#death x the lovely fawn

[sc11vb]

Hey guys! It’s your favourite Elriel. Today I’m here with some Elriel quotes I found while re-reading ACOMAF.

Let me start off by asking Gwynriels if they have actually read this book. Like … how can you read it and think that Azriel’s only after Elain for sex????

And also … as much as I do love Lucien, he was awful in this book. I get that he thinks Tamlin’s doing the right thing, and that he owes him - but Feyre’s his friend too.

All right, let’s get started. Spoilers ahead - so proceed with caution. And this is going to be a lengthy post; please bear with me.

Azriel had been in love with Mor for 500 years. This, we know.

“Mor patted Azriel on the shoulder as she dodged his outstretched wing. ‘Relax, Az—no fighting tonight. We promised Rhys.’

The lurking shadows vanished entirely as Azriel’s head dipped a bit.”

This is significant for so many reasons. Although this is an Elriel post and not a M/oriel one, you need to bear with me. At this point in the book, Az has not yet met Elain. He is still completely in love with Mor. And when she touches him—boom, his shadows disappear. We have GAs coming at us left and right because Az’s shadows vanish when Elain is around. They think that she’s washing away his true nature, whatever. And they insist that Elriel’s connection is either not there, or a romantic one. But they can admit that he loved Mor—so why can’t they realise that his shadows vanishing is not a bad thing.

“‘My father and mother, despite being mates, were wrong for each other … My mother was soft and fiery and beloved by everyone she met. She hated him after a time—but never stopped being grateful that he had saved her wings, that he allowed her to fly whenever and wherever she wished.’” - Rhys

Okay, we’ve got mated not being the right match for each other. GAs say that SJM is a fated mates author—and yes, the majority of her couples are all mates. But just the fact that “wrong for each other” was put in there—that’s pretty significant. Not all mates are a dream couple, and this is something that GAs need to learn.

“My sisters both stiffened at Cassian and Azriel, at those mighty wings tucked in tight to powerful bodies, at the weapons, and then at the devastatingly beautiful faces of all three males.

Elain, to her credit, did not faint.”

I don’t think this quote has too much Elriel in it, but just that last line from Feyre … Azriel is a frightening male. Handsome, but honestly scary. And although I’m 100 % sure that Feyre is underestimating Elain, I think that last quote is saying something, for sure.

“Elain rasped, ‘Nice to meet you,’ before hustling after her, the silk skirts of her cobalt dress whispering over the parquet floor.”

COBALT skirts?! We see you, SJM! You mean, cobalt like Azriel’s siphons?

And let me just ask the GAs—does this scream Gwyn and Azriel to you? I didn’t think so.

This quote is put down, over and over and over again, but obviously the message isn’t clear enough.

“‘And I think Elain—Elain would like it too. Though she’d probably cling to Azriel, just to have some peace and quiet.’

I smiled at the thought—at how handsome they would be together.”

Elain and Az are the quieter ones. More civilised, as Feyre calls them in an earlier chapter. And yes, Feyre, I do agree that Elain and Az would be handsome together. Gosh, they might even make the best couple in this series, don’t you think? I’d certainly say so.

Look, nowhere am I saying that Elain and Az don’t want to have sex. In fact, I think they might be the freakiest of the ACOTAR couples. But when I say that sex isn’t the only thing they want to do or have together, I mean it. Soft moments like the ones Feyre thinks of—the gentle brushes of their hands as they walk by each other, the meeting of hazel and brown eyes—those are necessary to build their story. And they have those. A quick, longing glance in the corridor, only broken when they’re too far away.

The next ACOTAR book is going to be the best I’ve read, I think.

And here’s a bonus quote—just because I love you guys.

6. “‘Amren and Mor told me that the span of an Illyrian male’s wings says a lot about the size of … other parts.’

His eye shot to mine, then to pine-tree-coated slopes below. ‘Did they now.’

… ‘They also said Azriel’s wings are the biggest.’”

And we all know that Feyre’s telling the truth, right?

