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[danaanathalar]

I'm completely addicted to the theories that say that ccty³ is a retelling of Ragnarok!!!

I don't particularly think that ccty³ will be, I think Ragnarok has already happened 🤔🤔 these theories make sense because sjm added twilight of the gods in his godreads and on Pinterest and twilight of the gods is also a name for the damn Ragnarok!!! 🤯🤯

[danaanathalar]

do you have any header for this icon?

louis tomlinson

reblog and like if u save/use <3

hope you like em <3 ! loads of love

[danaanathalar]

The Valkyries as Hogwarts Students 🦅🐍🦁

Art by: @btzart_ (instagram)

Commissioned by: me

[danaanathalar]

We need to talk about the amount of mermaid/nymph/ water beings pins sjm has on her acotar pinterest board (+ pins that clearly relate to Gwyn) because it's a lot :

These relate to the little mermaid especifically:

One is an illustration from undine: the tale that inspired the little mermaid, the other is an illustration from the little mermaid storybook, the third is an art from the moment the daughters of the air find the little mermaid and the last is a representation of "rusalka" a tale that is also associated with the little mermaid.

While trying to find out the artists to credit them here, I had to research most images (that's how I know they are related to nymphs and mermaids), and some of them, although not being "the little mermaid" illustrations, had their keywords and descriptions associated to the tale and/or were used to represent it:

Now we can add the pins she saved on the story kernels board:

Taking a closer look at the images below (who are in the same board): the first two look an awful lot like how Gwyn is described in the books, and all of them have "tiaras" with stones in the center. So we can assume Sarah was probably already imagining her character:

Finally these are all illustrations from the little mermaid too:

Honestly I can't think a reason why she would save all these mermaid/nymph/water being pins in the acotar board, unless it had something to do with Gwyn or a possible little mermaid retelling, because:

1) There are no mermaids established in acotar.

2) The only water nymph who was featured in the main story/has an arc is Gwyn.

3) The only person who could follow a mermaid type of storyline or a "little mermaid" retelling is also Gwyn.

4) Water beings are not heavily featured in the storyline so far (if we take Gwyn out of the picture) at least not enough to have that many pins.

I saw people saying the whole mermaid thing could be related to crescent city, and there are mermaid/water beings pins in that board too (although less than in the acotar board). So, yes they could be explored in that world. But the little mermaid pins in the other boards and in the acotar board can't be related to crescent city, since a little mermaid retelling probably wouldn't happen in those books, because Sarah already made it clear crescent city is not a retelling of any fairy tale:

The artists: svein solem,escume on devianart, brian froud, richet beckett, rebecca yanovskaya, kimberly bicknese, mmmegh on devianart, oione on devianart, nesskain on devianart, ClintCearly on devianart,john aslarona,juhanna on devianart, selenada on devianart, selina fenech, raqmo on devianart,Aaron Mcbride,james browne,alexandra khitrova, franz hein, ekukanova on devianart, Vipada jakavanphituk, Vasily Alexandrovich, yuumei on devianart, Dorothy P. in the little mermaid book, anna vinogradanova, escume on devianart, aditya777 on devianart, stephen reid, ed org, milo manara,kobe sek, PixieMeat96,janey-jane on devianart, jameswarhola, xxdovelin on devianart,Anastasia ovnichinnikova, serafleur on devianart, the0prhastus on devianart, lauri blank, lissa treiman, Ali Kiani Amin, Charlie-Bowater on devianart,Yoann-Lossel, Kamil Jadczack, bayardwu on devianart, arthur rackman on Undine storybook, Miss-Etoile on devianart, Goran-Alena on devianart,hanyije, 88grzes on devianart, peachymints on devianart, hiliuyun arowana, paul hoppe,min yum,donato giancola, elizabeth sherry, yousaf-ejaz on devianart,heath robinson,tatiana kirgertova,john d batten, charles allen winter, Bigball Gao in artstation, krukof2 on devianart, nadezha illarionova for the little mermaid book, Christian Birmighan for the little mermaid book, any-s-kill on devianart, gennady spirin for the little mermaid book,untroubledheart on devianart.

Ps: it's cool to see how she saved a lot of arts from mermaids/water beings made by escume on devianart, and that is the artist responsable for the cover of "sea witch" a little mermaid retelling.

If some you want so see more similarities between gwyn and the little mermaid you can also check out this post I made:

[danaanathalar]

Gwyn is a representation of Ariel

So, this is going to be a looooooong ride, I will start by saying I won't make a reference to any ships here, because I believe this theory works no matter who Gwyn ends up with. So if you are coming here to reinforce ship wars, that's not your cup of tea. That being said, let's start:

1) Appereance

Gwyn's looks are obviously similar to the disney's version of the little mermaid. She has coppery chestnut hair, fair skin, eyes who sometimes described as deep blue like the sea and others times as teal, a blue-green color. Ariel, however, has red hair, fair skin and deep blue-aqua eyes that take a blue-green tone depending on the environment. Her tail carries a shade of sea-green especifically created to her character. Both of them are tall, and said to have large eyes.

"Her hood was thrown back, and faelight danced in the rich coppery chestnut of her pin-straight hair. Her large teal eyes were as clear and depthless as the stone usually atop a priestess’s hood, and a scattering of freckles lay across her nose and cheeks, as if someone had tossed them with a careless hand."

