u/animalcrossing771

This song reminds me so much of Gwynriel in so many ways🩵🌊⚔️🎶 They are coming home soon, I can feel it in my GUT.
TikTok edit by: PaperBackEdits

With the new quote coming out today I have veryyyy high hopes it’s Nesta and we get a mission with Az and the valkyries.
Gwynriel come home 🎶🤍🩵
Also this song and them? MY HEART
TikTok edit by: PaperBackEdits

What is your favorite piece of Gwynriel foreshadowing?

Mine is from the bonus chapter when Azriel gives Gwyn the necklace and she is then referred to "a thing of secret, lovely beauty." Like okay Azriel, I just know he is going to be a hardcore romantic with Gwyn𐙚⋆°🦢｡⋆♡

Here is another edit of the amazing Gwynriel couple 🩵🎶 this audio + them…. My heart ACHES.
I’m done debating until the next book comes out with antis but my thoughts on the quote today:
Gwynriel is 100% coming to us☺️🥰🩵
TikTok Edit: PaperBackEdits

THIS SONG AND THEM!? Fits so beautifully 🩵🎶
TikTok edit: Paperbackedits

Dear lord help me for the downvotes I am about to get for this post.

I am all for choice and letting woman choose their fate but…but I find it heavily ironic how people want Elain with Azriel.
Don’t get me wrong everyone is entitled to their opinion but I am here to say how can we be so sure/positive Elain wants to be with Azriel long term?
Did Elain tell us this? Have we had her POV yet?
“Oh but Feyre noticed- Nesta..”
Nesta hinted towards Feyre being an unreliable narrator, granted Nesta could also be unreliable. Who to say right or wrong when we haven’t even had Elains POV yet.
I understand there was “buildup” but to me it looks like a woman who just has a crush on someone and isn’t necessarily madly in love. Who to say Elain isn’t thinking of having a rebound?
I also don’t understand this idea that Elain HAS to end up with Azriel due to the “build up.”
This is where choice gets foggy.
Can’t a woman have a fling and be flirtatious with a man purely for fun and to see where it leads? If it doesn’t lead anywhere isn’t she allowed to back out of that relationship?
I will play devils advocate and say that sure her bond with Lucien can be argued as she is literally tied with him but he has given her distance and hasn’t forced himself upon her.
Again, we are pushing Elain into this relationship narrative without even having her POV and only going solely based on other FMC. Her choice is already gone due to people thinking they know what Male is best for her.
Even the blood duel, wanting 2 male characters who are both good in their own ways to fight it out. Trying to include this in the story via politics is also…weird. Who would want this? You might! Would Elain? No. She has said she is not a prize to be won.
Even the Bonus chapter
“Oh god she is bringing up the bonus chapter again.”
Yeah I am because Azriel, love him or not, actions were disgusting and people who defend him purely for a ship is interesting.
In the bonus chapter he is only thinking about how Elains pleasure will make HIM feel and nothing about her.
He is quite centered only around his pleasure and won’t even answer a simple question of what he thinks of Mor now (who he has pined after 500 so years).
“But his behavior is justified because he is a hot male who I want with Elain.”
“He is just an insecure boy!!!”
So should any insecure males actions be ignored simply because they are insecure? A man can play multiple woman at once or only want a woman purely for sexual pleasure because he is insecure? That’s okay?
Even when this is brought up it somehow pivots towards his action and how gross it is for Gwyn to be given a “hand me down necklace” but no one acknowledges his questionable behavior around Elain.
This is where the shipping wars will never make sense to me.
If you want Elain to have a choice why are we assuming we know what’s best for her despite never getting a POV of her? We are relying on other people who think they know what’s best for Elain.
The shipping wars can be incredibly male-centered and I say this because the amount of times I’ve seen female fictional characters being brought down due to a male being shipped with them is interesting to say the less. I don’t even need my hands to count the amount of times I’ve seen Azriel being brought down but it’s always the woman being attacked or diminished.
People ship Azriel with another woman?
This female must be evil, her character is a copy paste, one dimensional woman, borrrring, I don’t like her!
Really thought SJM wrote a lot of these found sisterhood plots because woman are supposed to stick together yet people are ultimately attacking fictional woman to spite other ships
There’s also a lot of deflection when points like this are even brought up or considered.
And my ending point: theories.
Let people have fun with theories :). Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just because a theory may not fit your side, calling other woman (sometimes males) online delusional, in a circus, etc etc is not a good look for any of these shipping wars.
That’s all ^^

I’m getting more and more convinced that SJM and her team are purposely releasing things on “national” days.
At first I thought it was a far fetched theory but after the quote yesterday it’s starting to look more possible.

