Light Up the Darkness • Twenty Questions
A few months ago, I started thinking about the release of Kingdom of Ash. After years of waiting, the end was drawing near. Though I never got around to reviewing the last few books, I knew I wanted to mark the occasion with something special on the blog. And what could be better than a collaboration with my friends, favorite bloggers, and the ladies who introduced me to this series? Thus, Light Up the Darkness was born!
We've spent the last few weeks re-reading in preparation for this release and planned three fun posts to celebrate this epic series. For today's post we came up with 20 Questions, and we've got it all covered – the serious feels and the silly fangirling! I had so much fun reliving my favorite moments and seeing everyone else's choices. Check out all four blogs to see the complete list of questions! • Just a note: there may be spoilers for books 1-6 in our answers.
1. What theme from the series is the most meaningful to you?
Hannah: I love the idea that no act of kindness is ever wasted. When we first meet Aelin, she kills people for her job. So, she’s not someone that you’d automatically think to describe as kind. And yet, there are so many moments where she extends grace and mercy to people who don’t deserve it: one extra second for Ansel, empowering Yrene to defend herself and find freedom, giving Kaltain her cloak, buying Lysandra’s freedom, reaching out her hand to Manon. I could go on! And while she earns people’s loyalty through her actions, I don’t think her motivation is just to have people in her debt. She does it with no hope for reward, no guarantee of future benefit to her. She does it because people matter, and she recognizes that truth. And, as we see in the books, those acts have ripple effects that change the course of everything.
Kelly: I have always loved the theme of a broken, imperfect person rising up after tragedy to do what is right. Anyone standing up and doing what is right is amazing but Aelin having made mistakes and been pushed down so many times still doing what is right is what inspires me. She has every reason to hate humanity, but she still thinks the world is worth saving and rebuilding. And she inspires me because she has flaws and is imperfect which we all are. That no matter how many people push us down, no matter how many times we fall, we can always... get back up.
Rachel: Almost every character in the book goes through a personal journey that involves facing change, self-acceptance, loving yourself and letting people in even when it’s hard. For all the fantastical aspects of the books, it’s these everyday themes and the emotional arcs of these unforgettable characters that mean the most to me as I read because anyone can relate.
Alexa: Your circumstances shape who you are and who you become - that’s a theme that runs through the stories of a lot of the characters in the series. While they don’t completely define us either, we are constantly changing as we gain experiences. There’s a constant subtle reminder that change is inevitable (and that it’s not all terrible, even though it can be terribly uncomfortable and hard), and that we’re capable of constant growth in our lifetimes.
2. What moment makes you swoon the most?
Hannah: Rowan's admission: “I spent centuries wandering the world, from empires to kingdoms to wastelands, never settling, never stopping — not for one moment. I was always looking toward the horizon, always wondering what waited across the next ocean, over the next mountain. But I think … I think that whole time, all those centuries, I was just looking for you.”
Kelly: When Chaol says, “Dance with me, Celaena.” (Alexa: *sobs forever*)
Rachel: Rowan to Aelin, “I love you. There is no limit to what I can give to you, no time I need. Even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will love you.”
Alexa: I loooooove a lot of the moments in Crown of Midnight, but there is a particular scene in Tower of Dawn (page 513-514, just to avoid spoilers) that really made me swoon. (I just love Chaol so much, okayyyyy.)
3. Where would you want to live in the Throne of Glass world?
Hannah: In a castle on a bunch of land in Terrasen with Rowan as my husband, at least three kids roaming around, and a stable full of Asterion horses so I can have some alone time when I need it.
Kelly: Terrasen. Hands down. But I’d have to compromise and split my time in Antica because my love is the future Khagan so, like, logistics.
Rachel: Terrasen because that’s where Rowan is.. and pretty much everyone else will be at there too but mainly, because of Rowan.
Alexa: If Chaol Westfall were to somehow become Lord of Anielle and we could live by the Silver Lake, that’s where I’d live. But I would also have a house in Terrasen, because who wouldn’t want to be a part of the court that will change the world and I’d need somewhere to stay when we came to visit our friends and their families.
4. If you could shapeshift, what animal would you become?
Hannah: A hawk. Like Rowan.
Kelly: Ruk. Duh.
Rachel: Asterion horse!
Alexa: Ghost leopard, obvs.
5. Cast one character for the Throne of Glass TV adaptation.
Hannah: I would struggle to cast the main characters because no one quite fits, but I have so many ideas for secondary characters. I can totally see Angelina Jolie as Maeve (à la her Maleficent look), Blake Lively as Lysandra (though she’d need better acting abilities to win the role), Rose Leslie as Ansel (because I can picture her taking back the Wastelands), Noah Centineo as Dorian (what a handsome little devil), and Clémence Poésy as Asterin (who doesn’t totally fit the book’s description but it’s how I imagine her and this is my casting, OKAY).
Kelly: No. Hollywood is garbage and I won’t let some dumb actor or actress degrade my people. (Yes, I’m aware it’s being made into a series but I don’t have to like it…even though I’ll watch it.)
Rachel: So to be fair, whenever I’m answering a fan cast question, I usually think of who Chris Hemsworth could play because.. Well, do I even need to explain why? But I seriously think he could play Gavriel.
Alexa: I’m always wary of casting people because I have such a clear picture of what characters are like in my imagination, but I will say that I would not be mad about Sean O’Pry being cast as Chaol Westfall.
Continue Reading the 20 Questions:
I miss this series so much, and just rereading all our answers to these questions has me deep in my feels about it! Perhaps we all need to do a reread :D
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