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u/nicnac2828

r/Bryceriel
▲ 26 r/Bryceriel

Share your theories 👀

Hey baddies 💙🩷

I started my a CC reread, and I have a few questions.

  1. I love the theory that the warrior who saved Bryce from the demon in chapter 80-something could be Az. I can definitely see the appeal, not just because of his sword, but also because his body was glowing with that blue light. But do we have any theories that explain why there were no wings?

  2. I'm thinking of reading SF after CC1 to follow the publication order. I haven't read it in a few years, so maybe someone remembers: are there any hints that Azriel is in distress, potentially sensing the bond, or anything else besides his insomnia starting after the Solstice (post-bonus chapter), or his conversation with Cassian about a mate knowing?

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u/nicnac2828 — 4 days ago
▲ 124 r/Bryceriel

SJM, u here?

Sometimes I read new posts here and find myself wondering whether SJM is somewhere in this subreddit, reading all our theories, discussions, artwork, and memes, and giggling along with us. I can wholeheartedly imagine SJM doing something like that 😅

Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I love this space, especially coming from social media where the whole ship war thing is so harsh on Bryceriels. Reading every new post here brings me so much joy! 🩷💙

u/nicnac2828 — 12 days ago
▲ 53 r/Bryceriel

SJM's IG and web from a branding perspective & some interesting things 👀

Happy Summer Solstice, Bryceriels!

Today being the Summer Solstice and the ACOTAR world heavily celebrating solstices, I thought: why not check her Insta? Maybe, MAYBE, we will finally get something (cough, the names, cough).

I went down the rabbit hole, but as someone who's been in marketing for 8 years, I ended up analyzing her entire profile (all the way back to the very first posts) from a branding perspective. I checked all consistencies (and inconsistencies), and I think we might not get any reveals at all. ALSO, I MIGHT have found some hints that i've never seen discussed before (sorry if I’m wrong and they have been discussed before, though I’ve never seen them!). So get comfortable; it’s a long post.

So let’s start with how ACOTAR has been branded since the beginning. ALWAYS white letters, sometimes that bright yellow, but not the golden shade. Always consistent: two posts—one with “A Court of…” and “…”, then a reveal post—up until the last book. The branding here is rather consistent. The text is always in white until ACOFAS, when golden letters were introduced (this is also when we get little glimpses into Azriel through Rhys; I think that book was pretty significant, with Rhys’ monologue about Az’s temper, etc., though I might be reaching here. BUT ALSO think about how it’s centered around the Winter Solstice, and then a year later Az’s chapter takes place during Winter Solstice, where he wishes for a mate. Think golden as in golden hour, sunset, dusk).

Before we jump into CC, let’s take a look at TOG promotional content. Also consistent. Also reveal posts. Here we again have white and the same bright yellow.

Anyway, there will be a lot of jumping here since I clearly cannot structure my thoughts properly, so I’m sorry about that.

Now let’s move to CC. When SJM started CC, there was a lot of heavy promotion (honestly, this series seems to be the most promoted out of all three, which I also find interesting). I know it’s less popular, but it feels like SJM really wanted it out there. Sure, maybe the marketing strategy changed, but it doesn’t explain why other books aren’t promoted as heavily. What’s also interesting is that only CC1 and CC2 are heavily promoted, while CC3 gets only a few mentions. It’s almost strange, almost as if she didn’t want people to read it yet (because Bryceriel is heavily implied, and maybe she didn’t want Bryceriel to become too obvious before ACOTAR, so she’s fine with fewer people reading it, I don’t know). Again, just my Bryceriel conspiracy theorist speculations.

Anyway, let’s go back to branding.

CC has different branding. There are no title reveals, just straight up “new book is coming” posts. Notice how CC branding always uses white and gold, and that marker line we later see transferred to ACOSF promotion too. And no, I don’t think this was Sarah rebranding herself, because she doesn’t maintain a single personal brand consistency, and each of her series has its own branding style. So why change ACOTAR branding in ACOSF? We know now with the crossover and all.

Now that we have the context of different branding styles, let’s look at the ACOTAR 6 and 7 announcement. “Draft complete” was announced with a notebook picture, CC3 had her on a computer changing CC3 to HOFAS. Then with ACOTAR 6 and 7 we get golden lettering and the same highlight style. Doesn’t it feel too aligned with Crescent City branding? Also, if you look at the ring, it’s a purple amethyst set in gold. Now remember what I said about the HOFAS quote she posted in purple and gold?