They posted the two book covers / titles on black cat appreciation day (people have pointed towards Azriel’s shadows and how they act as a “cat”)

They decided to post a Lucien quote on national fox day.

ACOSH gets released on national cat day (we know we have a Azriel POV)

ACOSH is getting released within National Valkyrie Appreciation week

ACOFM gets released on international kiss a ginger day.
In no way I’m saying they 100% did this on purpose but it’s starting to get slightly suspicious.
The amount of possible redhead ships are insane at the moment so it’s looking good for any of those ships.
Lucien x Elain
Azriel x Gwyn
Azriel x Bryce
Even Azriel x Eris
Vassa x Jurian
I would laugh my ass off if we get 3 kisses involving our gingers.
Again, I was very skeptical as this could be written off as “marketing dates and best possible pay out” but it’s starting to look very intentional.
If this somehow is all confidence it’s a very interesting chance how each date seems to represent something
OF COURSE you don’t have to believe me. You can simply believe it’s a coincidence but funny how many “coincidences” there are!
*ADD ON BEFORE I GET THE ARGUMENT*
**“**It’s probably best dates for marketing”
I’m going to be so real. They could’ve released this book on a day everyone would be busy and it would still get an insane amount of profit.
No matter the day, time, month, year. This book was going to be making numbers. I don’t think SJM and her publisher had to plan in regard to marketing a date with the most amount of profit for these books.

***Before reading: THIS is a theory I have come up with based solely on the first POV and chapter snippet. I am aware this snippet was now a leak and has been taken down. Please read at your own risk if you do not want to be spoiled or have not seen the snippet.***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧The Valkyrie Cycle: Inspiration, Gwynriel?✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Many of us have seen/heard about the snippet of the first chapter of ACOSH. I am here to discuss my theory about the valkyries, gwynriel, and the wild hunt.
I am going to briefly talk about why I think the wild hunt is going to be a big part of the upcoming books (I am a die hearted witcher fan so this is the biggest win ever for me). This will be in parts as this is going to get a tad long. If there are any errors I am sorry, night shift brain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt appears to be coming. I did a whole thread upon this (awaiting for approval to post in the ACOTAR/SUB) but here is my basic breakdown and why I believe it's about to occur in the upcoming books.

First Hint: “the Wild Hunt is actually triggered by a phenomenon which includes the awakening or uncovering of a long-slumbering object of power, an ancient relic or the breaking of a centuries old-seal.”
In the first snippet of the POV in ACOSH we get this: “a whisper overheard by his foulest of spies stationed for months now in the mountains, encircling Koschei the Deathless’s rotting castle. A long-slumbering object of power now awakens.”  don't believe this is a mere coincidence. Furthermore not to mention Koscheis centuries old “seal” breaking which tied him to the lake.

I personally think the object which had awakened is either going to be:

The Horn of Hela or Gabriel's Horn: A horn buried deep within the earth or hidden in an ancient barrow. Blowing it breaks the barrier between the mortal realm and the underworld, calling the spectral riders to march.

OR

A Blood-Anchored Relic: Weapons or crowns belonging to ancient lords of the Hunt. If these artifacts are unearthed, moved, or spilled with fresh blood, they act as a beacon that draws the Hunt across the veil.

Second Hint: “It is rumored to lie atop Montesere’s Rothorn peak, waiting to be found. Your enemies will send their worst to attain it before you do. The hunt begins soon.”
It literally says the hunt begins soon, I don't think this line could’ve been more obvious.

**Third Hint: “**The wild hunt includes what is called the hounds whose barks grow quieter the closer they get to you.”
Azriel describes what sounds like hounds: “Not the snarls, the baying, the canine keening.” 