"Gwyn gestured to her large eyes—blue so clear it could have been the shallow sea"

"Gwyn, however, stilled, those large teal eyes looking even more unearthly as they widened."

"Nesta had no glimpse of coppery-brown hair and large teal eyes."

"She didn’t realize she was holding back as Gwyn’s coppery-brown hair appeared. In the sunlight, the color of her hair was extraordinary, strands of gold glinting, and her teal eyes were a near-perfect match to the stones the other priestesses wore"

"The priestess drew up to her full height, which was slightly taller than average for Fae females."

Hans Andersen describes the little mermaid as being the most beautiful of all of her sisters, together with having expressive eyes and graceful movements. Gwyn is said to have a beauty that could rival Mor and Merrill, and to be good with balance and movement.

"Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes. Surely with these you can enchain a man's heart. Well, have you lost your courage?"

"Gwyn nimbly rolled to her feet, grinning so broadly that Nesta was momentarily taken aback by it. The priestess had been pretty in the library, but with that joy, that confidence as she aimed for the three priestesses, she had emerged into a beauty to rival Merrill or Mor"

"She bore it willingly, however, and moved at the prince's side as lightly as a bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful, swaying movements"

"Perhaps that was why Gwyn was so good at the balancing and movement."

"At each moment the little mermaid's beauty was more revealed, and her expressive eyes appealed more directly"

"The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes toward the sun"

"Emotion stirred in those remarkable eyes. (Nesta talking about Gwyn)"

"You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly."

"Even with the robes, it was clear that Gwyn was built lithe and lean, accustomed to the casual grace of the Fae that Nesta was only learning"

"As graceful as Gwyn had been, Emerie proved to be equally awkward and unbalanced."

2) Personality

The little mermaid is a headstrong, brave, spirited, bright young girl who has a strong love for adventure and mystery. She's loving, compassionate, intuitive, and even obsessive when it comes to her interest for the human world. Gwyneth on the other hand, is written as brave, kind, intelligent and bright, also having a compassionate and intuitive side. She enjoys adventure, and is very competitive. Her sense of determination is so strong it impresses the people around her.

" The little mermaid: I will venture all for him and to win an immortal soul. While my sisters are dancing in my father's palace I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid; she can give me counsel and help."

"Gwyn stroked Nesta’s head : Some things are more important than fear."

"You and that ribbon, Nesta muttered, shutting the tome. Of all of them, Gwyn had become the most relentless about succeeding."

"Ariel: I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now. Watch and you'll see someday I'll be part of your world."

"Gwyn lifted her chin in challenge: We look forward to proving you wrong."

"Finding objects to help our court protect the world is rather exciting. About as exciting as I’m willing to get these days, but it shall be an adventure."

"The priestess’s eyes glittered with amusement, as if aware of Nesta’s plan"

"The little mermaid smiled and shook her head. She knew the prince's thoughts better than any of the others."

"It has something to do with the Trove, Gwyn said, those teal eyes noticing too much."

"No, Gwyn said, apparently reading the thought on her face."

"Triton: Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snatched by some fish-eater's hook?

Ariel: I'm sixteen. I'm not a child anymore."

"Gwyn’s mouth flattened to a line: I don’t need to be coddled. Only spoken to like a person. "

"If you will bear all this I will help you, said the witch.

Yes, I will, said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul."

"Gwyn bared her teeth: I refuse to leave you here. [...] I’ll face it with you."

3) Mythology

Mermaids and water nymphs are tied closely together, the terms being often used to reference each other. The main difference between them is that mermaids have tails, while water nymphs have human forms. Using a water nymph as a representation of a mermaid would be a good way to tie the stories to the courts.

Although Gwyn is a river-nymph, many elements surrounding her character are compared to the sea:

"Gwyn’s eyes shone, like the sunlight on a warm sea"

"And when Gwyn reached the finish line, bloody and panting and grinning so wildly her teal eyes glowed like a sunlit sea"

"We were fraternal twins. Her hair was dark as onyx, her skin pale as the moon. And she was as moody as the sea"

"Gwyn reached into the pocket of her pale robe and pulled out the blue stone of the priestesses. It fluttered with light, like the sun on a shallow sea."

"Tell yourself, I am the rock against which the surf crashes. Your thoughts are the surf. Let them crash over you."

"Gwyn whispered, I am the rock against which the surf crashes. Nesta straightened at the words, as if they were a prayer and a summons. Gwyn lifted the blade. Nothing can break me."

There is also the fact that The Little Mermaid story and character was heavily inspired by "Undine", a novella by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, and Undine was a water spirit/water nymph. So, the little mermaid was actually based on a nymph. (it's interesting to point out there was presence of an incident with golden necklace in Undine, given by her love interest to Beraltha, a girl he had a relationship with, that caused Undine to go back to the water).

Even if you don't find the resemblance in their appeareances and mythology enough, there are still similarites between Gwyn's story and the little mermaid one, both in the disney version and the original tale:

4) Story

"They were beautiful children, but the youngest was the prettiest of them all. Her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet and her body ended in a fish's tail. All day long they played in the great halls of the castle or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls."

"None of them longed so much for her turn to come as the youngest—she who had the longest time to wait and who was so quiet and thoughtful"

"Nesta had learned that Gwyn was twenty-eight—indeed, just a girl to him."

"She was young—almost coltish, with her slender, elegant limbs (Nesta about Gwyn)"

“Honestly, while I consider many of the females here to be my sisters, there are a few who are not what I would consider nice.”

