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[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

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[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

I used to love Azriel, but after ACOSF I don't know how I feel about him. I still want to love him but he is so strange now. I can't decide if he is normal or toxic or confused or what. I need to vent because I saw others have negative reactions to him as well. Did Sarah destroy a fan favorite?

Hi Anon,

This is interesting, because of course I've seen a lot of 'Azriel is yuck, and he is toxic, and he is weird, and he needs therapy' comments all over.

Objectively speaking--what did Azriel do that's toxic or weird for the entirety of ACOSF? The first book where he is rather heavily featured and what does he do?

--He is enlisted to train the priestesses and he does that in a 'gentle and unfaltering' way

--He prepares the Blood Rite Course for them, along with Cassian

--He is the only person who treats Nesta - at least from Nesta's perspective - kindly and respectfully. He doesn't judge, he doesn't pick fights with her, he engages with her in conversations and treats her absolutely normally. Not like she is a some psycho leper (as she sort of thinks of herself). He gives her a sweet little gift for Solstice.

--He is excited for Rhys and Feyre and the pregnancy

--He defends Cassian when Amren, and to some extent Rhys, are rude and disparaging towards him and his relationship with Nesta

--He puts a blanket on the sleeping Cassian after Nesta has her Cauldron nightmare

--He sides with Cassian about letting Nesta know about her Made swords/daggers

--He goes to Oorid, without complaint, holds off 2 dozen AC soldiers alone, gets wounded, and then still goes to look for Nesta in the bog

--He waltzes with Nesta during the Solstice party

--He doesn't want Elain to be exposed to the Trove

--He 'chaperones' Nesta and Cassian and endures their...passions in the house that he also lives in

--He spies on Eris/Braillyn

--He holds Nyx

This is the highlights of his activities in the book. I am not sure if there is anything 'toxic' or strange, or weird, or uncomfortable about him in 800 pages?

So in the POV, we find out more about his internal thoughts and we learn that he is very sexually attracted to Elain.

Nothing particularly toxic or weird about that. Nothing surprising either, because there's been a 4 book buildup around that. We also learn that he's been avoiding her, as well as being at the River Estate, and maintaining all propriety around her throughout the year. Is that toxic?

He is jealous, tired, and on edge.

You know who else was jealous, tired and on edge? Rhys--over Tamlin, over Tarquin, and over his relationship with Feyre. Also, Cassian, over his relationship or, lack thereof, with Nesta, in previous books. What did they all do? Tried to avoid the women they were in love with.

Did he attempt to assault Elain? Did he force himself on her? Did he demand a kiss? Did he demand anything from her? For her to leave her life? Or break her bond with Lucien?

No. He bought her a gift for Solstice.

If we knew NOTHING of his inner thoughts, that would be all that we saw--he got her a pretty little necklace for solstice, put it on her, and then she wanted him to kiss her, and he almost did.

Okay, so we know that he 'fists his cock' in the dead of night. Thinking about a woman he is attracted to. That's not really groundbreaking. He wants to have sex with her. Not really shocking either. Again, he doesn't actively pursue her, even if he wants all of that from her, he doesn't force or cajole her. He actually avoids her. The only time we could say that he would be toxic if he did try something against her will. He doesn't.

He feels badly about his scars, about his line of work, his unworthiness. That's nothing new. We know this about him for 4 books. All of these people, male and female, suffer from insecurities, inadequacies, feelings of self-loathing and unworthiness. Feyre did. Nesta did. Cassian, certainly Rhys.

He's just been told 'You kiss a girl, you start a war!' and his High Lord forbade him from going after one thing he really wants. How's he supposed to feel? Should he not be allowed to question the Cauldron? Some cosmic decision that he doesn't agree with or understand? But does he rush out to kill Lucien? Challenge him to some duel? No. He specifically states that he needed to leave the River Estate right away 'before he did something he regretted'.

Yes, he is frustrated and annoyed and stressed. You try living with Nessian in the same house! He is also under constant stress from knowing that Feyre might die, and what it would do to the NC and to Rhys. It's not touched upon, but certainly that's on his mind as well.

Just as a reminder, Rhys spent literally an entire novella, the whole of Frost and Starlight, wanting nothing more than to have sex with Feyre. That's all he thought of, dreamt of, and wanted to do.