What is the wild hunt: The Wild Hunt is a procession, or rather a cavalcade of skeletal horsemen. They rush across the sky on the bony remains of steeds. They are capable of snatching souls and storming through the night sky and forests. 
Even in the blurb for ACOFM it talks about how “old enemies will emerge from nightmares of the past.” Like Hello?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Valkyrie Cycle.
Now you might be wondering how does the wild hunt even tie into the valkyries? Great question and let me explain.
We know SJM draws inspiration from folklore and the Wild Hunt actually does include Valkyries.
The Valkyries are actually considered to be part of the wild hunt. 
“So you are telling me the valkyries are evil?!”
No and you have to hear me out on this one. I don't think SJM is going to include the valkyries within the Wild Hunt itself but include the valkyries by going against the wild hunt. 
The Wild Hunt and the mythology of Valkyries do have aligned domains as they are both fundamentally tethered to death, battle, and the harvesting of souls but I think SJM could do something brilliant and have the valkyries actually battle the wild hunt themselves. 
If the wild hunt is going to be a thing and SJM draws out the wild hunt being a part of the night sky, they are going to need fighters in the skies. What do valkyries fight on? Peagueses. What did SJM hint to seeing in the upcoming books? Peagueses. 
I could see SJM doing something along the lines of the wild hunt returning and the Valkyries are the ones who hunt the hunters. 
It does get me thinking if SJM could POSSIBLY include an enemy force that has its own Valkyrie like warriors that our new valkyries will have to fight against?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How does Gwynriel Fit into this theory?
I thought you’d never ask!(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ
First off Azriel fits perfectly into this narrative. 
We already are aware he is probably going to be the first one to witness this wild hunt (if my theory is correct) this is all based on a theory.
Gwyn doesn’t even have to be involved via Azriel as she is already a valkyrie. 
She has trained, survived the blood rite and fought beside Nesta and Emerie. 
If the wild hunt threatens Prythian Gwyn isnt going to be suddenly dragged into it just because of Azriel. She is already one of the warriors that are going to be standing against it (they are going to need the valkyries for this war and people who say otherwise are lying through their teeth).
Azriel and Gwyn's paths are going to collide again because of this. 
I think their investigations are going to ultimately lead them together.
Because what if the blood rite was meant to prepare them for this. 
Now this makes perfect sense why the groups are going to be splitting up because they aren't just dealing with Koschei but now they have the Wild Hunt who acts as his army.
I see it going like this if AZRIEL doesn't get kidnapped.
The Valkyries + Azriel/Cassian (maybe Cass and ?Mor?) -> Investigating the wild hunt/revival of the wild hunt.
Lucien, the outcasts + Elain -> Koschei investigation 
Feyre, Rhysand, rest of the IC? -> Gathering information & forming alliances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Conclude
So what if the wild hunt is a major threat of the Valkyrie cycle. Instead of the valkyries being part of the hunt like in traditional folklore, what if instead Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn are destined to fight against it? This could bring Azriel and Gwyn together naturally since Azriel's shadowsinger abilities would make him important in tracking the hunt while Gwyn is one of the valkyries fighting it. It would give us a valkyrie + shadowsinger partnership while allowing gwynriel to develop naturally alongside the main plot. 

Feel free to express thoughts, I am just obsessed with the wild hunt.

***Before reading: THIS is a theory I have come up with based solely on the first POV and chapter snippet. I am aware this snippet was now a leak and has been taken down. Please read at your own risk if you do not want to be spoiled or have not seen the snippet.***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧The Valkyrie Cycle: Inspiration, Gwynriel?✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Many of us have seen/heard about the snippet of the first chapter of ACOSH. I am here to discuss my theory about the valkyries, gwynriel, and the wild hunt.
I am going to briefly talk about why I think the wild hunt is going to be a big part of the upcoming books (I am a die hearted witcher fan so this is the biggest win ever for me). This will be in parts as this is going to get a tad long. If there are any errors I am sorry, night shift brain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt appears to be coming. I did a whole thread upon this (awaiting for approval to post in the ACOTAR/SUB) but here is my basic breakdown and why I believe it's about to occur in the upcoming books.

First Hint: “the Wild Hunt is actually triggered by a phenomenon which includes the awakening or uncovering of a long-slumbering object of power, an ancient relic or the breaking of a centuries old-seal.”
In the first snippet of the POV in ACOSH we get this: “a whisper overheard by his foulest of spies stationed for months now in the mountains, encircling Koschei the Deathless’s rotting castle. A long-slumbering object of power now awakens.”  don't believe this is a mere coincidence. Furthermore not to mention Koscheis centuries old “seal” breaking which tied him to the lake.

I personally think the object which had awakened is either going to be:

The Horn of Hela or Gabriel's Horn: A horn buried deep within the earth or hidden in an ancient barrow. Blowing it breaks the barrier between the mortal realm and the underworld, calling the spectral riders to march.