“So I hate, I hate to even speak ill of any one of my sisters here, but..."

The little mermaid is the youngest between her sisters, and that plays a part in her being the last allowed to visit the surface. The own title "little mermaid" is used as a reference to her being young. Gwyneth is 28, one of the youngest priestesses, who she considers as sisters, living in the house of wind.

"Out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could sound it, and many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects."

"In the deepest spot of all stands the castle of the Sea King."

The sea king's home (atlantis in the disney movie) is in the depths of the sea, so deep that no cable could sound it, and extremely far from the surface. The house of wind is in Velaris mountains, the only way to get there is either flying or going through 10 000 steps, and nobody can winnow there without permission. A subtle little reference is that the library is located under the earth, while the little mermaid lived under the sea.

"Yet often, in the evening hours, the five sisters would twine their arms about each other and rise to the surface together. Their voices were more charming than that of any human being, and before the approach of a storm, when they feared that a ship might be lost, they swam before the vessel, singing enchanting songs of the delights to be found in the depths of the sea"

"The music took form behind Nesta’s eyes as the priestesses sang lyrics in languages so old, no one voiced them anymore. She saw what the song spoke of: mossy earth and golden sun, clear rivers and the deep shadows of an ancient forest"

The mermaids go to the surface in the evening (period between the end of the afternoon and night), and sing enchanting songs about the delights found in the depths of the sea, their voices sounding more charming than any human being. This is represented in the disney version by them having celebrations, and making presentations where they sing for their father and the rest of the merfolk. The priestesses, however, make dusk (period after the sun comes down before night) services, where they sing ancient songs about nature, and talk about the mother and the cauldron. Nesta describes their singing like a dream given form.

A cool detail is that in Andersen's tale there are 6 sisters, but in the disney movie there are seven including Ariel. Nesta mentions there were seven priestesses singing, counting Gwyn.

"Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower bed in the form of a whale; another preferred to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; while youngest child made hers round, like the sun, and in it grew flowers as red as his rays at sunset."

"She gave up tending her flowers, and they grew in wild confusion over the paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the trees so that the whole place became dark and gloomy."

"Nesta gazed at the sea of pale robes and blue stones as the entire room seemed to suck in a breath"

Each of the princesses have a little plot in the garden reserved just for them, while each of the priestesses has a blue stone. The little mermaid stops attending to her garden when she becomes too sad over the prince, and Gwyn doesn't use her stone because she doesn't believe she is deserving of it.

"Through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such lovely voices as they, but the little mermaid sang more sweetly than all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails, and for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the sweetest voice either on earth or in the sea."

"The sea witch: You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea."

"Triton: Especially my little Ariel

Sebastian: Yes, she has the most beautiful voice. "

"Eric: She had... the most beautiful voice"

One of the most important things about The Little mermaid/Ariel is her voice. She sings more sweetly than any of the other mermaids, and her voice is what Ursula demands as a payment and makes Eric long to find her. Gwyn has a voice who rises above all the other priestesses voices, and attracts people to her. It's described as sweet, lovely, powerful, pure and unlike any voice Nesta has ever heard.

"We were raised in the temple as well. I never left its grounds until … until I came here."

"The prince: I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple where several young maidens performed the service. The youngest of them found me on the shore and saved my life [...] She belongs to the holy temple, and good fortune has sent you to me in her stead. We will never part."

Gwyn and her sister were raised in a temple and Gwyn never left it's grounds until she was saved from Hybern's attack there. The prince was saved by the little mermaid and left in the shore near a holy temple before one of the maidens who performed the service found him. He says to the little mermaid she belongs there. Later, she is revealed to be the princess he was set to marry, and he believes she's the one who saved him.

"Oh, how eagerly did the youngest sister listen to all these descriptions! And afterwards, when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark-blue water, she thought of the great city, with all its bustle and noise, and even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells down in the depths of the sea."

"Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea."

"She grew more and more to like human beings and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed to be so much larger than her own"

"There was so much that she wished to know! but her sisters were unable to answer all her questions"

" I know that I shall love the world up there, and all the people who live in it."

" Up where they walk, up where they run

Up where they stay all day in the sun

Wanderin' free, wish I could be

Part of that world

[...]

What would I give if I could live out of these waters?

What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?

[...]

When's it my turn?

Wouldn't I love, love to explore that shore up above?

Out of the sea

Wish I could be

Part of that world"

The Little Mermaid wants nothing more than to get out of the sea and go to the surface, she feels trapped under the water, longing for the world above. Gwyn spent her entire life in the temple before coming to the house of wind, she's tired of living in the library, but her trauma and fear stop her from ever leaving. The only time she actually leaves is to comfort Nesta, and even after the rite, she goes back to the library.

Locked beneath the earth/ Down in the depths of the sea.

When Gwyn sings, her hair and her skin glow, radiating beckoning light. Ariel's voice in the movie is literally represented by a glowing ball of light, who glows behind the pingent in Ursula's necklace. A golden gleam surrounds Ariel when she sings to Eric, and the water glows when she comes out of the sea as a human for the first time. When her father turns her back into a human, both the waters around her and her dress glow.

"She peeped out from among the green rushes, and if the wind caught her long silvery-white veil, those who saw it believed it to be a swan, spreading out its wings."

