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lovemyromance · 8 months ago

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idk why but i think itll be forced if gwyn and az get together. Like say elain accepts the bond and gets with lucien and azriel knows he has to step back and then suddenly he likes gwyn and they started to form a bond and get together. like... no. thats not it at all. like at least do some type of slowburn for gwynriel if elain and lucien get together. (Idk why but I keep thinking itll be like a forcing thing if elain and luc get together because they know they are mates. LIKE IT JUST WONT HIT THE SAME) But, I think thats why im so built up on elriel and cant fully ship the other ships because theres nothing for me to fully ship.

My meeting got cancelled just now and I'm in a silly goofy mood so let me just say this: if I were SJM and I for some reason DID intend to write Elucien or Gwynriel, I would not have done it this way. I don't think any writer would've done it this way.

The way the books are currently written, it is a clear setup for Elriel. People who deny that are those who still hold out hopes for their preference of ship, but the writing does not support that. It has not supported that since ACOWAR.

Not that I am in any way SJM equivalent but here's how I would've done it, starting from ACOWAR, which was when she started actively planning Nesta & Elain's spinoffs. (And this is in no way Anti Lucien or Gwyn. But I'm tagging it anti because I don't want them getting any ideas lmaooo)

1. The second they got back to the Spring Court, have Lucien grow a backbone and tell Tamlin he's going after Elain. Not simply "Get her back" but "I'm getting her back." (Ring any bells?)

Not wait for Feyre to leave and tag along to see if Elain was "worth fighting for", not simply think about how Elain had been thrown at him, not even think about Jessiminda. I would've had Lucien take action himself. He would've left to go after Elain immediately, and Feyre would've followed HIM - or waited till she got the spring court fucked up and then followed him.

2. Have Lucien be patient with Elain. Have more than just one awkward conversation with Elain. Have Feyre observe multiple moments between them. Have Elain slowly soften to him or get used to his presence. Have Lucien sit in the garden with Elain. Have him frown at her words and bring them up to Feyre and actually try to help her. But most importantly I would've had Lucien figure out her powers. (Sound familiar? Good. It should.)

3. Have Azriel go volunteer to find Vassa, not Lucien. Perhaps he goes into the library to research (starting the foundation for Gwynriel very subtly). Have Lucien join the IC as they fight at SC, have Lucien join them at the HL meeting. Have Lucien go into an angry rage at seeing Graysen and how that man's words hurt his mate. Have him comfort Elain and say "I'll wait - however long it takes."

4. Have Lucien save Elain from Hybern's camp. Have Lucien go feral and break the wards around the camp - setting up for his parentage plotline - and winnow in and save her. Have Elain kiss his cheek. Have Elain finally see him in a different light. (Wow where have I seen this before?)

5. Have Elain willingly invite him to Velaris at the end of ACOWAR. Have Lucien take her up on that offer.

6. In ACOFAS, have Elain & Lucien get each other presents. Elain does not get Azriel a gift, just Lucien. She appreciates the gardening gloves. Gets Lucien ... a fishing rod or hair tie or something idk "here's a rod: for all the fish that you catch with your hands" 🤣🤣🤣 Lucien laughs and Feyre thinks "wow I've never seen him so happy"

7. Continue to develop their relationship in the background of ACOSF. Lucien offers to help Elain train her powers in the background (idk how he would but still). He is there at solstice and gets her another gift. Cassian thinks Elain is sneaking around with him but won't admit it. Lucien goes with them to Hewn city and gifts Elain a dress that suits her better and is from the Day court or whatever. There's a bonus chapter with LUCIEN's POV where Elain & Lucien are about to kiss but they get interrupted and Lucien feels bad he pushed her too far so he says sorry this was a mistake. Miscommunication trope ensues.

8. After ACOSF, start their book with a major conflict that comes up immediately. For some reason, Lucien & Elain go to Day court to research and train her powers - maybe they have a Seer there idk. make something up, a la CC3 translation bean. Their friendship has been steadily growing since ACOWAR, and now it turns to love.

I would've set Elucien up for a slow burn, friends to lovers romance from the second Elain got chucked out that cauldron.

But again, SJM did not write it that way. She wrote all those key pivotal moments with Elriel, not Elucien. It would've been so easy to do the storyline above. It would've made us root for them more by the time their book came around. Lucien was a main character since book 1 (before he fell off) so their story would've been eagerly anticipated.

And I could do this same thing for Gwynriel, but she didn't exist until ACOSF so it would be much much shorter and basically would be Nesta noticing ACTUAL romantic moments between Gwyn & Azriel (not "bye Shadowsinger" or "you're new ribbon Az" but actual romantic attraction - like Azriel physically helping Gwyn cut the ribbon and touching her - with her consent ofc - and Gwyn blushing at him). Like - do the antis realize how EASY that would've been? I dare say it would've been easier for SJM to write Gwynriel than any moment with Elriel at that point in ACOSF, because Nesta spent more time with Gwyn.

There's absolutely no way SJM wrote the books this way with all this Elriel buildup, just so she could have a shock factor (?) of "Elain & Lucien are mates but she avoids him for 3 books and gets with Azriel but SURPRISE- Elucien is actually endgame! And Az gets with Gwyn!"

That just doesn't make any sense. At all.

#elriel #elain archeron #elain x azriel #acotar #azriel #pro elain #elain #antielucien #antigwynriel

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lunainfortuna · 11 days ago

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I just saw elriels post evidence that sjm set up the spinoffs in acofas and now I'm a little worried. I had never seen this evidence before and thought it was just something elriels said. I always was told acofas is just a holiday novella that isn't really important plot wise. Now I don't know what to think. I'm a bit new to acotar and I love gwynriel more than anything. I started reading acosf because of gwynriel and now I'm freaking out a little. I do not want to read about elriel whatsoever. What do you think about this? Is this legit that acofas set up the spinoffs? I don't understand why sjm makes elain interact with az like they do in acofas if she then made gwyn his mate and since elain already has a mate. And why was gwyn not in acosaf if acofas set up the next books? Sorry, im just a little worried now. Maybe this is old news and not a big deal. Gwynriel is my favorite ship of all time and I want their book so bad.

First of all, don’t worry about sending me this message!

I believe we’ve all had moments of doubt, hesitation, and nervousness – that’s part of being a fan. We create expectations, and just the possibility of them not coming true can be scary.

Now, addressing your concern…

Over the years, Sarah has said many things about her books. I’m not exactly sure which evidence you’re referring to, but looking at the bigger picture, I get it.

Yes, it’s possible that she outlined the spinoffs in ACOFAS. But don’t worry – that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be Elriel.

On the contrary, if we think about ACOFAS, three things stand out: 1. Nesta and Cassian (ACOSF) 2. Azriel 3. Elain

See, even though some people insist on the romantic undertone between Elriel in ACOFAS, the book addresses them separately.

For example, we have a personal issue about Azriel being brought up when Rhysand mentions his past traumas. Then, we have a question about Elain (separate from Azriel) when she asks about becoming human again.

The two don’t share interactions that connect them to each other, like Nesta and Cassian did. But there’s clearly an indication that both characters have stories to tell.

From this evidence alone, we can already imagine the spinoffs. However, nothing is conclusive, and it’s still a very preliminary thought.

This leads us to what came next: ACOSF and all the interviews about the book.

In ACOSF, we could have had a bigger focus on Elain. However, she’s almost a ghost – only mentioned by Nesta in relation to their relationship. Nothing more. Nothing else. Elain in ACOSF serves as a supporting character for Nesta’s journey.

Azriel, on the other hand, gets a special focus and begins to build a journey that gives him agency. Alongside him (and I’d argue even more than him) is Gwyn, who becomes the most prominent new character in the book.

This becomes even more evident in the bonus chapter. The chapter was from Azriel’s perspective, and the author created a perfect parallel between what would be wrong with him and Elain, and what feels right with him and Gwyn.

In other words, this suggests that among the stories Sarah wants to tell, Azriel’s will probably come first.

Beyond ACOSF, we can also point to interviews where she talks about Azriel and talks about what readers think of him.

After ACOSF, we also have HOFAS, which, honestly, only confirmed all our suspicions. Nesta and AZRIEL were the central characters in that story. There are MANY questions about Azriel in the book. It’s Azriel (not Elain) who gets the final line of an extra chapter. It’s all about him.

How can I believe that Elain, an Archeron sister, will share a story with him when she’s been absent from the books? How can I believe she’s the next protagonist when there’s not enough development for her yet?

How can I believe in Elriel when multiple books point in a different direction?

You say you don’t understand why Sarah writes Azriel interacting with Elain the way he does. I get it! But my honest opinion? She’s telling us: it’s not me! They don’t belong together!

Trust the process, dear anon. ♥

#gwynriel #pro gwynriel #azriel

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acourtofthought · 11 months ago

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I hate to admit this shit, but in view of the time when the Elain and Lucien story is being dragged along, and all of Azriel's openness in these last books... don't you think Sarah might be making this horrible thing happen?

I have a million reasons to believe in Az+Gwyn and Lucien+Elain, but I can't trust Sarah J Maas...

All these ships are possibilities after all.

Everything is a possibility until the book is written and released.

But usually SJM does not have two characters fall for one another in someone else's book while they are still mending a broken heart from a past relationship / love interest, not if those two characters are getting a book of their own.

I can't think of a single standalone dual pov book where it started off with the MMC and the FMC having already developed feelings for one another, having shared glances and a near kiss. Unless it was a second chance romance situation and those usually occur years after the fact.

Romance books usually involve two people who haven't met, two people who have met while it appears one despises the other, where it appears they both despise one another, where one friend is oblivious to their other friend having a crush on them.

While she absolutely could start the next ACOTAR book with Elain and Az both in love and wanting to be together, I don't see examples of this being how she writes her pairings, not ones getting their own standalone book.

As far as Elain and Lucien's story being dragged along.....it's been a long time coming of course....but has it been dragged along any more than it's needed to be in terms of what makes sense for the story?

Feyre got the first trilogy so it's pretty evident why Elain and Lucien didn't end up together there. I mean, Elain was still in love with Graysen in ACOWAR.

Nesta and Cassian met halfway through ACOMAF. Their bond was hinted at in his bonus, halfway through ACOMAF.

Nessian was the first plane to line up on the runway.

Elucien was mated at the end of ACOMAF.