OR

A Blood-Anchored Relic: Weapons or crowns belonging to ancient lords of the Hunt. If these artifacts are unearthed, moved, or spilled with fresh blood, they act as a beacon that draws the Hunt across the veil.

Second Hint: “It is rumored to lie atop Montesere’s Rothorn peak, waiting to be found. Your enemies will send their worst to attain it before you do. The hunt begins soon.”
It literally says the hunt begins soon, I don't think this line could’ve been more obvious.

**Third Hint: “**The wild hunt includes what is called the hounds whose barks grow quieter the closer they get to you.”
Azriel describes what sounds like hounds: “Not the snarls, the baying, the canine keening.” 

What is the wild hunt: The Wild Hunt is a procession, or rather a cavalcade of skeletal horsemen. They rush across the sky on the bony remains of steeds. They are capable of snatching souls and storming through the night sky and forests. 
Even in the blurb for ACOFM it talks about how “old enemies will emerge from nightmares of the past.” Like Hello?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Valkyrie Cycle.
Now you might be wondering how does the wild hunt even tie into the valkyries? Great question and let me explain.
We know SJM draws inspiration from folklore and the Wild Hunt actually does include Valkyries.
The Valkyries are actually considered to be part of the wild hunt. 
“So you are telling me the valkyries are evil?!”
No and you have to hear me out on this one. I don't think SJM is going to include the valkyries within the Wild Hunt itself but include the valkyries by going against the wild hunt. 
The Wild Hunt and the mythology of Valkyries do have aligned domains as they are both fundamentally tethered to death, battle, and the harvesting of souls but I think SJM could do something brilliant and have the valkyries actually battle the wild hunt themselves. 
If the wild hunt is going to be a thing and SJM draws out the wild hunt being a part of the night sky, they are going to need fighters in the skies. What do valkyries fight on? Peagueses. What did SJM hint to seeing in the upcoming books? Peagueses. 
I could see SJM doing something along the lines of the wild hunt returning and the Valkyries are the ones who hunt the hunters. 
It does get me thinking if SJM could POSSIBLY include an enemy force that has its own Valkyrie like warriors that our new valkyries will have to fight against?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How does Gwynriel Fit into this theory?
I thought you’d never ask!(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ
First off Azriel fits perfectly into this narrative. 
We already are aware he is probably going to be the first one to witness this wild hunt (if my theory is correct) this is all based on a theory.
Gwyn doesn’t even have to be involved via Azriel as she is already a valkyrie. 
She has trained, survived the blood rite and fought beside Nesta and Emerie. 
If the wild hunt threatens Prythian Gwyn isnt going to be suddenly dragged into it just because of Azriel. She is already one of the warriors that are going to be standing against it (they are going to need the valkyries for this war and people who say otherwise are lying through their teeth).
Azriel and Gwyn's paths are going to collide again because of this. 
I think their investigations are going to ultimately lead them together.
Because what if the blood rite was meant to prepare them for this. 
Now this makes perfect sense why the groups are going to be splitting up because they aren't just dealing with Koschei but now they have the Wild Hunt who acts as his army.
I see it going like this if AZRIEL doesn't get kidnapped.
The Valkyries + Azriel/Cassian (maybe Cass and ?Mor?) -> Investigating the wild hunt/revival of the wild hunt.
Lucien, the outcasts + Elain -> Koschei investigation 
Feyre, Rhysand, rest of the IC? -> Gathering information & forming alliances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Conclude
So what if the wild hunt is a major threat of the Valkyrie cycle. Instead of the valkyries being part of the hunt like in traditional folklore, what if instead Nesta, Emerie and Gwyn are destined to fight against it? This could bring Azriel and Gwyn together naturally since Azriel's shadowsinger abilities would make him important in tracking the hunt while Gwyn is one of the valkyries fighting it. It would give us a valkyrie + shadowsinger partnership while allowing gwynriel to develop naturally alongside the main plot. 

https://preview.redd.it/ekvew52te2qh1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b98263d861427c5dc7c060df424fb8b52d128fb

Gwynriel confirmed?
With the new blurb coming out, I already see people discussing how Azriel viewing his shadows as “hideous” is a great thing for their ship.
I am here to debunk this in a single sentence.
When was the last book you’ve read of SJM character not learning to accept/love themself for who they are?
…………
🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗
…………
That’s what I thought.
We’ve gone through the self loving cycle several times.
We saw it with Feyre, we saw it with Nesta, we even saw it with Aelin.
A huge part of character development is embracing your powers and yourself fully.
So Azriel’s shadows skittering back from characters isn’t a good thing, he is not comfortable with fully being himself around said characters.
However, Gwyn.
His shadows were curious about her, danced to her breath, and even had been content to watch Azriel+Gwyn interact.
Every SJM partners have helped the protagonist embrace who they fully are.
Rhys with Feyre, Rowan with Aelin, Cassian with Nesta, etc etc.
We only see Azriel letting his shadows be with Gwyn. The first step to accepting yourself.

