him from behind, tackling him to the grass. Though Rowan shoved and twisted against Gavriel, he could do nothing against the four centuries of training and feline instinct that had pinned him, keeping him from running through those gates and into the blackness that destroyed worlds. The creature took Aelin’s face in its hands, and her sword thudded to the ground, forgotten. Rowan was screaming as the creature pulled her into its arms. As she stopped fighting. As her flames winked out and darkness swallowed her whole.

Aelin losing her shit over Rowan being shot with an arrow (Queen of shadows)

As an arrow fired by the golden-haired lieutenant shot for Aelin from the other side of the ravine. Aelin twisted to avoid it, only to find a second arrow from the witch already there, anticipating her maneuver. A wall of muscle slammed into her, shielding her and shoving her to the stones. And the witch’s arrow went clean through Rowan’s shoulder. For a moment, the world stopped. Rowan slammed onto the temple stones, his blood spraying on the aging rock. Aelin’s scream echoed down the ravine.

I added the arrow scene because this is the moment that Aelin realized Rowan was her mate. Truly realized. He was in danger and she realized.

How long has it been, Aelin, since you realized he was your mate?” Aelin said nothing, her eyes churning with rage and grief and despair. Elide whispered, “Leave her alone.” Lorcan’s grip on her tightened in warning. Maeve ignored her. “Well? When did you know?” “At Temis’s temple,” Aelin admitted, glancing to Manon. “The moment the arrow went through his shoulder. Months ago.”

But with gwyn and azriel. Azriel saved her from the most traumatic event of her life in acomaf. So if he was going to realize it he would have realized in that moment. But he didn't because he is not her mate. He also didn't have the same reaction to valkyries being captured as Cassian. At this point the whole gwyn and azriel being mate theory is a joke to me.

Rhysand and Feyre

Acotar chapter 44- Amarantha killing Feyre Rhys's reactions

But I was being ripped apart from the inside out, and I thrashed, unable to out-scream the pain. “Feyre!” someone roared. No, not someone—Rhysand. But Amarantha still neared. “You think you’re worthy of him? A High Lord? You think you deserve anything at all, human?” My back arched, and my ribs cracked, one by one. Rhysand yelled my name again—yelled it as though he cared. I blacked out, but she brought me back, ensuring that I felt everything, ensuring that I screamed every time a bone broke.

Then Rhysand was on his feet, my bloody knife in his hands. He launched himself at Amarantha, swift as a shadow, the ash dagger aimed at her throat.

And we have Rhys explaining that was the moment he realized.

“But your final trial came, and … When she started torturing you, something snapped in a way I couldn’t explain, only that seeing you bleeding and screaming undid me. It broke me at last. And I knew as I picked up that knife to kill her … I knew right then what you were. I knew that you were my mate, and you were in love with another male, and had destroyed yourself to save him, and that … that I didn’t care. If you were going to die, I was going to die with you. I couldn’t stop thinking it over and over as you screamed, as I tried to kill her: you were my mate, my mate, my mate."

Same thing with aelin. When feyre was in danger he realized.

Cassian and Nesta

Acomaf chapter 66 - Nesta's scream make Cassian react

Cassian stirred again, his shredded wings twitching and spraying blood, his muscles quivering. At Nesta’s shouts, her raging, his eyes fluttered open, glazed and unseeing, an answer to some call in his blood, a promise he’d made her. But pain knocked him under again.

As you can see the mates always react when their love interest are in danger.

Some people take the following scene as azriel showing those signs but if you read the quotes I added above... THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE QUOTES AND THIS.

“There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her,” Cassian said, voice thickening. “To Emerie and Gwyn.” The shadows deepened around Azriel, his Siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. “You—we— trained them well, Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.”

Azriel was showing reaction to valkyries being captured (not just gwyn) by illyrians and it's not a secret that Azriel hates illyrians.

but audiobook narrator stopped before saying gwyn's name so who am I to ignore that crumb for g*ynriel right???? lolololllll

Anywayyyyy...

If they were supposed to be love interest in the next book a reader would expect some kind of bigger reaction than his reaction to elain being captured but... nothing and the quotes above just proves that there is no mating bond between them.

another thing is "you are the new ribbon,az" line nesta said. I already wrote my thoughts on it in this post >>> my thoughts on the line

Now that we talked about how gwyn and azriel have no romantic scenes in book that means there is another reason gwyn is in the bonus because no author will change the love interest in a bonus chapter only available to US readers. And BAM! doesn’t even ship outside of US.

but as I said the readers outside of US had no way of buying this copy (the only way would be if they were in the fandom and their friends who lived in the US bought for them and shipped it other than that there is no way) and the publishing houses around the world only publish acosf(I live outside of US and I only have acosf.) . no bonus chapter.