Theirs was the second plane to line up on the runway.

Considering Nessian met first and Cassian was drawn to Nesta first and Elain's heart was spoken for when her bond with Lucien snapped, then doesn't it make sense that Nessian would be given the first spin-off since the introduction of their story did come before that of Elucien?

Doesn't it make sense that Nesta's story needed to come first because part of the sisters arc has been Nesta being overprotective of Elain and her needing to let go of her hold to find out who she was outside of her? Doesn't it make sense, as we were told "perhaps she was worried about disappointing you all" that Elain would not be ready to stand up for herself, consider leaving the NC or even get to know Lucien when she knew Nesta was struggling and had animosity towards him?

But Nesta left SF in a much better place (though I imagine it's still going to be an adjustment for her when Elain actually does leave the Night Court for good. It's the equivalent of a parent accepting their child is now an adult at 18 while living under their roof but still finding it hard to set them free when they head off to college).

Elucien's has been a long time coming in the real world as they were mated in 2016 but on their timeline, their journey so far has made sense. She was still mourning the loss of Graysen and her father in ACOFAS, she was still adjusting to becoming fae and losing her human life. And just as Nesta pushed Cassian away before her book, it makes sense that SJM has written a similar setup in Elain and Lucien, where it seemed there was hope for them at the end of the third book but there's not been a regression.

However, there is no longer anything preventing their story from moving forward.

Nesta has her mate and is no longer spiraling.

Nesta no longer hates Lucien the way she once seemed to.

Elain is no longer pining for Graysen.

Elain no longer seems to be as weighted down by the thought of disappointing them and is fighting back.

Elain is now offering to get her hands dirty and tackle the dangerous things.

I know some people point out that SJM isn't great at planning things out, that certain things are forgotten or dropped from storyline to storyline but I think her overall vision for the sisters journey is playing out exactly as she imagined it from the time their mates came onto the page in book 2.

She said she had been thinking about where she wanted them to go early on and has dropped seeds for them in every single book since.

Aside from her crush on Az, all Elain's plot related seeds and compatibility have been pointing in the direction of Lucien and I think we're about to see their story finally get the resolution it deserves. Because it is their story. No matter what E/riels think, the question has always been about the Elucien bond that Elain and Lucien share together.

Saying SJM loves her FMC more than her MMC seems to be forgetting how she's constantly gushing about Rowan, Rhys, etc. and is a strong indication that she's not setting any of them for disappointment. When she has written Lucien into every single book of the ACOTAR series and that cannot be said of Az. Feyre does share a friendship with Az but it was not half as developed as what she shared with Lucien and there is no reason to think Lucien is ending up as anything but her brother-in-law.

And there is no reason to think that her two remaining MMC leads would be walking away with anything but a happy mating bond.

#elucien #pro elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #anti e/riel #pro lucien vanserra #elain x lucien #lucien and elain #pro elain archeron #elain and lucien #elucien supremacy #acotar series

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gwyns · 8 months ago

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“Elain & Az have a story that's already rolling. It's been building since the moment they met.”

I just don’t see it. Idk if Moriel was originally planned or not, but I do not think for one moment that Sarah ever thought of having three brothers & three sisters as a thing. Of course we can have our own opinions, I just don’t see the chemistry, or buildup, or tension with E/riel.

not to be mean (i'm about to be mean, i'm sorry) but everytime i think i'm dumb, i just remember that after nearly a decade, e/riels still can't wrap their minds around the fact that there has been no long-term buildup for their ship and that what they're high off of is their shared delusions. god i wish i had nothing but rocks bouncing around in my brain so i could just spout nonsense and actually believe it

the general consensus is that yes, moriel was originally intended to be endgame. i, personally, never really saw it or shipped them but sjm did save some pins she labeled as mor and az saved to her old pinterest so... she probably had them in mind, at least for a little bit. i'd argue that e/riel wasn't even a thought for sjm until acofas. most people say acowar but nah, i call bullshit. all of their interactions in that book give off heavy platonic energy

not saying you couldn't ship them romantically during acowar, hell i've shipped things that were intended as platonic, but yeah i don't think sjm ever planned for them in acomaf or acowar. i think she only truly began to consider it when she needed more time/reasons to keep elucien apart and in the background while she set other things up, but that's just my silly little opinion that i know some people think i'm stupid for! so what do i know!! absolutely nothing just like the rest of the fandom lol

#i got a bit snarky towards the end sorry. totally not directed at you anon. im just tired of a lot of things lol #antielriel #anti e/riel #asks #anonymous

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bookofmirth · 2 years ago

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Everyone making far fetched theories and manage to connect the moon to their skinny jeans: "Sarah janet maas is the best writer. The queen of forshadowing! Obviously this little detail in the second book that was never mentioned again after is a clear forshadowing for my ship! Her mind blows my mind. She's a genuis and y'all just lack reading comprehension!"

Sarah j maas:

"Her youngest sister had been taken by this male because Nesta herself hadn't been able to face him. Tamlin had even looked at her and asked if she'd go in Feyre's place. And she had said no, because she was a hateful, horrible coward." Acosf, when she met Tamlin.

Miss maas- this sh*t did not happen in the first book.

Either she legit forgot what actually happened or she changed it to spice it up for... whatever reason. Nesta already feels guilty for a lot of things, including the ones where she's not even at fault. Why the hell try to make her out to be this monster that she isn't?! For angst? So she can fill the pages, since she didn't know what else to write?! Literally, what was the point of changing that???? That whole scene was dumb anyways because it felt like Sarah wanted some badass moment, using Tamlin as a punchbag so we can all scream "OMG YASSS QUEEN".

Queen of forshadowing my ass. Her villains and ships are obvious as hell and there are plenty of plotholes left. There's a map, a clear worldbuilding, yet we've been only in the night court for 4 books. Her characters are the most powerful people in the whole universe, but need whole armies and as much as help to kill of the Hybern King. There's no logic behind the magic system either.

Best writer my ass.

okay I didn't remember that quote from acosf about Tamlin asking Nesta to take Feyre's place, but you're right, that was stated in acosf, and it NEVER HAPPENED in acotar. I just checked my ebooks to be sure. ldjalkdjaslkjdlakjslkjasd That's so fucking funny because you're right, Nesta already had enough reasons to loathe herself, and tbh she doesn't need rational, real reasons to do so, sometimes you just hate yourself lmaoooo It's not like the intervention scene where she was able to literally rewrite it from acofas to acosf, sjm just completely retconned that fact from four books ago.

I know people have a lot of fun making theories and trying to figure out the next books, but literally sjm does not plan like that. Everything revolves around who she wants to bang. She figures that out, then makes the plot fit around that, to make the banging happen. She doesn't sit there thinking about the meaning of colors, she literally said in an interview that the Valkyrie bracelet colors were just a vibe, but people are out here acting like the curtains are blue!

If she didn't leave *some* hint as to where things were going, she'd be even worse than a bad writer. She's a pantser which is totally fine, but you're right. All these little details are so freaking inconsequential, unless she decides later on that she wants them to be meaningful. Then in retrospect it's like "omg, look at this clue she left for us" when I'm willing to bet that she did it retroactively.

I do think, to her credit, the reason we're so invested is because she does the characters and their psychology well. I just rewatched my acowar reread video from 2018 (I can link it if y'all want) which I posted prior to the acofas release, and I was right about the characters. I was right about how Nesta and Elain would grieve their father and feysand having a baby soon (I said I wouldn't be surprised if it happened, despite what Feyre said.) I did say that I thought Cassian knew Mor is queer, which I haven't been proven right about - however, I am not convinced that she is executing that issue of Mor being queer particularly well.

SJM's characters are her strength, and so if I make predictions, it's based on that. Where they're at psychologically, how they are reacting to situations, who is mated, who is sad about mates, what kind of circumstances characters are in, where they want to be. If we were to break down the effort she puts into different parts of her writing, it would be like 50% characters and characterization, 45% romance, and 5% everything else (world, plot, prose).

And that's another reason why I keep insisting that trying to figure out ships based on where plots might go is... a crapshoot at best. That's not the way she prioritizes. It's always 1) the couple/who she wants to bang, and then 2) whatever she needs to write to make that happen. "There's no plot for X ship" okay well we all read acosf, right? Because plot is not her priority or concern, she can and will do whatever it takes, no matter how inconsistent or ill-defined, to get two characters banging. There are things that make more sense, characters who are more or less connected to different plots than other characters. But never underestimate her willingness to make Amren have some random ass memory of something that changes the plot completely in order to make the ship she wants to happen, happen.

#sjm critical #ask #anon #acosf #acotar #why did i keep saying literally #i just like that word #how can I emphasize anything without it

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goforth-ladymidnight · 2 years ago

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❌⏳🏆

From this ask game:

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

I haven't been reading or writing fanfiction long enough to know what makes a trope a trope, so I did a quick search. I'm like one of those people on dating sites who says "Oh, yeah, I'm up for anything!" when it comes to kinks or other activities... until I realize that "anything" is much broader than I could have imagined. Hahaha... I'm actually rather vanilla, as it turns out. A quick perusal on the Fanfiction subreddit showed me that anything under the Omegaverse umbrella is not something I would ever write. No offense to those who love it, it is just not my thing.

⌛ How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

Longer than I would like. I don't know how some people can be so prolific!! I'm getting better at writing shorter fics for practice, which helps. I started writing seriously back in 2020, and my very first project was so ambitious, I burned out without ever finishing it. I will revisit it one day, but I've learned a lot since then. Fanfiction has helped a lot in that regard.

My current longfic averages 6-10 page chapters. On a good day, I can write about 2 pages, which is about 1k words in my word processor, and that's the polished and ready-to-go kind of work. If I have an amazing idea for a one-shot and no respect for my sleep schedule, I can write 6-12 pages in a DAY, but those words tend to be pretty raw, and I'll spend the next day polishing them up and cursing myself for going to bed so late. If all goes well, I can have a new chapter ready to go inside of a week, but that's only if I know exactly where the story is going. More often than not, I don't.

Short answer: a week. Give or take.

🏆 What's your most popular fic?

