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[highladyjane]

✨Elriel moments: love languages edition✨

Acts of service:

He set her down gently on the foyer carpet, having carried her in through the front door. Elain peered up at his patient, solemn face. Azriel smiled faintly. “Would you like me to show you the garden?” She seemed so small before him, so fragile compared to the scales of his fighting leathers, the breadth of his shoulders. The wings peeking over them. But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away as she nodded—just once.

“Can I set you up in the garden? The herbs you planted are coming in nicely.” “I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. No shadows at his ear, no darkness ringing his fingers as he extended a hand. Nesta monitored him like a hawk, but kept silent as Elain took his hand, and out they went.”

But I strode to my seat—nestled between Amren and Mor—in time to see Elain say to Azriel, “Hello.” Az said nothing. No, he just moved toward her. Mor tensed beside me. But Azriel only took Elain’s heavy dish of potatoes from her hands, his voice soft as night as he said, “Sit. I’ll take care of it.” Elain’s hands remained in midair, as if the ghost of the dish remained between them.

Words of Affirmation:

Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?” He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.” “That’s very beautiful,” she said.

Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm. I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, “Beautiful.” Color bloomed high on Azriel’s golden-brown cheeks, but he inclined his head in thanks and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.”

Elain’s eyes widened at the obsidian-hilted blade in Azriel’s scarred hand. The runes on the dark scabbard. “It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.”

Quality Time:

“Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports—likely information on the Autumn Court that he planned to present to Rhys once he’d sorted through it all. Already dressed for the Hewn City—the brutal, beautiful armor so at odds with the lovely garden. And my sister sitting within it.”

Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the town house, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight. Whether he cared about such things, I had no idea

Gift Giving:

“Az, this one’s for you.” The shadowsinger’s brows lifted, but his scarred hand extended to take the present. Elain turned from where she’d been speaking to Nesta. “Oh, that’s from me.” Azriel’s face didn’t so much as shift at the words. Not even a smile as he opened the present and revealed—“I had Madja make it for me,” Elain explained. Azriel’s brows narrowed at the mention of the family’s preferred healer. “It’s a powder to mix in with any drink.” Silence. Elain bit her lip and then smiled sheepishly. “It’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. Since you rub your temples so often.”

She extended the wrapped gift, her hand shaking. "Here." … Azriel unwrapped the box, glancing at the card that merely said, You might find these useful at the House these days, and then opened the lid. Two small, bean-shaped fabric blobs lay within. Elain murmured, "You put them in your ears, and they block any sound. With Nesta and Cassian living there with you..." He chuckled, unable to suppress the impulse.

He pulled the small velvet box from the shadows around him. Opened it for her. Elain sucked in a soft breath that whispered over his skin. His shadows skittered back at the sound. They'd always been prone to vanish when she was around. The golden necklace seemed ordinary -- its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.

Physical Touch:

Azriel rasped, swaying on his feet, “We need Helion to get these chains off her.” Yet Elain didn’t seem to notice them as she rose up on her toes and kissed the shadowsinger’s cheek.

He knew it was wrong, but there he was, sliding the necklace around her. Letting his scarred fingers touch her immaculate skin. Letting them brush the side of her throat, savoring the velvet-soft texture. Elain shivered, and he took a damn long time fastening the clasp. Azriel's fingers lingered at her nape, atop the first knob of her spine. Slowly, Elain pivoted into his touch. Until his palm lay flat against her neck.

It had never gone this far. They'd exchanged looks, the occasional brush of their fingers, but never this. Never blatant, unrestricted touching.

Azriel's hand slid up her neck, burying in her thick hair. Tilting her face the way he wanted it. Elain's mouth parted slightly, her eyes scanning his before fluttering shut.

Based on these, I think Elain mostly shows love with gift giving/words of affirmation while Azriel is acts of service/quality time. I’m sure they both love physical touch coming from the right person 😉

[highladyjane]

[highladyjane]

I don't know how the most random questions could result in this 😅

Tagged by @dichromaticdyke for a picrew and uquiz :]

Tagging: @blueprintblue @deathmetalyaoi and viewers like you

[highladyjane]

Probably my most used phrase.