Now let’s talk colours. Why use bright pink? Dusk has softer pastel pinks and blues, just like Sarah’s nails and outfit. Why have such an obvious Bryce colour on the cover? Also why would Alex wear such a bright pink outfit that stands out from kilometers away? Elriel shippers say it’s Elain, but Elain doesn’t wear bright pink. But then again, using the same logic, we can’t say Sarah’s outfit represented Az either since it was a baby blue sweater. Ok, maybe we could associate the jeans with cobalt (here’s what ChatGPT said when I asked about the jeans: “Yes, you could reasonably describe the trousers as being in the cobalt blue family, though with some qualifications. Dark cobalt blue.”). Also we already know her nails are done like Bryce’s, but look at the toenails, bright pink again.

Now I want to go back to the HOFAS name reveal post where we had the Jelly Jubilee and a Godzilla toy. The colours are literally the same as the ACOTAR 6 and 7 palette. I once read a Reddit post suggesting it might be Bryce and Azriel (she couldn’t put a bat because it would make it too obvious, but the creature is black with blue, suspicious). And when I rewatched the video with that in mind, I noticed two pens placed together, a bright pink and blue, next to a crescent moon wand. That is interesting.

Now let’s move to her website. First of all, when we open it, we see THERE YOU ARE in the same colour scheme. “You’ve been here this whole time?” Sure, it could mean “there you are {I’ve been looking for you},” but with those colours it feels like a nod to Bryceriel.

Secondly, we have different colour treatments for each series. Why is the ACOTAR page pink? It doesn’t match ACOTAR branding, and compared to TOG’s page, it doesn’t look like a generic design choice, it feels intentional. Even if it were just a design gradient, she also uses a dark grey one elsewhere, which feels more aligned with ACOTAR. So why pink here?

Then the CC page has a baby blue cover. Again, why? It doesn’t match the branding consistency shown elsewhere. It feels intentional, especially compared to the TOG page design. Also, if you look at the ACOTAR 6 and 7 cover designs, they return to the older dark book with white text style from Instagram reveals, but the phrasing still doesn’t match previous ACOTAR reveal templates. She could have easily reused the “A Court of…” format, but didn’t. ACOTAR 6 and 7 just feel off.

Anyway, that’s my two cents from a branding perspective. I might be biased and reaching, but may my delulu become trululu. What do you think?

u/nicnac2828 — 15 days ago
▲ 87 r/Bryceriel

I think the main point of Azriel's bonus chapter was his interaction with Rhys

Hey lovely bryceriels, maybe this has been discussed before but I'm new here so bear with me. Also I'm bad at structuring my thoughts so forgive me if I'm jumping around!

So I was re-reading Az's bonus chapter and once again what stood out most wasn't the Elain stuff, it was Rhys. The interaction between Rhys and Az is the real meat of that chapter for me and I genuinely think that's the actual point of the BC.

First let me get the Az stuff out of the way. I don't think he was out of character because honestly? There wasn't much character to go on. So much of what people think of as "Az" is fanon. Yes, the horniness and entitlement felt icky but it kind of makes sense when you think about it — Az doesn't know what love is yet. He obsessed over Mor for centuries and now he's doing the same thing with Elain. That's not love, that's a pattern. And I know the fandom likes their shy quiet boy but Az has always been dark romance coded to me. Possessive, intense, lurking in shadows, the scarred hands, the spymaster thing - the entitlement in the BC fits that energy way more than people want to admit.

But okay. Now Rhys. And let me clear this out before I start - I LOVE Rhys more than anything in ACOTAR. He's my high lord, I'm not here to villainize him. But that's exactly WHY his behavior in the BC bothers me so much. Because we know this male. We've been inside his head, we know how he acts with people he loves, how strategic he is with words, how he leads with charm and control, not brute force. Rhys loves deeply but he also controls deeply. And yet this scene didn’t feel like just control.

In the BC he was rough with Az. Like genuinely harsh in a way we've never seen him be with his brothers. This is the same Rhys who told us in ACOFAS that even he sometimes fears Az's ice cold rage and is careful around it. He knows Az is volatile under the surface. So why suddenly drop all that caution and go at him like that?

