#I tag Elriel cause they love elain

[emmitaaa4]

Addressing some fandom BS inconsistencies

Gwyn was shadow mommy, Az was shadow daddy, they were gonna have shadow babies with her extra super pliable bones.

I audibly chocked when I read this @nikethestatue (btw everything said in this post was on point). No but seriously this is how they sound, too many of them insisting that there is nothing wrong with basing the likelihood of a ship on who has the more suitable uterus to be with a man... cause supposedly they're just picking up on the hints SJM wrote for them? She likes babies for HEAs so ofc children are the end all be all of a relationship, plus there's absolutely no way that she could ever write an adoption plot SJM is literally adopted and has done it in other series. Selective reading strikes again.

A minimum amount of critical thinking would tell you that 1) the infamous *magical uterus change* scene was about nessian (& feysand), not about any ship; 2) if SJM had written Nesta changing Elain's uterus, it would have given too much away, not to mention 3) how disturbing/violating it would have been for Nesta to change her sister's reproductive anatomy WITHOUT HER CONSENT?! None of it makes sense narratively; my girl Nes would never, especially given the trauma they both suffered from having their bodily autonomy--and so much more--ripped away by the Cauldron.

This argument is so trivialized that I see it every other day on reddit/tiktok/*insert media app*, and yet elriels are the toxic side of the fandom? The ones whom people are allowed to insult, to ridicule for theories all made in good fun, the women that are villainized over a difference of opinion? Don't get me wrong, there's assholes on both sides and people keep calling one another variations of delulu (and the nastier personal attacks). But by painting this fandom-wide villain there is such a lack of accountability for the plethora of harmful talking points spread by other portions of the fandom. (I've been silently reading the anti-elain & anti-elriel tags for like a year, and I'm on tiktok. Yes, I have self-destructive tendencies).

Anyways.

I never understood either how people ever actually thought (or well still think) that gwynriel would happen BEFORE elucien?? It makes no sense logically, narratively, or in terms of characterization & the arc she's set up for Elain, Azriel, and Lucien. Yet it took one controversial bonus chapter for people to decenter Elain in her own story, that is make her choice of romantic partner--which SJM spent 3+ books setting up--Azriel's. It took one bonus chapter that soo many readers are still unaware of, to brush Elain off as a "sexual object" Az is using to distract himself until his therapist-extraordinaire Gwyn comes in and heals him all up. Because ofc she will: she's badass and not the "passive and weak and boring" Eplain (aka "Plant" or "brain dead gardener"), she fits the YA archetype of the spunky warrior-girl so she can handle his darkness, and SJM supposedly spent time fleshing her out because she wrote her as a LI for Azriel; she's made for him, she is what he needs to grow (I actually enjoyed Gwyn's character btw, just pointing out how silly it all sounds). “Next book is a love triangle between Elain/Az/Gwyn” “Elain will turn evil or is secretly evil”. So you're telling me that SJM would pit Elain & Gwyn against each other in a love triangle over a man... all because of a necklace that was not even mentioned once in the actual books? Please, let's be logical for a second.

All this because instead of reading the bonus chapter in the context of the books, some people are reading the books in the context of the bonus chapter. Which now that I think of it is probably why so many people mischaracterize Az the way they do--because yes we know enough of his character to know half of the stuff the fandom diagnoses him with is questionable. Azriel? Entitled incel x fuckboy hybrid (gotta be the first of his kind, minute slay ig)? Interesting tell me more. No joke I saw a semi-popular post on here where a gwynriel said they read the bonus WITHOUT HAVING READ ANY OF THE BOOKS. I'm sorry, ship wars are silly and believe it or not idc who ppl ship, but it makes it hard to take some of the things they say seriously.

All this to say that the fandom isn't even debating the right thing. If you consider everything SJM has said in her interviews:

(she's been planting seeds for Nesta & Elain's book since acomaf; she knows who she is writing the first 2 books about + is keeping things open for the 3rd one--with 5 different ship options--which automatically rules out "Elain will close the series"; she said she's doing research for Elain's book in the ACOFAS bonus & there's seeds for future bookS in acofas; all she said recently about her beloved *heroines* and the themes of fate/true love/choice she finds *very* interesting & wants to discuss)

and if you also consider all she's written in the actual books (elain's characterization + the overarching plot in general & how she fits into it), then it's pretty evident that Elain's book is next.

The question then would be who is the MMC / 2nd PoV in her book, aka would acotar 5 be an elucien or an elriel story? Because logically, gwynriel was always a consequence of elucien. I honestly do not understand how people don't see that.

Oh and they always think they're gagging elriels with the "obviously Azriel is the next MC" as if elriels aren't saying the same thing? And we're the ones twisting info and not making sense. It's just funny at this point.

---sidenote: I realize that this post generalizes some things, and I just wanted to say that I have interacted with lovely eluciens / people on either side of this headache of a ship war. My hard limit is Elain haters though... back off I say 🤺 BACK OFF 🤺

---sidenote 2: I would have written this as a reblog except im not entirely sure how tumblr works and I get no visibility from them rip.

[greenleaf777]

Being relatively new to this fandom I just have to say that this Acotar fandom is unbelievable disrespectful to each other in term of ship wars. Where’d the etiquette go?. I see NONSTOP anti-shippers posting/reblogging/commenting/harassing on the ship posts they don’t agree with. On insta, tiktok, tumblr, twitter, etcetc. Also tagging ships that are not related to the post or tagging ships/characters you are making fun of is pretty low of you.

Am I the only one that has absolutely lost their patience with it. Just some examples cause it happens with ALL ships. Do not start discussing how elucien or gwynriel is better on a artists fanart of Elriel. If i was an artist trying to show my love for something and someone did that i would lose my shit on them. Or don’t post about how awful Nesta is on a nessian or nesta appreciation post. Or Don’t tell an azris(whatever eris and az ship is called not sure) that azriel and elain are true mates on their post. Why would you even do that in the first place?

If you see a post about a ship someone is celebrating that has nothing to do with your ship why are you pushing your ship or opinion on said ship on other people? WHY?

Mind your own business. Make your own post. Ship whatever you want. Pushing your ship on others is rude and won’t make them change their mind and will in fact make people angry and start fights. Thats the WHOLE POINT of tagging things and blocking tags too.

If you think i’m out of my mind thinking Elaine and Azriel will be endgame in the next book leave me to my delusions please. Thanks

Its also very hard to avoid ships/topics that can cause triggers when they are everywhere you look.

No matter how mean and rude you are about your ship SJM is still not going to write what you want and instead will write whatever she pleases, so just live in peace for gods sake. What will be will be.

If you think you should be able to start fights and be disrespectful let me know here so i can block you, thanks.

Also just curious what is the bryce and azriel ship called?

[audreystjames]

Happy Saint Valentine’s

Prompt: New Beginnings (for @elriel-month 2024)

Tags: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

Gifted to: @sirenarts

This is my first fanfic ever so I hope you enjoy it ♡

They probably don't celebrate Saint Valentine's Day in Prythian but a girl can dream.

Elain hated Saint Valentine’s.

It was a holiday full of things she loved: roses, chocolate, and love. And yet she hated it for she could not be part of it. While her sisters would be covered in beautiful flower bouquets and delicious boxes of chocolates, she would not partake in any of these merriments. While they strolled around Velaris stealing kisses from their mates, she would be alone in her room, staring at the ceiling. 

She hated it. She hated it all.

She hated Saint Valentine’s because it made her hate herself. It turned her into a jealous, self-pitying little creature, and she could not stand it. She didn’t want to be jealous. She wanted to be happy for her sisters, as she normally was. She did not want to feel pity for herself when she had so much to be grateful for.

But most of all, she hated Saint Valentine’s because it made her hate, and she hated hate. She was made for love. And yet, wasn’t that the problem? She was made to love and be loved, and yet she didn’t seem capable of finding someone with whom to share that feeling. But that was not true either. She had a mate. She would probably receive just as many gifts today as her sisters, maybe even more, since Lucien tried to compensate for their lack of mutual affection with presents. And still, Elain felt utterly alone during Saint Valentine’s, for in her mating bond there was no love. 

At least, not on her part.

No, there was only one person that Elain wished to share Saint Valentine’s with. But after Solstice, the Shadowsinger had made it very clear that he did not want any part of it, and Elain could not blame him. Who would want to get involved with a mated female like her? Especially someone like Azriel, who could have whomever he wanted? He could have his pick of females this Saint Valentine’s; Elain was very aware that she was far from being the only admirer the Spymaster had. He could have warriors, aristocrats… Valkyries. Why would he choose someone as quiet and boring as Elain?

Elain was lying in bed, deep into such thoughts, when she heard a sound on her balcony. 

A sound of something heavy landing on it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Azriel stood by the window, hesitant. 

Was she awake? If she was, would she welcome his presence or would she consider he was violating her privacy, arriving at her room unannounced?

Elain had seemed so distant the day before.

She was a reserved female by nature, but she usually enjoyed the company of the Inner Court and participated in their conversations in her quiet manner. 

But not last night. 

Last night, Elain had remained shut up like a clam all throughout dinner. She had barely eaten anything and responded to comments directed to her in the most concise way that politeness allowed, preventing the conversation from going any further. Her usual calm demeanour had turned somewhat irritable. Azriel had even seen her snap at her sisters at one point, and then quickly apologise and retire to her gardens, an odd look on her face. 

Azriel knew that look all too well. 

It was a look of unsurmountable loneliness. 

She had tried to mask it as best she could, but Azriel could see beyond that mask. After all, he saw that look every day when he looked at himself in the mirror. 

And he knew Elain better than anyone at the Night Court, for he had taken the habit of observing her every move. He was now more of an expert on anything Elain than even her sisters were.

It wasn’t hard for Azriel to get to the root cause of Elain’s distress. 

He was also painfully aware of which date it was tomorrow. 

For centuries, he couldn’t have cared less about this particular day, normally completely forgetting about it altogether, but this year was different. Ever since both of his brothers had found their mates, Azriel found himself more and more left out. He knew that they didn’t do it on purpose, and he did not begrudge Rhysand and Cassian for their happiness, but still, he couldn’t help but feel that he was the odd one out. Truth be told, Azriel was also actively drawing away from his brothers. Seeing the two Illyrians happily mated reminded Azriel of a truth that had been engraved on him as a child: that he was unlovable.

Last night, he had perceived in Elain some of that same darkness. 

He could not bear it. 

Elain was everything that was pure and beautiful in the world. She should not harbour inside her any of the pain that stained Azriel’s soul. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

That is why he now found himself on Elain’s balcony, Velaris sleeping below him; to take the female’s sorrows away.

Encouraged by the memory of Elain’s sad doe eyes, he decided to take the risk and gently knock on her window.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tap, tap, tap.

Elain startled. She stood in her bed and held her breath, straining her ears for another sound. 

Tap, tap, tap.

There it was again. The heavy sound of something landing, the gentle taps on her window… There was certainly someone on her balcony. 

She hastily rose from her bed, covered herself as best she could with her nightgown, and headed to the window. Clinging to her lacy garments, she opened the window that led to her balcony. 

A cold gust of wind welcomed her, but that was not all that awaited her on the balcony. A flicker of shadows curled and danced around her, before swiftly drawing back.

Back to their owner.

Azriel.

The sight of Azriel on her balcony was almost enough to make her combust. He was clad in his usual black attire, his blue siphons shining bright. The full moon that graced the sky that night favoured him with her light so that Elain could see him leaning against the ivy-covered bannister. The terrace’s sweet smell of roses was laced with a scent of pine trees and cedar wood. 

Azriel was one with the darkness of nighttime. One more shadow of the night.  

The most beautiful shadow Elain had ever laid eyes upon.

“Ahem”. Azriel discreetly cleared his throat.

Oh, no. 

She had been staring. 

Elain had not even been aware that she was conducting a thorough examination of the Shadowsinger. She could not help but do so every time she encountered him, but normally she went about it discreetly. 

Not this time. 

She had inspected him in a completely unabashed fashion. Besides, since the incident on Solstice, they had barely been alone, both of them doing their best to avoid each other.

Blood rushed to her face at the realisation, her blush matching the light pink tone of her nightgown.

“Azriel”, she said softly, beaming up at him. “Please come inside, February nights are too cold to be outside”.

Azriel offered her a shy smile and followed her inside her room.

Elain turned to close the window. On turning round again, she found Azriel facing her with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. The most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.

“What type of flowers are they? I don’t recognise them, and I praise myself for my knowledge of plants”, she whispered. 

The Spymaster chuckled at the remark. “They’re called icy lilies because their petals seem carved out of ice. My mother grows them in Rosehall. I figured you might like them so I brought some for you”, he said while offering the bouquet to her.

Elain was shocked. 

Azriel never mentioned her mother. 