Here, in the POV, we have 6 lines of text about Azriel's sexual thoughts and suddenly, it's WWIII. And I am not even talking about Cassian and his thoughts. I think it's a weird double-standard.

He is a normal, flawed character. There is nothing unusually strange or odd about his behavior. I actually think that he is a decent and honourable person.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

Bohotribex

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

Khánh Linh wearing a Trần Hùng biker jacket at Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2019

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

Crazycatladyldn

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

Kate ant design

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

I really do feel like everything Elain said to Nesta in acosf was so valid like? Elain saying “you make my trauma about you” was,,,,so spot on. Imagine how fucked it must be for Elain to have gone through what she did with Hybern and Graysen and the war, only to then watch her sister like....internalize that and blame herself for not protecting her? Like Elain must have felt guilty for feeling upset because her pain resulted in Nesta’s pain because Nesta was all IM A FAILURE FOR NOT PROTECTING YOU

That type of “your trauma and pain makes me traumatized and in pain” attitude is really a mind fuck to go through. It’s such a toxic dynamic. It’s why so many survivors of abuse and trauma struggle to explain it to those close to them! Because it’s hard to watch other people be in pain because of something that happened to you, but also, it SUCKS to have to comfort someone about something that uh...happened to you. Nesta wasn’t doing exactly this but she was doing a version of it.

That people critique Elain for naming this very valid emotion is so ??? To me. She’s articulating an important aspect of her emotional experience and moreover the fact that SJM identified this pretty...subtle facet of their relationship and named it so clearly in acosf...damn. Some excellent emotional writing.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

My favourite anti-Elriel theory is that Elain can't possibly be with Azriel as he's too "murderous" for someone "so gentle" like her.

Not as if she literally stabbed the King of Hybern in the neck or anything, right?

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

elain x azriel: endgame

here’s why i think elain and azriel are endgame. i’ve been wanting to make this post for a while + what sarah said in her australian acosf tour livestream fits perfectly with what i had in mind so here we go. i think the title already says enough, and of course i’ll be using the proper pro and anti tags, but just in case i’m still warning you: this will be a pro elriel post. let’s start:

Keep reading

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

I want Azriel to fight for Elain. I want to see Azriel be protective of her, fangs out, wings splayed, shadows roaring, damning political ties to hell because he deserves some god damned peace and love for once in his 500 plus years of life. I want Azriel to feel completely at ease. To be able to sleep with Elain in his arms, breathe in her scent, wings shielding them from the harsh realities of the world, and finally be truly happy with the love of his life by his side.

I want Rhysand to see that Azriel is serious about pursuing Elain as a partner and not some fuck buddy. I want Rhysand to show Azriel some respect as his brother and remember that he suffers just as he does. I want Rhysand to remember that he damned political ties to hell with Feyre. I want Rhysand to remember about CHOICE.

I want Elain to show her fangs. I want Elain to show that Archeron fire that I know she has. I want Elain to show her inner self and not be afraid of the repercussions just once. Both her sisters have been hard-core bitches before. Both her sisters have been in a terrible mental place. Elain is entitled to the same thing. Its time for Elain to scream and shout to the world that she is broken and healing and deserves to choose whom she will love. I want Elain to fight for her right to love and live as she pleases. Whether it be "tending her little garden" or defeating the darkness that plagues the world when no one else can.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

At this point it feels like everybody who takes offense to Azriel and Elain's sexual tension does not understand the romance genre and how it works.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

Elain, healing arc and Night Court

In this post, I'll discuss a few points: Elain's healing arc, why it's most likely she's staying in the NC and why being an Archeron matters.

DISCLAIMER: My focus here is Elain, but I'll approach her discomfort towards the mating bond. As usual, English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes.

Be kind!!

SJM already told us that she planted seeds in ACOFAS for Nessian's book and "the next after that". With that in mind, in this post I'll approach how SJM, in both ACOFAS and ACOSF, set up Elain's story in terms of healing.

I'm doing this because every single time I see someone arguing this or that character is going to be main character because they need a healing arc as if Elain doesn't, my reaction is the same as Amren:

“Elain has her own problems to focus on.”

“Such as?”

Amren just gave me a Look. I ignored it.

Just to be clear: Elain needs one, too. So that argument applies to her as well.

So let's go back to ACOFAS.