ACOFAE!! I was shocked to learn how many people actually shipped Feyre and Lucien. I have since written Elucien fics that have gotten some nice attention (especially right after publishing), but my little rarepair first-ever longfic is continually and consistently pulling in views. It's nice. :)

Thanks for asking! This was fun. :)

#ask game #answered #my writing #my fanfiction

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theegemini92 · 2 months ago

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*Sips* ☕️ in my little corner with my Tam…

I’ve been calling this out ever since Acofas. Elain likes to find the biggest meanest person to hide behind. To me she has a I’m dainty and sweet facade. Many times people forget she is an older sister too. Why people blame just Nesta baffles me. Not just Nesta but just like Nesta, feyre fell for that and she’s such an unreliable narrator how do we know she’s even studied Elain well enough?

Never once did Feyre make it seem like she and Elain talked or were bbfs. To me it was Nesta and Elain and Feyre on her own.

She’s been hiding behind Nesta because Nesta is very protective and fiery. Thanks to Tams “blood money” she was able to get that rich guy to marry her etc. then she comes to the NC and finds Azriel and he simps so he’s used by her to shame Lucien. Then proceeds to embarrass and throw her sis under the bus… if you didn’t ask her to why did u let her protect you? Why did u cling to Nesta as if you had no one? I bet just like Nesta she knew tam made them rich but she decided she didn’t care and her sister sacrificed her happiness… it’s not like she was close to feyre or anything… in the original beauty and the beast belles sisters were not nice at all. We all thought it’d be Nesta but I don’t trust Elain one bit. I hope she chooses Azriel and leave Lucien alone, she’s not worth it or worthy of his love or MATING with him. I bet she sees that Lucien has no home now, he may not even be helions son for all we know (I think it’s Eris) and she being a seer has confirmed it. For Elain, she’s needs someone powerful, has money to fund her lifestyle and TRAD WIFE life and it sure ain’t Lucien who has no home or crown or money 😂 she’s not going back to suffering… na uh… not our pampered princess.

Honestly I hope she’s a villian… I’m tired of all this shipping. We need DRAMA and heartbreak.

Everything can’t be rosey. I don’t want this to be another ToG where everyone we rooted for got together with other people… it was too much of a happy ending.

Elain has motives… for all her gardening are we sure she isn’t burying bodies? 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

I think more people would like Elain if she hadn’t treated Nesta the way she did in ACOSF. For all her flaws, Nesta at least cares deeply for Elain. Nesta single-handedly took care of Elain when she was almost catatonic in ACOWAR. Nesta was always there, but then ACOFAS showed Elain basically siding with "the good life" with Feysand, and in ACOSF, she makes it seem like Nesta is now an inconvenience to her. Elain seems so conceited because she’s remained Lucien’s mate for years while also trying to kiss Azriel. She could grow a backbone and tell everyone to stop babying her, but she didn’t. She could tell Nesta not to do things for her, but she didn’t. She lets everyone make decisions for her and, for some reason, doesn’t seem to want to fight for herself, letting others do whatever they think is best.

And honestly, I keep seeing people, mainly from one of the ships Elain is in, complaining whenever she’s left out of Inner Circle fanart, especially if Nesta is included. Just because Elain is living in Rhysand’s 154th mansion with Rhysand and Feyre doesn’t make her a part of the IC. She doesn’t contribute anything to it. Helping with food and gardening all of Rhysand’s mansions as a hobby doesn’t equal IC membership. Nesta isn’t an IC member either, at least not willingly but she is Cassian's mate.

Elain’s stans, I swear, are one of the most entitled sections in this fandom, and they don’t deserve to be this entitled when Elain has barely spoken or done anything across five books. And I don’t care about the ship wars, but my disgust for the IC would grow tenfold if Elain ends up with Azriel—especially after Azriel acted like a fool for Mor for centuries, even though she had slept with Cassian and still gets lingerie from him (meaning that small group is too incest-y already ew).

#anti acotar #anti acotar fandom #anti sjm #acotar critical #acotar fandom critical #anti elain #critical elain #anti ic #anti inner circle #acotar #elain x azriel #elain archeron #pro elain #elain x lucien #elain acotar

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nikethestatue · 2 years ago

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Hi! I saw the former gw*nriel confession and I always thought I was the only one and it felt like a bad thing. Last August a friend told me to read ACOSF alone. I am not really a big fan of a long series and prefer stand alone and my friend said that ACOSF can be a stand alone. So I did picked it. And honestly, I don't feel any connection to the characters but I still didn't like the whole Inner Circle, the sisters, but Elain and Az's interaction, no matter how few, made me think there's something between them especially the "charged glance". Look, I like Gwyn and I don't feel a thing towards Elain during ACOSF so Elriel interaction kinda made me doubt Gw*nriel because honestly, Elriel is more heavily hinted tho I wouldn't deny Gwyn and Az's moment. I was then told to read the bonus chapter because it only "confirmed" Gw*nriel more but it made me doubt the ship further but I believed in the secondhand necklace. I believed they were mates. I actually led myself to believe they will have the next book and hated Elriel due to the brewing ship war.

But thankfully I was led to light. I began Acotar, acomaf, acowar last September and just finished ACOFAS last week. Hahaha yey for me I guess because I now love Feysand, Elriel, and Cassian. I finally understood where Elriels are getting their quotes and why everyone hold importance to canon scene because lies and headcanons are given more value in this fandom and I think that's what divides and creates this messy and toxic shipwar in the fandom. Gw*nriel will now always be a crackship for me and there's nothing wrong for crackships. But I am officially an Elriel who are just waiting for their book.

PS: I didn't know Elain actually did alot of things in the series, I'm so sorry to other Elriels since I also thought she was just there in the background doing nothing. How Cassian, Rhysand, Amren and Az saw Elain made me happy. Because they are all right. I'm sorry this is long.

This is actually a very interesting and I think important thing to understand--I think so much frustration on part of Elriels, and the essence of this shipwar lies in that Elriels have been with these characters for 4 books. 5 now. Whereas from what we've noticed, many Gwynriels read only ACOSF, if that.

And all the canon-based arguments and 'evidence' usually went over people's heads, because they couldn't connect the dots, since they didn't have any reference points for previous books.

So I can quote 20 pages worth of stuff regarding Elriel, but if you haven't read any of the previous books, can't understand the setup, how everything unfolded, then it would just be noise to you.

And I think that's why ultimately, the arguments make no real sense--we are talking about apples, and Gwynriels are talking about matches. There is no common ground because so many don't know anything beyond ACOSF, don't understand the IC, don't know who and what Elain is and what she did, and how everything connects.

So they start placing unbelievable importance on gwyn and stating that Azriel is getting a book. But if you look at the entire landscape of these books, you'd understand that none of it makes sense, and that the only natural progression is through Elain, because she is literally connected to EVERY part of these books. Every scene. Every person. From Koschei, to Lucien, to Vassa, to Beron, to every person in the IC, to the Cauldron--Elain is entwined with all of them. By comparison, Gwyn is entwined with no one except for Nesta. She might be a lighsinger and a secondary character in Nesta's book.

I'm glad you got to read all the books, Anon. It definitely is a series, and needs to be looked at holistically.

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gimme-mor · 3 years ago

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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

#elain archeron #elriel #acotar fandom #acotar: fandom critical

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psychee92 · 4 years ago

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Why Elriel has the most realistic relationship in the ACOTAR series

Disclaimer: If you’re reading this, please take a step back from your personal preferences (ships, characters). This post lacks any subjectivity and focuses, instead, on the timeline (canon) of the ACOTAR series, and what this means for the development of Azriel and Elain’s relationship.

I’m always surprised when I read a post claiming that Elriel is not realistic, or that it came out of nowhere. While I will use scenes from the books as references, my biggest argument against Elriel not being realistic, or having come out of nowhere, is the passing of time (and compatibility).

These two characters have spent more time together than any other ACOTAR couple.

How, then, does it not make sense that they developed a mutual attraction/feelings for one another?

Remember: We have yet to read Elain’s POV, and have read very little about Azriel’s thoughts and feelings, but the little we do know is very telling.

Let’s start by looking at compatibility—something that Maas has focused on, again and again, since their first meeting.

Feyre draws constant parallels between them—how alike they are in temperament. How similar they are, both able to put others at ease without much difficulty. They’ve shared one scene together, interacted once, and Feyre can already picture it, picture them together.

Most importantly, however, Maas draws the reader’s attention to their ability to read one another. Remember—Azriel’s own family is unable to discern his thoughts/emotions and yet, Elain manages to do so during their first meeting.

This shows how perceptive they both are.

Their ability to read each other is addressed again in Azriel’s Bonus POV, but more on that later.

Then, in ACOWAR, the little hints about their compatibility increase tenfold. Do you think that it’s a coincidence that Elain interacts with Azriel moments after her first interaction with Lucien?

(It is also interesting to note the description in this passage. The image is poetic, and the meaning behind this moment (him carrying her in his arms through the front door - bridal-style? - even more so).

Do you think that it’s a coincidence that, after saying that no one truly sees her (or bothers to look), we see Azriel offering to show Elain the garden? He senses what she needs before anyone else does.

(It should also be noted that he offers to show it to her, something that no one asked him to do.)

Do you think that it’s a coincidence that Elain, who is viewed as the weakest of the Archeron sisters, is never afraid (or intimidated by) Azriel, who is often perceived as one of the (if not the) most feared member of the IC? Azriel, with his shadows and wings, with his cold eyes and expressionless face?

Do you think that it’s a coincidence that Feyre noticed the small moment between them, when Elain looked at his scars and called them beautiful? The scars on his hands are a reminder of the horrors he endured and yet, Elain calls them beautiful.

(It is almost as if she truly sees him, as well).

Finally, do you think that it’s a coincidence that Feyre, who witnessed both, Elain’s interaction with Lucien and Azriel, questions whether the Cauldron chose the right mate for Elain?

Again, we have the poetic description, and two contrasting images: brutal and lovely. And yet, Feyre looks at them and sees how compatible they truly are. She knows Lucien well—she considers him a friend—and yet, the chemistry between Azriel and Elain is so evident (and has been since ACOMAF), that she cannot help but wonder if the Cauldron made a mistake.

I would also like to draw your attention to the scene that Feyre witnesses between them. They are both sitting in silence and yet, they appear content. Do you know how rare it is to be in the same room with someone and not feel the need to fill the silence with conversation? I don’t know about you, but I’ve only ever experienced this feeling with the people I’m closest to.