“I love them”, she answered truthfully, accepting the flowers. But Azriel did not let go of the bouquet. Instead, he placed his hands on hers, closing them around the blossoms. Elain could not help but gaze at his hands. They were callused and covered with scars. She knew that Azriel was self-conscious about them. She had often seen him hiding them if he caught her looking, or drawing them away after reaching for her, as if he were scared that his hands could somehow corrupt her. 

None of that seemed to matter to him now. 

His tanned hands caressed hers, whilst he drew closer to her. He was so close she could feel his breath on her hair. Elain grew painfully aware of how little fabric she was wearing. The only things separating their bodies were the delicate white flowers and Elain thought that no matter how beautiful they were, she wouldn’t mind crushing them into pieces if that meant feeling Azriel’s body on her body. 

The Shadowsinger bend down his head, placing his full lips close to her pointed ear. 

Why are you here Az? she wanted to ask. But she wouldn’t, lest the question might drive him away. 

She didn’t want him to leave.

Ever.

“Happy Saint Valentine’s, Elain”, he whispered into her ear. 

Her name on his lips, spoken in that hushed tone, as if it were his most precious secret, almost made her knees give out from under her. 

She drew back, just enough to look into Azriel’s heavenly face. His gaze was intent on her, his stunning hazel eyes warm and inviting. Elain wished to drown in them, and drown she would, for those eyes exposed the myriad of wounds and longings that the Shadowsinger kept suppressed and concealed. 

But there was also love and devotion in his gaze. 

Elain hoped for nothing more than the smallest taste of the heaven that those eyes promised.

“Happy Saint Valentine’s to you too, Azriel”, she managed to say back. 

Azriel shifted his feet, suddenly looking insecure. As if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Or as if he had the words already prepared and now couldn’t find the courage to say them. 

Elain softly pressed his hands, stepping even closer, until not even one more flower could have fitted between them. She gazed up at him, smiling. Her honest smile was encouraging enough for him to finally speak. 

“Elain, you deserve everything”, he spoke under his breath. “You deserve a moonlit walk along the Sidra, a diamond necklace on your neck, a bed covered in rose petals. And I wish, more than anything I wish, that I could be the one to give it all to you. The perfect Saint Valentine’s Day every day”. He stopped to catch his breath, now ragged, and continued, more decisively this time. “I hate to think you don’t know just how breathtaking you are. I hate to think of you locked up in your room, denying the world of your beauty, today or any other day. But most of all, I hate to think of you feeling lonely and abandoned. I know what it’s like to feel lonely. I’ve felt lonely all my life. But upon meeting you, part of that loneliness left me. I now wish to return that favour and chase your loneliness away. Because you will never be lonely again. I may not always be able to be with you physically, but rest assured that if I’m not breathing the same air as you, I’m thinking of you. Always”. 

Tears started to run freely down Elain’s pale face and she let them. She couldn’t have stopped them if she tried. “Azriel, I don’t need the diamonds nor a bed of roses. I don’t even need a stroll along the Sidra. I only need you. These flowers I have in my hands are worth more to me than any treasure in the world because you were the one to gift them to me. What is a diamond necklace worth if it’s not you that ties it around my neck?”. 

Azriel leaned down towards her face and carefully kissed her tears away. His touch spoke of reverence, adoration and devotion. 

“May this be the first of many Saint Valentine’s together, ” Azirel spoke under his breath. A devilish grin spread over his face as he added, “Even if we have to celebrate them in secret”. 

There were no other secrets that Elain would rather keep.

[kayas-obsession]

My nosy ass went to antigwynriel tag and when I tell you the things I read. It is absolutely amazing how ignorant people can be when they are biased.

I guess, although, the same thing can be said for me.

So hear me out.

Gwyn and Azriel are not in love.

There.

Okay.

I know it, you know it, the entire ACOTAR fandom knows it.

It’s not what they have now we are focused on it’s what they could have or more importantly what it could grow into.

It’s funny how Elriel’s point out that Gwyn was a distraction and nothing more because he was commanded to not court Elain.

And???

Feyre told she wanted Rhys as a distraction at first too but it wasn’t the case, was it.

And if you guys are arguing about his POV, how he was too polite to leave the ring because Gwyn saw him already. Helloooo????

"Happy Solstice," she said, as much a dismissal as it was a holiday blessing.

He snorted. "Are you kicking me out?"

He could’ve just left. But oh wait, he didn’t.

And him not caring about Gwyn being in the blood rite and going to save Eris. Let me ask you, could he go even if he wanted to? When even Cassian couldn’t? And Gwyn and Azriel wasn’t anywhere near as close as Elain and Azriel were when he saved her from Hybern.

And not to mention it’s a rule to not interfere in the rite as it can get them killed.

Were we not reading the same book???

And it’s not that he didn’t care. When Nesta was mentioned there was no reaction but when Gwyn’s name was mentioned, he did show concern.

“There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her,” Cassian said, voice thickening. “To Emerie and Gwyn.”

The shadows deepened around Azriel, his Siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. “You—we—trained them well, Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.”

And for people saying she is a light singer because she did a high pitched scream next to Azriel one time because it caught his attention.

Crack. I tell you. Absolute no logic.

Also, his shadows did not dance around her but reached out to her breath. Okay. Then. What. Is. This.

“Gwyn asked Az, her teal eyes bright, “What do we get if we finish the course?”

Az’s shadows danced around him. “Since there’s no chance in hell any of you will finish the course, we didn’t bother to get a prize.”

Another thing they pointed out was how sour Azriel’s mood was the next day of the solstice, given how his night was supposed to go after meeting Gwyn, shouldn’t he have been happy.

That’s what I’m telling you!! They are not in love at that moment!

Was Feyre in love with Rhys when him and her were under the mountain? No. She despised him. Was she in love with him when he brought her to the Night court? Yes, of course not. But it’s what all build up to the climax of their relation.

How the relationship started.

I repeat in case Elriels are confused. They are not in love!

But you know what did happen the next day after Elain and him didn’t kiss?

His smiled thinking of Gwyn and picturing her joy on receiving the necklace. But ofc that they overlook because it’s a “bonus” scene but jump to the scene of Elain and Azriel about to kiss cause it sails their boat.

Some argue that bonus chapters shouldn’t matter. Um, okay so the near kiss didn’t happen either I guess.

Keep your 4 book buildup of ambiguous relation for all we care.

If 4 books couldn’t help Elriel move their relation up to a simple kiss. Idk what really can.

Maybe your “let’s tear down a perfectly solid character” will help keep the ship sailing.

[tswaney17]

This fic is inspired by @duskwhisperer's commissioned art. I really struggled to come up with an idea for this prompt, but then I saw this art and I could vividly picture Feyre catching a moment between these two. Thank you, babes, for letting me utilize that gorgeous art! I appreciate it. And be sure to show it some love! 🌸💙

@elriel-month

Prompt: Veil. 💙

I will not be posting full fics for Elriel Month on Tumblr this year. Check out the beginning snippet and link to read more below.

Feyre was in the kitchen putting the kettle of ginger tea on the stove, lighting the burner with matches from the drawer. The morning sickness was finally starting to hit her and she had to be careful to avoid any encounters with the family when she was under the weather. Rhys’s shield remained firmly intact, but being ill would definitely cause some questions.

In particular, from the two people she saw sitting together out by the glass-stained arch, Elain had constructed in the garden. It was simple architecture, but the result gave them beautiful displays of color during the sunset. It was one of her favorite modifications to the garden so far.

Her head cocked to the side as she took in the Seer and the Shadowsinger, chatting on the stone bench beneath the glass archway. Azriel in his Illyrian leathers having just brought some reports to her mate, and Elain in a lovely pale pink dress.

But what made Feyre pause her tea-making was seeing the enormous smile that took over Elain’s face. Her mouth parted in surprise. She had seen her sister’s smile many times before.