“And you?” I made myself say. “Are you—all right?” Elain looked over a shoulder at me as we entered the foyer, then turned left— to the dining room. In the sitting room across the way, all conversation halted at the smell of food. “Why wouldn’t I be all right?” she asked, a smile lighting up her face. I'd seen those smiles before. On my own damn face. (ACOFAS)

Elain doesn't answer directly Feyre's question, she never said she was ok.

And what kind of smiles is Feyre taking about?

“Fine,” I breathed. I made myself look him in the eye, made myself smile. “

I was introduced and passed around, and my face hurt from the smile I kept plastered there day and night.

Looking at that box, at what was inside, felt like examining a crow-picked corpse. I tried to smile. Tried to will some brightness to my eyes.

These lines are from the beginning of ACOMAF, when Feyre was in an abusive relationship and suffering from what had happened UTM. When Feyre was in her worst and forced herself to smile, to look happy, when actually she was dying on the inside. Feyre took months, months to give a real smile.

That's what makes Starfall scene so special: it's when she genuinely smiled for the first time since UTM.

“Smile again,” he whispered.

I hadn’t smiled for him. Ever. Or laughed. Under the Mountain, I had never grinned, never chuckled. And afterward …

[...]

So I smiled at him, broad and without restraint.

“You’re exquisite,” he breathed.

Feyre knows what is to pretend. That is why Feyre acknowledges on her POV that Elain needs help. SJM made the comparison between smiles back in ACOFAS to show us that Elain is suffering in her own way.

Elain can be all sweet smiles, but I wonder how many of those are genuine, real.

"Like the rest of us, Elain’s recovery was ongoing."

"Most days, she was lucid—perhaps quiet and prone to melancholy, but aware."

"Quiet and prone to melancholy, but aware." Elain being aware and lucid means she's not trapped in her own visions as she once was. However, she's still melancholic (according to the dictionary, it means passive sadness).

She's struggling, but keeping it to herself.

I've said a million times and I will say it again: she is not fine and we don't know the first thing about what's going on in her head.

To me, the fact that Nesta kept saying Elain had become "the adjusted one" and how she only needed time to adjust only serves to show us that Elain's deal with her inner issues quietly.

For whatever reason that I'm not going to pretend I understand, Elain prefers to keep it to herself, but that doesn't mean she's not suffering.

SJM not only already told us that Elain's recovery is "ongoing", but she also emphasized Elain's trauma in ACOSF repeatedly.

But Elain said, “I went into the Cauldron, too, you know. And it captured me. And yet somehow all you think of is what my trauma did to you.”

“Elain was right. We’ve become so focused on how her trauma impacted us that we forget she was the one who experienced it.”

(...) he understood that Elain had spoken true, claiming the trauma of that memory.

Elain had been stolen. By Hybern. By the Cauldron, which had seen Nesta watching it and watched her in turn.

Do you not remember the Cauldron kidnapping you, bringing you into the heart of Hybern’s camp?

The Cauldron looked at her. And then took Elain.

“Bad things happened the last time. The Cauldron looked at me. And took Elain."

"I know. I helped rescue Elain, after all.” Az hadn’t so much as hesitated before going into the heart of Hybern’s war-camp.

He’d gone with Feyre into the heart of Hybern’s camp to save Elain—he knew the risk

These are just a few examples from the book, we still have Feysand's bonus chapter, too.

Do you really think SJM didn't want us to remember what Elain had been through? She is reminding us of what happened to Elain because this will be important.

Besides her trauma, the mating bond is another reason why she's struggle and ACOSF made that pretty clear (This is no way an insult to Lucien, the poor thing is clearly uncomfortable as well, but it's clear Elain doesn't want the bond and that's hurting her):

There had been some tightness in Elain’s face as she’d said it. Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around, but the male remained in the human lands with Jurian and Vassa.

Her brown eyes were wary. Usually, that look was reserved for Lucien.

So Elain is dealing with her trauma and with the mating bond.

Given that, I do not believe for a second Elain is leaving the NC, not only because she already said she's a part of that court, but also because of this:

"Unusual, yes, for Elain to be so vocal, but she’d been improving.

Elain is not completely healed, so her trauma and the mating bond need to be address in her own book.

However, she's not regressing either, she's is slowly improving and that's clear when we compare with the beggining of ACOWAR.

It's so different from this scene, where she loses all progress she'd made:

Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.