[hereforelriel]

Art🎨: art_by_ava.georgia

Whew! 🥵

[ater-love]

Death and the maiden

Art by Dudledudlesss

“Death and the lovely fawn” takes inspiration from “Death and the maiden” one of the most popular tropes in the renaissance era.

There have been many paintings and sculptures regarding this concept and obviously it holds many meanings, but the one that relates the most to Azriel and Elain is:

The maiden would rather embrace death and be in its arms than being stuck in a loveless arranged marriage.

P.s. Obviously Elain isn’t going to die because in our case Azriel is the literal personification of death.

[lovelyfawnxx]

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓮𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓹𝔂𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻

🎨 art by termesart

[highladyjane]

- Unknown

“The lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and Dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two."

[a-court-of-lust-and-stardust]

*taps microphone* Is this thing on?

I'd like to give my perspective on something, from someone who started out in the ACOTAR fandom as part of the general audience, and who has a sister that is not apart of fandom but has read the books.

I read the series back in November 2023 in about 2 weeks. I stayed off of social media for a bit until I decided to make a Tumblr account.

After reading the books, I wasn't sure if the series was complete. It didn't feel complete. The first three books focused on Feyre. Nesta had an entire, almost 800 page book dedicated to her. For me, it was natural to assume, "Oh, Elain is next!" because logically, that was the only thing that made sense. Why would two sisters have books, but the third wouldn't? The series would seem incomplete.

Flash forward, and I find out that yes, there will be more to come in the series. However, at this point, I was still unaware that a bonus chapter for Silver Flames existed until a friend casually mentioned it. I asked where to find it and I began reading.

The first part of the bonus chapter confirmed what I already believed from reading the books. Azriel and Elain share mutual feelings. Truly, I didn't need confirmation in the bonus, because there were moments in the books that I already had picked up on. The bonus was just a nice surprise. Something fun.

But imagine my shock when I decided to insert myself into fandom space as a casual reader, and see folks who are 110% convinced that the next book's main character is going to be a secondary side character that was introduced about 40% of the way into the 4th book.

You don't have to imagine my shock, because I'll tell you. The moment I set foot into this fandom, I have been beyond confused. Bamboozled. Befuddled. And honestly, a bit gaslit.

Prior to this bonus chapter, I assumed everyone thought it was obvious and picked up on the pattern. The first sister gets a few books to explore her powers, heal, and fall in love. The second sister gets a book to do the exact same thing. The third sister would get a book...to do the exact. same. thing.

There was a week where I had zero idea that the bonus chapter existed. There are STILL people who have no idea that the bonus chapter exists, and may never end up reading it. These people are not on Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram, or Discord, discussing in depth theories and potential love squares. They are solely relying on canon text.

So, genuinely, what do you think their reactions are going to be, if the next book does not focus on Elain, the third sister, but rather a priestess, who was part of someone else's story, who was only just introduced in the very last book, who does not have any ties to the plot? Yes. They will be lost, too.

My sister, who is part of the general audience, and is not present in fandom spaces, has the same opinion. The idea of Azriel and Elain not ending up together doesn't make sense to her. Prior to showing her the bonus, she had already assumed Azriel and Elain would be the next pairing in the next series. Because she had only read the canon text. The canon text that is available to everyone. The bonus is not.

So, essentially, what I'm trying to say is, if the next book does not feature Elain as the main character, and Azriel as the main love interest, with sprinkles of Lucien here and there because he is still important because of the mating bond, then there will be a gigantic chunk of casual readers, who are not involved in fandom spaces, that will be utterly confused at the direction of the story. Because for people who are not on social media, they are only using the canon books. Their information is only coming from the canon books that are available for all readers. If information in bonus chapters is supposed to be important, then it would be featured in books for everyone to read.

[sadiegirl2021]

"Life and death and rebirth. Sun and moon and dark. Rot and bloom and bones."

{Elain x Koschei}

[lunaduskxo]

This scene alone tells me that Elain can most definitely handle Azriel’s darkness. Baby girl will light him up.

[violetasteracademic]

What does it take for regifted jewelry to be romantic?