Azriel understands Elain’s need for peace and quiet (a need that he shares and can relate to, as well), and he chooses to stay with her in the garden (again, no one asked him to). She is comfortable enough around him to not mind his presence. In fact, with Elain drinking her tea and Azriel reading his reports, they are the very picture of domesticity.

Then, Azriel continues to seek out her presence.

Any interactions between them take place behind the scenes, but again, notice how Azriel is the one offering to keep her company in the garden. Feyre was going to do it herself, but he stepped in. What can we conclude from this?

He enjoys her company.

So much so that, after the Ravens’ attack, when Nesta worries about Elain, Rhys informs her that Azriel was still at the house when the attack happened.

The scenes that follow are the most widely discussed, so I will only mention them briefly:

It is not a coincidence that it was Azriel (and not Lucien) who figured out that Elain is a seer (nor is it a coincidence that he was the only one who truly listened to her, instead of thinking that she’s gone mad, like everyone else).

It is not a coincidence that he was the only one who thought of her when the Cauldron lured her away. Why didn’t Nesta, the overprotective older sister? Or Feyre, who dreamed of it happening? Why did Maas have Azriel utter, “What about Elain?”

It is not a coincidence that he was the one who risked his life to save hers (and not Lucien).

I believe that, if Elain wasn’t already feeling some kind of pull towards Azriel, having him rescue her was the final push in that direction.

And it makes perfect sense.

She’s never seen by anyone (not even her sisters)—until she meets Azriel. Not only does he pay attention to what she needs, he keeps her company, and seemingly enjoys being in her presence.

Similarly, it makes perfect sense for Azriel to feel a pull towards Elain, as well.

Contrary to what a loud majority has been saying, Azriel does not need another Cassian or Mor in his life. He is quite obviously an introvert, who craves peace and quiet above all else. He is surrounded by extroverts and, if you’re an introvert, you know how draining it can be. It makes sense, then, that he gravitated towards Elain, whose temperament matches his.

Again, it all comes down to compatibility.

They understand each other.

He understands her need for peace and quiet, and she understands his.

They accept each other.

But, more importantly, they trust each other.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? That he risked his life without a second thought to save hers. By the time Elain gets taken, Azriel and Elain have spent time in each other’s company and have quite obviously formed a bond/connection—a companionship of sorts, built on mutual understanding and acceptance.

She trusts him. She feels safe with him. Something that I guarantee she hasn’t felt since being violated and changed into a Fae against her will.

Similarly, he trusts her.

Why does Azriel give Truth-Teller, his legendary blade, to Elain? He doesn’t just let her touch it; he actually lends it to her, and trusts her enough to know that she’ll return it to him when she’s ready to.

In 500+ years, he has never let another person touch that blade—not even Mor, the woman he loves—but he parts with it for Elain.

Why? Because he knows that she cannot go into a battlefield unarmed, and understands that she, too, trusts him enough to accept it and use it if need be.

We, as readers, understand the importance of this moment. Maas draws our attention to Cassian’s shock, and includes the dialogue between Feyre and Rhys to underline, again and again, that something extremely significant is taking place.

So significant, in fact, that the scene was included in the coloring book and mentioned again in ACOFAS.

Maas is once again saying how rare this is. How different. How significant.

And what about the description? Like before, Maas uses poetic wording and contrasting imagery to describe Azriel and Elain.

The only bridge of connection—because what we are seeing, what we’ve been getting hints of, is two people who have slowly formed a connection.

Trust is earned.

Trust is built.

It does not happen overnight.

Remember—the majority of Azriel and Elain’s relationship takes place behind the scenes. We know that they are spending time together—and even have a description of some of their interactions—but we don’t really know what happens when it’s just the two of them.

This connection between them does not happen overnight.

ACOFAS takes place months after the war.

And what do we witness?

Azriel and Elain having grown even closer. In other words, we see progress and development.

He respects her, and cares about her. He makes everyone wait for her to be seated at the table, something he has never done before (similar to when he lended her Truth-Teller).

Again, that understanding.

And Azriel seeking out her company.

And Elain seeing him, paying attention to his needs.

Making him laugh like no one has ever had before.

And finally, them enjoying spending time in each other’s company. At 3 AM.

Azriel would rather sit and listen to Elain talk about her garden than go upstairs with the others.

Notice the pattern of understanding, trust, and connection that Maas has been coming back to (and increasing, strengthening) since ACOMAF.

Why, then, are readers surprised by their feelings?

More than two years have passed since their first meeting.

By the time we get a glimpse into Azriel’s thoughts and feelings, these two characters have been interacting and spending time with each other for years.

No, his feelings did not come out of nowhere.

No, their feelings are not cliché, or unrealistic.

No, he did not get over Mor after meeting Elain. In fact, we went from this in ACOMAF:

To this in ACOWAR:

And finally, to this, in ACOSF:

Again, remember: ACOSF takes place 1.5 years after ACOWAR, and almost 2 years after ACOMAF.

Azriel getting over Mor has been a gradual process. Same with Elain getting over Graysen.

Azriel does not see Elain as the third sister, one he is entitled to.

He actually sees Elain, something that Maas has been hinting at since ACOMAF.

The relationship (and feelings) between these two characters has been building for 2 years.

And 90% of it has taken place behind the scenes.

Azriel’s POV is proof of this:

What looks? What occasional brush of their fingers?

We’ve seen none of this.

And it makes sense.

We haven’t gotten their POVs yet.

Even Azriel’s POV is filled with the pattern that Maas has established for them since ACOMAF.

Understanding (and an ability to read each other without the use of words):

Trust:

Connection:

This is why their relationship is far more realistic (and healthy, but that’s a post for another time) than Feysand’s or Nessian’s. In a way, it reminds me of Kallias and Viviane’s (friends to lovers), who spent years developing a friendship, which then turned into romantic feelings.

Why?

Because they’ve had time.

Time to get to know each other, to connect with each other.

Time to develop a friendship which then slowly turned into romantic feelings and sexual desire.

This is also why I connect with and understand their relationship—more so than anyone else’s in the ACOTAR series.

#acosf spoilers #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #elain archeron #pro elain #azriel #azriel's pov #elriel #pro elriel

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echotzzz · 3 years ago

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Rant

I totally don’t mind people shipping lucien and Elain and in fact if Elriel not happen, I’m really okay to see how Elucien going to progress and I do enjoy some of their fanfic

But so far SOME (not all) of elucien really is an anti Elain and a Lucien stan first. Like they really hate Elain to the point of dismissing her feelings and her actions towards Lucien is nothing but she’s a brat or a bitch or just a dumb girl who don’t know how to decide. And how she is so cruel towards Lucien because she’s his mate. Like really…

First of all, i dunno how they could hate half of their fav ship. Like why?? If you dont like Elain then why ship her with Lucien??

“Elain need to get herself together to realize how wonderful and kind Lucien is” …

what if the reason Elain does not want Lucien simply because he is not her type?? Why some people think Elain not accepting Lucien is like some sort of scheme or her being blind to the magnificance of Lucien like.. What if she’s just not interested full stop. Why the need to theorize that “oh Elain is traumatize and have this vision thats why she couldnt accept Lucien yet..”

“But Elain treat Lucien horribly, thats why she’s a bitch playing his feeling..”

This is controversial but for me as an Elain stan first, I would say it’s not Lucien is the problem. Its the mating bond. Her being uncomfortable is because of the bond that existed. Let’s say Eris is her mate, she might be uncomfortable to him instead.

“But why can’t she give Lucien a chance? He’s nice and kind to her”

Look the bond is one thing but her feelings I mean her feeling as a woman towards a man is another thing. What if the reason she does not give Lucien a chance is because she likes someone else? And back to my previous first point that maybe instead of Lucien, Azriel is her type? I mean why not because for Lucien his type is Jesminda kind of girl. He said so. He said Elain is nothing like Jesminda.

I get Lucien stan are furious because he’s heartbroken but could you really blame Elain 100%? I mean some of yall are mad because Elain wants to kiss Azriel but what abt Lucien staying in the same house with another woman? Who knows what they do together in the same house? And plus “How Lucien withstood it, I didn’t know. Not that he’d shown any interest in bridging that gap between them.” - ACOFAS

Lucien at least to Feyre, did not show interest in bridging that gap. He has no interest. But is that his fault? NO! And same as Elain, she also has no interested in bridging that gap! But is that her fault? NO! Then why some people only fault it on Elain??

Elain is not Lucien’s type and Lucien is not Elain’s type full stop. Its that simple. The only thing that bind them together is the mating bond. The question is do both of them want the bond at the first place? NO! Let me show you

Elain had been … thrown at him. - ACOWAR

“It means nothing,” Elain said, her voice breaking. “It means nothing. I don’t care who decided it or why they did—” - ACOWAR

Both Lucien and Elain does not want the bond at the first place. For Lucien Elain is just another obligation that had been thrown at him while Elain sees the bond as NOTHING. Not a symbol of love or even a friendship. Thats her belief and people including Lucien need to respect that. And lucky for Lucien since he also dont want the bond so what keeping them from rejecting each other?

They will but wouldnt it be nice if its from their own pov aka Elain’s or Lucien’s book (so we have to wait maybe in 2023 or 2024)

Both of them purposely not rejecting each other because they know the advantages of the bond. Maybe they have their own motive to keep the bond. Alliances? Preventing a greater war?

So that being said, I have nothing against Elucien shipper except some of them that blaming Elain for everything. And I have nothing against Lucien as he’s also the victim of the situation. What if they reject the bond but still find way towards each other? That be great and I hope sjm execute it well

#elain archeron #pro elain #pro lucien i guess #lucien vanserra

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elainsshadows · 3 years ago

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I want to talk about Elain today and her role in future books. I will also be talking about other ships at the end of this including: Lucien x Vassa, Lucien x Elain, and Azriel x Gwyn. These are merely my opinions and thoughts, this is not me trying to bash anyone else's opinions. I am open to having discussions as long as you are kind and respectful.

This is going to be long as a warning. Let's begin.

Quiet Strength

My friend recently start reading ACOTAR and she came to me one day and said that she had found a quote that she really liked. That quote was:

"She had looked at that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger" ~ ACOTAR, pg. 259

I know that a lot of antis like to bring up the fact that Elain didn't do anything but plant flowers and such while Feyre was out risking her life to put food on the table. Why hadn't Elain planted food instead? As someone who tried to garden vegetables with her dad one year I can tell you it's not as easy as flowers.

