darcyelain

[darcyelain]

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

“𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒎. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎.”

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ art by hanna.digiart

✮♱✮ commissioned by me

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

I hope you’re all doing very well today!!! I’m so very excited to share this absolutely beautiful and magnificent masterpiece done by the amazing and wonderfully talented hanna.digiart. I’ve loved Sleeping Beauty ever since I was a child, and the theory that Elriel could be a Sleeping Beauty retelling just makes my heart race with excitement so I’ve been dying to commission this!! I was also inspired by pandoras_book and her breathtaking Sleeping Beauty Elriel pieces!! So I hope you guys are as in love with this piece as I am, and once again show support to the insanely awesome hanna.digiart for bringing my ideas to life in ways I couldn’t even imagine! This piece was also very inspired by my lovely friend, @elriell sleeping beauty Elriel commissions!! If you haven’t already, you MUST check hers out they’re absolutely perfect!!!

Sleeping Beauty Elriel Theory

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ characters are Elain Archeron and Azriel from A Court of Thorns and Roses

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ likes, saves, and shares are always appreciated!

✮♱✮ no reposts allowed.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

[darcyelain]

Let's remove Elain and Gwyn as potential love interests and look at them as individual characters. What makes Gwyn an obvious MC for ACOTAR5? Cause I can tell you plenty about Elain🤷‍♀️

2015: SJM confirms that Nesta and Elain will appear in the later books and says she would like to write their spinoffs one day.

2018/9: SJM confirms that the first spinoff will be Nessian and that she knows who ACOTAR5 will be about, but is "keeping the door open" after that.

2019/20: SJM confirms that ACOFAS has some seeds for ACOSF and the other spinoffs. A novella in which we see Elain slightly struggling with her new life as fae and the love triangle (Azriel + Lucien) is further highlighted. Gwyn is not mentioned and does not appear here.

2020: SJM confirms that the gardening she done when she was pregnant in 2018 was research for an Elain book in the ACOFAS paperback version at the end.

ACOSF (2021):

Elain hasn't shown any seer abilities since ACOWAR.

Emphasis on the fact that Elain was gifted by the Cauldron, unlike Nesta. Introduces the question — Is there anything else she has that we don't know about?

For once, we have conflict between Nesta and Elain throughout the book.

Nesta notes that Elain isn't hurt by mentions of Graysen anymore.

Snippets of Elain being bolder than what is expected from her — challenges Nesta and dismisses Rhys' command, for example.

Elain shows an eagerness to help track down the Dread Trove = wants to begin using her powers properly.

“Maybe you’ll become interesting at last, Elain.”

Elain points out that Nesta only thinks about what Elain's trauma did to her. Is Elain as adjusted as she appears to be?

Cassian believes Elain was lying about helping a faerie with her garden. What could she be doing in secret?

Amren says that Elain shouldn't be underestimated.

Multiple times when it is mentioned that Nesta still has her powers, Elain is brought up too.

Nesta believes Elain is like a loyal dog, but Cassian opposes this as he realises how observant she is. An example of Elain being underestimated again.

Cassian mentions that Elain said she'd do whatever was needed for the Night Court.

Elain's newfound boldness disappears around Lucien only.

ACOSF Feysand Bonus (2021):

Feyre comments how she did not expect to see Elain "show some teeth."

Once again, the idea of Elain's lingering trauma is brought up.

Rhys says how he thinks that Elain acts "sweet and innocent" because she doesn't want to disappoint others who see her that way.

Also adds that he thinks a new side to her will emerge with time.

Doesn't think that they've seen all that Elain has to offer.

“Let’s focus on helping one sister before we start on the other.”

Gwyn, on the other hand?

Says she is tired of living in the library, however returns to it at the end, but expresses that she might attend Nessian's mating ceremony.

Her trauma has been explored and fully explained, there's no lingering questions about it. That's not to say that she's fully healed (I doubt anyone could after what she's been through), however I don't see SJM giving her a book on leaving the library when she already done that in ACOSF.

We've already seen her at her lowest and how she went through her journey to become a Valkyrie.

Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie will continue to train as Valkyries.

SJM doesn't ever hint or discuss writing a Gwyn book.

With all that being said, let's go back to my original question. What apparently makes Gwyn the obvious ACOTAR5 MC over Elain?

[darcyelain]

🌌Starfall’s Glow & Shadows’ Grace🌌

Under the cascade of falling stars, time seemed to still. In the gentle glow of magic and moonlight, Azriel and Elain moved as one, silent, graceful, like they had danced together in a hundred lifetimes before.

“Not in the way I enjoy a waltz or gavotte.”

A fleeting moment where shadows and light intertwined, his shadows dimming, her brightness softening.

"Cassian would only yield Nesta to Azriel, who swept her into a waltz as easily as breathing.”

But on this night, it was Elain in his arms, the stars above reflecting in her eyes, and for a heartbeat, the world belonged only to them.

⊱❊⊰⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Art by @knightfallart

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Commissioned by me

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Please do not repost without permission

⁣⁣⁣⤞ Instagram

⊱❊⊰⁣⁣⁣

[darcyelain]

“This was a mistake” and “Don’t do that. Don’t touch me like that” are literally the same. Both absolutely layups for miscommunication tropes between a pair of LI’s. If you can’t see that, I can’t help you.

[darcyelain]

Can you imagine telling someone about your ship gwynriel?

You: yeah and she was taken against her will to compete in these deadly trials!!

Them: OMG and what did he do??? I bet he went feral and lost his mind! Chased after her?? Gathered up an army to get her back??

You: NOPE. He didn’t really seem to have a reaction at all.

