jasmine scented darkness

noun[ U ]

a belief that only the people who subscribe to the gwynriel ideology are allowed to do certain things. if someone else does, they are to be faced with scorn and moralistic lectures.

synonyms: hypocrisy, gaslighting, delusion, backtracking

example:

With that in mind, as an Elriel, the Gwyn Light Singer theory is not a justification I lean on to disprove Gwyn/Az. I don’t need Gwyn to be a Light Singer to undermine her ship. That theory only exists as a way to explain Azriel’s inconsistent behavior without claiming he is an incel.

But that’s where the Light Singer theory ends for me, a logical justification for Azriel’s otherwise questionable behavior. What does disprove Gwyn/Az for me is the simple fact that Azriel has shown no romantic interest in Gwyn. He only occasionally shows friendly behavior towards her, being respectful and polite which is nothing he hasn’t done for others. The bar is in hell if that is the basis for romance. Meanwhile he is openly stating his interest in Elain. And call me cheesy, but I prefer my ships to actually like each.

Spark and glow are as much related to magic as they are related to feelings, perhaps even more so. Burying the image deep in his chest is such specific wording, because why not just say his heart? This is romantacy after all. Why bury those feelings at all and never dwell on them again? His shadows danced with Gwyn’s breath, sang at her singing, it’s painfully evident her voice is what his magic is reacting to, not Gwyn. His shadows could have reacted to any other attribute of Gwyn, so why blatantly associate them with her voice? It’s almost like that was the point.

That is what disproves Gwyn/Az, the simple fact that we had nothing but time for romantic build up and got moderate indifference. Not unlike another supposed couple.

Azriel will not be heartbroken when he discovers Gwyn is a Light Singer, he will be concerned for his friends and protective of his family. The only one likely to be devastated by discovering Gwyn’s powers is Nesta. Which is why, even as an Elriel, I truly hope Gwyn does not turn out to be evil. I do not want another Iathe, because I don’t think Nesta can weather that betrayal the way Feyre did. I will happily take Gwyn as an unknowing pawn, but for Nesta’s sake I do not want evil Gwyn. Gwyn’s actions are suspicious and cannot be ignored, but I do not want her to be a bad guy.

And what’s more, I don’t need her to be a bad guy to prop up my ship. I wish Gwyn happiness, which is why I would never want her with Azriel. How could she be happy with a male who has no interest in her and is already openly stated to be falling for Elain?

if some elriels haven’t read it before, i recommend you guys to read the tharion bonus chapter from crescent city in which he has an interaction with a woman named hypaxia. it is eerily similar to the second part of azriel’s bonus. and spoiler alert: tharion and hypaxia do not end up together nor does their relationship develop romantically in any way or form.

to read the BC you can search up “tharion: HOSAB bonus chapter - erosophony” and read it on that page (i am reluctant to leave a link because i know some people don’t want to click on those).

also i found a reddit post dissecting it called:

“GA is less compelling as a ship when you consider the Tharion and Hypaxia bonus chapter.”

they did an amazing job so i will just post their analysis here:

in my opinion, the only questionable take here is thinking that gwyn and azriel were being romantic. as i firmly stand on, there was no romance there and her lightsinger powers, which were already hinted at in ACOSF, were at work.

This post is linked to gwyn is a lightsinger theory so if you don’t like that theory... scroll past this post. This is a theory so I’m not saying what I wrote is 100% true.

I was rereading Azriel’s bonus chapter and this part caught my attention because it looked similar with another scene.

Then I remembered this post by @silverlinedeyes > part1

And this is the scene I’m talking about:

In both scenes gwyn smile/grin are described as broadly/broad.

Settling/settled

The use of “as if”

And then the yellow parts. Nesta and Azriel turning back to their thing.

As you can see the words parallel each other. The way the scenes are structured parallel each other.

And I look at synonyms for “settling”

PUT

“Something restless settling” 👀 and then I remembered this scene also in bonus chapter.

Joy vs smiled broadly. One is showing the reader and the other one is telling. (Show and tell in writing) Joy for telling and smiled broadly for showing. (Thanks @offtorivendell for the help 🥰)

Something sparked. As if in the first scene with “settling”(something restless settling in him) that something was put(put is synonym for settling) there and with the joy mention, it sparked. 🤔

I made a post for the last paragraph of this scene you can find it here>> glowed quietly but I’m going to sum it up because I think it’s important to add to this post:

Looks like this…

Looks like this…

Looks like this…

Looks like this…

Looks like this…

Looks like this…

by her friends, her family, even those who she would call enemies consider her beautiful.

“feyre, rhysand, nesta, cassian, elain and azriel”

“it’s about identity, empowerment and belonging”

“alex and ani and the acotar universe, with additional story-inspired collections to come this year.”

“fan-favorite characters of the night court”

a little reminder: “the book’s author, sarah j. maas, recently teamed up with the jewelry brand alex and ani…”