So the question would be if the book had no romantic scenes for gwyn and azriel and the bonus showed that “romantic” scene why is it not in every copy of acosf?

even if the readers are in the US they would have no idea this bonus existed if they are not in the fandom. that means if the only "romantic"(I say romantic here but I don't think the bonus scene was romantic) scene they have is the bonus and that shows they are going to be the next a lot of readers would be confused because they have no idea about the bonus chapter.

Now that I explained all of that it leaves us with option 2= there is another reason gwyn was in the bonus chapter.

I think it's about her powers. Whatever it is lightsinger or not the girl has powers. You can't deny that. There are a lot of parallels. The language and all of that.

But you are going to ask: if the bonus can't show romance because it's only available to US how can it show gwyn's powers?

let me explain it by this:

the lightsinger theory comes from both the bonus and acosf.

when you look at these posts by @silverlinedeyes >> acosf , bonus

you can see that lightsinger theory comes from both. so a casual reader won't be confused.

Or my post about comparing cauldron's song and gwyn's song >> gwyn's and cauldron's song

Comparing a luring song scene that happened in acowar with gwyn's song

Like I said if the "romantic" scene is in bonus only casual readers would be confused. With gwyn's powers it's in the book and also in the bonus.

Some people say it's toxic to call gwyn lightsinger because they have luring powers(luring can happen without it being sexual-elain being lured in acowar is an example for that- but they have to accuse elriel of being insensitive about SA...so luring is only sexual in their minds) and Gwyn is SA. my question is... nobody called rhys having the power to break someone's mind or he can make anyone do exactly what he wants toxic even though he was r*ped by amarantha for 50 years... That's where I'm going to leave that topic.

now that the whole gwyn part is out of the way let's talk about did sarah sink elriel part of the question.

As I said in before you can't change a love interest in the bonus chapter and you can't sink one either.

Elriel has 4 book of build up. Casual readers only read the books and have no idea about the bonus chapter. IF (and it's a big if) sarah sank elriel in the bonus casuals would be completely thrown off by it. It would come off like this

"OH SORRY ELRIEL IS NOT HAPPENING BECAUSE I WROTE A BONUS CHAPTER THAT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO US READERS THAT SHOWED AZRIEL IS TOXIC AND HE IS TAMLIN2.0 BUT YOU ARE GOING TO READ ABOUT HIM GETTING TOGETHER WITH GWYN WHO I SHOWED NO ROMANTIC INTERACTIONS IN THE PREVOUS BOOK BUT OH WELL. WHAT IS FORESHADOWING RIGHT?"

That is not how it works. NOT AT ALL.

So saying azriel is bad as tamlin and toxic is just their way of trying to not make elriel happen in their minds.

If you are saying azriel is bad as tamlin he shouldn't be with any female in the books. Tamlin is a f*cking abuser.

The whole toxic thing is hypocrisy at it's finest. Azriel is not toxic and even if he is he shouldn't be with any female.

Another elriel topic that antis like to point out is that they didn't have many scenes in the books. The book was filled with elriel crumbs. (Which is funny coming from them when their ship has 3 scenes in the book that they are in the same ring and only talk in 2 scenes and it revolves around training...)

I think it’s a good time to add this video.

“The book and his bonus scenes”

I made a post with all the elriel hints we got in acosf. Not including the bonus chapter>> Elriel crumbs in acosf

So the question is why add so many crumbs to the actual book when you are going to sink the ship in a bonus chapter because azriel is "toxic"? Answer is elriel did not sink. but the antis are so deep in denial that they can't accept it.

Now with the bonus part of the crumbs.

Azriel's secrets in acosf. << @icedflames made a wonderful post with quotes from the book and what those secrets are. And if you read it you can see that those secrets are about Elain.

Again. The question. Why add so many secrets in the book(also make nesta realize what those secrets are) and explain those secrets through azriel's pov that all of them are about elain but sank a ship in the same bonus chapter because azriel is "toxic"?

And like azriel wasn’t alone in that scene. Elain was the one who initiated the kiss. She was aroused. “Offer and permission” which lead us to this interview.

Elriel got crumbs for both acosf and bonus.

Elriel did not sank.