Maybe Elain was trying to bring some color into their drab little existence like Feyre had done with the paints. Maybe she wanted one thing to make her happy.

When Feyre comes to see them in ACOMAF, to ask for their help, it was Elain who said that they should help.

"If... if we do not help Feyre, there won't be a wedding." ~ ACOMAF pg. 247

"Feyre gave and gave - for years. Let us help her. Help... others." ~ ACOMAF pg. 248

Elain was risking a lot by saying they should now help their Fae sister. She was going to be married to someone who's family hated the Fae. If they found out what Elain and Nesta were doing it would probably be the end of her engagement to Graysen. They would become Fae sympathizers and like the Children of the Blessed we see mentioned throughout the books.

Would a coward risk all of this? Not to me they wouldn't.

When Rhys, Az, and Cassian arrive once Elain had cleared out the servants. Elain, while scared, still tries to be a good host to the four of them. I want to come back to this scene when I discuss Elriel because this was the moment that I first started thinking that they would make a good pair.

But while Nesta and Feyre are more bold with their actions like wielding swords, bow and arrows, knives, etc., Elain doesn't necessarily back down from a challenge. When given Truth-Teller she simply states that she doesn't know how to use it. She does not shove it back at Azriel and refuse it, she simply informs him she doesn't know how to use it.

Also when they had been captured by Hybern and all that mess was going down. Tamlin had been gunning for Feyre and it was Elain who did this:

"But Elain's cry - a warning. A warning to- To my right, now exposed, Tamlin ran for me. To grab me at last." ACOMAF pg. 602

Elain, despite being scared in this highly stressful situation, saw her sister in danger and tried her hardest to warn her. If it had not been for Elain, Tamlin might have been able to grab Feyre at that moment in all the confusion and chaos. Despite being in her nightgown and terrified she still tried to protect her younger sister.

Once again when people are in danger once the Wall had been taken down it was Elain who spoke up. She knew that Graysen's family's estate could help protect those closest to the Wall and from any Fae that may come to do them harm.

"Glamour me," Elain said - to Rhys. "Make me look human. Just long enough to convince him to open his gates to those seeking sanctuary." ~ ACOWAR pg. 471

"It's already ended badly. Now it's just a matter of deciding how we meet the consequences." ~ ACOWAR pg. 471

She's Fae now. If Graysen or any of his family or those working for them knew this (which we see that they did) then they might kill her on sight. She risked her life to make sure defenseless humans remained as safe as they could with the oncoming war.

When Azriel and Feyre go to Hybern's camp to save Elain they also save another human. They are being pursued and clearly, the human girl is terrified of them, but it is Elain that says this:

"Grab onto him!" Elain ordered to the wide-eyed human girl as Azriel thundered toward her. *skipped ahead* "Elain screamed at her, "If you want to live, do it now!" ~ ACOWAR pg. 577

She also does this when the King of Hybern's beasts are upon them:

"Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast's face. Its eye. *Skipped ahead* "Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home." ACOWAR pg. 577

Knowing that their lives are in danger and that if this beast does anything to Azriel's wings they are all going to die. She does not hesitate and does not back down as she goes after the beast with her barefoot.

She slays the King of Hybern as well:

"Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the King's neck as she snarled in his ear, "Don't you touch my sister." ~ ACOWAR pg. 652

She has a protective streak in her and she will go down swinging if she has to.

And this I just found interesting. Everyone seems to shy away from Amren, but in ACOFAS this happens when they're all eating together:

"Elain, to my surprise, held Amren's gaze." ~ ACOFAS pg. 108

I just like that she held Amren's gaze.

Being Feminine Isn't Boring

I see a lot of people saying that Elain being feminine is boring, that she isn't an exciting heroine. Yes, Elain isn't one of SJM's typical heroines, but I think that makes her all the more interesting. We've never seen someone who isn't like Aelin, Bryce, Feyre, and Nesta from SJM.

"Elain stood between Nuala and Cerridwen at the long worktable. All three of them covered in flour." ~ ACOWAR pg. 386

"Elain was in the kitchen, helping Nuala and Cerridwen prepare the evening meal." ~ ACOFAS pg. 101

"She'd been toiling in the estate gardens since dawn." ~ ACOSF pg. 28

"Elain had already departed with Feyre, claiming she had to be up with the dawn to tend to an elderly faerie's garden." ~ ACOSF pg. 311

Do I think Elain's entire book will be based on her baking and taking care of gardens? No, I don't. I think she is capable of more than that and that is going to lead into my next point.

Elain Archeron, 007

This is not a new theory and it isn't even one that I came up with. Many lovely Elriels have pointed out comparisons to Azriel and Elain and how he may even teach her how to be a spy. I think it is a perfectly lovely idea. Let me show you some quotes from the book that make me think that this could be a possibility.

"Elain spoke from the doorway, having appeared so silently that they all twisted toward her, "Using me." ~ ACOSF pg. 230

They were talking about looking for the Dread Trove here and scrying. They were debating who should do it when Elain stepped up. She has done this before and with her seer abilities she is a perfect choice for the job. Obviously several characters aren't thrilled with the idea (Nesta and Azriel being two of the ones that don't like the idea).

"Azriel stiffened, an outright sign of temper from him as he said quietly, "There is an innate darkness to the Drea Trove that Elain should not be exposed to." ~ ACOSF pg. 311

"Elain saw every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why." ~ ACOSF pg. 470

"You came," Elain said behind her, and Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach. *skipped ahead* "Wondering if she'd been taking lessons in stealth either from Azriel or the two half-wraiths she called friends." ~ ACOSF pg. 595

We see that even Nesta is questioning whether or not Elain has been having lessons. She very well could have or this could be a hidden talent that Nesta has never gotten to see or never cared to see because she viewed Elain as someone who is innocent and needing protection.

Nesta mothers Elain throughout the series, we constantly see her coming to Elain's defense, stepping in front of her, talking for her. And while Elain used to let that slide we can see now that she is coming into her own and not letting Nesta walk all over her.

"Elain said, "You can't have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater." ~ ACOSF pg. 232

I think Elain has been denied many things in her life because she has been seen as the most beautiful. Her own mother seeing her as nothing more than a pretty face that would be easy to marry off once she was of age. What will she do now that she has more freedom than she did before? Now that she will not become some lord's wife?

I do not see Elain as a warrior who is ready for battle, but I see her being ready for a different kind of battle.

"It took hours for Elain to work her charm on the staff to swiftly pack their bags and leave, each with a purse of money to hasten the process." ~ ACOMAF pg. 250

You know who else is charming? James Bond.

Being another pretty face has something going for Elain. No one would look at her and think "Yeah she's totally a spy." She can charm people, make them feel more at ease, and get them to open up. Maybe even enough that they think nothing of divulging things in front of her that otherwise shouldn't be overheard.

Maybe she can learn to glamour herself so that she is not recognizable to others. Who knows but I'm sure we'll find out when her book happens.

Welcome To Spring

One of my least favorite theories I've seen is that Elain will leave the Night Court and her family to go to Spring. Even going as far as saying that she will wind up with Tamlin. I don't think Feyre would let her sister wind up with her abuser plain and simple. Nor do I think Elain would fall for her sister's abuser just because he lives in a land of eternal spring and has flowers.

In ACOSF Nesta has this thought:

"Elain would love this place. So many flowers, all in bloom, so much green, *skipped ahead* But Elain... The Spring Court had been made for someone like her." ~ ACOSF pg. 454

While I do believe that Elain would love the Spring Court I do not think she would ever leave her family or friends behind.

"Two half-wraiths she called friends." ~ ACOSF pg. 595

"Cassian kissing Elain's cheek in greeting. *skipped ahead* Amren came next, giving my sister a nod. *skipped ahead* The Mor, with a smacking kiss for either cheek." ~ ACOFAS pg. 105

We also know that the sisters tend to consider one of the brothers friends. Feyre with Cassian, Nesta with Azriel, and I believe Rhys and Elain will also be friends. He seems to like Elain (certainly more than he likes Nesta).

Plus now there is Nyx in the mixture and why would she leave and miss out on her nephew growing up? What about if Nesta becomes pregnant and has a child? So no I do not believe that Elain will leave the Night Court.

Shipping Time

Here is where opinions and feelings may vary and people might not like what I have to say. Just know that these are merely my feelings on a ship. Ship what you want to ship, I am not here to gatekeep. These are merely my feelings on the matter. I'm going to start with the two ships I like: Elain x Azriel and Lucien x Vassa.

Elain Archeron x Azriel

I mentioned this earlier but I've been shipping them since ACOMAF. I saw the potential for them from the moment they began to interact.

"Elain rasped, "Nice to meet you," before hustling after her, the silk skirts of her cobalt dress whispering over the parquet floor." ~ ACOMAF pg. 253

I like the symbolism in this line. Cobalt = Azriel's siphons. Whispering = Azriel's shadows. While it might not be that deep as a writer I like the small things like this in my works. Things that later when you come back to them after something important happens that is a callback to something like this you can go "ooooh that makes sense now, yeah." We also do see other mentions of Elain wearing blue, but this post is long enough and it's only a few more times so I don't think it's worth noting. This part just sticks out to me because it's the first time they're meeting and like I said I love symbolism.

"Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, "Can you truly fly?" ~ ACOMAF pg. 256

Elain who has been taught to fear the Fae is talking to him, also probably leaning around Cassian - who she is seated next to and also has wings - and asking if he can fly.

Azriel responds on the same page saying, "We're born hearing the song of the wind." And her response of, "That's very beautiful." This is the same male who famously said he wouldn't need poetry to woo a woman. Maybe he's not trying to woo her here, but he's trying to impress her.

"Elain, noticing Azriel's ease as proof that things weren't indeed about to go badly offered one (a smile) of her own as well." ~ ACOMAF pg. 258

She seems mighty comfortable with a Fae she just met. Which leads my into my two mate theory that I've had for some time now.

We know the tweet where SJM says that someone can have two mates. This was during a time when one of the TOG novels was about to come out and was probably referencing something in there, but I think it would be interesting to see play out in this situation as well.

We've seen several times people questioning Elain and Lucien's mating bond. Feyre and Azriel both do it. Feyre during ACOWAR and Azriel in his bonus chapter from ACOSF.