[highladyjane]

[highladyjane]

💌 sending this to the twelve nicest people who seem to have a good heart! Feel free to pass it along! if you got this, you must be pretty awesome

Thank you, lovely! 🥹💓 Hoping you get dozens back! 🌷✨️

[highladyjane]

Love vs. Fate

ACOTAR foreshadowed the whole love triangle with this

Which I believe is the background for this part of this interview - where sure, Sarah may try to play things off:

But I find that interesting, because TOG's ending clearly said this (Kingdom of Ash, Ch.98)

And CC's ending said this (House of Flame and Shadow, Ch. 98)

So isn't it funny that all of SJM's books are all about defying Gods, Odds, and Fate through acts of True Love, aaaand people still think that Elain, Azriel, AND Lucien are just going to do what everyone and that corrupted Cauldron expects and tells them to do in the end because "Sarah's a fated mates author", and because that's what they've been doing their whole lives prior to encountering each other?

Can't people connect the dots and see the real pattern of her books? Because it's pretty frickin' obvious to me.

"What if the Cauldron was wrong?" is just the beginning of fighting for that HEA.

And I am sorry, not sorry, because as of ACOFAS, ACOSF, and the bonus chapters, there's not a single hint of Elain wanting to bridge the gap with her Cauldron-given mate... But rather a lot of her initiating the bridging of a gap between her and a certain Shadowsinger/Spymaster who confirms in his very own POV that he has feelings for her, but has been trying to stay away because he struggles with feelings of unworthiness - especially because a damned Cauldron gave her to another on top of that.

So if Elain's choosing anyone, it won't be because of any mating bond. No, Elain...

I may be primarily pro Elriel but I'm also pro-Lucien, so I want him to be happy too. I just think he deserves someone who readily wants and chooses him back, mating bond or not... So I am pretty sure he's asking the very same questions Az is asking. Sure, Elucien can still happen -there's just going to have to be a great deal of retconning, including ignoring all the build-up and crumbs Sarah has scattered throughout her books to make it feel unforced. But just like with Rhys' or Tamlin's etc. parents, not everyone accepting their mating bond is going to guarantee a HEA. And once Lucien finds out about his true parentage and the truth about the Cauldron, now that he's an exile with no High Lord to submit to... I'm pretty sure he's going to start finally fighting about what he truly thinks is right and his own freedom to choose and to love - something he didn't get to do for Jesminda. And no, it wouldn't be through a Blood Duel for a mate that was "thrown at him".

So there's no need for "I just want ______ to be happy" or "_____ doesn't deserve ______." Because none of these 3 are going to end up without a HEA in an SJM book where a character can barely stay dead for longer than 3 minutes.

[highladyjane]

Cassian: *hands water bottle to Azriel*

Azriel: thanks, but what's it for? *drinks the water*

Cassian: Rhys says you get thirsty around Elain.

Azriel: *chokes on water*

Elain: *turning red*

[highladyjane]

The most mean thing Elain'll ever do is to always wear cobalt blue whenever Lucien's around, to give him a hint

The most hot thing Elain'll ever do is to always wear cobalt blue whenever Azriel's around, to give him a hint

[highladyjane]

Did y'all just forget what the taxes you're paying are for?

[highladyjane]

He went from someone who looks like he's from One Direction to someone with a sexual frustration.

Colin 🥰 Whore 👹

[highladyjane]

stardust (2007) really has everything. murder. mayhem. witches. gay pirates. unicorns. true love. claire danes. blond henry cavill before blond henry cavill was cool. subtle but wildly inappropriate jokes. a beheading. a lost princess. a running commentary of sarcastic ghosts. and more murder.

[highladyjane]

Don't like something someone made?

Then it wasn't intended for you.

Go touch grass or keep scrolling.