Just imagine telling someone how unromantic your ship is??

As an Elriel I simply cannot relate

[darcyelain]

tapestry of fate

the cauldron

the mother

“I’m serious.” I turned toward him and crossed my arms. “What decides it? Who decides it?”

Rhys straightened his lapels before plucking an invisible piece of lint from them. “Fate, the Mother, the Cauldron’s swirling eddies …” ->wings and ruin, ch. 24

“I believe everything happens for a reason. Whether it is decided by the Mother, or the Cauldron, or some sort of tapestry of Fate, I don’t know. I don’t really care. But I am grateful for it, whatever it is. ..” ->wings and ruin, ch. 69

[darcyelain]

Everytime antis talk about how Mass can change her mind, I think back to the boys of tommen series. In it - one of the characters has a gf who he absolutely adores, it was stated they’re fully in love w each other and the author even gives details about their history - this all takes place in one duet.

then comes the new books and everything we’ve previously known about these two gets retconned. Turns out, despite being with his gf - the male character was in love with someone else the entire time and besides this attraction/information coming out of nowhere considering the fact, in the first duet he shows absolutely no interest in anyone except his gf - as you can probably guess, many began to find his character icky and fickle. He soon became very hated. A lot of history was also retconned so this new relationship made sense and again, it was criticised by the fandom but also caused a lot of confusion.

authors can’t just randomly change their mind especially when its something thats been building up in their books for a while. Take elriel for example - at a certain point Mass knew gwynriel was endgame, realistically by acowar but for now we’ll just say acofas - so why continue giving us elriel? Why bring up previous elriel scenes and emphasis their importance if its all ends up being meaningless. Why put that much effort into a couple she knew was not going to happen? She could have put that same energy into building up Gwynriel and Elucien.

so it comes down to: what was the point? What is she achieving here? Gwynriel and Elucien had the angst and “issues” without elriel. If elriel is completely irrelevant - why pair Elain and Az in the first place? It would have made a little sense if Mass had elriel already be in a “secret” relationship during acosf that she then breaks up in acosf - ending their storyline completely yet she doesn’t. Instead, they’re tip-toeing along the line of giving into their attraction and the night they do - a 3rd part interferes and stops them leaving them seperated which follows the exact same path as Feysand & Nessian but also on an almost kiss which many massiverse couples have had.

so again, what was the point.

[darcyelain]

just because you don't like it, or you hate 3x3, or you love poor baby lulu and want him to be happy, or if you want Gwyn to have her own book, or you want Lucien to have his own book, because you hate Elain, because you love Azriel and can't self insert with Elain in the picture, or if you're incapable of picking up on softer love stories vs enemies to lovers , or you love bAnTeR , or you hate the IC and want to explore other courts, or other characters -

Doesn't mean SJM will change what is on the page. And that's Elain & Azriel defying fate to be with each other. Choosing each other over their duties, their obligations.

[darcyelain]

"Oh and once Elain sees everyone around her is mated and now even Azriel's with Gwyn, she'll start to feel bad and then open up to Lucien!"

Girl 😭 someone being the last option left ain't romantic 😭 she still wouldn't be with Lucien because she doesn't want that man 😭

[darcyelain]

SJM hasn’t had elain say azriel’s name yet.

it’s the perfect opening for him to say to her, “Say it again.” when she finally does!

azriel and i are going to lose our damn minds!

[darcyelain]

Its a good time to remember where each “couple” where left off on in Acosf:

Gwynriel:

Elucien:

Elriel:

One is a completely normal interaction given the context of the book. The other is a negative interaction between two characters. The last one, is romantic foreshadowing and makes the reader question whats happening between Elain & Az, what is Azriels’ secret? It sets them up for these questions/suspicions to be answered in the next book.

[darcyelain]

You can’t use the argument that it’s too cliche to have three sisters end up with three brothers when you think that all three sisters should end up with their mates.

[darcyelain]

how is it that every time I read a crazy theory about Elain suffering/being evil or experiencing something really bad in her book it’s always from an elucien. they say they love Elain but they are always the first to speak negatively on her. free my girl

[darcyelain]

And about the apology—if Elriels are expected to apologize, then shouldn’t it work both ways? Shouldn’t some Gwynriels also apologize to the Elriels they’ve literally bullied? The ones who threatened to doxx us? The Gwynriels who have spammed our anons with hate? We’ve had to deal with that every single day, so yeah, we also demand an apology. But of course, we already know what they’ll say—“Oh, we don’t know about them, it could be Elriels pretending to be Gwynriels” blah fucking blah. Convenient, huh?

[darcyelain]

stay away

Rhysand (acomaf)

Cassian(acowar)

Azriel (Acosf azriel’s bonus chapter)

Credits to: @lesolehabitantdelalune

[darcyelain]

hey yeah so if I got THROWN into an evil pot and came out temporarily half crazy and violated, lost EVERYTHING, and then was forcibly given a built in husband? with a weird magical thread whatever the fuck that means??? and then suddenly I have to spend holidays with this new weird guy who brings me gifts and watches me with longing and I just kind of have to…. Sit there while they all watch it happen like it’s normal? YEAH ID BE LIKE FUCK NO THIS GUY IS A CREEP HELLO???? and Elain is not even mean about it!!! She’s polite!! If I WAS IN HER POSITION I would have absolutely lost my shit. it’d be one thing if she were into it, but ELAIN ISNT. I’m so tired of everyone treating my sweet little gentle baby like an evil wench for not wanting to jump on the cauldrons spooky soup marriage to this one eyed guy.

[darcyelain]

IYKYK

Art: diielliee