Read More

~~~~~

Remember, sharing is caring! Please reblog if you liked the fic. It helps spread my work and I truly appreciate it. 💕

While I have moved these fics to AO3 only, I am still going to utilize a tag list here on Tumblr. This as a permanent solution and may change in the future. For notifications, you can follow and subscribe to my fanfic account where I will be reblogging updates and snippets only. You can also find me on ao3. If you would like to be added to my tag list, please leave a comment on this post.

My fanfic account: @tswaney17fics​

My ao3 account: tswaney17

Taglist: 

@nikethestatue

@reverie-tales

@123moiaussi

@duskwhisperer

@zdenkah

@nyxreads

@shedoessoshedoes

@athena-85

@jasmineandshadows

@nightcourtseer

@nivem565

@debramclaren

@illyrianvalkyriecarynthian

@secretpuppyflower

@justreallybored

@ultadverb

@the-regal-warrior

@roseandshadows

@tcursebreaker

@kingravinger

@mis-lil-red

@eloeloeheheh

@fawnandshadows

@swankii-art-teacher

@miss-bee-cat

@bookhhrelaz

@impossiblescissorspeachpaper

@elrielbaby

@lesolehabitantdelalune

@thoughtsaboutshows

@britishwings

@aelin21galathynius

@saz-griffin

Some tags seem to not want to link, which could be related to your visibility settings. Sorry about that!

[thesistersarcheron]

Pairing: Elriel Rating: E Tags: Canon Divergence - ACOMAF, Accidental Courtship, Secret Marriage, Human/Fae Relationship, Smut, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending Word Count: 4k Summary: After learning of her younger sister's fate Under the Mountain, Elain Archeron struggled to envision her future as the lady of the Nolan estate. Sometimes, when she woke in the night and the iron band of her engagement ring was cold as ice on her finger, she knew only dread. She had no such trouble with the fearsome Fae male who made a habit of checking on her every day. It might have been some trick, a faerie enchantment or thrall, but falling in love with him was the easiest thing she ever did.

Part five of my @acotargiftexchange present for @ultadverb. Cover art by @krem-does-stuff, commissioned by @ultadverb.

Read this fic on AO3!

“You took her to see the flowers?”

Azriel made a noncommittal noise. Mor, undoubtedly reading exactly what he meant by it, echoed it with a huff.

“You took her to see flowers, and…?” she pressed.

“And,” he finally said, keeping his eyes locked on the wide bay window, “I’m bringing her here.”

Outside, the townhouse’s garden was a sad thing—not quite neglected, but nowhere near the riot of color and life that he was coming to know so well. He caught himself seeking out similar landscapes on the flight down from the House of Wind, but few of the small, urban plots in Velaris could compare.

And now the final disappointment: the little courtyard that he loved to sun his wings in was barren save for the hardy plants only Nuala and Cerridwen cared to tend between missions.

It almost beggared belief to think that any mortal garden raised up in their barren land could thrive. To think short-lived humans could cultivate blossoms as pink and petals as soft as—

“Here?!” Mor’s shocked whisper hung in the air. “Az, this city may be the safest in Prythian, but if anyone found out… Mother forbid, if Rhys heard—”

“Not Velaris,” he cut in. “Dunmere. For Nynsar.”

“Nynsar?” The bafflement in her voice might have dragged a laugh out of him if he weren’t dead serious. “But she’s human. She doesn’t celebrate holidays. Hell, Feyre didn’t even know about Starfall until last night, and she’s lived here for months.”

Azriel didn’t sigh.

“I took Elain to the tulip fields because she wants to travel.” His wings tucked in tight as he spoke. It was an effort to keep his posture loose, undefensive, and his shadows leashed when he could feel her eyes searing into the back of his head. “She wants to see the world, but in three months, she’s going to marry that Fae hunter and spend the rest of her life in a prison he’ll build around her.”

His shadows whispered in his ear, and he turned in time to catch Mor’s horrified expression soften—only minutely, but the line between her brow smoothed and her wide eyed stare relaxed. Her thoughtful frown smoothed the jagged, hurtful edges of the argument he was already formulating in his mind, so laced with the nightmarish details of that stony estate and its odious lord that he knew it would slice her deeply. He knew where to aim each and every barb if he wanted to cause maximum distress, to turn her to his side.

He would never use them, of course, but he could. 

“I don’t think she knows what she’s committing herself to,” he continued, gentler this time. “But you do.” He swallowed, took a breath, and closed his mouth. It took another deep breath to muster the strength to say, “I do.”

It was as much as he would say aloud—and perhaps as much as he could say aloud—about his upbringing. Mor’s eyes flashed with ancient grief, and not for the first time, Azriel wished he could reach out and hold her. The urge wasn’t borne out out of any romantic notion, but instead the simple, silent understanding they had always shared as two creatures who had been caged in darkness and raised by cruelty from birth.

Awe. That had been his first impression of her. That first day that she strode into Windhaven like she owned the camp and everything in it, he had felt such world-sundering awe that a bright, relentless soul like her knew what it was to be imprisoned in the dark. That she still sparkled like the stars, the same that left him breathless whenever he looked up at the night sky even after a near decade of freedom, after everything she must have endured as a child of the Court of Nightmares.

Awe—and hope. Ridiculous, aspirational hope that he might someday share a fraction of the miracle that made her shine so brightly at just seventeen.

He set his shoulders. “So I’m going to show her a Fae holiday.”

Mor blinked at him just once, and then her strange expression was wiped away.

“You’re going to show her Prythian before she marries a Fae hunter,” she said, utterly deadpan.

“Mhm.”

“You took that pretty human girl halfway across the world to pick flowers, and now you’re going to break who knows how many laws to bring her to Prythian and show her a Fae holiday while she’s engaged to that man?”

Azriel felt a headache coming on. He clasped his hands together behind his back to resist the temptation to rub at his temples. Mor’s little interrogations always were more head-on than his own, and he knew he would get no peace unless he gave an answer.

“Yes.”

Silence.

Heavy, painful silence.

When Mor spoke again, there was none mocking or teasing he expected in her tone as she breathed, “Oh, Az.”

Her voice was filled with such unrelenting sadness that every muscle in Azriel’s body tensed.

“You’ve only known this girl, what? A month and a half?” she asked, but he knew she already knew the answer as well as he did.

“I—”

“Don’t lie.” A strong hand tugged at the crook of his elbow until he turned to face her. A deeper sort of sorrow suffused her features. “Not to me.”

“Mor, I—”

“No.” 

His mouth snapped shut, and Mor swallowed. She cast her eyes out the window for a moment, staring toward something he couldn’t see, before glancing back at him. 

“Please. Just listen. I— Az, I know too well what it is to love a human and to lose them. This path you’re on… It’s not an easy one.”

Az started. “It isn’t…”

He couldn’t say the word; whether it was Mor’s presence or something else, he couldn’t speak it.

If you speak it, a wary shadow reminded him, you might give it power. 

And he was well-practiced at keeping such things close to the chest with Mor. Especially with her. He had for five hundred years, once, though looking at Mor’s earnest expression, he couldn’t begrudge her a moment of it.

Nor had he ever begrudged Mor her lovers, but he’d never known there were humans among them, either. Beloved humans, he realized as her eyes filled with tears. He’d always kept his shadows well away from her private affairs out of simple respect for her privacy—and his own fear of the jealous monster they might inadvertently birth with their whispers. It was a strategy that had worked well.

It sickened him to violate that same boundary with Elain’s fiancé, but his father…

Mor, to his knowledge, had never fallen in with a threat to the Night Court. Not like Graysen and his father would be if they learned of their meetings with the queens.

Mor’s nails dug into his armor. “I just told you not to lie to me.”

“It isn’t love,” he said honestly, insistently, though the words were heavy on his tongue.

“Yet,” Mor countered, and the syllable echoed in his ears long after his shadows stopped repeating it. “You are lucky that the march of time has resulted in holes in that wall, Az, but there is still a war on the horizon and she is mortal. She is fragile.”

Azriel bowed his head.

“You know as well as I that things can become,” Mor swallowed, glancing away, “heated during times of conflict. Accelerated. And despite the mask you wear for the others, you are the most impulsive of us all, Azriel.”

Though the words did not resonate with her power, they were infused with simple honesty that cut into him. His lips tightened.

“But…” Mor’s hand slid from his arm to his waist, and she embraced him tightly. He didn’t think she was unaware of the way his heartstrings twisted as she said into his breastplate, “If anyone can make something like this work, it is you, Spymaster. I don’t doubt that. You just… You have such a big heart, and I worry for it. I want you to make sure this will be worth it.”

Finally, for once, Azriel rested his cheek on top of her golden curls, soaking in the simple warmth and comfort of someone who cared.

He didn’t say a word.

A sharp fingernail poked through a gap in his armor, trying—and failing—to find a ticklish spot.

“Is there anything I can do to convince you not to bring her here?”

“No.”

“Very well, then.” She blew out a breath.  “I’ll distract Rhys. We’re going to Windhaven this afternoon. Make sure you winnow straight to Dunmere once you hit the border or you may run into him along the way.”

Two days had passed since he kissed her, and it was all he could think about.

He’d kissed her and kissed her and kissed her amongst the tulips. The sun had fully risen above the horizon by the time he pulled back, and she had swayed in his arms, breathless and flushed.  She had looked so damned delectable that he’d been tempted to ignore the shadows warning him that the mortals who tended the fields were waking in the small cottage over the hill. He’d barely torn himself away, urging her to pick a few flowers before they had to go and concealing her in the shadows as she chose her favorite blooms.

Her full lips were still kiss-swollen when she took his hand to winnow home, and the heady scent of her arousal had whipped at him until he was nearly shaking with the need to taste it.

What he would give to hear her moan his name the way she had whimpered—sweet and high-pitched—against his lips, to feel her hand tangled in his hair, to watch her beautiful face as he licked her through one orgasm and into another…

But he had left her in the kitchen, and they hadn’t spoken about kissing beyond Elain’s breathless pleading for a goodbye kiss, the greedy little thing. She had stolen another hesitant peck yesterday when he bent over her to slide the tray he’d stolen out of her hands onto the small iron table in the greenhouse, and that had been that.

She hadn’t brought up Graysen or the ring she kept in her pocket once.

And he hadn’t brought up the queens or the war or the wall, either. Nor had he mentioned the grisly duties he carried out for his court, but Elain—Cauldron bless her—treated him no differently than she had last week.

And this morning, when he slipped into the mortal realm for just a moment to ask Elain if she wanted to take another trip with him while she was cleaning up after breakfast. She had lit up when she spotted him waiting in the shadowed corner of the kitchen, and his heart had pounded so hard at the sight of her smile that he had nearly fallen to his knees.

She hardly hesitated, even when he told her they would go above the wall. She took his hand, still beaming up at him despite the nerves that were evident in the way her fingers trembled, and he winnowed her to the coast.

“Hang on tight,” he’d murmured in her ear as he bent to scoop her into his arms.

He took to the skies with her before she could ask what was happening, the little inquisitive noise she’d made turning to an ear-splitting shriek.

But Azriel knew that for a heart as adventurous as Elain’s, the sheer joy of flying would be worth the initial shock once the instinctual fear of falling subsided. He used his Siphons to shield her only from the wind, letting the terror of her first flight run its course. She buried face in his chest, giggling despite herself, and he drank in the way her golden hair tangled in the scales of his leathers. 

And it was; after a few long minutes of whispering promises to keep her safe in her ear, Elain dared to peek over his shoulder at the clouds above them and then peered down at the sea below, a breathless laugh pushing out of her as she clung to him.

“That was mean!” she shouted over the roar of the wind and the beating of his wings, but she was laughing even harder now, her eyes glittering.

Azriel merely smiled back, committing the delighted surprise on her face to memory. “I’m not sorry. It’s the easiest way to teach someone to fly.”

He winnowed in midair once they squeezed through the crack in the wall. Elain’s hands tightened on the nape of his neck as the streets of Dunmere appeared below them, and that simple touch made her ire worth it. 

The small coastal town was too far from the heart of their territory to see the lights of Starfall, but it made up for that losswith a Nynsar festival that put the Spring Court’s celebrations to shame. Wreaths and garlands of fresh blossoms lined windows and topped streetlights, stalls full of sweets and bouquets and artisan crafts crowded the street, and musicians played merrily for a crowd of dancers in the main square.

The scent of yeast and sugar rose up to meet them as they flew over the bustling town center, and Elain’s eyes went wide as she leaned forward in his arms to follow it, a small, fascinated “Oh,” falling from those alluring pink lips.

Azriel tightened his hold on her and flew on, passing over the town and landing on the small, rocky jut of the mainland immediately to the south of Dunmere. Better, he thought, to acclimate her slowly, to let her watch the Fae from a distance, than to throw her right into the mix.

And her rounded ears and the petite proportions of her limbs… They were  too obviously human. If she were to enter the crowd, she would need some sort of disguise.

But Elain surprised him as usual once she found her feet. The merriment below seemed to call to her, and she nearly fell off the edge of the cliff as she leaned over to stare down at it. “Where are we?”

“Off the coast of the Night Court.” Azriel hesitated for a moment, but placed an arm around her waist to steady her.

“Is this… Is it always like this?” Her brown eyes were wide, warm, as they turned to him.

“No. They’re celebrating Nynsar, a holiday that marks the end of the planting season and the beginning of spring. I thought you might like to see it.”

“Oh, I would!” Elain spun, winding her arms around his waist in an intoxicating burst of jasmine and honey. Though she embraced him, he could tell her attention was still pinned on the festival. He could still smell the tang of her fear, the anxiety that rose in her around any Fae that wasn’t himself, but she tipped her head at him. “Can we go down?”

“You wouldn’t want me to go down and bring back samples instead?” No sooner than he words fell from his lips did Elain’s arms tightened around him. “It’s okay not to go. It’s safe up here, no one can see you.”

“No,” she said shortly, lifting her chin. “It’s… I won’t be afraid. If they’re anything like you, like my sister… I want to go.”

She was shaking like a leaf, but her jaw was set with the same mulish determination he saw so often in Feyre.

And he would be lying if he said he didn’t recognize the stubborn spark shining in her eyes.

“Alright.”

Elain took a deep breath. “Alright.”

He pulled back, gently unlacing her hands from his middle, and a swirl of darkness formed at his side.

“Here.” He pulled a bundle out of his shadows and shook it out for her.

Her brows rose, but she held out her arms so he could slip the robes he’d snuck out of the library over her shoulders, adjusting the hood until he was satisfied that it obscured all but the lips that haunted his every waking thought. With a small nudge to one of his shadows, it slid beneath the hood to mask her eyes and hide what the priestess’s garb couldn’t.