Friendly reminder that fan-made content (fanart, fanfic, fanvids, etc) are:

extremely time consuming. Remember someone actually took time out of their life to create that, time they could’ve used to, idk, sleep, for example

entertainment you’re consuming for free. I can’t stress this enough: you’re enjoying someone else’s craft for free. You paid exactly zero money to look at/read/watch it.

S H A R E D  with you, not made for you. This is the most important point: someone created that, put it online and you found it. No one forced you to consume that fanwork, you C H O S E  to do it. 

Whenever you feel like leaving a mean comment, anonymous hate or make a ~clever post about how ‘lol look at all of these overused tropes every fic writer crams into their fics’ remember you’re being a dick to someone who shared their work with you. You’re not being funny, you’re not being edgy, you’re not being brave for calling something out - you’re being a dick.

[highladyjane]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers ❤️

Aw thank you for this! 💓

Um...

1. Clear skies (night or day) 🌅🌃

2. Flowers (in the wild/garden, in a bouquet/pot, anything floral)💐🌸🪷🌹🌺🌻🌷🪻

3. Food 🍰🥧🍫🍮🍤🍜🍝🍛🍱🍔🍟🥐🌽🍓🥭🍉(so I don't get moody 😆)

4. Showing and being shown appreciation 🤝💞

5. Random small acts of kindness (for, from, and between others) makes me giddy and happy 🥰

[highladyjane]

I really hate comparing people and I'm not blaming it all on Sarah (Hi, Bloomsbury/ PR team 😏), but whenever I open my social media platforms and see established and big name authors ENGAGING (not just posting selfies with vague captions every now and then) with fans DAILY and FOR FREE, ANSWERING the most bizarre questions or theories about their books or themselves while still managing to keep the fans curious and wanting more, all the while still releasing books and/or comics AND TV series/films left and right, sometimes within months of each other (and even keeping it up without any upcoming release on the horizon) - while WE, the SJM fandom, have to settle for a dissection of Sarah's once in a blue moon instagram posts and re-viewing all her former interviews and apparently-not-so-obvious "crumbs" over and over again 😩

Would it kill her to give us 5 minutes of her time to give us something? To engage?

We love you and the world you've created for us. But it's been 3 years, Sarah 😩

Like, I get it. She has a family, she's been struggling with her mental health so she needs stay away from all social media for a while... She can blame it all on her publisher (not that ANY of the other authors do, and not like the other authors under Bloomsbury are as passive and inactive). She can have so many excuses. But she has ONE full-time job that she, as of right now, is barely handling well (hello, latest book responses), and she is barely doing any COMMUNICATION as to why.

She has all that time she's not on social media to write and publish something. Or, she has all that time she's NOT writing and playing solitaire on her phone to engage with her fans for 5 minutes of her day.

All the fan art and fics... All the fan-made merch... Every mention of her and her characters names on Booktok or Bookstagram...

WE. Her fans. Are what's keeping her family fed.

She's not a fan-fic writer who does it all FOR FREE (who btw, still manages to write excellently without all the professional editors at that) on their free time and so owes their readers absolutely nothing - and yet still manage to update their work (or their readers) monthly, weekly or even DAILY.

She (and Bloomsbury/PR team) needs to do her job as a #1 NYT Best-selling author, and give us a book, or BE ACTIVE and ENGAGE with fans who are actually and actively keeping her relevant.

She's already receiving hate and yes, that can be very overwhelming and affect you negatively, but they started it then left it marinating and stewing for 3 years, and trying to stay ignorant about it isn't going to stave it off. It's just going to leave more room for more disappointed readers and it blowing back up her and Bloomsbury's faces.

[highladyjane]

🫡 I love the Elriel community because we all share a passionate LOVE for Elain Archeron🌹✨️

Meanwhile, the other ships only exist because of chauvinist takes and hate for her 😮‍💨

Me defending Elain like my life depends on it

[highladyjane]

𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹! 𝒮𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝑜𝓇 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝒶𝓈𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓌𝑒𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈! ‧˚ʚ 🍓

Thank you for the love, dear 🥰🪻