"[...] They all wore the same pale robes and so many kept the hoods over their faces"

"[...] he said, leaning back in the chair, surrounded by the sounds of rustling parchment and the robes of the priestesses like fluttering wings."

"Nesta bent down, picked up the fallen half of the ribbon, and solemnly tied it around Gwyn’s brow. A makeshift version of what the priestesses wore atop their heads with their stones."

The Little Mermaid in Andersen's original tale wears a silvery-white veil, and the people who saw it get caught up by the wind, confused it with a swan spreading out its wings. The priestesses all wear pale robes with hoods, who are compared to fluttering wings. Gwyn wears the robes, and the white ribbon around her head that crowns her as a Valkyrie.

Ursula:[watching Flotsam and Jetsam knock the boat with Ariel and Eric in it about to kiss]  Nice work boys. That was a close one, too close! The little tramp!

Ursula: Don't fool with me you little brat!

Ursula: Yes, hurry home, princess. We wouldn't want to miss old Daddy's celebration, now, would we? [...] Bah! In my day, we had fantastical feasts. When I lived in the palace.

Merril isn't that similar to Ursula when it comes to looks, although she carries her characteristic white hair, but it's interesting to notice her eyes are the color of a twilight sky, which is the time before sunrise and after sunset. The little mermaid has to get to the surface before sunrise to turn into a human, and get the prince to fall in love with her before the sunset of the third day.

Ursula is described as a rude, obnoxious, arrogant, power hungry, and intelligent. She's feared by most merpeople and has a very bad reputation amongst them, making sebastian take a more dramatic tone by calling her "a demon". She belittles Ariel constantly, and views her as a silly little girl, calling her "tramp" and "brat", plus referring to her by her title of "princess". Merrill is unpleasant to all the priestesses, including Clotho, and for that all of them fear her. She's demanding, obsessed, brilliant, resentful and arrogant. She seems to be more demanding and rude to Gwyneth, insulting her by calling her "silly" and "stupid", besides referring to her simply as "nymph".

Ursula used to live in the palace and participate on the feasts, after she was expelled, she became secluded and moved to her own lair/grotto. Merrill lives in the library, having her own chambers, and takes part on the services. Both are awfully skilled in what they do, and tend to have temper tantrums.

“Ursula: Flotsam! Jetsam! I want you to keep an extra close watch on this pretty little daughter of his. She may be the key to Triton's undoing...”

"The little mermaid: I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid; she can give me counsel and help.

"I admit that in the past I've been nasty

They weren't kidding when they called me, well a witch

[...]

And I fortunately know a little magic

It's a talent that I always have possessed

[...]

Yes I've had the odd complaint

But on the whole I've been a saint

To those poor unfortunate souls

[...]

Beluga sevruga

Come winds of the Caspian Sea

Larengix glaucitis

Et max laryngitis

La voce to me"

" The sea witch: I know what you want, it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, though it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess."

"The Little Mermaid: Where am I? her voice sounded ethereal, like the voices of those who were with her. No earthly music could imitate it.

Daughter of the air: Among the daughters of the air"

Ursula is not only called a witch because of her abilities, but as herself says: for being a nasty. Nesta calls Merrill a witch right after she talks about her origins and her powers, making a statement about her behaviour. Ursula compares herlsef to saint, and Merrill is a priestess.

Merrill's name is from celtic origin, and means sparkling/bright sea, also carrying the meanings of joyful and happy (Gwyneth too is a celtic/welsh name, and it can mean both bright and joyful). It's originated from the names meriel, muriel or merle. Meriel also means bright sea, together with sea nymph. So not only is Merrill called a witch, but her name literally means sea, and it relates to nymph.

A sea witch can be presented by magical or fairy creature such as a mermaid or selmie, or as an ordinary human who uses magic to influence the sea. But their powers don't stop at that, since they also can have control over the winds and weather. A common feature of many tales was a rope tied into three knots, which witches often sold to sailors to aid them on a voyage. Pulling the first knot could yield a gentle, southeasterly wind while pulling two could generate a strong northerly wind, but the third knot would unleash a hurricane. 

Merrill is strongly associated to wind. She says she descent from Rabath, Lord of the western wind. She also says the winds whisper in her ear what is going on it the world, and she seems to be able to control it. Ursula has Jetsam and Flotsam, that travel the sea as her informants, who she later uses to spy on Ariel, and calls the power of the winds of the caspian sea in order to take her voice, later she gets Triton's trident which gives her total control of the ocean, plus control of the winds and the weather, being able to cause storms. The sea witch from Andersen knows what The Little Mermaid desires before she asks her. In his version, when Ariel dies she's received by and becomes one of the daughters of the air (that was even the original title of the story), while wind is nothing but the moving air.

Ariel and Andersen's little mermaid show ambiguous emotions towards Ursula/The sea witch, they are terrified of them, but can't help but feel admiration towards their powers and knowledge, ending up searching for them in order to achieve their goals. We can apply that to Gwyneth's feelings about Merrill, since she is deeply afraid of her and believes she's terrible, but at the same time shows admiration for her abilities, affirms she's brilliant and is excited to work on her research.

Merrill doesn't have to be a big villain in order to fit the sea witch's role, since in the original story she was more like a neutral enabler. She could also be associated to Koschei, which brings us to the next comparison.

Grandmother: We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; [...] Human beings, on the contrary, have souls which live forever, even after the body has been turned to dust. They rise up through the clear, pure air, beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown."