So we all know its cannon that Azriel did in fact teach Gwyn about dagger handling in chapter 55 of ACOSF. 
I just find this so important as after this we began to see the bantering between the both of them.
His BC takes place in between the chapters of 58-59.
Then in chapter 60, conveniently Gwyn challenges him and Nesta points out that he is the new ribbon.
***
So you have as follows:
Ch 55: One hour training session about daggers
Ch 59/59: Azriel and Gwyns interaction (shadows, regifting of necklace, metaphors)
Ch 60: Banter/Challenging dynamic.
***
I want to know what happened in that ONE HOUR where Gwyns and Azriels dynamic with each other shifted? What did they talk about? What exactly did Azriel show Gwyn how to do? I feel like this is where things had shifted in the best way for these two characters and I know we may never get to find out but it's always fun to speculate. I wonder if Gwyn was already subtly teasing him during that one hour? Also the shadows not warning him in his BC, did they pick up on something during that one hour that Azriel didn’t?

https://preview.redd.it/yt29s6hghhoh1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7562cfe494a64da89eb7315de72c835f515f793f

*Please do not come  for me as I want to understand the ship*
So far, from my perspective, I have only seen people shipping Lucien x Vassa for one of two reasons
1 being: If Lucien is with Vassa that means there won’t be Elucien and leaves Elriel up to being the endgame.
2: Firebird x Fox?
From my personal understanding I feel like a lot of people are inserting Lucien to be with Vassa so he isn't a threat to outside ships but I really don’t see him being with Vassa.
I see Vassa being with Jurian more than anything and here is why (you may correct me if I am wrong) so here is my reasoning 🙂
1: Jurian had reported to Mor that he was only pretending to serve the King of Hybern and went to speak with the mortal queens. Want to know what queen saw right through him? Vassa. As a result, Vassa had readied the armies because if Jurian was actually a true reborn it meant a massive threat was about to come. 
2: Lucien himself had called them “Two sides of the same coin.” Equals perhaps? They have the same goals and visions for the future of the human territories. I wouldn't be surprised if they do end up ruling the human lands together at the end, it would be a nice bowtie as Vassa and Jurian are closely tied with Lucien and Eris, this will (hopefully) bring the lands back together. 
3: THE BANTER! Jurian and Vassa already have banter and SJM loves her banter. Their dynamic reminds me of Dorian and Manon in a cute way.
Exhibit A: Jurian pipes up from a pink sofa, teasing, "It only goes to her head when you call her that." Vassa retorts, "I am a queen, you know," to which Jurian checks his muddy boots and deadpans, "Last I heard, your kingdom was no longer yours. Are you still a queen?" Vassa simply rolls her eyes 
4: Lucien making the comment of, “At each other’s throats, as they like to be.” 
A lot of people interpret this as Lucien being jealous but guys who wouldn’t?
Imagine your lifelong best friend turns out to be an abusive POS, the one friend you believed would be with you has her own IC and you feel completely isolated/left out, your mate is going through massive shit right now and you don’t want to pressure her and then you go hangout with your buddies and you are the third wheel again.
I would be pissed too. Bro seems to always be the outsider in these love dynamics.
5. Jurian showed no hesitation to join Vassa's court. Yes you could argue Lucien also jumped the gun to go help Vassa but I interpreted this as him wanting to help Elain as she had the vision of the fire bird. 
Vassa, herself, offered Jurian a place in her court and Jurian right then and there said yes.
6. JURIAN UNREADABLE EXPRESSION…? When Vassa mentions having to return to the lake, Jurian’s expression is unreadable. Bro is hiding some big emotions. But I can see this being nothing as who wouldn't feel bad for Vassa in this situation?
Anyways Queen and General dynamic would go HARD.
Personally for me I can see the appeal of the fire bird and the fire fox but I just cannot get over Jurian x Vassa. I want to know if there are any bigger reasons why people do ship Lucien x Vassa, no hate towards the ship. It's just one I don't personally understand but have been seeing every now and then!