His fingers followed the shadow beneath the hood, drawing her golden curls down over her ears just in case.

“Now do your best to look like the holy hand of the Mother.”

Elain made a confused, incredulous noise, and he chuckled as he bent, sliding one hand under her knees again and stretching his wings.

“Very well. Just stay quiet if anyone asks for a blessing, and I’ll tell them you’ve taken a vow of silence.” Elain snorted at that, a low, unladylike sound that delighted him, and he found himself grinning back. “Now hold on, priestess.”

If he felt any worry that Elain might faint after the small leap from the cliff to the town, or upon stepping into a crowd of faeries of all kinds—huge, winged faeries and tiny, skilled brownies; High Fae and lesser faeries; some with green skin and blue hair and others with willowy fingers as long as their thighs—it was misplaced. She trembled and kept so close that the sweet scent of her threatened to send him over the edge, but in her robes, she was showered in cakes and small glasses of wine. When they came to the stalls of flowers, she was given endless clippings the best blooms, and she exclaimed over each, wondering if she might graft into her garden to the delight of the florists. 

She took every offering with a brilliant, thankful smile. It took every ounce of Azriel’s willpower not to kiss it.

If any of the faeries thought it odd that the High Lord’s shadowsinger was attending the festival in the company of a priestess, they said nothing, merely bowing their heads and handing him an identical offering to what they gave Elain.

All the while, she held onto him, her petite hand fitting perfectly into the crook of his arm.

It wasn’t love, he decided, but it could be.

It was getting late and his feet were sore after walking all afternoon when he watched, enraptured, as Elain bit into a cloud of fried, powdered pastry. The shadow beneath her hood shifted, allowing him to watch her warm eyes flutter shut with pleasure. The sugar puffed into the air, dusting her with a layer of snowy white sweetness, and he couldn’t help himself. He curled his arm around her waist, drawing her into the shadows beside the baker’s stall, and kissed the sugar off of her nose until the smattering of freckles that had begun to emerge across her face in recent weeks reappeared.

She huffed, pushing at his chest until he pulled back just enough to snatch the last bite of the pastry out of her other hand with his teeth. The shadow under her hood pulled back to reveal the precious scrunch of her nose.

No, it wasn’t love yet, but it would be.

The sun had long since set when they returned to the cliff. The surf crashed against the rocks far below, sending up salty mist, and the grass was soft and damp beneath them.

The buzz from the wine was beginning to wear off, but the pleasant, rolling heat of it remained. It was undoubtedly amplified by the sweet, drowsy woman lounging in his lap and raking her fingers through his hair.

“Does he treat you right?”

It was a stupid question fueled by wine and jealousy and the welcome weight of a pretty girl draped over him. But Elain didn’t stop him, didn’t slap him away as the hand on her hip dared to to test the softness of her ass and then dipped lower, seeking out the hem of the skirt she wore beneath her robes.

No, his Elain leaned into his touch, spreading her legs to balance herself as she made a sweet little sound of consent.

It took every bit of his hard-won restraint to drag up her skirts slowly. He matched his trailing, exploratory touch—following the line of a silk stocking up her leg—to the rhythm set by the neatly manicured nails she scratched along his scalp.

“What do you mean?” She buried her face in his neck, and every warm puff of breath stirred up their mixed scents until Azriel’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. “Of course—of course he does. He’s a… nice, decent man.”

That innocent answer whetted the edge of his lethargic desire into something razor-sharp.

And Azriel couldn’t help it. He laughed in her ear, low and quiet and perhaps a touch too meanly for such a sweet girl, and felt his cock stir as Elain shivered in response.

“No, love. Does he—” He nearly swore when he reached the end of her stockings and found no more of that thin silk to separate his fingers from the soft thatch of curls and the wet heat between her thighs. “—treat you right?”

“I’m not a maiden, if that’s what—” He stroked a fingertip along the seam of her, pulling it upward, testing her limits…

Elain cut herself off with a gasp.

Azriel grinned in the dark.

“Well?”

“Ohmygods, do that again,” she breathed, and he caught her clit between his first two fingers and began to circle it relentlessly. “Azriel.”

The way she keened, pressing into his touch as if her pussy had never been properly worshipped before, was answer enough. He rolled his fingers over the soft, silken warmth of her, imagining what it might feel like to sink his cock into that same heat.

Her breath caught in her throat and her thighs started to tense, and he pulled away before she could tip over the edge into her climax, freeing his hand from the mass of silk and cotton around her hips. He grasped her around the waist, dragging until she was on her knees between his legs, and set the back of the hand on his thigh.

It’s generous, he decided as she muttered a filthy, frustrated curse but hugged him anyway and tried in vain to steady herself on those trembling legs, to give her leverage and something to straddle.

“Ride me, Elain.”

From her knees, Elain pulled back just enough to stare at that hand and the glistening wetness on his fingers. He couldn’t help himself; he pushed forward, licking her lips open, and kissed her.

When he pulled back, her cheeks were pinker than they had ever been, her eyes wide and pupils blown. She bit her lip shyly as she stared at his lips and then reached toward his hand. She drew a line from his palm to the tip of his middle finger, entirely unaware of the way his world tilted as she did.

“This one,” she said, hooking her finger beneath his and curling it upward. She did the same to his ring finger. “And this one.”

He was certain he was going to hell for the things he imagined doing to her in that moment, but he managed to raise a brow at those fingers and the lewd suggestion in the way Elain positioned them. “You think you can take them, love?”

“Of course I can,” Elain murmured, already lifting her skirts and throwing one leg over his. When she settled her dripping pussy over his hand, he groaned but obeyed her request, seeking out her entrance and guiding her onto his fingers so she could ride him like he’d ordered her to.

His cock strained against the opening of his trousers, so hard that it hurt. But regardless of the way she shifted, the way every roll of her hips meant her thigh just brushed the weeping tip of him and nearly had his coming in his pants like a green boy, this was about her. It was about the broken whimper he pulled from her when he curled his fingers just so, and the warm, wet drip of her arousal over the back of his palm, washing away the sins that stained it for a brief moment in time as she chased her pleasure.

Azriel almost laughed again when she angled her hips to grind her clit against the heel of his palm. He pulled his hand back a half-inch, so that every push was teasing brush, rather than the contact she craved. After a few fruitless passes, her eyes flashed open, burning with frustration and ire and carnal need.

“Say my name,” he told her. “And I’ll give you what you want.”

A nice, decent man. That’s what she wanted. That’s what she chose.

But Azriel was no man, kindness didn’t come easily, and the way he burned to possess the woman in his lap as she cried, “Azriel, Azriel, Az!” was the farthest thing from decent.

So he pressed upward, cupping her sex as she rode him and giving her what she wanted. Her head fell back, a wild, broken cry tumbling from her lips, and Azriel surged forward, locking his teeth around the wild pulse fluttering there and tasted her, marked her, claimed her as she came.

Az had a vicious competitive streak. It wasn’t boastful and arrogant, the way Cassian knew he himself was prone to be, or possessive and terrifying like Amren’s. No, it was quiet and cruel and utterly lethal. Cassian had lost track of how many games they’d played over the centuries, with one of them certain of a win, only for Az to reveal some master strategy.

ACOSF, Chapter 23

[acourtofthought]

I can't copy the link so could you go in the gwynriel tag on tik tok, tap on the tik tok that basically makes fun of gwynriels for believing that the cover of CC3 stands for Gwynriel and search for this comment in the comments:

"It’s crazy cause the last time I checked the stans of the crackship had headcanoned her as a glowing singing fish. How does that translates to flame" (please censor this if you could)

And look at the whole argument I had with this person. The comments are out of order thanks to Tik tok, but to explain it all: I explained to them what a crackship is and how gwynriel isn't one. They agreed on that but basically believes that gwynriel can't happen because they have "no canon scenes" which is also not true. I started asking them to send me all the scenes that Yrene and Chaol had before their book (legit none). Told them that I could send them all the romantic scenes of the other ships like Feylin, Chaoleana etc. I tried show that sexual attraction and interest do not equal to love/ endgame, especially when after more than 2 years and everything that happened, Azriel confirmed he hadn't thought beyond the sexual fantasies. They tried to say that Azriel does care more for her as seen in the bonus chapter because it's the "same" as Nessian and I told them the difference between Nessian's chapter and Azriel. They said "So you’re saying sjm can’t write relationships with different dynamics. He felt way more than sexual tension. Even before nessian happened. Reread" which was a respond to my comment that mentioned how Elriel had always been on good terms with no tension while other endgame ships had so and that it isn't a good look for El/riel, especially after Azriel had confirmed he doesn't think beyond sexual fantasies. I still laugh at the "He felt way more than sexual tension even before Nessian happened" because CANON says Nessian and Elriel literally met on the same day and throughout acomaf Azriel had his eyes on Mor. Azriel answering Elain's question does not equal love 💀. And canon literally said that after all that suppose 5 books of elriel canon, Azriel had NOT CERTAINLY thought BEYOND sexual fantasies. Anyway, it went on with them disagreeing and telling me that I am emberassing for fighting when I tried to have a normal conversation with them (maybe yeah I was too direct), that I don't have any proof and can't read when I literally can pull out all the proof and shove it down their throat because Sjm literally wrote all that I've been saying. Also kept on saying that I don't make any sense and I'm like? Is it either because the comments are out of order so it's harder to understand or they forgot all that occured in the books? Then they started saying that the point was that Gwyn is not flame and I can't prove it so I should stop emberassing myself and I was confused about that because I never mentioned that Gwyn is flame and I certainly never agreed so what the hell was that gotcha comment about? My first comment to theirs was literally "Ships stans are always reaching but you also don't seem to know what a crackship actually is, right?" Which indicates that I don't agree with Gwynriel being shadow and flame. Again they hit with the "if you think a ship that has no scenes can happen instead of the ship that has 5 books of canon then believe what you want" and I told them that if Chaol and Yrene could then yes I believe it. Also corrected them on the 5 books of canon because it was only small scenes scattered in 3 books, not 5 full books. To end it all they told me that I can't read and should read their comments right so they don't have to repeat themselves. (Please censor this text too..)

So.. based on the false facts they have given me, I know for a fact they will be thrown off guard once gwynriel is confirmed. I constantly told them what actually happened in the books, I ever agreed that Gwynriel scenes are not romantic, but they kept on telling me I don't make sense and that El/riel care more for each other when that is not true. You could say interest or a crush, but it certainly isn't any deeper feelings nor love because azriel literally said so. It is exhausting and no use to try to have a conversation with them about ships because they're hellbent on El/riel and their suppose love. I truly cannot wait for Sjm to finally announce the ships and for them to scream "fanservice" because apperantly sexual attraction, interest and having more scenes equals to endgame when Sjm has proven otherwise so many times.

I might be a stupid and mean for showing you all this, but I wanted your opinions on this since we have the discussion about El/riels problem with holding on for their ship.

You can try reading the comments but since it's completely out of order it's gonna be a little harder to get it.

I mean, right off the bat they're obviously forgetting canon facts.

Not that the cover of CC3 has anything to do with any of the ACOTAR characters but I think what Gwynriels are saying is that if it did (as E/riels keep trying to push that it relates to Elain and Az), Gwyn and Az would be more likely than E/riel ever would.

Because canon tells us that Gwyn's grandfather is a High Fae of Autumn Court nobility. Since powerful Autumn Court members have Fire as their ability, it's common sense. Not to mention Nesta noting a "crackling" around Gwyn which could hint at that being hidden power.

But that's what they do. They choose to ignore anything that doesn't support their ship.

Your arguments to them are all spot on and really, you know everything you're saying is accurate. And I think that to some extent, they know what you're saying is accurate. But they will NEVER admit defeat. It's like telling someone water is wet but because they don't want to give you the satisfaction of being right, they'll argue that it's not forever and ever.

And I'm not sure what definition of the word they're using but a crackship is one that is implausible. Since when is a ship between two characters who smile at one another, who interact with one another on a regular basis, who are not currently in a relationship with someone, and who share the exact same language as other males ("sparked in his chest") considered a crackship? What would be disturbing about two single people, after moving on from their pasts, deciding to be together?

Really, E/riels have no where to go at this point because their arguments are all easily shot down by logic and canon. The only place that's left for them to go is a permanent state of harassing, bullying, and saying we're "stupid" and "lack reading comprehension". They're backed into a corner and they know it and that's why they're responding the way they do.

I'm attaching your second message to this one:

You're not a hypocrite because I don't think you were literally saying "it is unacceptable for you to engage with Anti's on Tik Tok. I think you were just pointing out that it never seems to get us anywhere but.... We all know we'll still continue to engage with Anti's at some point, despite how frustrating it can be. People can only take so much of seeing canon so horribly twisted before we're unable to stop ourselves from responding!

[separatist-apologist]

I have to say, I'm mostly an elriel, but I enjoy elucien too because I'm 100% an Elain stan and I'll take any content about her done by someone who loves her (like you and everyone making content for elucien week). It drives me kinda crazy to see other elriels say that people who ship elucien don't like elain, because I have honestly never ever seen that. (Feel free not to answer if you don't wanna get into a shipwar mess)

It's a bummer because I end up having to decide if I'm going to purge all e/riels following me or risk getting hate. And for a really, really long time if I put anything in the elain archeron tag, I'd get hate, too. I have like, 50 people blocked I've probably never interacted with (to my knowledge) so I can go back in her tag and I think thats absurd.

It's frustrating because before I had a lot of followers, I did have more multi-shippers following me and now that I'm over 1k, if I see e/riels following, I typically just block and assume bad intentions.