The Little Mermaid: why have not we immortal souls? I would gladly give all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars.

Grandmother: You must not think that. We believe that we are much happier and much better off than human beings.

The Little Mermaid: So I shall die, and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about, never again to hear the music of the waves or to see the pretty flowers or the red sun? Is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul?

Grandmother: No, unless a man should love you so much that you were more to him than his father or his mother, and if all his thoughts and all his love were fixed upon you."

"Then the little mermaid went out from her garden and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorceress lived"

"Ursula: King Triton's headstrong, love-sick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden"

"The sea witch: But think again, you will never return through the water to your sisters or to your father's palace again. And if you do not win the love of the prince [...] then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another, your heart will break and you will become foam on the crest of the waves."

"Poor unfortunate souls

In pain, in need

This one longing to be thinner

That one wants to get the girl

And do I help them?

Yes, indeed

Those poor unfortunate souls

So sad, so true

They come flocking to my cauldron

Crying, "Spells, Ursula, please!"

And I help them!

Yes I do

Now it's happened once or twice

Someone couldn't pay the price

And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals

[...]

have we got a deal?"

"Ursula: Oh, and there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment.

Ariel: But I don't have-

Ursula: I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle! What I want from you is... your voice."

"The sea witch: But I must be paid also, and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it. But this voice you must give to me. The best thing you possess will I have as the price of my costly draft"

"In the midst of this spot stood a house, built of the bones of shipwrecked human beings. There sat the sea witch, allowing a toad to eat from her mouth just as people sometimes feed a canary with pieces of sugar."

"Ursula: I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain"

"The Little Mermaid sisters: We have given our hair to the witch, to obtain help for you, that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife; see, it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince. When the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again into a fish's tail, and you will once more be a mermaid and can return to us to live out your three hundred years before you are changed into the salt sea foam."

Koschei and Ursula/The sea witch have very easy parallels to set. Ursula/The sea witch is a sorceress and a bargainer who makes deals with merpeople, and uses her magic to give them what they desire, but orders them to pay a heavy price. Koschei (besides also having the white hair) is too a sorcerer and a bargainer, he makes deals with fae and humans, and usually asks something in exchange for his magic.

They are heavily connected with souls, black magic and death: The sea witch is mentioned to live in a house made out of human bones (Ursula lives in the skeleton of a huge leviathan). She makes a deal with Ariel, and claims that she will turn into a human and have a soul if she gets the prince to fall in love with her, if she fails she'll turn into foam of the sea. So, basically, the cost of her failure is death. Later, the mermaid's sisters appear and say they traded their hair for a knife with the sea witch, if she kills the prince with it, she'll be able to go back to the sea. The price for her life is his own.

They changed this in the disney version, by making Ursula a collector of souls. Every person who fails in doing what she orders, ends up with their soul being abducted by her and placed or her "garden". Ursula makes a deal with Ariel, and says if Eric doesn't fall in love with her, she will be hers, meaning her soul will belong to her.

Koschei is a god of death, and he thrives in it. He takes souls, kidnaps maidens and traps them in rivers. Is mentioned that he might have made a deal with father archeron in exchange for his soul. Lastly, he has powers over the wind and communicates through it.

Both have the ability of shape-shifting. The sea witch and Ursula transform Ariel into a human, later turning herself into human too and transforming King Triton into a polyp. Koschei casted a spell on Vassa, turning her into a fire bird by day.

We can add that to the fact that Koschei is literally trapped in a lake, and in the legends his soul is hidden in an island in the middle of the ocean.

5) References

Sarah already stated in a interview that she would like to adapt the wild swans, and mix it with a Little Mermaid retelling, since they have a similar story and were originally written by the same author. She also said she wanted to do the firebirds legends, which she's doing now with Vassa.

She has a board on pinterest called "story kernels" in which she saved a lot of little mermaid pins, in this same board she also saved pictures of harps and masks that we know relate to Nesta's story. There's an illustration that is basically identical to how Gwyn is described there too. The board is from 2 years ago, so is safe to say she was already imagining her character:

She saved a bunch of mermaid pictures in the acotar board especifically (the closest thing to mermaids are water nymphs, and the only character who has an arc and is a nymph is Gwyn). I picked the ones who are actually from the little mermaid and the wild swans or related to them to show here:

The first is an illustration of Undine by Arthur Rackman, the story in which The Little Mermaid was based on. The second is also by him, but from "the seven ravens" which is a version of the wild swans.

(Again Merril's name has more than one meaning, it can mean "blackbird" or simply "bird", since it's derived from the name Merle. So we have her name directly associated with the two main items on H.C. Andersen tales: the sea and birds. Gwyn's name means white, and the color is present in many elements of the various versions of The wild swans, being that in Andersen's story the protagonist is saved by a white glowing flower and mentions that the image of the swans flying looked like a long white ribbon.)

The third is an drawing of the daughters of air finding the little mermaid by miss-etoile on devianart. The fourth a illustration from The little mermaid book by Dorothy P. Lathrop.

The fifth and the sixth are drawings representing Elisa, the main character from the wild swans. One is from catlait on devianart, showing Elisa with one of the shirts she has to knit, and one is from LiigaKlavina, from the moment Elisa goes to the churchyard.