We also know that not all mates are happy pairings ie. Rhysand's parents and Tamlin's parents. We also know that sometimes it's based on who would have the strongest offspring. We can see this reflected in both Rhysand and Feyre's mating (he's considered the most powerful High Lord and she has abilities from all seven HLs).

But what if Elain and Lucien aren't true mates? True mates to me is a happily mated pair like Feyre and Rhys as well as Nesta and Cassian. Azriel questions why his brothers were mated to two sisters while the third was mated to another. (Pardon me for not using quotes here, I do not have the bonus chapter so I am going from memory.)

Why indeed? And I think it was because he was on the floor dying at the time. We know that the Cauldron loves Elain, so if her true mate was on the floor dying and there was no guarantee for survival it would make sense for the Cauldron to gift Elain another mating bond.

I will talk more about this in the section where I discuss them as a ship, but I wanted to briefly mention it here.

We also know the scene where Azriel hands over Truth-Teller to her, something that shocks all of them. I think of Truth-Teller like Azriel's security blanket. Something that brings him comfort and he never ever wants to part with it. But he gives it to Elain.

After she was taken by the Cauldron and held captive at Hybern's camp. After she says this:

"She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. "You came for me." The shadowsinger only inclined his head." ~ ACOWAR pg. 573

Why did she look only to Azriel? Why did she seem so surprised that he would come for her? Kind of like how a princess might not believe that her prince has come for her. (Love me some Disney princess movies)

To me these two just fit together. And to me they are more like Hades and Persephone than Feyre and Rhysand are. And hear me out: Elain as Persephone, goddess of spring. Azriel as Hades, god of death. (Feyre once calls him Death when thinking of a painting of him and Elain. Death and the lovely fawn she called it). Some might see Azriel and Elain falling in love as stealing her away from her mother (or mate in this case).

Also if you want another mythology reference. Paris (Azriel), Helen (Elain), Menelaus (Lucien). Helen was considered the most beautiful and was stolen away from her husband Menelaus (though I think she went with Paris willingly so there's that.)

I see so many parallels and signs that point toward an Elriel endgame. We know Elain's book is in the works and I'm pretty sure it's next since Sarah has talked about doing research for her book. We also know that Sarah is excited to work with Azriel as well.

Moving on.

Lucien Vanserra x Vassa

I've been shipping them since ACOWAR. So not as long as Elriel, but since a bit. I think this was the line that did it for me:

"Indeed, Vassa still remained inside, chatting with Lucien animatedly. *skipped ahead* Lucien, surprisingly, was chuckling, his shoulders loose and his head angled while he listened." ~ ACOWAR pg. 690

Unlike with Elain, he seems comfortable around Vassa.

"Even with Elain here, he's become close with Jurian and Vassa. He's voluntarily living with them these days, and not just as an emissary. As their friend." ~ ACOSF pg. 57

I'm a sucker for the friends to lovers trope (it only falls after the enemies to lovers trope). And while we do not have a lot on them I can see the two of them being happy. I can see Lucien trying to find a way to make her immortal if that's what she wants. And I just want the two of them finding their HEA together in the final book.

My theory is that Vassa will be the MC of the last book and will deliver the killing blow to Koschei (as she should). I would love to see their journey together and their time together in the mortal lands especially since the mating bond would be severed at this point if Elriel is the book before this one. I want Lucien to be happy and I think that he could be happy with Vassa.

Elain Archeron x Lucien Vanserra

We know that Elain and Lucien are mates. He announced this on page 608 a little bit after Elain had come out of the Cauldron. But these two do not seem to fit together in my opinion. Now please note I have nothing against Elucien, I even like some of the fanart and the theories I have read are wonderful. I'm just personally not a fan of these two because of how they were thrust together.

When comparing Jesiminda and Elain, Lucien says this:

"Elain had been... thrown at him." ACOWAR pg. 249

I know Lucien wants to be happy and I know mates are special, but I don't necessarily think that Elain will be his happiness. I think that the way they met ruined that for them.

"But Elain blinked slowly, "You were in Hybern." *Skipped ahead* "You betrayed us." ACOWAR pg. 250 - 251

Lucien, however willing or unwillingly, did play some part in Elain being turned Fae. He was one of the reasons she could no longer go home or marry Graysen. I don't know if that's something that could be overcome especially since Elain is still dealing with the events of that day.

We also know that Elain tends to avoid him, shrinking in on herself when he's around. Another reason why I can't ship this is because I've been in a similar situation where people were pressuring me to be with someone I had no interest in. I know what it's like to hear "you two are perfect for each other", "you should give him a chance", "just try".

Their relationship is not evolving naturally like Feyre and Rhys's did or Cassian and Nesta's. I don't think Lucien would ever push the mating bond onto Elain, but I do think since it's something special to Fae he may cling to it more than she will.

Another thing about their bond that doesn't sit with me is how it is described.

"It felt... strange," Elain breathed. "Like you pulled on a thread tied to a rib." ACOWAR pg. 301

"There's a bond - it's a real thread," he said, more to himself than us." ACOWAR pg. 301

Other bonds have been described as "so much golden thread" or an "unbreakable chain". But Elain and Lucien's is described as a singular thread that feels as though it were attached to a rib. To me mating bonds are like soulmates, why would that bond be attached to a rib and not the heart or her being?

I believe that once again either the Cauldron created this bond between them or maybe they are not what's considered a "perfect match" like Elain's sisters with their mates are.

I will say this: If Elain and Lucien do wind up together I won't be mad. Sure they are not my preferred ship, but they both deserve happiness and can find it together then good for them. We will just have to wait and see where SJM takes them.

Azriel x Gwyn Berdara

I've lowkey been dreading talking about them because of how toxic this fanwar between Elriels and Gwynriels gets. Once again this is just my opinion and my theories. No hate or shade to any of the shippers. I will not be bashing theories. If you don't want to read my thoughts then please just leave now and pretend you never saw this.

I do not like Azriel and Gwyn as a ship for one very big reason: power imbalance. Azriel saved Gwyn from a highly traumatic experience. Now before I go any further let me say that I brought this up to my mom who also reads the series but isn't a shipper, she just reads them to enjoy them. I asked her what she thought of Az x Gwyn as a pairing and if she would like to see that and she said no that she also felt there would be a power imbalance.

Gwyn is a strong character, but I do not think I could get behind her and Az as a couple because of how they met.

I also do not believe that Gwyn will be the MC of any of the last books there are. We still have Elain's book, possibly a Mor book, or even Vassa. There are too many people from the original trilogy that we need to see books for. While I will not rule out a book in the future I don't see her getting one now.

I know the necklace is a hot button issue, but I also don't believe that Clotho gave it to her. We never hear it mentioned in the main portion of the book and I think Clotho knew how troubled Azriel was and thought that she should hold onto it just in case.

"You're the new ribbon, Az," ~ ACOSF pg. 623

Gwyn is a competitive person, to me this line that Nesta says is here merely telling Az that Gwyn's next challenge would be to prove him wrong about the training course. Nesta knows of Azriel's feelings for her sister by this point, so I don't see this line as her teasing Az about Gwyn possibly having a crush on him.

But again these are just how I interpret things between them.

These are all my thoughts at the moment that I'm going to share. If you would like to have a discussion my ask box is open. Hate will not be tolerated though.

#Elain Archeron #Elriel #Azriel #pro Elain Archeron #pro Azriel #pro Elriel #ACOTAR 5 #ACOTAR 5 predictions #ACOTAR theories

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acourtofthought · 1 year ago

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Hi! I love your blog! I came into the fandom a bit late and kinda liking Elriel (their art was cute!), but they don’t really do it for me anymore & I think Elucien and Gwynriel would have more interesting journeys. An argument I’ve been seeing a lot since Azriel’s POV chapter is that the series is about the sisters, and Azriel would never have his own book (I’m guessing because an Azriel book would kinda rule out an Elriel endgame). But then a lot of the same people go on to say Lucien and Vassa would have their own book, which then comes across as pushing Lucien into another relationship to get him out of the way… so idk.

I thought the original three (and a half?) books were about Feyre’s journey and then SJM expanded the series and decided to explore different characters with two POVs per book. I feel like this was said in an interview, but I don’t have it on hand. I enjoyed reading about Nesta; and I do think Elain is getting a much needed book, but that still leaves at least one more novel and a novella. I could see the novella being multiPOV like ACOFAS, but I would imagine the second upcoming novel would follow characters that aren’t Archerons (if not Azriel, then maybe Mor? There’s still a lot to discover with her!). Sorry for the rambling & if you addressed this before. At the end of all this, my question is: has it been stated the series is only about the sisters? Or is that born out of specific shipping preferences?

Hey there!!

I actually started off in the fandom like you did, thinking E/riel was going to be a thing but when I went back and really dived into the books I switched up my preference.

I'm not sure whether it's selective memory or whether certain people only share certain snippets of these interviews and that's when the rumors and misinformation runs wild.

I do think the sisters inspired her to realize there was more to the ACOTAR series than just what was going on with Feysand:

But we know for a fact that the spin offs were never only going to be about the sisters:

She confirmed each spin-off would follow one new pairing and as there were two sisters and three new full length books, I don't know how anyone can claim the series was only ever about them. She said there were various stories she was deciding on for the third book, one that might even take place before the events of ACOTAR. There's also an interview where she says, "and I say three but" there are so many stories she wants to tell so while we know with certainty that Elain and Nesta were always getting a book.....

...she never planned on stopping there and I think that's proven by the recent announcement that she is now contracted for an additional 4 books beyond the two she still has left in ACOTAR (some of those 4 could be additional ACOTAR ones).

Maybe the debate is more centered around who was getting the first two spin-offs? That they feel it should be the sisters because her plan since ACOMAF was to always continue on with their journeys?

To that, I do see the point they're making because if SJM originally thought the third spin-off was going to be a prequel then logic would be that Nesta and Elain got the first two books. SJM obviously drew them into the series in a major way by introducing them to their mates all the way in book 2.

But the problem with the other side is they are convinced that means Az will be getting a shared pov when what's more likely is that Elain was to have a shared pov with Lucien.

Say the third book was going to be a prequel and that meant we only had two books left in the current world of ACOTAR. In ACOWAR, who had more unresolved plotlines which would make sense for a pov in the second spin-off, Az or Lucien?

Az had open ended storylines for sure, his unrequited love for Mor and his hatred of the Illyrians.