And what's WILD is that like, I would LOVE to tag-team against the anti's. Being a bitch online is like one of my top 10 hobbies. I see the most broke, stupid ass shit about Elain and I'm like, we could unite under this banner but too many have made liking Elain into a social justice cause instead of fighting our true enemy which is people who think Tamlin is her mate (SORRY IM SORRY BUT THAT THEORY IS MY VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY). I want what you want- Elain to be the protag and get the dicking down she deserves (and see Graysen die). Like the only thing we disagree on is who is doing the dicking.

I've got Nessians and Neris's in my fucking tags 24/7 but I can't have e/riels? BROKE.

[casuallivi]

I posted 1,895 times in 2022

That's 1,792 more posts than 2021!

135 posts created (7%)

1,760 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nikethestatue

@fawnandshadows

@thefangirlofhp

@sydneymack

@impossiblescissorspeachpaper

I tagged 1,461 of my posts in 2022

Only 23% of my posts had no tags

#elain archeron - 188 posts

#elriel - 137 posts

#elriel fanfic - 130 posts

#elrielmonth22 - 117 posts

#azriel - 63 posts

#elriel fanart - 59 posts

#elriel month 22 - 45 posts

#lol - 44 posts

#elain x azriel - 32 posts

#my writing - 27 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀😀😀😀

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Remember when back in ACOMAF Feyre thought Azriel was the safest to strike a conversation with, even if he probably wasn’t??! (reminds you of another archeron?😏)

Yet, Azriel didn’t answer her, silently urging Cassian to talk about it.

Rhys and Cassian go on telling Feyre the story of how they’ve met, but Az is silent, tense, entering in a loop caused by the mention of his past, illyria, even Mor is worried with his frozen state.

See the full post

150 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#4

Them: Azriel needs a chalenge! A fucking-strong-extrovert-warrior to teach his ass to be better!

Azriel: *crushing on Mor but perfectly content in letting golden-retriever-Cass entertain her loud-and-sexy-blond-ass for 500+ years*

Azriel: *takes four centuries to go clubbing with her*

Azriel: *meets lovely friendly flower girl*

Azriel: I like this one

Azriel: *glues his ass to hers for the next three years*

Everyone: 👁️👄👁️

Azriel: what?

155 notes - Posted May 23, 2022

#3

See the full post

156 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

#2

See the full post

206 notes - Posted April 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Rhys: agrees to be Feyre's distraction and give her body release, not offering anything else for fear she will shut down.

Readers: omg, that's so romantic! 😍 So hot 🥵

Cass: offers to be Nesta fuck buddy because he knows how she is pushing away from her feelings.

Readers: omg, he loves her so much! 😍 So hot 🥵

Az: gifts Elain with a especial necklace made for her, softly caresses her neck because he can't help it, ventures to kiss Elain after she gives him offer and permission, doesn't allow himself to think what comes next because she has a mate (who happens to be upstairs during said attempt!), but still dares to question the gods, implying he feels a connection so strong he can't understand why she is mated to another.

Some Readers: ew, fucking pervert! 😠 He clearly doesn't care for her 🙄 he wants to use her for perverted sex 😑 he's just saying that because she is the third sister 🙄 he doesn't even like her, who do this without a plan? How dare him not plan their next 500 years before that kiss?! 😒 Lazy bitch 😒

236 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ominisgoldie]

Just a rant

I see so many "anti" posts in this fandom and honestly? Not digging it. Everyone can hate or love whatever characters they want but why do we have to hate on people who don't like certain ships and characters? I am almost on the edge of blocking every "anti" tags. Its just very unnecessary in my book. You can hate a character and ship if you want, but it doesn't mean other people are less than you for liking said character or ship.

Similarly, the "pro" tags are unnecessary in my opinion. If you ship feysand or elriel or whatever you ship, that's great! But you are not better than those that don't ship them. If you are pro elain, you are not better than people who don't like her. Differences in opinions are things that should be celebrated, but not fought over.

Characters like Tamlin and nesta, in all fandoms, are usually what I see drive a wedge in the community. They aren't meant to be hated or loved. They're meant to be a grey sort of character. But when people see them in black and white, it causes harm. I don't know. This is a personal rant, and I'm not looking to fight or discuss.

[mardereads19]

Elain Did Not “Ditch” Nesta

Dedicated to the girl of the week <3

Because I have read this argument several times I feel the need to write this post so that I can stop engaging and simply have somewhere to send people to. 

First of all, I want to say that this will not bash any of the Archerons. I will only demonstrate how Nesta pushed everyone away (including Elain) and how she then twisted that into “Elain abandoning her.” But Nesta is and has been my favorite character since book one, so my intent is not to throw shade at her. Both sisters dealt with their trauma the way they knew how, be it a positive or negative way (it’s not what I’ll be analyzing). My purpose here is to highlight how much Elain did care about Nesta and sought her out.

Let’s get started!

1. Siblings make mistakes

It’s important to acknowledge that Elain and Nesta are sisters. There is miscommunication, fights, and selfishness between siblings sometimes and that is okay. Additionally, characters are imperfect, too. Therefore, yes, both sisters made mistakes regarding their interpretation of the other or were too frustrated to understand what the other might have been feeling/thinking in doing something. 

For example, Elain failed to comprehend that Nesta had deeper emotions keeping her away from everyone else. However, that doesn’t mean she loved her or sought her out any less, as I will prove soon.

Elain got angry and frustrated that Nesta kept to herself instead of joining them. Elain could have been more empathic and tried to place herself in Nesta’s shoes. 

But she still reached out her hand for Nesta, as you will see. 

Nesta, for her part, failed to understand that Elain was still readjusting to her new life and coping with her trauma in a different way than Nesta’s.

Whereas Nesta needed music and drink to drown out the hurt, Elain had needed quiet and the comfort of her family (just like she had at the beginning of Acowar). Nesta expected Elain to join her in her isolated loud life, but it was not fair to expect that from Elain. Especially since when Nesta had been helping Elain, the latter had not moved from the comforts Feysand offered them: their family, the tranquility. 

Nesta’s way of coping was too different from what Elain stands for: 

These are the mistakes I find pertinent for this post, but know that there are more when you look for them.

2. Elain caring about and knowing Nesta

Everything highlighted in pink represents Elain regarding Nesta. You’ll see she’s constantly worrying about her and seeking her. Also, that she knows Nesta.

She spent the first solstice speaking to Nesta until she left.

She was the only one (aside from Cassian) to get Nesta a gift during the first solstice. Not any gift either, but something Nesta would like. 

I think it is pertinent to mention that Nesta first began reading romance while Elain was still in shock, so the fact that Elain noticed even then says a lot about how observant she is and how much she loves Nesta. 

Elain was also the first to approach Nesta in their second Solstice. And she laughed when Nesta told her off for assuming she’d be an ass on Feyre’s birthday. She did not get angry or sad like Nesta had expected. 

Elain never stopped caring or reaching out for Nesta. 

But...

3. Nesta pushing everyone away (including Elain)

Nesta ignored Elain’s attempts to help her because she wanted distance from everyone. 

Here are a few scenes where Elain reached out for Nesta, but Nesta did not want anything to do with it:

She didn’t want to join them for anything. And like I said, she moved away to a slummy apartment to be alone.

She adds to all this in Acosf, too:

Here is this scene where Nesta explains how she avoided speaking to Elain when they saw each other in the market. Elain was ready to approach her but Nesta ran off.

And Elain held off the embrace, most likely because she didn’t know whether it would be alright with Nesta, especially after their last encounter when Nesta left without so much as a hello. Or maybe because Elain was still pained about it.

Nesta, obviously, got mad thinking Elain could no longer fathom the thought of hugging her, but that thought comes as a result of the mentality she created:

4. Nesta claiming Elain “chose” Feyre

Here’s where it gets murky. 

Nesta sees Elain staying with Feyre and being happy with her circle and the wraiths as Elain “choosing” Feyre over her. 

The thoughts are coming from a place of loneliness and pain, but that loneliness was self-imposed. Nesta pushed everyone away. She did not want to see that instead of closing the door on them, Nesta needed to hold on tighter to her family and friends. 

The “Elain chose Feyre” mentality is immature and there to cover up the fact that she drifted apart from her sister and not the other way around.

The key to understanding this, lies in Amren (she infuriated me in this book, but there were still some good things coming from her).

5. Nesta repeating the cycle with Amren

Like she had been with Elain, we see Nesta being closer to Amren than to anyone:

Elain no longer convinced Nesta. Now it was only Amren.

Amren caring about Nesta:

Then Nesta pushing Amren away and claiming she chose Feyre:

See how it is very similar to Elain? Amren cared about Nesta, but since she didn’t do things the way Nesta wanted them, Nesta broke their relationship and then claimed it was Amren who chose her sister over her. 

Nevertheless, Amren tells Nesta something that the readers should apply to every relationship Nesta broke off because it is the explanation to everything. What Amren says also applies to Nesta’s relationship to Elain.

Amren disproving the “you chose Feyre” argument:

Amren straight up told her “I was trying to help you, but you didn’t like how or with who so you blame me?” And that is exactly what Nesta did. And she did the same thing with Elain.

Nesta acknowledging that:

Conclusion:

Even Nesta kept saying throughout the book phrases like “Nesta had seen to that -the destruction” or “she had never found the words to explain -why she’d put such distance between them all” and still somehow flip it to it being their faults. 

She contradicts herself.

It is not something I bash her for because it is easily something anyone can do, but I do point it out because it means that looking at it objectively, Elain never “ditched” Nesta or even “chose” Feyre. It means Nesta did it all by herself and put the blame on the world knowing it wasn’t true. 

I don't understand how anyone can read the book and think Elain was cruel to Nesta or that she didn’t care when the quotes are right there. It is not selective reading either, because like I said, sisters fight, sisters say things they don’t mean out of anger. Sisters miscommunicate. But that doesn’t mean they stopped loving or caring about each other. 

If you read the book and got angry because Elain did not move to the slummy apartment with Nesta, did not accompany her to those taverns Elain didn’t feel comfortable in, or did not support Nesta in getting drunk and wasting away, then you are putting toxic expectations on Elain. The fact that Nesta was there with Elain when she was in shock does not mean Elain must put aside her own happiness (family and friends) to follow Nesta into an unhealthy atmosphere. Especially when Elain never made Nesta do those things to help her (they were both under the comforts provided by Feysand) and when Elain herself was still coping and readjusting. 

And when it was just proved how Elain was constantly seeking and inviting Nesta, but Nesta ignored it or pushed her away.

The fact that Nesta recognized her mentality was wrong and that Amren did not “choose” Feyre over her lets me know she recognized the same thing regarding Elain. The point of seeing her apologize to Amren was to show us how she acknowledged her attitude was childish and how she came to comprehend Amren did care for her and did not choose anyone over her. That she had been trying to help. 

In the end, both sisters are happy and reunited. Both sisters came to an understanding. Nesta stopped believing Elain didn’t care and that she chose Feyre. 

So you should, too.

[emmitaaa4]

Minor HOFAS spoilers ig?

The Walmart bonus chapter just leaked and good lord some people need to be for real. I'm so tired of people picking and choosing evidence.

So you're telling me that *gasp* Azriel's shadows seem to dance when he hums?? they react to sound/music?? no way. people from all sides of the fandom have been saying that for years (and use it for different arguments), and looks like ppl are still tying anything they can to feed their ship--which is fine but at least make it somewhat accurate.

The above is the last page of the Az/Bryce/Nesta chapter, and just as a refresher, this is the oh-so controversial phrases from the Az bonus chapter:

"(...) one of his shadows went out to dance with it (gwyn's breath) before twirling back to him. like it heard some silent music." and "(...) he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. could have sworn his shadows sang in answer."

I'm confused, which is it? Was the shadow's reaction to her breath & the singing he heard all metaphorical, thereby hinting at a mating bond between gwyn & az (as in "music between souls")? Or was it rather azriel's shadows reacting to a literal sound coming from someone who has arguably been hinted at having some voice/song-related abilities? Because if it is the first, then this new HOFAS excerpt is completely unrelated. Well unless Azriel has a mating bond with himself? pleaseee make it make sense I beg. And if the second is true, it would mean that for someone to be able of making his shadows dance, they'd have to have similar powers as him... its just gonna fuel the lightsinger theories (which btw approx 5 ppl are saying means that gWyn is eViL) so this literally changes nothing. nada. absolument rien.

Oh also.

"He says no partner right now, aka NO FUCKING ELRIEL. ELRIEL IS DEAD." (no hate to whoever posted that btw)

He literally rushes out that answer. Idk about you guys but to me the poor man still seems internally dead over the whole mate existential crisis, which as far as we know was left with him wondering "what if the cauldron was wrong". Sidenote but if I understood correctly, this all happens 2-3 months post acosf and Bryce spends ±5 days in Prythian, so it is very likely that it is all set during Acotar 5, and that the events of HOFAS in general are happening while Az is separated from the other MC (ie. the acotar5 FMC).

Regardless of all I just said, I am going to ask people once again to be for real. cause this whole chapter Azriel keeps glaring at Nes when she is about to reveal too much info, so WHY would he be mentioning Elain (or literally anyone he cares about) to someone who he is said to be highly suspicious of? make it make sense x2

Almost forgot. Last thing.

"Azriel said that Nesta killed the King! He didn't credit Elain!"

... no? for context, this is what Az said:

See my second point above. He told Bryce exactly what Nes did, and nothing more: she beheaded Hybern. We could speculate about what his look at Truthteller made him think of... but tbh I'll leave it to someone else cause perso I dont really see the point.

I am getting tired guys... guess who finally understands what "fandom fatigue" is.

-----quick edit-----

I don't mean to sound hypocritical by tagging ships, cause tbh i dont even wanna put acotar ship tags to this, mais bon c'est la vie et j'en peux plus. this fandom is kind of a mess. Goodnight loves ♡

[mariamuses]

100 Reasons Why

The wonderful @queen-archeron suggested this prompt where Elain x Azriel go to their first date and have their first kiss, because I couldn’t find any inspiration lately. It’s just pure Elriel fluff because Anna and I have been sharing opinions on it lately and I’m trash. Hope you enjoy it!

Tags:  @songbirdsbooks @kaliejane26 @personpersonper @turtlesnook @the-bookish-soul @court-0f-dreamers

Word Count: 2,244

AO3

After the war, it had taken everyone in the inner circle time to grow accustomed to their new lives, with new nightmares, new dynamics, new people...