https://preview.redd.it/njy3v376bhoh1.jpg?width=735&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c00d9726ab492bfd89b2fc3c87b3d9043e70feb

I am going to make this very easy to follow because this argument has been haunting me.
I constantly and still see the argument that Azriel was Elains true mate but he was on the verge of death so the cauldron chose Lucien to give the bond to.
Canon: Mating bonds are predetermined from birth or even before, they are not always active or felt at birth.
Canon: A bond is a thread which can “snap” into place later in life.
Canon: You can be mated to someone who isn't even born yet (Rhys and Feyre)
Canon: Mating bonds are paired to individuals who will produce the strongest, most powerful offspring so they are fated by birth regardless.
⋆˙⟡VS⋆˙⟡
Non-Canon: Mating bonds are randomly assigned throughout life and not at birth.
Non-Canon: There are two mating bonds at a time.
Non-Canon: You get another mating bond if your mate is on the verge of death or dead.
That's it. That's the post.

I feel like a lot of people are grammatically getting confused with what, “the Valkyrie cycle” refers to…
The Valkyrie cycle is the grammatically correct term which refers to Valkyries as a group rather than an individual- people saying it’s not about our girls are going to be highly disappointed.
Anyways can’t wait for more banter with Gwynriel💖🎶💖
TikTok edit by: PaperBackEdits

Hello fellow Gwynriels, I am here to discuss why I personally think the Wagner’s cycle did inspire SJM but not in the way *some* fans think.
*This will be a long-ish reel so bare with me. I have put my sub titles in bold to make it easier to follow*

The Wagners Cycle˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚
As *a lot* of fans have stated before, “SJM can take inspo from something but not copy it.”
I don’t necessarily believe she took the romance plotline of the Wagners Cycle as it was a sub plot to the cycle itself. Rather she took inspiration from how the musical is laid out and the upcoming Valkyrie plot.
The four parts of the cycle includes:
Das Rheingold — The Rhinegold
Die Walküre — The Valkyrie
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung — Twilight of the Gods
I want to emphasize the second act: The Valkyrie.
A valkyrie by definition of the Wagners cycle is: Find worthy warriors who have died, choose who is worthy, take them to Valhalla.
A valkyrie is a chosen woman with a specific purpose, tied to death, warriors, destiny, and the gods. Not just women who “fight.”
One of the most famous Valkyries is Brunnhilde. Brunnhilde begins to make her own choices and realizes what Wotan (her father) wants isn’t necessarily what she believes is right.
Inserting Nesta giving Bryce the mask and declining to follow Rhys authority, it fits perfectly.
Wotan ends up punishing her and she eventually is left on a mountain surrounded by fire until a hero can reach her.
Do I think Nesta is going to necessarily be left on a mountain surrounded by fire? No.
Do I think she will be left on a mountain to solve the mystery of what is going on? Maybe.
So who is going to be the hero that reaches her? I don’t think this necessarily HAS to occur but my best guess would be Emerie and Gwyn and not Cassian.
Also why only fit in one character to Brunnhilde when she can represent the 3 valkyries?
So when people are comparing Wagner's cycle immediately with the forbidden romance, it doesn't have to be that.
It can simply be:
Wagners inspiration = Valkyries, destiny, sisterhood, warriors, death, gods, choice, rebellion, and fate.

Gwynriel Parallel⋆˚࿔
Now bringing it back to Gwynriel. Gwyn is a valkyrie by definition whether people want to accept this or not.
What are valkyries heavily associated with? Death. What character is associated with death, shadows, and darkness? Azriel. I am not saying that this automatically confirms Gwynriel but I do think the imagery creates an interesting parallel. Valkyrie and a shadow warrior? Valkyries are warriors who exist alongside death, while Azriel is a character whose entire identity is intertwined with shadows, darkness, violence and death. Then we have Gwyn. Gwyn has already accepted Nesta for who she truly is. She doesn’t look at Nesta and only sees, “Lady death.” She sees Nesta. This makes me wonder whether Gwyn could eventually be someone who is capable of seeing Azriel in the same way, not just the soft parts but all of him. His shadows, violence, darkness, and past. The parts of himself he doesn’t necessarily want other people to see. Interesting how in the BC she was already comfortable around his shadows who tend to disappear around the people he believes he has to be soft for.

Choiceִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
Wagner's cycle is heavily influenced by choice. This doesn’t automatically mean “Woman finds a man she can’t have.” Brunnhilde disobeys Wotan because she believes something different is right and that’s huge for the Valkyrie concept. With Gwyn, Emerie, and Nesta they aren’t being told, “This is what women are supposed to be.” They’re saying “We’re going to decide what we are.”
They took the hardest route in the Rite, they chose to be Valkyrie, they chose to wipe off those smirks from the Illyrian men, and they are choosing their story.
The three valkyries also all represent three different aspects of the concept:
Nesta being the rebirth as she goes from: Broken - Angry - Isolated - Warrior - Leader
Gwyn, who is connected to singing goes: Broken - Courage - Warrior - Returning to life
Emerie can easily represent freedom as she challenges the sexist system around her: Independence - Rebellion - Warrior - Freedom.
The three girls represent: Reclaiming yourself, finding your voice and choosing your freedom.

The Valkyries Could affect multiple characters🕸️๋࣭ ⭑
The Wagners cycle is about choosing your own destiny which is something that can affect multiple characters, not just one couple.
Nesta is still choosing who she wants to become, Gwyn needs to choose to leave the library for good and reclaim her life and Emerie may choose independence despite Illyrian expectations.

SJM does not have to copy Wagner’s romances to be inspired by Wagner’s Valkyries. She could simply take Valkyrie mythology and the themes: Female warriors, sisterhood, fate, death, rebellion, choice, supernatural destiny and women determining their own paths.
SJM may not be interested in copying Wagner's love story. She might have been interested in what the Valkyries represent.

What do you guys think?⸜( ˶>ᴗ<˶)⸝♡

Woke up to the most satisfying news ever. 🎶💖⚔️ Our girls are indeed returning. >!No forbidden romance. Seems that a *certain someone* is what causes the rift between the night court and IC. I just know Azriel, Gwyn and Emerie will be on Nestas side!<>!🎶💖⚔️!< >!Can’t wait for our girls stories!<>!💖!<
TikTok edit by: PaperbackEdits

*Before I explain my theory this is no hate towards Elain. This is just a theory*
I think Koschei has infiltrated Elains mind already for months
>!In ACOSF chapter 71 Kosh tells Azriel,!< >!“I spent so many!< >!months!< >!preparing for you, and you don’t even wish to speak to me?"!<
>!We never see mention of how Koschei was preparing for Azriel as this probably won’t be revealed but what if Koschei was preparing for Azriel through the means of Elain?!<
>!What if Koschei is already in Elains mind?!<
>!In ACOWAR Elains mind barrier is described as the following,!< >!“She had no mental shields, no barriers. The gates to her mind... Solid iron, covered in vines of flowers- or it would have been. The blossoms were all sealed, sleeping buds tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns.”!<
>!In sleeping beauty, when she sleeps for the many so years her castle is enclosed by a hedge of thorns and briar roses.!<
>!Making this connection, is the real Elain already sleeping?!<
>!Is this what Papa Archeron made an offer with unwillingly?!<
>!Even digging further doesn’t it literally say her gates would’ve been covered in vines and flowers but instead are tucked into tangles of leaves and thorns? Did anyone try to look into Elains mind again after everything to see if anything even changed?!<
>!Getting back to Koschei telling Azriel he has been!< p>!reparing for him, what if he is using Elain? What if he is trying to lure Azriel to him without Azriel even knowing?!<
>!What if Koschei is starting to engineer the circumstances around Azriel.!<
>!What if Koschei does have Elains mind infiltrated and wants to break up the IC / night court to secure a better chance at taking over the Human lands? We know Elain has been sneaking around and that she suddenly uses the shadows to her advantage to kill Hybern.!<
>!What if Papa Archeron asked Hybern to aid them in the war by allowing him to take over the body of one of them or something along those lines.!<
>!The half step that Elain takes towards Lucien before he leaves may of been the real Elain wanting to say something to him or warn him before Koschei takes control again? Like a Valg prince almost as we know some hosts can fight off the Valg in their mind for a little bit at a time.!<
>!🤔!< >!idk this isn’t a ship war post so anything about ship wars I will not be replying to. This just general curiosity as it seems as though Kosch has been planning something for months.!<