Finally, there is this illustration from a book based on the wild swans by John Jude Alencar:

I don't know if Gwyn will get a book or a pov, but Sarah didn't try to hide the references to her and the little mermaid in acosf. Her looks, her voice and her heritage are already enough for anyone to make that association. If you read the book and compare it to the H.C Anderen's story and the disney movie, you will easily connect it to Gwyn/Merrill/Koschei, and it's not like sjm doesn't expect people to do any research after noticing the resemblance. Her pinterest board is also pretty much open for everyone to see.

The similarities are there, and they are too many to be just a coincidence or something she simply didn't plan, especially when she has been talking about a possible little mermaid retelling since 2014. It would be pretty much a waste not to explore Gwyneth's story.

[danaanathalar]

GWYNRIEL LITTLE MERMAID RETELLING:

as i’m sure most of you have seen the little mermaid theory going around for gwynriel, but if you haven’t you can find it here:

sarah j maas has said that she wants to write a little mermaid retelling, and then began to write gwyn... who is exactly like ariel. coincidence? i think not.

there’s many similarities like:

mermaid ~ water nymph

red hair

ariel longing to see the outside world but she’s always been stuck in the sea her whole life ~ gwyn longing to see the outside world and staying in temples of sangravah and the library her whole life and never leaving. “A lace parasol leaned against her other shoulder, and she twirled it idly as she surveyed the windows, the world beyond, and said in a hushed voice, “I sometimes wonder if I shall ever have the courage to go out there again. I fear every day that I won’t.”

“the Little Mermaid has the most enchanting and beautiful voice in the world” ~ gwyn singing and having a beautiful voice that is remarked by nesta to be unique and enchanting

“Ariel’s personality is curious, spunky, and strong-willed. Once Ariel decides she wants something, she's determined to get it, no matter what her father may say.” ~ gwyn is curious as she tends to ask lots of questions (az chapter) and extremely determined. “I don’t want to take the safe road.” She pointed to the mountain, to the slender path upward. “I want to take that road.” Her voice thickened. “I want to take the road that no one dares travel, and I want to travel it with you two. No matter what may befall us. Not as Illyrians, not for their titles, but as something new. To prove to them, to everyone, that something new and different might triumph over their rules and restrictions. (...) “I have been broken once before,” Gwyn said, her voice clear. “I survived it. And I will not be broken again—not even by this mountain.” “Gwyn to push her group harder. She wanted to be the first. Wanted Nesta and Emerie and her to be the ones who wiped the smirks from Azriel’s and Cassian’s faces. Especially Azriel’s.”

merrill/koschei ~ ursula (there is also a very interesting theory of merrill being evil, that makes a lot of sense!)

prince eric being oblivious like the whole story ~ azriel not seeing what’s infront of him.

“You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also,” ~ “he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer.”

and more than you can see in the link above.

now let’s get to the interesting part...

i’ve been browsing through sarah j maas’ pinterest boards, and i’ve seen a lot of a similar reoccurring theme in the posts she has saved...

she’s saved lots of posts related to the little mermaid in her pinterest as: (i had to put them in a grid to make them all fit since there’s much)

she also saved art that is drawn for the tale specifically! examples shown:

i’ve also found some potentially gwyn related art that she saved as well:

and then there’s this one that i think is quite important to note:

(note: i have not browsed through all her pins, so there could possibly be more. but this is just what i’ve even seen so far.)

ALSO: the boards that i have looked through that contained those pins have been last updated 1-2 years ago. and sjm started writing acosf in 2018👀

gwynriel little mermaid retelling coming? a definite possibility...

(note as well: to the group of people who try to point out that the little mermaid ends in a tragic way, let me point out the fact that SJM said her novels get a happy ending. and she said she wants to write a little mermaid retelling. so yes, she will be changing it to a happy ending if so. she’s obviously not going to copy the tale word for word.)

[danaanathalar]

If the theory that Gwyn is a Thunderbird is true, Sarah is going to pull a Yrene 2.0 with her.

Thunderbirds are the biggest threats to the Asteri the same way healers were to the Valg.

And again, Thunderbirds harness raw magic in it's pure light form.

Before I have someone jump at my throat, it's a T H E O R Y.

[danaanathalar]

Breaking the ACOTAR 4th wall:

Rhys: I won the Blood Rite. But Cassian had to carry me the last bit.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: My sister was decapitated and I had to see the traumatic remains.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: I underwent devastating sexual assault.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: I’m a halfbreed.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: We have a lot in common.

Gwyn: We do.

Rhys: So why do Elriels insist on protecting you from sexual intimacy, call out how you aren’t a real Carynthian and ridicule your roots but not me?

Gwyn: That would be because I’m a rival love interest for Azriel and they have to tear apart my character to invalidate my relevance and keep their sinking ship afloat.

Rhys: *picks at lint* Gross.

Gwyn: Yup.

[danaanathalar]

Imagine Azriel's face if Gwyn turned out to be a Vanserra😭

Man literally spend centuries hating them only for the mother to gift him a mate who is from the Vanserra family

[danaanathalar]

Okay I know at first it won't make much sense and the theory is still forming in my head but what IF something or SOMEONE is sleeping under Ramiel. The black stone could be the key to something, otherwise the Daglan wouldn't have been desperate to reach to it (my other theory is there is an access point under Ramiel but this theory is different)

They might go by the names: Carynth, Oristes, and Arktos "the three holy stars". Who we also know are called the seven holy stars? The Asteri.

The Asteri were the Daglan in ACOTAR so it's not so far-fetched that the names of the three holy stars are of the three Daglan it's named after because each of the Asteri are named after a star.