But to Elain, that new life came with the literal sense. She had died on that Cauldron, moved across the continent and had left all her social life and the people that came with it behind. To top it off, she had been given a mate, and a handsome one at that, but he was someone she didn’t really know, and their relationship hadn’t exactly started with the right foot. 

She knew Lucien was a good man, but to her, it wasn’t reason enough to force herself to accept some bond that was thrusted upon her, when all her life she had grown up believing that you get to choose who you love, and you have to choose right, for the humans didn’t have the mating bond and the certainty it offered. She had given up enough things to now give up her beliefs and values too. Even if it was a hard choice, she wasn’t going to be one to keep a male at her knees, begging for scraps when he, and she too, could aim for so much more.

So, she had called the mating bond off. One day when Lucien had returned to the Night Court after one of his many trips as Emissary, Elain had taken him to the garden for a walk and told him everything. Lucien had been very gracious about it, after all he had been waiting for her to make a decision, but it wasn’t too difficult considering how he had Vassa as a safe net to cushion the fall. Elain had agreed, much to Lucien’s disbelief, after catching Lucien writing letters to Vassa, that keeping correspondence with her was a great idea, even while they went on a few dates, to keep his options open in case he didn’t want the mating bond, so he wouldn’t feel trapped. Of course, Lucien wasn’t as decisive as her and hadn’t dared to call it off even when he already knew what he wanted.

It was a crucial step Elain had taken, but she hadn’t been alone in that journey. Not at all.

Azriel had been there. He always was and now, she hoped, he always will.

He was different. Always quiet, in the shadows, looking, observing. But also, Elain had noticed, helping. Every time she had something to do, he was there, helping her. He wasn’t as noticeable as maybe Cassian, Rhysand or Mor were. But to Elain, that only made her look at him closely.

The first thing she had noticed was that he was beautiful, in a sharp yet delicate way. Then she noticed how she was her best self with him around her. And when the visions had started to go out of control, he had been the one at the front line, the first to know what she was, the only one who knew how to help her.

And so she started seeing him too, under another light. How this male didn’t believe he could be loved, or that he was deserving of love. She saw his shadows, but looked past them; saw his scars but only felt his hands. How he could create with them, when they cooked together; or be gentle, when he scooped her up when a vision hit her or when he took care of her garden.

And Elain saw him look at her, too. That gaze filled with hidden love, but also guilt and sadness. 

And she couldn’t bear it, so she took matters onto her own hands; and after a few days of gathering the courage after setting Lucien free, she was determined to show him what love meant and asked him out on a date. And after a lot of convincing and giving him countless reasons and explanations that she didn’t want Lucien, but him, he said yes.

And today was the day.

He was picking her up on the House of Wind because Feyre had insisted that way was more romantic, him being forced to fly her down to Velaris and all.

A sharp knock shook Elain out of her reverie and she pulled the door open, looking up to a view that melted her heart into a puddle.

In front of her was Azriel, out of his normal leathers, with a clean-shaven face, black linen pants and a black, plain t-shirt fitted so it hugged his arms and chest. Her jaw hanged, but she wasn’t the only one stunned.

In front of her, Azriel’s gaze kept flicking all over her. First her eyes and the black kohl she had lined them with; then her lips, which were plump and rose colored; and finally her body, for she was clad in a dress which did nothing to hide her breasts, as well as the curve of her hips and finished right above the knee.

After a full minute of checking each other out, Azriel chuckled, tending a hand out to her and asked, “Shall we go?”.

Elain furrowed her brow, the lack of compliment on her appearance bothering her but remembering how hard it had been for him to agree to the date, she cleared her doubts out of her mind and took his hand, letting him put his hands behind her knees and back and picking her up as if she weighted nothing.

“We shall, handsome”, she answered.

And they took off.

Elain took Azriel on a tour of the city. Of course, he already knew all the places, but what he didn’t know, or at least fully acknowledge, was the meaning behind them.

“Okay, so this”, explained Elain pointing at a restaurant, “is the first place I ate after the war was won. I had been on the townhouse for months without ever coming out other than to my garden, but you convinced me to come saying that there were flower beds with flowers from every court. It was the first time I felt I could breathe after they pulled me out from the Cauldron. And that is reason number one.”

“Reason number one? Of what? What do you need reasons for?”, questioned Azriel, his brow knitting.

Elain wiggled her eyebrows.

“You’ll see”, she said taking his hand and dragging him to a new location; another restaurant. Actually, their favorite restaurant of Velaris, the one they frequented the most.

“This” kept going Elain, “I was showed, but Rhys actually let me into his mind, projecting a memory for me where you took Fey here, was the first time she ate out when she came from Spring. Also, where you and Mor and Cassian invited her to dance. And that, is reason number two.”

This went on for the better part of the evening, and Azriel kept getting more and more confused because, trying to pick them common denominator to all the reasons, the only one he could find was him, but not always her, or Feyre… just him. And it drove him insane.

“Over here we have a brick wall, with a big crack. And it’s the place you killed an attor on Hybern’s first attack on Velaris, defending a woman who was holding her newborn child.”

“This fence, right here, you helped a neighbor patch up after a dog had escaped and you found it and brought it back to the owner.”

The weirdest one was a kid she pulled up while she went on, “This, is Aaron. How old are you Aaron?”

“Six, but I’m turning seven in five days”, answered the kid.

“Oh, and do you know who this is?”, asked him Elain.

“Yes! He’s the spymaster, Azriel.”

“That is right”, she continued, kneeling in front of him. “And how do you know him?”

“He saved me! I was climbing a big wall, but my foot slipped, and he caught me when I was gonna hit the floor and BAM! We flew sooo high and then he took me to mamma”.

“Thank you very much, Aaron. Happy early birthday”, Elain waved the kid goodbye and turned to Azriel again. “And that is reason number thirty.”

And so, the confusion went on.

When dawn was nearing, they arrived at the river bank, where a blanket was spread out with a picnic on top.

Carefully, Elain strayed from the paved path, and with Azriel’s hand on hers, made her way, and sat down.

Az eyed the set up suspiciously, and inquired.

“Is this another one of your mysterious reasons? Because I don’t remember ever being here before... “

Elain giggled, looking up to him, still standing.

“No, silly. This is our dinner. I made it with help from Cassian”, she said, “He helped me make some traditional illyrian dishes, supposedly, the ones you like the most”.

As she finished her explanation, Azriel sat down and eagerly started taking of the lids off the plates, eyes widening by the second at the delicious food she had so masterful prepared with the help of his brother.

Eyes shining with not yet fallen tears, he turned to her.

“Elain, this is perfect. No one has even done this for me before... Thank you.”, he whispered in awe.

“And that is reason number one hundred”, she muttered, while grabbing his face between her hands, her own eyes lined with silver.

He cocked his head, exasperation brushing his features and trying to get out of her touch; but she gripped him harder, not enough to hurt, but to hold on.

“Elain you-”

“Shhhh. Shut up and let me explain. Please. I promise you’re going to understand everything”, she interrupted.

Azriel sighed, but resigned himself and shut his gaping mouth.

“Azriel, you are the most selfless, handsome, hardworking, intelligent male I’ve ever met.” She was interrupted by a stuttering Azriel, but she hushed him again and kept going.

“You��ve been through hell and back, yet still manage to live for others, helping them, sacrificing your time and money to do it. You’ve taking care of Rhys and Cassian as if they were your own biological brothers, you’ve done their dirty work when even they weren’t able to, loved them when they didn’t love themselves, believed in them. You’ve brought Amren blood to her apartment when she was in a mood and nobody dared to. You’ve known Mor’s secret for centuries, and don’t even try to deny it, but still you’ve love her so much, so she could realize she was worthy of any kind of love she wanted. But that’s not even scraping the surface. Azriel, you’ve been to me what no male before has: a friend, without any added relationship behind it. I mean, I consider Rhys and Cass my friends, too, maybe even Lucien, but the former ones are tied to my sisters and Lucien did it for the bond that was between us. But not you, never you. You always saw me, even in those first days when no one did. You spent time with me, even when I had nothing to give back to you. And then I fell for you. And I know you don’t think yourself worthy of me, but you are. We’re not mates, but I’m grateful for that because the Cauldron has given me the opportunity to choose you, show you how much I love you. Because somehow, if the Cauldron had made us mates, you would feel as if me being your mate was a kind of obligation, but now it isn’t. Azriel, I can see the future, but I didn’t need to, not to make this decision; it’s always been crystal clear. But not for you it hasn’t, because your opinion of yourself gets in the way. So, for our first date I decided to take you on a tour of a city you know better than anyone, but instead of showing you buildings or shop I showed you the reasons why I loved you, so you wouldn’t forget. But most important, I made you food, so symbolize how I accept the bond we’ll be creating together. A bond of our own, stronger than any other by nothing more than choice and sheer will. Az, I love you because you helped my sisters, you help others, and you’ve helped me become the person I am today. And those, are the hundred reasons why I love you”, finished Elain, breathless of all the rushed talking.

A quiet moment followed before Azriel took his hands and mimicked hers, holding her face and breathed.

“You love me?”

“Yes. And I’m going to do everything in my power―“

Azriel pressed his lips to hers, silencing her. At first, she startled, but then she reacted to him, lips moving over each other in synchronization, heat rising in her stomach in realization of what she was doing, and how right it felt.

When they pulled apart, after what felt only a second, she blushed, and he pulled her into his lap, embracing her tiny frame in his arms and pushing away stray hairs from her face, as she looked up into his eyes, a contents sigh escaping her lips as he smirked at her.

“I can’t wait”, she murmured, captivated by him and how the date had developed.

“For what, flower?”, asked Az, curious of what could this precious being so expectant.

“For the rest of our lives together”, she concluded as a new vision of family and happiness formed in her mind.

[gimme-mor]

ACOTAR THINK PIECE: ELAIN ARCHERON, UNTOUCHABLE

*DISCLAIMER*

This will be a long post.

Please take the time to read this post in its entirety and truly reflect on the message I am trying to send before commenting. My goal is to use my background in Gender and Women’s Studies to deconstruct the comments I have seen on Tumblr and Twitter and bring awareness to the ACOTAR fandom.

The reason I am tagging “Elriel” in this post is to call attention to the arguments in the Elriel fandom that: weaponize Elain’s femalehood to shame real life people for their opinions about Elain’s character and her relationship with Lucien; victimize Elain’s character in fandom discussions; and coddle Elain’s character, which limits fandom discussions about her narrative development and prevents the ACOTAR fandom from holding Elain accountable for her actions and inactions in the same way that the fandom holds other characters accountable for their actions and inactions. It is for these reasons that I WILL NOT remove the “Elriel” tag from this post because all of the above points contribute to the toxic discourse surrounding Elain’s character.

I urge those who use these arguments to understand their implications, why they are problematic, regardless of intent, and reexamine their contributions to the ACOTAR fandom. I WILL NOT tolerate anyone who tries to twist my words and say I am attacking people and their personal shipping preferences. In fact, I AM CRITIQUING THE ARGUMENTS THEMSELVES NOT THE PEOPLE USING THE ARGUMENTS.

Also, I highly encourage the Elriel fandom to read this post because it addresses how the concept of choice as an argument enables arguments to exploit social justice and feminist languge in order to vilify Elucien shippers, among other problematic things.

Elain Archeron is one of the most polarizing characters in the ACOTAR fandom. Though opinions about Elain vary, arguments in the Elriel fandom cite society’s perception of traditional female characters in comparison to non-traditional female characters as the reason behind the hate, and this belief is used to provide an explanation as to why other characters in the series are favored over her. In the series, Elain is portrayed in a wholly positive light and this image carries over into the Elriel fandom, painting her character as a good and kind female who has been unfairly wronged and a victim of circumstances that were out of her control. When arguments in the Elriel fandom oppose other viewpoints in the fandom, they fall into one of three categories:

Category 1: Weaponize Elain’s femalehood to shame real life people for their opinions

Maybe people who hate Elain are just jealous of her in a weird way similar to when someone hates the pretty, nice, and charming girl in school just because she is too perfect

Disliking Elain is misogynistic

What happened to feminism? What happened to women supporting women? What happened to she can say no? All of that disappears the second you force Elain to be with Lucien

Elain antis are misogynistic

All Eluciens are Elain antis

Antis claiming they’re feminists when in reality they hate on Elain and Feyre but love Nesta

Elain antis are such sore losers. Y’all were that bunch of people who could not get over being rejected from hanging out with the cool kids so y’all are projecting your hatred towards pretty people now to get validation

I don’t get how Elain’s love for gardening equals boring for some people. I’m sorry your misogyny finds traditionally feminine activities boring

Why are you attacking a female? What did Elain do? Where are your feminist voices?

The fandom is misogynistic towards Elain

If people loved Elain they would ship Elriel

If you hate Elain it says a lot about your feelings toward women

If you hate Elain because she has no “development” then you must hate Azriel because otherwise you’re misogynistic

Eluciens are turned off by the idea of a woman that has the autonomy to reject a man for the simple reason that it is her choice

Eluciens are all about feminism and “it’s HER choice” until it comes down to females not wanting a male

Eluciens don’t respect Elain’s feelings when they ship her with someone that was part of her trauma and makes her feel uncomfortable

The way some Elucien shippers completely disregard how uncomfortable Elain is around Lucien is so hilariously not funny. Prioritizing being mates over Elain’s feelings is just regressive

It’s hard as a fan of Elain to see someone ship her with a person who makes her physically uncomfortable to be around. Wouldn’t you want both characters to be happy to be around each other

Imagine if SJM saw all the awful things her “stans” had to say about Elain

It’s true that we know comparatively little about her, but is she really boring or do you just not value stereotypically feminine traits?