But who was the unknown heir to the Day Court with unknown powers? A brother who wanted to reconnect with him? Who had been chased out of his home in Spring and has no real home right now? Who had recently suffered SA and abuse? Who had an unresolved mating bond? Whose father was still abusing his mother and refusing to allow him into Autumn to see her? Who befriended a female with a still unbroken curse and traveled to the continent where Koschei is? Who had traveled with Elain's father before his death, a big deal when you consider how close she was to him?

Lucien had just as much setup as Elain and I think that means SJM knew he and Elain were the book she was sure about while deciding on who was getting the third. Because again, there was a chance the third was going to have nothing to do with the current cast if it was to be set in the past. To me that means she was planning on wrapping up Lucien's storyline in the second, along with Elain's. I find it impossible to believe that he's played a starring role since book 1, had trauma after trauma thrown his way, was shocked at finding out he had a mate after believing he had already lost her (a MMC storyline for sure when you consider Rowan), only for her to just forget about him in favor of E/riel being the second book.

I think, in trying to prove their ship is happening, some pick and choose specific lines from her interviews that support their narrative. We all do this in our interpretation of them to some degree but the problem comes when people manipulate the interviews, sharing single lines while cropping the rest and passing that around the fandom as the whole story. Or paraphrasing her actual words in a way that twists them in their favor rather than supplying the actual interview.

#elucien #pro elucien #antie/riel #anti e/riel #acotar series

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bookofmirth · 2 years ago

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Just so you know I answered you all out of order (I think) because I am trying to work at the same time and I kept having different thoughts and I was scrolling back and forth through your response 😂 Also I'm putting this under the cut again because boy howdy long post!

I think re: whether Nesta and/or Cassian did or said hurtful things to one another, ultimately, I don't really care 😬 Feyre threw a shoe at Rhys in anger, he didn't tell her about their mating bond, he hid the pregnancy from her, Rowan hit Aelin, Aelin told Rowan she agreed with the genocide of his people, Bryce consistently disregards Hunt's trauma and wonders why he can't just get over things. None of those things stop me from shipping any of those couples (except quinlar because I just don't like her haha). That's just to explain my perspective on why I can still get on board with nessian. If characters do mean things to each other, 95% of the time I just shrug because it's mainly there for conflict and drama.

She’s not in the wrong to ask for this. At this point Nesta doesn’t resort to insults yet he tells her he can’t see why her sisters love her or that she needs to try harder or leave. This is what I mean about Feyre/Nesta pov is subjective because in Feyre’s pov one can see Cassian has emotional intelligence but in Nesta’s that’s not really obvious

See I agree with this! I think Cassian probably should have left Nesta alone at that point, especially when she's explicit with her wishes. Two thoughts 1) Nesta doesn't normally ask people to leave her alone, she just insults them until they do. At this point it's been about 9 months since acowar and the IC, Feyre, and Elain have done nothing but leave Nesta alone. I don't think it's reasonable for them to completely sever ties with her. You don't leave the people you love alone to suffer. 2) Cassian realizes in acosf that the reason Nesta wanted to be left alone was because of the sound of the fire reminding her of her father's neck breaking, and he feels bad that he didn't realize that. And how could he? Nesta doesn't ever open up to anyone. She doesn't have to, but she also can't have it both ways, where people understand and respect her space, but she never offers them anything in return. That's a really unfair, uneven relationship. (I am speaking of Nesta in acofas and acosf, not prior to that. Before that, she had been making efforts.)

I don't think that Cassian having emotional awareness is a black and white thing, that he either has it or he doesn't. I think he has more than other characters (e.g. Az in regards to himself) but it doesn't always come through when his own emotions are clouding his judgement. It doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing thing. So he absolutely had emotional awareness about what Feyre was going through and was able to support her through things that she wasn't necessarily expressing out loud in acomaf. That's not untrue, just because he wasn't able to figure out that Nesta had trauma around fires. Perhaps when he's more emotionally invested, it's harder for him to make those observations. That would make sense, to me.

I've made the analogy before that Feyre and Nesta's povs are like watching a movie with a GoPro strapped to Feyre's head in acotar-fas, and now with acosf we are watching the movie in widescreen. It's not that either of them were wrong or distorted, just that we get more in acosf because the narration isn't attached only to Nesta.

The similarities of how both are experts at this mental warfare both at the hands of abusive parents that raised them to have those traits.

Agree! I think Nesta and Eris are an interesting ship because of how horrible they could make one another 😂 I think it would be toxic and I love the occasional toxic ship (hello darklina). But - and I know you're going to hate this statement, but I'm going to make it anyway - this is what makes me think about when Mor says that Nesta would "thrive" in the Court of Nightmares. Mor doesn't think Nesta would suffer there, or be tortured there, or be abused there. She thinks that Nesta would rule the place. And doesn't the fandom, or at least part of it, agree? And for me, the overarching conflict in acosf is whether Nesta will embrace that nature, or if she will move down a healthier path because, as we know from Nesta's internal thoughts, she doesn't actually want to act the way that she's acting. She regrets a lot of the things that she says.

But having her carry the pack that was purposefully made heavy,

Didn't Az make these packs, though 👀 I checked and he did:

Cassian soared over the House of Wind to find Azriel there, hovering in place, a heavy pack in his hand. [...] He picked it up, muscles shifting in his forearm with the weight, and walked to her before dumping it between her feet. “I can’t fit a pack that big on my back with the wings. So you’ll be carrying it.” Had Azriel known that? From the icy, amused gleam in Cassian’s eye, she thought yes.

So yep, that is on Azriel. And maybe Cassian shouldn't be smug about it, but he didn't get that ball rolling, Az did, and yes, intentionally. (Also lol why was Azriel just hovering there?)

I’m heavy on the idea that removing that large age gap would help me see Cassian/IC from a more balanced perspective.

There is definitely the potential for that age gap to have resulted in Cassian having more maturity, but I don't think that sjm has actually written these characters to act like 500+ year olds. Not that it's possible for us to know what a person would be like, but they act like they are in their 20s and 30s, to me. The only character that I think acts really old is Amren. So maybe in theory Cassian could be more mature, but it's not a guarantee, even if sjm were better at writing these super old characters. I don't personally like the way that implies we should to hold Cassian to a higher standard in the relationship because of his age, because it should be a partnership.

I do think that, in regards to the way Nesta treats people and the way that they treat her, there is a huge difference. This is probably the subject of a different post, but Nesta does not offer people the same compassion and understanding that they initially offer her. The fact that they rescind those offerings after she rebuffs them is not at all surprising. She is learning to be better, because the things she says to people are often really, really not okay, and she knows that, and that's the whole reason she is saying them. But to me it's apples and oranges.

My response to Nesta's character stems from my belief that experiences and feelings are not an excuse for cruelty. If I'm having a bad day, I try really hard not to take it out on other people, and I've had enough relationships where I become someone else's emotional punching bag. At some point, I don't care what the rationale is. That's where I'm at with Nesta. I think she's a really fascinating character and I like exploring her emotions, but I do not agree with her behavior at all. Cassian honestly had way more patience with Nesta than I would have. After one rude remark, I would have been like "peace, have a nice life!" and gotten out. I just say that to further explain my perspective on their ship and their behavior towards one another. I am more forgiving of Cassian than perhaps other readers would be, because I wouldn't have kept trying as long as he did.

I was wondering if you would be willing to take on an analysis of Cassian and Nesta’s relationship. I’m a sucker for romance and when I first read acosf I was so excited and happy for all the nessian although there were parts I felt so angry with Cassian because I felt were extremely unnecessary, like making Nesta carry a heavy pack all while not noticing her dehydration, telling her he’s shackled and not getting a decent reconciliation, to name a few. I feel like the story has this imbalance between the two characters because everyone already sees Cassian as this funny, mistreated by society, handsome huge cuddle bear in Feyre’s pov and we see Nesta as this unnecessary asshole in her pov. That, paired with Nesta’s self loathing, is why I can see why some readers are led to believe Nesta is awful to Cassian and might even go as far as agree that she needs to be worthy of him (which is why I have feelings about Mor who is an NC leader and one of her job titles is to help abused women but that’s another topic) then to read it explicitly in Nesta’s pov at the ending of acosf is what made me abandon the ship almost completely. which is a problem because we’ve agreed in previous posts just as Nesta’s pov is subjective by that same logic so is Feyre’s.

I loved reading your thoughts about Nesta and her father since that also didn’t make sense to me. I always figured Nesta’s trauma stemmed from the matriarchal side of her family and it’s helping me come to a certain understanding. I was just hoping maybe your perspective might give nessian a fresh angle I’m missing.

Hello! I will do my best. I assume we probably won't agree 100% but I am very much in the mood to lend some nuance to Nesta's character since the fandom is either intensely anti her or pro her, and both stances distort her character (and tbh some of the takes I've seen COMPLETELY missed the point of her entire character and of acosf, not to mention they are super vitriolic and antagonistic towards other people in the fandom. Calm the fuck down, y'all. No you op, just... the fandom.)

I take nessian as being a very different type of ship than any of sjm's others. Her other ships have tension that usually stops short of cruelty, but nessian are very aggressive as a couple and that energy turns antagonistic sometimes. Their dynamic is what made sjm make them mates, because Nesta is a force to be reckoned with and Cassian is not only strong enough to be with her and give it back, but he doesn't turn away from her either, when so many people in her life have stopped trying (Amren, Elain, Feyre to an extent).

I put the rest of this under the cut because it got very long!

Honestly, it confuses me when people get mad at Cassian for being mean to Nesta because that street goes both ways. They both say horrible things to each other that they know will wound, though Nesta does it first and more often. She calls him a brute and a bastard, when we know that that's one of his major insecurities. And this starts in Wings and Embers!

Her brows flattened. “Leader of the High Lord’s armies, and yet the brute remains. You cannot cow me with words, so you seek to intimidate me through your hulking size.”

Rhys, Az, and Cassian all call each other bastards on occasion but with them it's Bastard (affectionate). When Nesta calls Cassian a bastard/brute, she does it à la Beron and Eris. I honestly can't include all the times that she insults him that way. He lets it go at first, but then we know that, in his POV, this is actually an insult that gets under his skin and something he thinks about himself - much in the same way that Nesta thinks negative things about herself:

They were all staring. Cassian rolled his tensed shoulders, stretching out his wings. He’d revealed too much. Like a stupid brute, he’d let them all see too much, learn too much.