Rambling crap post that will literally only make sense of you have seen the movie The Family Stone but let's do it.

Sometimes I genuinely try to understand other ships. I actually really mean that, in a deeply authentic and non sarcastic way. If this shipwar wasn't so nasty, I'd engage with other people the way I do with my real, human, offline friends- some of whom are E/lucien's and G/wynriels. They are genuinely wonderful people who are not chronically online like we are (and we are, there's no point throwing that around as an insult) and they don't actually care that much. They are just going off vibes - but would be absolutely disgusted to see the violent misogyny and bullying that takes place here. We enjoy talking to each other about the ships, even when we don't agree.

Typically, when I am trying to understand something, I seek out more of it. I've asked my friends for fated mate book recommendations that match E/Lucien's story (meeting your mate, then genuinely falling for another person that is absolutely right for you in every way except for the fact that he is not your mate, and somehow the plot leads to falling in love with your mate that you don't like anyways because fate is always right and never makes mistakes, even if everyone is questioning it because you have feelings for someone else) and I haven't been able to find anything. The closest I can get is meeting your mate when you are possibly already in love/engaged/what have you to someone else and then you find out that person you are already with is actually the worst (aka Graysen) and then you wind up falling in love naturally and authentically with your mate. This is what makes it work. The person who isn't your mate showing his true colors and realizing you were wrong about them.

I think this is why Azriel's character has been rewritten to create a moment of the male Elain is actually into showing his true colors. Otherwise, her moving on to her mate that she isn't interested in just because the guy she likes rejected her literally doesn't make any sense. It can't be political machinations and the threat of violence and exterior motives and interference keeping Azriel and Elain apart. It has to be Azriel's personality and personhood, or the fated mates typical structure that I assume everyone is basing their thought process on falls apart.

I've actually been wracking my brain for years to find a piece of art or story that represents a piece of jewelry being regifted symbolizing the transference of a relationship and I FINALLY realized- my favorite holiday movie- The Family Stone! My God, the movie is literally named for the piece of jewelry, his mother's ring.

Finally having a piece to work with and pick apart allowed me to understand what elements are required to really pull off "regifting" to show that the gift is symbolically landing where it needs to go in a moving and romantic way.

1: The jewelry must not have been picked out and purchased for a specific woman, with deep and thoughtful insights as to why the man saw this piece of jewelry and thought of the woman he loves. In The Family Stone, the ring is an heirloom. It is no one's ring but his mother's. And the journey of this stone landing on the hand of the woman that is right for Emmet is deep, complicated, and heart breaking.

This is not the case for Azriel, who saw the rose necklace (very widely agreed to symbolically represent Elain on all sides) and saw something that the full depth and color was revealed when held to the light, a thing of secret, lovely beauty. And he knew it was meant for Elain. My God. Jfc. That's poetry.

2: The original recipient of the gift must actively show displeasure or disappointment in the jewelry- further revealing that this is the wrong woman.

In The Family Stone, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), the "first" and "wrong" woman sees the ring on her little sister Julie's finger (Claire Danes) and while there is some drama (the ring symbolically gets stuck on Julie's finger lolol) Meredith looks at the ring and hilariously goes- "That's it?" because the diamond is so small. She doesn't like it. She wouldn't want to wear it. Meanwhile Julie was stunned. She lost her breath over its beauty and was overwhelmed.

Elain was also stunned and breathless at how beautiful her gift was. She wants to wear it immediately, and she wants him to put it on her. The act of this beautiful, thoughtful gift emboldens Elain to do something she has never done before: Blatant, unrestricted touching. Even while the man she is supposed to be with, the man whose gifts do disappoint her, sleeps upstairs. So the classic holiday romance trope of one gift is right and one gift is wrong is already playing out. From Elain's perspective, the woman who will demand a say in who she chooses and is the only confirmed FMC, she's been getting disappointing gifts from her mate for years. When she finally sees a gift that steals the air from her lungs and lights up her eyes, a gift she wants to wear and use immediately after years of lukewarm responses to the man she is "meant" to be with, it's romantic as fuck. Unless you don't like her and don't want her with Azriel, in which case it isn't romantic to you personally. However, personal opinion on Elain doesn't actually change the fact that after years of many of us already assuming Az and Elain were into each other, they had an extremely classic holiday romance reveal.