Let's look at the reasons people usually give:

"He's protecting the mate bond out of solidarity with Lucien" I really don't think Rhys cares that much about Lucien's bond with Elain. Like at all. We literally saw him and Feyre have conversations about Elain's situation and Feyre was basically hinting she ships Elain with Az. You're telling me Feyre would be cool with Rhys shutting that down so hard? The same Feyre who chose her own mate against what everyone told her? Nah. If this was really about mate bond respect Feyre would've had something to say.

"It's political; the blood duel, Beron, Autumn Court" also doesn't fully hold up. Beron has never given a shit about Lucien. A blood duel over Elain wouldn't cause some massive political crisis because Beron would probably just... not care. It could complicate the Eris alliance sure, but Rhys has the dead troves, the Night Court holds the power. He's politically smart enough to know that's a surface level concern, not a real threat. So why react like it's a five alarm fire?
Elain is single. The bond is unaccepted. There's no claim. So what is actually going on?

Here's what I keep coming back to - Rhys sees Az as a near equal in power. The shadows, the truth teller, the raw combat ability. And more importantly, I think Az has shown a quietly rebellious streak that Cassian never has. Cass is loyal to a fault, we literally watched him side with Rhys over Nesta in ACOSF. But Az? He went against Rhys's direct orders in ACOWAR. That's not nothing. And now the BC is the second time we've seen real tension between them.

So my question is - has anyone caught others I might be missing? I’m really curious if there’s a subtle pattern throughout the books. Maybe in CC3 (I haven’t finished the whole book yet, but I don’t mind spoilers)?

What if this is the trajectory: Bryce returns, the Dusk Court becomes a political conflict, and Az, for the first time in 500 years, chooses someone or something over Rhys. BRYCE. That would mirror the ACOSF dynamic perfectly but in reverse - Cassian chose Rhys over Nesta, Az chooses Bryce over Rhys.

And here's what makes this narratively devastating. Friends to enemies is a common twist. But SJM has spent books building this brotherhood. 500 years of history, of war, of Rhys pulling Az and Cass out of that war camp, of chosen family. If that fractures it won't feel like a plot device, it'll feel personal. Like a betrayal you saw coming and still couldn't prepare for.

I'm not saying Az or Rhys becomes a villain. I'm saying SJM might be setting up a conflict where both sides have a point and neither can back down. And the BC, with its weirdly intense Rhys reaction that doesn't quite track with the reasons given, is the first real crack.

What do you think?

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u/nicnac2828 — 25 days ago
▲ 59 r/Bryceriel

I'm genuinely curious why do so many people ship Azriel with Gwyn and Elain?

I genuinely cannot wrap my mind around either of these ships.

Even before Bryce and Azriel interacted in CC3, I could never picture Azriel with any of the current ACOTAR characters. Neither Elain nor Gwyn makes sense to me, and here's why.

Elain: Azriel is not soft. He's the High Lord's killer - traumatized, closed off, dangerous in ways he keeps carefully controlled. Elain is gentle to her core. I don't think she could handle the reality of who Azriel actually is, not the sanitized version the fandom likes to project onto him. And frankly? The pairing would be so painfully banal. Two quiet people standing near each other is not a love story.

Gwyn: This one makes even less sense to me. Yes, Gwyn has a crush on Az - who wouldn't? He literally saved her from one of the worst moments of her life. Of course he's her knight in Illyrian armor. But gratitude and a girly crush are not the foundation for a romantic arc, especially when Gwyn is a survivor of sexual trauma. How are people envisioning her with Azriel when SJM herself has hinted he's a freak? The tonal mismatch alone should give people pause.

Like why?

Genuinely curious here, especially with so many people being so aggressive towards Bryceriel shippers, it makes me confused with people.

Instagram, tiktok, all the communities seem to be crazy about those two ships and it's just so sad so little people appreciate Bryce and Az when there are clearly so many things that just make sense and don't make you feel like all is wrong.

‼️ P.S. NO HATE TO ANY CHARACTERS!! I love them all and I think all deserve appreciation, I'm just genuinely curious.

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u/nicnac2828 — 27 days ago