And someone else who uses that against him is Eris:

Cassian clenched his jaw. “So you’re to be my ally whether I wish it or not?” “The brute understands at last.” Cassian ignored the barb.

“It’s the ugliness of his fucking soul that riles me. I don’t care if he calls me a mongrel bastard.” Eris had called him such things today, she realized. Rage rippled through her. “It’s just that, ally or not, I hate him. He’s so slick and unruffled and … I can’t stand him.” He set down his fork and stared toward the window behind her. “Eris and his twisted word games and politics are an enemy I don’t know how to handle. Every time I meet with him, I feel like he’s got the upper hand. Like I can only catch up to him, and he sees through my every fumbling attempt at being clever. Maybe that makes me a stupid brute after all.”

And it's ironic to me that Nesta gets angry at how Eris insulted Cassian in that way, because she has done the exact same thing. So she knows that her blows are landing. In fact, that's why she does it. Nesta has identified a weakness and exploits it in order to push Cassian away, so I'm not surprised that it worked and he snaps. That's the reaction she's going for and that's the kind of behavior she needs to change because she's constantly pushing people away and then getting angry/sad when they leave.

The reason that I am emphasizing the things that Nesta has done here is not to say any of this is her fault, but that they both dish it out, and if we read the whole scenes, it usually starts with Nesta because that's just where she's at in her life right now. I dislike the arguments that because Cassian is older, he should know better or whatever, because 1) Nesta is an adult, and 2) as an Elder Millennial lol I know that age doesn't mean anything when it comes to maturity. In fact, I've lost my fucks with increasing frequency over the past few years. I know 20 year olds who are more mature than 40 year olds. It's just not that simple!

To go back to my initial point about their relationship, I think that even once the intention to harm is gone, now that some reconciliation has happened and they accept the mating bond, they will continue to be that aggressive couple. Feysand are leaders, nessian are warriors, and in the future I see elucien as co-conspirators and gwynriel as competitors. Nesta and Cassian both fight for what they care about, in the literal fighting sense, so it seems natural that that bleeds into their relationship a bit when they are still butting heads and trying to figure out how they work.

There are a couple of things you pointed out that I've noticed other people mention, so I wanted to discuss them!

like making Nesta carry a heavy pack all while not noticing her dehydration

I personally don't have an issue with the hike as a whole (I have another ask where I'll touch on it), but I did read this thing where Nesta passed out from dehydration as being both of their faults. Cassian just isn't paying attention, he forgets that Nesta isn't a hundreds of years old Illyrian tough guy and she *had barely gotten to the bottom of the stairs at the HoW (edit because I forgot she did that just before these shenanigans). Nesta is a grown adult, he's not her babysitter, she could have said something but instead she just suffered. (I wonder if that was also in line with her self-destructive behavior in acofas?) They're basically both being dumb here.

telling her he’s shackled

While he is doing this to hurt Nesta in that scene, all of the acotar mates thus far have said that about their mate. Lucien said it about Elain and Rhys about Feyre, though theirs were in more self-deprecating ways. To me, it just goes back to the push and pull that Nesta and Cassian have. I think the conflict in that scene is that they are essentially talking about two different things - for Cassian, Nesta rejecting the mating bond is her rejecting him. But for Nesta, the mating bond has nothing to do with Cassian and everything to do with her lost humanity. Cassian is taking her reaction personally (and why wouldn't he, when she has spent so much time picking at his insecurities?) and she is thinking of how the Cauldron and being Made affected her (and why wouldn't she, when she is still grappling with her trauma?) They are basically both thinking of themselves! And not considering how the other one feels.

and not getting a decent reconciliation

I think *fingers crossed* that we will see them in a much better place in future books. SJM said that Nesta's story will continue, so I'm just going to be optimistic here. Since the narration won't follow either of their perspectives anymore (we assume) we probably won't get an in-depth exploration of it. In fact, I was surprised when I got towards the end of acosf that I only had 30 more pages because I knew that so much still needed to happen. The end was very rushed but that's a whole different issue 😂

I am curious what you think of them after this! They aren't my favorite acotar ship; that's reserved for feysand and elucien, at least in canon. But I really love Cassian's character for his combination of strength and vulnerability, and Nesta is probably the most complex and interesting thus far, so I enjoy them from that standpoint.

#long post tag #nessian #thoughts on characters

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juusworld5728 · 4 years ago

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Lets talk about Azriel’s shadows...

I think that a lot of people seem to forget what Azriel’s shadows actually represent and what different reaction from them actually mean.

Lets start at the very beginning to his childhood... For the first 11 years of his life, Azriel lived in a cell with no windows or light. He was allowed to come out only for an hour a day, and to see his mother for one hour every week. There are many different ways that one can argue how Azriel came to acquire his shadowsinging abilities or whether it was something genetic (either way, its very rare). Rhysand did mention that he might’ve learned to speak to his shadows in the cell that he was kept in. Either way, his shadows are not something of his past that he necessarily wants to remember. Whether he’s appreciative of those shadows now does not reflect the fact that they were born out of fear and loneliness.

In terms of personality, it’s very important to note how he reacts to things and different people. The way that I see it, he uses his shadows as a defense mechanism. Whenever he’s in an uncomfortable situation, he tends to hide in a corner and his shadows surround him to block from sight. However, when he’s in a good situation or surrounded by certain people, they seem to go away. A lot of people see that as a bad thing, but his shadows are not only supposed to represent his powers, but also his very traumatic past. Soooo you might ask, what exactly do the shadowsinger’s shadows represent?

Well, here is my take. Those shadows in terms that are not power-based, represent that very same cell that he was locked in for the first 11 years of his life. I’m not talking about Nuala and Cerridwen here. I’m talking about his defense mechanism shadows. This wonderful male was trapped without social contact, friends, or anyone to rely on. So yeah, he will be introvert. He has a family, but that doesn't stop him from the fact that his social skills will not be the best in comparison. His shadows represent his loneliness that he feels he deserves and craves when he feels cornered. For the first 11 years of his life, that was ALL HE KNEW. When his shadows “brighten” or are nowhere to be seen, I can imagine that as being the hour he had out of his cell every day. That feeling of relief and freedom. Yes, he needs to learn to accept himself more and who he has become. However, that can be done in the sense that his shadows do not have to be around him ALL THE TIME.

Now, in terms of relationships:

Mor: His first love. At the young age of around 19. Only 8 years after he’s been let out into society and learned his way through. Does he even know how to handle love?? Probably not. He was born a bastard and probably saw his mother being treated like shit by his father and stepmother. So I doubt love is something he believes in at this point. However, he does fall in love with her. His reaction to that? What he knows best. Avoidance. That dark cell still very present in his mind. That feeling of being very aware of how broken you are but don’t know how to fix it. He does not want to put that burden on Mor. Everything that happens between Cassian and Mor probably makes him feel even worse. Throughout the years though, he can’t help but feel happy just to be around her and in her presence (hence why his shadows disappear). It can be argued that he's known that she hasn't been interested for a while. Maybe what he truly craved wasn't the actual love that he wanted from Mor, but the feeling of love that came from her that made his shadows go away. He craved it and wanted to be around her for that feeling.

Elain: The first time that Azriel meets Elain is in the human lands. She asks him if he can truly fly. He blushes and gets flustered, and why? Do you think that maybe a lot of people haven't bothered to see him in a certain light to ask those type of questions? I mean sure he has his family, but this human girl that is supposedly terrified of him because he’s fae, asks him such a simple and light-hearted question... Slowly but surely, in ACOWAR he beings to get more comfortable with her. She’s broken but at the same time, holding on. He takes notice of a certain light that she radiates as well as her seer powers a little bit later. The first time they’re brought over to the House of Wind, she calls his scars beautiful. The importance of this scene is very overlooked. She called the thing that makes him the most insecure, induces the most amount of fear, and creates his hatred... beautiful. This woman that barely knows him has already accepted every part of him. He further loves to glance out at the garden (a place of happiness that reminds him of Elain) and loves to look at that hidden light in her eyes that makes his shadows either brighten or disappear. It’s very similar to the feeling with Morrigan, but more direct and has incentive. Now, lets talk about truth-teller (the knife that always strikes true). That is one part of himself that he has never shared with ANYONE. Why did he give her truth-teller? Because Elain has already accepted every part of him. Truth-teller is an extension to himself in a sense. Something that belongs wholly to him and makes him feel safe. He trusts Elain enough to give her a part of himself. A very vulnerable moment never seen before by Azriel. In ACOFAS, When Azriel asks about Lucien, he truly does not want to spy on him. It could be for privacy reasons because of Elain but also because he’s afraid of what he’ll see from him in terms of Elain. His siphons gutter and he stutters over his words. Now, winter solstice was a very light-hearted moment but very important as well. As we can tell, Elain is the perfect gift-giver. She gives Azriel a potion for his headaches which is perfect and very hilarious since he laughs (he’s never laughed before in Feyre’s presence). It’s very telling to Elain’s personality as being a very attentive person which amounts to her really caring about Azriel and what’s going on with him. He tends to be pretty hidden and keeps a poker face most of the time, so for her to notice the little things like that is very important. I rest my case..... for now.

Gwyn: I honestly cannot say much about this ship. What I can say are from pages I have been sent and trends I have been seeing through Azriel’s personality. It seems to me like Azriel is the least tense around people he considers his friends and brothers. Even though he's usually pretty serious anyways, the bat boys seem really comfortable with each other. When Mor was around (especially in ACOMAF), he would get worried. However, when she wasn't paying to him, his shadows would disappear (similar things happened with Elain). It seems to me like Gwyn has an outwardly fun personality and Azriel has no problem with that because he is not worried about anything happening. The most I’ve seen from the books between them is simple banter that included the rest of the friend group. When either of them talk, what I’ve seen from Azriel is amusement. That amusement results in Azriel’s shadows dancing around HIMSELF. Not anyone else. No, the shadows did not dance around Gwyn or any other person. I currently see this as a friendship and would need more build-up for me to even ship it. It seems like Azriel seems fine acting like this with people he is not worried about catching feelings with.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

#acosf #acotar #azriel #azriel meta #biggest wingspan #azriel's shadows #elriel #elriel vibes #pro elain #elain x azriel #azriel x elain #morrigan #the gentle grower of things #elain archeron #acosf spoilers

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