So y’all are just gonna tell me you prefer Elucien over Elriel? Even though Lucien treats Elain as if she’s something that belongs to him? The only reason he wants to be with her is because she’s his mate, he doesn’t respect her, doesn’t treat her as his equal, even though that’s what mates should be? He doesn’t bother to look past what’s on the outside to see her for who she is. And Elain is obviously repulsed by the idea that she should belong to anyone or have no choice in who she can be with. Azriel is her friend and the only person who sees her quiet strength. He has so much faith in her, in her abilities; he’s the one who kept her company when no one else did, he’s the only one who bothered to see her for more than her brokenness. You’re going to tell me you still prefer Elucien over Elriel?

The more I see Gwynriels that ship Elucien out of their hate for Elain, the less I can understand Elain stans that ship Elucien. Pls Elain has made it very clear that she doesn’t want Lucien, why would you ship her with him? Do you hate her too? Smh

The real question would be, if you care and understand Elain why would you ship her with Lucien (where she canonically shrinks when he is near)?

People crying over Helion and Lucien’s mom not getting to be with each other and her being forced into a relationship she didn’t want, but also ship Elucien? Just say you hate Elain

When Elain’s book is out, Gwyn stans will look like clowns and I will laugh because they set her up by shipping her with Azriel just because they hate Elain. Watch them play the victims now because Elriels are clapping back the hate they’ve sent towards Elain

As romantic as wanting girl who is visibly uncomfortable around a guy who caused her trauma to end up with the said guy. Guess their standards for romance are in hell

Category 2: Victimize Elain’s character

Gwynriels only want Gwyn with Azriel because they despise Elain

Gwyn stans and Gwynriels are Elain antis

No one in the books dislike Elain, so why are there so many people who do?

Elain hasn’t done anything wrong or questionable to warrant the hate she gets

Not having Elain’s POV makes it easy for people to be swayed a certain way about her character if you already don’t relate to her in some way

It’s been years since this series came out and we haven’t gotten a lick of an Elain POV, but people still hate her for what? We don’t know her thoughts, dreams, or aspirations

We haven’t even had Elain’s perspective yet and people are passing these judgments off on her

Elain antis who say she’s boring are just cruel when she has obvious symptoms of PTSD like Feyre and Nesta

Gwyn is one of the most overhyped characters and that’s only because most people hate Elain and they couldn’t wait to find a random girl to ship Azriel with

Nesta was abusive to her sisters but Elain (who has only ever been kind) is painted as the villain

From the text we know that Elain is the epitome of feminine stereotypes (gentle, gardening, baking, non confrontational for the most part). Yet people still call her boring or deny that she has any interesting character traits?

You can’t love Nesta and hate Elain

People hate Elain because of internalized misogyny and lack of taste. All the girl does is tend to her garden and mind her business and they treat her worse than Tamlin

Does Gwyn deserve all this support? Of course yes! She is amazing! But where’s that support when Elain was in the same situation as she? Where’s that support for her right now? Why do they idolize Gwyn for her interactions with Azriel and hate Elain for having any interaction with him?

It’s not even a ship war anymore, they just hate Elain

People hate Elain for no reason

Some of y’all don’t like feminine traits and it shows

We know less about Eris and Helion but people don’t call them boring. Why would rejecting femininity make Elain more interesting?

Elain has had a lot forced upon her

The main reason I believe most people love Gwyn so much is to get Azriel away from Elain. It’s not a secret that Elain has been a widely hated character for years so suddenly we get a new female who has a minimal amount of interactions with Azriel and BOOM. New ship that once again doesn’t make sense (just like Azriel x Emerie after ACOFAS)

Elain hasn’t done something so terrible for her to get this hate. At this point some of you are just being misogynistic and you don’t want to accept it. Don’t call yourselves feminists and then say bs like this, it’s embarrassing. She’s pretty and everyone agreed to hate on her

Just a personal feeling, but I feel like a lot of the Elain hate stems from internalized misogyny. That to be a strong female lead, you need to pick up a sword and fight. That to be strong, you need to adapt traditionally masculine traits

Elain is feminine. She is beautiful. She loves to bake and garden. She is docile, quiet, observant, and a people-pleaser. All traditionally feminine traits. Yet for some reason, she’s like the worst in these people’s eyes?

I think also maybe a lot of people can’t relate to her femininity? That her being so beautiful and quiet doesn’t allow for the people who dislike her not to self-insert? Most of the hate stems from people not wanting Elain to be with Azriel. It’s mean, but maybe the people who hate Elain literally just can’t self-insert if they have a story and that’s why they’re vehemently against it?

Poor Elain. The Cauldron dealt her a bad deal. Upon emerging as Fae, she is immediately declared by Lucien as his mate, never mind that she was already engaged to a prick. Her love life is not good

It blows my mind how they really think that they can compare all the shit that Elain gets with some dumb jokes about Gwyn on Twitter (and yes, the “hate” towards her started mostly because Elriels are clapping back, it was bound to happen)

I would think of it as anti-feminist with Elain and Lucien because she has consistently stated that she does not want him so if she was forced to embrace the bond that would be taking away her right to have a choice but with Az she feels comfortable around so if they were mates then Elain would be happy and feel safe which again should be the priority for women to feel safe in their relationships with anything and to not be forced into any type of situation aka the mating bond in this

Category 3: Coddle Elain’s character

Elain has value the way she is, in all her domestic girly glory. Not every character has to be badass

We don’t speak of Elain’s flaws frequently because everyone else already speaks badly of her, mainly in an unfair way

There is definitely something deeper going on with Elain but by no means will she ever be evil or any less feminine. That goes against everything we already know about her

It’s ok to critique Elain because she needs growth but y’all keep forgetting the shit her and her sisters went through

The last “bad” thing Elain did in ACOTAR was not help Feyre when they were impoverished and I’m tired of people acting like she’s a terrible character when it was their father’s responsibility. It happened 4 books ago and Feyre has forgiven both Nesta and Elain

Elain’s character and the evil Elain theory are a great example of the trend where people only consider female characters interesting if they reject femininity

We don’t know enough to hate Elain

Many people want Elain to turn evil (which in my opinion seems to come from a place of internalized misogyny)

However we don’t tend to talk about her faults, at least not publicly, as that has been, and still is, done to death, and I--personally, at least--find it much more fun to theorise about potentially interesting aspects of the overall plot, than dwell on negatives

And ultimately, I would be shocked if Elain has a more karmically-charged story than Nesta, considering that Elain’s “wrongs” are so much less severe and bad than Nesta’s, and Elain has already apologized for them (or paid the price in other ways, like through what Graysen did)

I guess I also think Elain has suffered and been punished enough. I hope her story is about finding hope in terrible situations, and learning to love her new life, and choosing her own path after everything that has been done to her. I don’t think she needs to be punished anymore or face any additional trauma

Also, why is she being judged on her decisions as a human at all? Fae are monsters to humans! They enslaved them for thousands of years, and the Wall was erected to keep them out

Like I’m sorry, but think Elain would want to leave her ONLY FAMILY AND FRIENDS for the Spring Court where she has no one because--oh look, lots of flowers!--is the craziest thing I have ever heard

Her sisters are in the Night Court. Her nephew is in the Night Court. Her closest friends (Nuala and Cerridwen) are in the Night Court. Her love interest is in the Night Court. Her extended family is in the Night Court. Her home is in the Night Court

SJM isn’t going to keep two sisters together and split up the third. Especially not keep Feyre and Nesta together and separate Elain. They were either all going to end up in separate places, or together. Not 2 here and 1 there

Compared to the other female characters in the series, Elain is the only character whose femalehood is at the center of conversations; this is because arguments in the Elriel fandom fixate on it when discussing her character. While Elain, Feyre, Nesta, and Mor are all representations of white womanhood and white beauty, Elain epitomizes the most fragile version of white womanhood. It’s easy to blame society’s perception of traditional female characters in comparison to non-traditional female characters when it comes to the discourse surrounding Elain’s character because it: falls in line with the fixation on Elain’s femalehood to silence opposing viewpoints; is a simplistic explanation that fails to tackle the underlying issues with Elain as a character, the same issues that are downplayed in-universe; absolves Elain of her wrongdoings; prevents the ACOTAR fandom from holding Elain accountable for her actions and inactions within the series; and diminishes the impact Elain’s actions and inactions have on those around her. It’s not that Elain is hated in the fandom because she’s a traditional female character; it’s the fact that arguments in the Elriel fandom deflect a critical analysis of Elain’s character because she’s a traditional female character who embodies the ideal white woman in need of protection. White fans and white-aligned fans of color, especially white women, have a tendency to vehemently defend, gatekeep, and coddle white female characters in fandom; this makes it difficult for other fans to engage in critical discussions about these white female characters because they’re viewed as flawless and all around perfect characters despite evidence to the contrary. Since Elain is viewed positively by the other characters in the series, it has rendered her character untouchable to any perceived slight or criticism in fandom discussions because those negative opinions challenge what has been said about her character thus far. And as a result, her character has been placed on a pedestal and implicitly hailed as the epitome of white womanhood; and when she’s criticized, it’s seen as a direct attack against white womanhood. Arguments in the Elriel fandom: exploit feminist language and perpetuate white feminist tactics under the guise of defending Elain’s character; center Elain in conversations about female oppression in the ACOTAR world and uphold white feminist ideologies in their critique of ACOTAR’s patriarchal society; and use the fragile white woman narrative to victimize Elain in Lucien’s presence, playing into racial biases that are associated with white supremacy’s defense of white womanhood.

Feminism is a social movement that seeks to promote equality and equity to all genders, and feminists work toward eradicating gender disparities on a macro-level, in addition to challenging gender biases on a micro-level. As feminism became more mainstream, a flat and oversimplified version of feminism emerged: mainstream feminism. The mainstream feminist movement is meant to represent all women, but rarely does it center conversations around issues that concern most women. The problem with mainstream feminism is that it’s just a popularized version of white feminism. White feminism has relied extensively on an individualized understanding of women’s oppression, exclusively from the lens of privileged white women. White feminism only focuses on the oppression experienced by white, able-bodied, affluent, educated, cishet women; and it views gender as the key mode of privileged white women’s oppression, isolated from the privileges granted by their other social identities. White women can be and are oppressed under the patriarchy but only because they are women; their identity as women does not exempt them from the privileges granted by their whiteness. The term white feminist does not mean any feminist who is white, but refers to feminists who prioritize the concerns of privileged white women as though they are representative of all women. However, the term is not exclusive to white people. Because white feminism is so pervasive, people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds often buy into white feminism, believing that if they work hard enough, they may be able to reap its rewards.

Just like white feminism, mainstream feminism only recognizes the identity of being a woman, assumes that all women share common experiences of gender oppression, fails to address other social identities in relation to overlapping systems of oppression, and disregards privilege in relation to various social identities. Just like white feminism, mainstream feminism is palatable because it doesn’t seek to challenge the systems in place, instead its goal is to succeed within them. Essentially, mainstream feminism and white feminism are extensions of performative feminism. Performative feminism is a type of performative activism that’s used to describe feminist views that are surface level and solely for the benefit of one type of person. It’s a pretense which often has nothing to do with genuine activism. Arguments in the Elriel fandom normalize and promote performative feminism because the topic of feminism is only referenced when discussing Elain. This indicates that these arguments are engaging in disingenuous discourse to push a personal agenda within the ACOTAR fandom, and it becomes more apparent when they use white feminist tactics to shut down opposing viewpoints:

White feminists weaponize and exploit feminist language to silence the opinions of other women, especially when they’re called out for their problematic behaviors

White feminists use the phrase “Women supporting women” to defend other white feminists who exhibit problematic behaviors instead of holding them accountable 

White feminists weaponize phrases like “Women supporting women” and “You just hate women” to attack other women who disagree with them on any given topic

White feminists use phrases like “All women face challenges” and “Stop pitting women against each other” to sidestep conversations about privilege

White feminists divert conversations away from privilege and towards the Trauma Olympics to equate their struggles to the oppression of marginalized people 

White feminists skirt around the realities of other forms of oppression and discrimination, downplaying the experiences of marginalized people

White feminists diminish or ignore the ways in which gender oppression affects other marginalized people

White feminists paint those they harmed as aggressive, mean, or divisive when confronted with the ways they have harmed a marginalized group

White feminists deflect criticism by focusing on the anger or emotions being expressed rather than the issue that is being discussed, invalidating the concerns of marginalized people

White feminists speak over marginalized voices in an attempt to sound “woke”

White feminists get defensive and insist there’s no way they could be a part of the problem because of what they’ve done to help marginalized groups already 

White feminists say they don’t see color in an attempt to obscure racial issues that need to be addressed

White feminists center and victimize themselves in conversations about racism, which derails necessary conversations from taking place

White feminists who are white weaponize the intersectionality of their race and gender to avoid accountability

Feminism is not meant to be approached from an individualistic perspective nor is it only about addressing the experiences of privileged white women, it involves addressing the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, and other social identities as well; and it involves addressing how these social identities relate to privilege. Moreover, feminism is not about women upholding complete loyalty to other women because of a shared gender identity, and to claim that it does implies that women should be held to different emotional standards than men. If men are able to dislike and criticize other individual men, real or fictional, without their characters being compromised, why aren’t women granted that same privilege?