Also, this made me wonder about The Blood Rite and why does it happen when the three holy stars shine above Ramiel for a week and it ends on the last day when the three stars are aligned above Ramiel's peak? Could the bloodshed and the deaths of the Illyrians benefit and feed some sort of power or creature?👀 Where does the magic they Illyrians possess on one night (which is the day before the Blood Rite) comes from?

Posting some excerpts from ACOFAS:

"Who had put that stone atop the peak, he didn't know, either. Legend said it had existed before the Night Court formed, before the Illyrians migrated from the Myrmidons, before humans had even walked the earth."

"Ramiel had always felt alive, somehow. Awake and watchful."

"if his brother had ever told her what dwelled in these mountains. Most had been slain by the Illyrians, or sent fleeing to those Steppes. But the most cunning of them, the most ancient ... they had found ways to hide. To emerge on moonless nights to feed."

"Even five centuries of training couldn't stop the chill that skittered down his spine as Cassian surveyed the empty, quiet mountains below and wondered what slept beneath the snow"

Cassian wondered what slept beneath the snow 👀

[danaanathalar]

GWYN WEEK 2022 DAY 2

Favourite Characteristics- @gwynweek2022

Gwyn to me is the perfect blend of Beauty, Brains and Bravery .... my favourite moments highlighting these characteristics of hers are

Beauty - Not only is Gwyn canonically a beauty to rival Mor who is Prythians most beautiful female she is also beautiful as a person full of light and love.

Brains - there are plenty of moments but my favourite remains luring the beast to save her chosen sisters in the blood rite.

Bravery - She saved the children in Sangravah and endured horrors beyond comprehension. Her strength and bravery are amazing.

Presenting my commission with @afoliveira . This is exactly how I envision Gwyneth Berdara

[danaanathalar]

This parallel you guys🤍 HOSAB Spoilers ahead!

---

Azriel:

Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard some silent music.

Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer.

Hunt:

His lightning flowed into her like a river, and he could have sworn he heard a beautiful sort of music between their souls as Bryce said, "We need reinforcements."

Sarah said it once: the mating bond is music between souls and the song of the soul.

She always has patterns for mates.

[danaanathalar]

What if.....

King Arthur - King Fionn

Mordred - Pelias

Guinevere - High Queen of Prythian / Theia

Lancelot - Enalius

[danaanathalar]

My Gwynriel commission by the very talented Ginger_art3. Message her on Instagram or Twitter for commissions. Please reblog, do not repost. Support the artist.

[danaanathalar]

Warriors of the Night Court

Art by me

[danaanathalar]

Seven and Gwynriel -> Thoughts, opinions and general facts.

(Warning: When i talk about numbers and their meaning during this post i'll be strictly going off number meanings in Judasim -> Sarah's Religion and what inspires a lot of the ACOTAR series.)

I made a post about this earlier this week but i wanted to expand a little further.

First of all we need to recognise how the number seven is used throughout the rest of the book.

Places where the number seven is considered important:

Seven courts in Prythian ruled by seven High Lords.

Lucien -> The youngest of Seven brothers.

Tamlin had Seven years, Seven times over.

Azriel and Cassian both have Seven Siphons.

The war raged for Seven years.

Helion has seven pairs of pegasi.

It's used prominently throughout the series (with these only being a few examples) and although Amarantha gave Tamlin seven years seven times over, all other uses show that SJM never uses it to show someone is "dangerous" or to hint towards anything bad. However it is key to note that the number seven is most used during the fifth book.

So what does the number seven actually mean?

The number seven is the divine number of completion.

Also (i believe) SJM even bases the Mother off of the Jewish Goddess, Asherah (the mother goddess) who birthed seventy seven sons 😉.

It's the genral symbol of all association with G-d and it typifies the covenant of holiness and sanctification.

It's arguabley the most important number within the Torah.

E.g. The gematria of the Hebrew letter, the Seven Laws of Noah, the menorah in the Temple had seven lamps, acts of atonement and purification were accompanied by a sevenfold sprinkling, every seventh year of the Hebrew calendar is a Sabbatical year, A full week of shiva is seven days, number of blessings in the Sheva Brachot,number of days of Sukkot, umber of days of Pesach, number of aliyot on Shabbat, etc.

It also represents creation, good fortune and blessing.

Long story short: it's a very important and good (!) number :)

So for anyone saying Gwynriel's association with seven is bad, news flash, you're incredibly wrong.

In Judasim there's even seven wedding blessings, seven circuits performed about a groom (which even symbolises the starting of a full life and the joining of two half souls!), and seven days of mourning after the death of a close relative.

So, Gwynriel?

(The ss on the right and the one directly below take place on the seventh floor of the library.)

@mercurianbisous Actually mentioned in one of their posts that during the Bonus chapter light/glowing is mentioned seven times! (Definitely a post worth checking out!)

And an Anonymous User on @yazthebookish asks pointed out that Azriel is first mentioned on chapter seven where Mor and Rhys (i believe) talk about the sangravah raid! I cant remember exactly but it's definitely more sevens 😉

We see that seven is commonly used with Gwyn and Azriel, both together and separately, but does it necessarily mean anything bad? No! A certain side of the fandom in particular try and make out that this means that Gwyn is an "evil lightsinger" or is luring Azriel but based of Judaism (and the majority of other cultures) it's not a bad number. If anything it's in favour of Gwynriel instead of E/riel.