Also, we already saw a glimpse of her "different side", of her developments and she didn't need to leave the NC.

With SJM, characters heal surrounding by people who love them and working on their struggles with their love interest ("healing in each others arms"). It's just the formula.

And honestly do you really think SJM is separating the sisters after this:

She found Feyre and Elain waiting halfway down the hill, Nyx now dozing peacefully in Elain’s arms. Her sisters beamed, beckoning her to join. And Nesta smiled back, her steps light as she hurried down the hill to meet them.

ACOSF IS NESSIAN STORY, BUT SJM STILL FINISHED THE BOOK WITH THE ARCHERON SISTERS.

She could've finished with Nessian and it would make absolutely sense, but she didn't. She chose to finish that way, because ACOTAR is about the sisters.

Just look at the books:

ACOTAR: Feyre Archeron going to the Fae world

ACOMAF: Feyre Archeron healing/ dealing with being turned Fae

ACOWAR: Feyre helping Nesta and Elain Archeron to deal with being turned Fae + war/("Nesta needs help" at the end)

ACOFAS: repercussions of the war/ Tie up Feyre's story/ Nesta and Elain's traumas and how both are dealing with

ACOSF: Nesta healing/ dealing with her trauma/ ("Elain needs help" at a bonus chapter)

I don't understand how there are people claiming that Elain being an Archeron means nothing. What books are you reading????

Of course your favorite characters can be side characters, but we can't misread their position in the novels. At the end of the day, the ACOTAR books are still about this:

All three sisters blessed by fate and gifted with powers to match your own.

All three sisters were now High Fae with considerable powers.

The Cauldron chose three sisters.

Three sisters turned Fae.

Feyre needed help. Nesta needed help. And now...

"Let's focus on helping one sister before we start on the other."

SJM's telling us is time to help the other sister.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

important !! please read and reblog !!

it’s unfair of us to have platforms and not use it to speak up for palestinians. i have resources provided below for how you can educate yourself on the ethnic cleansing that is happening in israel right now and how you can help.

educate yourself

thread on what is occurring in sheikh jarrah, another thread

thread of infographics about misconceptions regarding israel and palestine

tw bombing video of al aqsa mosque being bombed

tw violence, tw bombing, tw shooting video of palestinians in al aqsa mosque

tweet explaining importance of al aqsa

a website where you can learn more about palestine

a video breaking down the history of the israeli oppressing palestinians

video of palestinian explaining the importance of spreading awareness

tw violence video of 16 yo palestinian boy being forcefully evicted from his home by israeli solders

tiktok of palestinian speaking about what is going on in her country. please see the links in her bio for more information— tiktok will not let me copy and paste her linktree

tiktok of palestinian speaking on situation in gaza

instagram page for jewish voices for peace, an organization working for liberation and justice for palestine

free ways to help if you cannot donate

do NOT sign petitions !! they are not accounted for in the middle east and do nothing.

simply go to this website and click

watch this video to donate, it’s 3 hours long but just playing it in the background can help

watch this video to donate, it’s 1 hour long but just playing it in the background can help

if you are from the U.K., follow these instructions to call local MPs into action

if you are from the U.S., text RESIST to 50409 to urge congress to help palestine

thread of dua’as muslims can make to pray for palestinians

boycott israeli products

donate— it is better to donate directly to people rather than organizations, but i do have a few organizations listed.

do NOT donate to change.org

help children and hospitals affected by gaza bombing

help hungry children in palestine

donate to palestine child relief fund, known to be reputable

donate to united palestinian appeal, a direct charity

donate directly to journalist injured in gaza

ramadan zakat fund for palestinians in gaza

i’ll add more links as i continue to find reliable sources and proper donations. please dm me other resources and i can add them to this list. if anything here is not trustworthy, please let me know immediately and i will take it down. free palestine until it’s backwards, pray for palestinians who do not know whether they will be safe in their own country.

last but not least, if you are a zionist, unfollow me immediately. i don’t need you on my tumblr. and do not use what is happening in palestine right now to be anti-semitic.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]

“Do you deny that you separated a young couple who loved each other, exposing your friend to censure of the world for caprice and my sister to derision for disappointed hopes, involving them both in misery of the acutest kind?”

Shots are on me if Feyre says this to Rhys when she finds out he forbid Azriel to act on his feelings for Elain.

[theseerandtheshadowsinger]