It’s clear that SJM set up the ACOTAR world to mirror a patriarchal society, and that the imbalance of power between males and females stems from sexism. Arguments in the Elriel fandom analyze the ACOTAR world through a feminist lens to show how ACOTAR’s patriarchal society, to which the mating bond is innately tied, contributes to female oppression and limits their agency. When choice and free will are emphasized as part of Elain’s arc, they imply that Elain, through the mating bond, experiences female oppression under ACOTAR’s patriarchal society because of her identity as a female with that identity being the focal point of her oppression in the world. Elain is one of the most privileged characters in the ACOTAR world: she’s High Fae; she’s the sister of the High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court, which gives her access to wealth and political influence because of that connection; she’s able-bodied; she was magically blessed by the Cauldron; and she lives in Velaris, a place that grants females autonomy and power because of the beliefs of Rhysand and Feyre. Arguments in the Elriel fandom trivialize female oppression in the ACOTAR world because they disregard the fact that Elain’s privileges prevent her from experiencing female oppression in the same way that other marginalized females in the world do. The mating bond being one such example because those around Elain are not forcing the bond on her, instead they’re allowing Elain to reach a decision about the bond for herself; a privilege that other marginalized females in the world probably wouldn’t have. Just because Elain has endured hardships in her life and is a female in a patriarchal society, they do not erase the privileges she holds within the ACOTAR world. The failure to include Elain’s privileges in discussions about Elain being a female in a patriarchal society feeds into white feminist ideologies because white feminism operates from a very narrow perspective; it doesn’t take other intersecting identities into account when it examines gender oppression, leaving no room for discussions about privilege (or lack thereof) in relation to those intersecting identities. When discussing oppression in hierarchical societies, it’s imperative that privilege is also included in the conversation because privilege and oppression are not mutually exclusive; they equally affect the ways in which people navigate those societies through their social identities.

Rather than attributing Elain’s uncomfortability to her new life as a Fae female or the mating bond itself and her trauma to the Cauldron, the King of Hybern, or Ianthe, they’re placed on Lucien to cast his character in a negative light. Moreover, fandom discussions portray Lucien as a possessive character to further emphasize Elain’s discomfort despite the inaccuracy of this characterization in canon. Arguments in the Elriel fandom play into racial biases when it comes to Lucien (a male character of color) because they mischaracterize his character in order to victimize Elain (a white female character), placing her character in the role of the white damsel in distress. In Western society, the concept of womanhood has been conceptualized from a Eurocentric perspective with femininity and feminine attributes favoring white women. It’s the idea that a certain type of femininity is only inherent to white women as they are seen as the embodiment of an ideal womanhood. White womanhood has been a symbol of innocence and purity, and white women have been viewed as fragile beings in need of protection. The reason white womanhood functions within white supremacy is because it’s the same idea that has motivated white men to kill and beat black and brown men. The so-called protection of white women has been used as a justification for the horrific violence committed by white men because black and brown men were stereotyped as aggressive and seen as a threat to the virtue of white women. The white damsel in distress trope considered white women as worthy of protection because of their perceived innocence and purity; women of color were not granted that same treatment because they did not fit into the ideal image of womanhood. Over the years, this trope became a means for white women to exercise limited power in a patriarchal society with white women weaponizing their status as the damsel much to the detriment of black and brown men. It’s through the white damsel in distress trope that white supremacy sustains its dominance in Western society. The misrepresentation of characters of color in fandom, the dismissal of their importance to the overall story, and using them as tools in arguments centered around white characters are the foundation of fandom racism; they’re examples of how racism moves silently in fandom spaces. Instead of examining their behavior and taking constructive criticism from fans of color, white fans will often double down on their bigotry and center their uncomfortability in the conversation when confronted with their complicity in fandom racism. White fans expect fans of color to swallow fandom racism in its many forms in order to not ruin the experience of fandom, dismissing the fact that racism is prevalent in nearly every aspect of society. This mentality ensures that no one is held accountable for the harm they caused and alienates fans of color in fandom spaces.

To reiterate what I mentioned in my first think piece: terms like “oppression”, “the right to choose”, “feminist”, “feminism”, “anti-feminist”, “anti-feminism”, “internalized misogyny”, “misogyny”, “misogynist”, “sexist”, “sexism”, “racist”, “racism”, “classist”, “classism”, “discrimination”, and “patriarchy” are all used in specific ways to draw attention to the plight of marginalized people and challenge those who deny the existence of systems of oppression. Yet these words and their meanings can be twisted to attack, exclude, and invalidate people with differing opinions on any given topic. When social justice and feminist terms are thrown around antagonistically and carelessly to push a personal agenda, it becomes clear that these terms are being used to engage in disingenuous discourse and pursue personal validation rather than being used out of any deep-seated conviction to dismantle systemic oppression. Being an ally, activist, or feminist is not an identity, it’s a practice. It requires: ongoing self-reflection; holding ourselves accountable; listening to marginalized people; educating ourselves; dismantling implicit biases; challenging those around us who are exhibiting problematic behaviors; and action behind our words.

It’s important to be aware of the language that is used within the fandom when defending or critiquing characters and ships. It’s also important to question how an argument is framed and why it’s framed the way that it is to critically examine the intent behind that argument: is it used as a tool to push a personal agenda that reinforces problematic behaviors, or is it used as an opportunity to share, learn, enlighten, and educate?

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Tagging: @spell-cleavers @bookofmirth @m0bulidae @ilya-boltagon

[hacawijo]

Hi there

I just saw your post about the whole elithianart situation and it’s pretty sad that this artist is getting harassed. I completely agree that this harassment does absolutely nothing positive.

I’m not sure as a fellow Elriel how to navigate the ACOTAR fandom in the midst of this ship war. What can we do (not just elriels) to make the energy less negative in this fandom because currently it’s very volatile.

Anyway, just keep up the wonderful posts and I hope you’re staying safe👋

Hi!

Thank you so much for this question, I think it’s so good to be thinking about ways that everyone can reduce toxicity in the fandom. I got a LOT FOR Y’ALL. I’m a Gemini sun with a Gemini in Mercury and a Cancer rising, I usually have a lot of feelings and a lot to say 😂 (my Taurus moon keeps me sane).

I have a bunch of ideas for everyone:

More often than not, you can save it for your private discords and group chats. I understand that folks need to blow off steam and talk about takes they can’t stand, but we need to be doing the vast majority of this in private, safe spaces, because sub-blogging someone on Tumblr or commenting on something that doesn’t live in your ship tag is needless. You are NEVER GOING TO CHANGE THAT PERSON’S MIND, and very few people are ever going to respond positively to being publicly called out. DMs work when you want to talk to a specific person about what they’ve said, they’ve worked for me! If you’re having trouble finding a safe group chat or discord, please feel free to DM me. I won’t judge you for the ship you’re looking to discuss! I’ll just connect you with someone involved in that ship who might have some more info about a private chat :)

Now, sometimes there are things we need to say out loud, and sometimes we need to publicly call out posts that are in the wrong tag or to defend someone being harassed in real time. I get that, but folks need to remember that online communication doesn’t have the advantage of being face-to-face, which means we REALLY need to hold ourselves accountable, because the look on someone’s face or their tone or tears isn’t going to do it for us. Be respectful, speak from personal experience, and try not to assume that someone is sub-blogging/vague-ing you and only you. Most of the time, people have seen an idea repeated over and over, and that’s why they need to independently post about it.

I also see a lot about “bad faith” communication. It does absolutely happen, and people are well within their right to express it if they feel that’s what’s happening. But there is a reason that the word ‘faith’ is in there. It sucks and feels annoying and maybe even like you’re “giving in,” to assume best intentions, but this fandom is not gonna work if we don’t make an effort to do that. At the same time, EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTENT AND IMPACT. If someone tells you that your post hurt them, your first reaction should not be to defend yourself or tell them they read it wrong. Your first reaction should be something like “it was not my intention to cause harm, but nonetheless I did, and I’m really sorry about that.” That will only make you look like a good, thoughtful person, there is no downside to that apology.

Now for stuff that’s a little more fun. There’s no way we all love these niche books by this niche author and have less in common than we do. We can take some armistice times and days to discuss things that aren’t so heated. I often try to comment on the non-ship-related posts of folks who are die-hard Elucien or Gwynriel, because that’s how we remember that we’re all just people and that none of us are defined by a single opinion that we have. Appreciation weeks are a great way for us to come together! I also think that we could definitely spend more time finding common jokes and laughs as opposed to mocking others. There’s plenty to discuss, from Sarah’s most-used phrases to Cassian the Clueless. If there’s one place we must be able to find common ground, it’s in humor.

Also I want to be clear, there’s a difference between shipping specific couples and stanning specific characters AND being anti- for the sake of being anti-. A lot of people hate Elain, and a lot of the time it seems like it’s because she’s feminine. A lot of people seem to hate everyone but Nesta, and in that case I TRULY am curious as to why they are reading these ensemble-based books 😂 I also don’t like it when people put down Sarah and her writing and others for trying to find clues in that writing. YOU DON’T NEED TO TELL PEOPLE SHE’S NOT SHAKESPEARE, WE ALL KNOW THAT. Doesn’t mean her writing doesn’t have merit, and it definitely doesn’t mean what she does doesn’t require skill. If what she did were so easy and cheap, I doubt this many people would be so attached to her work - which is pretty much unlike anything else I’ve ever read (I’ve never quite found a romance fantasy that I love the way I love Sarah’s books). With this kind of negativity, my advice is to block-block-block. You don’t need that on your dash.

[bookstaninthesoul]

Singing For Me

WORD COUNT: 712

SUMMARY: Azriel and Elain meet again at the camp

Okay, first of all, I want to apologize for any grammatical mistakes. English is not my native language, so I did it in Portuguese (my native language) and then I translated to English. I hope you like it!

Elriel Month Day 25: "Azriel"

This is a continuation of In The Same Seat As You. If you have not read the first part, it may not make so much sense. But if you want to read just this part, feel free.

@modern-fae-female Here it is your part 2!

Part 1 - In The Same Seat As You

Elain was so tired of her sisters. After she found out that Azriel, the boy who had sat with her, was none other than Azriel Viggó.

Okay, she didn’t know why Azriel was so relevant, she wasn’t very informed with the news and gossip that was going on around the school, but apparently he must be someone popular, since even Nesta knew about him.

She shook her head. She had to be ready to go to the fire and get a good place to roast marshmallows.

She dressed in denim shorts, a long black blouse and a slipper on her feet. Something very comfortable and practical.

She went to the fire and sat down. There were already a few people sitting around the fire. She looked around and saw the teacher cooking the meals by herself and decided to help.

"Hello, Professor Amren. Can I help you prepare your meals?"

"Sure, honey. But do you know how to cook?" She asked drying her hands on a towel.

"I know, I love to cook." She confessed, it was one of her biggest hobbies.

"That's great. You saved me. I have so much to fix, can you stay here then?" It wasn't her intention to do it alone, but she didn't mind doing the job.

"Of course." She smiled

"Great, thank you." The teacher left to pack other things from the camp.

She sighed, time to get to work.

She spent some time preparing everything until a voice came from behind her.

"Elain, can I… um… help you?" She turned and found Azriel standing behind her.

She froze, she was ashamed. She didn't know if she was going to do something silly or some nonsense. When they spent time together on the bus, they hardly even talked, did not have the opportunity to talk silly.

"Um… of course! Why not?" She replied, blushing like the red of the tomatoes she was cutting on a board.

He smiled, took some onions that needed to be cut and started. They stayed there in silence, just enjoying each other's company and doing their job.

When everything was ready, they sat around the fire and everyone started eating. After a while, the teacher decided to say: "Azriel dear, why don't you play a song and sing for us?"

He flinched in embarrassment. How cute.

"I didn't bring the guitar, teacher." He said quietly.

"No problem, I got mine." She smiled as she headed towards one of the stalls to pick up the guitar.

After a while, she came back and handed it to him. He tuned it up and started to slide his fingers on the strings, wondering which song to play.

He then looked at Elain and asked, "What song do you want me to play?"

She froze. One thing she learned very well is that a teenager can be a very treacherous animal. When he said that, everyone started a chorus of "WOW" and she felt extremely embarrassed.

She pointed at her chest and asked, "Me?"

He nodded.

She then cleared her throat and said, "Well ... I think Sofia Carson's Ins and Outs. I think it must be cool to play her on the guitar."

He smiled "Okay." Then started to do the chords and sing.

"No, I (I) won't bring the gavel down on ya"

He looked at her as he sang.

"No, I (I) condition never to judge ya"

He smiled as he sang. She lost her breath. What a beautiful smile.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me

All the ins and outs

But give me somethin ', somethin' (ah) to figure out "

She was shocked. Was he singing that to her?

People went crazy singing the song with him.

"Discover your information, this intimate situation

Show me, show me, show me

All the ins and outs

'Cause it'll just make it easier to love you (uh, uh, uh, uh) "

He finished the song after a while. This time he never stopped looking her in the eye every second of the song.

Everyone applauded and shouted. He had sung so well. She applauded in embarrassment at being targeted.

She then whispered, "Azriel"

He smiled flushed and shook his head as if to say that they would talk about it later.

Because he can bet they were going to talk about it later.

Tagging: @ggukfleuir @noorismee @courtofjurdan

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