Numbers play important parts in Jewish Culture. And SJM (a Jewish Woman) has used Jewish culture before, three sisters/three brothers (three signifies completeness and stability), twelve priestesses (twelve signifies holy people serving G-d), Azriel is based of Azrael, a lot of what we know about the priestesses in general is similar to Jewish practices. So why do certain people try and deny the possibility that seven being associated with (specifically Gwyn) Gwynriel is bad? Because they are in denial!

And if they also take Judaism into account they have to face the fact that three brothers and three sisters (3+3=6) won't work because six means imperfections ;)

[danaanathalar]

Can we get possessive Azriel 👀

Ok I wasn’t sure exactly what you meant here. So… I went with possessive Azriel AND possessive Nesta and amused as fuck Cassian.

“Gwyn cancelled on me again,” Nesta fumed, storming into the House. “I haven’t seen her in weeks! Not even for training.”

It was bullshit. Nesta had loved Gwyn long before Azriel ever did. Jealousy was a nasty, awful, pinprick feeling under her skin.

No, not jealousy.

Annoyance, that’s what it was. Annoyance at Mr. look at me with my sexy voice and stupid shadows that dance with your best friend and steal her away from you.

Annoyance that Gwyn, queen of meditation and girl power and we are sisters, somehow wasn’t putting Nesta and Emerie first anymore.

Gods she was awful. She hated herself for every thought that flitted through her mind, but... Gwyn had been hers before she was ever Azriel’s. And she wanted her BACK.

“They’re newly mated, Nesta. Don’t you remember what that was like?”

Nesta sniffed, “I remember you running off to your little snowball fight the next morning so don’t even try to tell me they can’t come out of their stupid little bubble. It’s been weeks!”

“I went to the snowball fight because I knew you weren’t ready to be told about the bond.” Cassian reminded her. “I would’ve skipped the snowball fight if you asked me to stay.”

“Semantics,” Nesta waved her hand.

“They’re in love, sweetheart. Let them be in love. We don’t always get time like this.”

“You mean time where no one is trying to kill us?”

“Yes,” Cassian chuckled, pressing a kiss to Nesta’s nose. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Love,” Nesta scoffed. “Please. They aren’t keeping to themselves because of love. It’s because they’re probably fucking non stop.”

“Now there’s an idea, Cassian wrapped one of his wings around Nesta’s front and slipped a hand across the places it covered.

Well there went the rest of the morning.

Fine, Nesta could afford a distraction… but then she was getting her friend back.

Gwyn laughed at the precocious shadow that was ruffling through her hair.

“Hey! Out!” Azriel batted away his misty spy and smiled down at his mate. His perfect, beautiful, blushing, mate. “We can’t get any privacy anywhere I swear.”

“We’ve been alone for weeks,” Gwyn smiled up at him, reaching to pull him down to where she rested on a thick carpet in front of the fire.

“Have we? Doesn’t feel like it with Rhys in my head asking when I’m going back to Vallahan and Nesta or Emerie trying to bang down our door every other day.”

“I’m sorry that I am so popular.”

“You should be,” Azriel kissed her, teeth pulling teasingly on her bottom lip. “I just don’t want to share you. Ever. What if we ran away together?”

Gwyn laughed, “Where would we go?”

A loud bang sounded on the door. “Somewhere your friends have never heard of.” Azriel groaned.

The knock had been more of a warning than an actual request for permission to enter, considering Nesta stormed into the room seconds later. Cassian trailing behind her with a lazy grin on his face, arms crossed, leaning against a bannister like he was just there for a show.

“I have decided not to accept your cancellation.” Nesta declared, pointing at Gwyn. “So put on some real clothes, we are going to the theatre.”

Gwyn laughed, but it was Azriel who spoke. “Get out. I want to be alone with my mate. Mine, Nesta, not yours. I am sorry that you lost the mate lottery and I won it but that doesn’t mean you get to-“

“Hey!” Cassian bristled with righteous indignation. “Keep in mind that I can still kick your ass, brother. Especially since you haven’t been training for weeks.”

Azriel scoffed, “Get out of my house.”

“I’m a great mate,” Cassian grumbled under his breath.

“I want my friend back. Your time is up!”

“I didn’t realize you were in charge of time now as well as death,” Azriel rolled his eyes.

“Well I am.” Nesta nodded to Gwyn. “Get dressed or we will be late.”

Gwyn stood up but Azriel scooped a hand around her waist. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“How about a compromise.” Gwyn smiled brightly. “I will go to this show with Nesta as we planned, but then Azriel and I get one more week. One week with no interruptions from anyone. None. Ok?”

Nesta and Azriel both grumbled a little but ultimately nodded their agreeance. Gwyn bounced up the stairs to change.

“She was mine first.” Nesta glared.

“Technically I met her first,” Azriel pointed out.

“Well I loved her first!”

Azriel shrugged, “I loved Cass first, but you don’t see me barging into your house when he cancels plans.”

“Cassian never cancels plans with you because of me.”

Azriel and Cassian both doubled over with laughter. “Good one, Nes.”

“Whatever. I want my friend back.” Nesta repeated.

“And I want private time with my mate.” Azriel sighed.

“And I want to go back to bed.” Cassian smirked.

“And I want to go to the theatre.” Gwyn smiled, running down the stairs and reaching for Nesta’s hand. Walking out and leaving their complaining mates in the dust.