4: The act of changing your mind about who will receive this gift, in order for it to be romantic, must be an act of hope. An act of joy and dreams and revelation. Realizing that there is more out there for you, and after years of playing it safe, of trying to make it work for the wrong reasons with the wrong woman, you are ready to be brave and break your character patterns to act on that dream of happiness.

Near the climax of The Family Stone, we discover that Emmet's mother, the keeper of this ring, has had her breast cancer return. It is already clear she is not going to make it this time.

We learn that Emmet has been acting out of trauma, grief, and loss. He cannot wrap his mind around the thought of getting married without his mother being there. In a heart breaking scene, Sybil finally gives Emmet the ring she has been refusing the entire movie and lets him know it is his decision. But she also frees him from the horrible pressure he has placed on himself to get married while she is still alive. She wishes passion, joy, and happiness for him. She helps him cope with the loss of her, helps him heal the wound and burdens he carries of trying to be the Perfect Son and do everything right. All she wants for him is happiness and love. But ultimately, the decision is his.

In a rush of hope and healing, Emmet asks Julie to try the ring on. He wants to see it on her. It is a culmination. It is powerful, emotional, and restorative. In this story of brothers and sisters coping with the loss of their mother and trying to find their personal happiness, they all wind up together in the end. Meredith winds up telling Emmet she can't marry him, before he even reveals he decided not to ask her, because they both knew it wasn't right. It was so clear that they weren't in love with each other, but just trying to fit this ideal picture for reasons that had nothing to do with love. Still, Meredith isn't a villain, and winds up falling in love with his brother. The next year, everyone but Sybil gathers as a family, the first Christmas without her. The grief is palpable, but so is the love. The image of Sybil smiling at her gathered family through last year's gifted photograph of her ends the movie.

Azriel's regifting of Elaine's necklace was not a culmination. It was not an act of hope, it was not Azriel releasing Elain because he realized his love for her was not genuine and there was real and true happiness to be found in G/wyn. He did not even care to give it to her directly. He gave it to Clotho, who absolutely read the vibes and noted his sadness. He didn't even care if it wound up with Gwyn or literally any other priestess. He needed to relieve himself of the necklace because of the pain of not being able to be with Elain, just like Cassian yeeted his first Solstice gift to Nesta into the Sidra after her rejection. Regifted or getting rid of gifts as an act of pain is not romance. It is not even symbolic of a change. It only reflects a man who is hurting because he has nowhere to channel his love and longing.

What I find odd is that most people do agree that Az regifting the necklace via Clotho is absolutely not romantic, thus Azriel incel fuckboy (which literally makes no sense) was born. For the necklace regift to hold the symbolism that G/wynriels want it to hold (a sort of passing of the torch of Azriel's affection and attention) they agree that this is icky and gross behavior but G/wyn will fix him and he'll stop being icky and gross. I'd ask for recommendations on romances like that to try to understand that thought process as well, but frankly I am not interested.

Azriel getting rid of the necklace was not an act of hope, it was an act of pain. It was lot an act of love, it was an act of loss.

A change in who a gift belongs to can be romantic, with the right elements. The great ACOSF bonus chapter necklacegate has none of them. And yet somehow, even though everyone agrees it wasn't romantic, people are still out here arguing that it clearly symbolizes a new romance.

I assure you, romance symbolizes romance. It shouldn't be tricky or leave you feeling icky or like the MMC is flaky and entitled. I cannot think of a single romance author who thinks it's a good idea to sit down and write toxic fuckbois as MMC's. Even if they were toxic fuckbois in the past, they IMMEDIATELY simp for their women. As of now, Azriel still hasn't noticed G/wyn, his supposed mate, and is hurting and heartbroken over another woman that he would kill for if asked to. He is not coping with it by raking about town and looking for a new girl to fall in love with since he was ordered away from the one he wanted. He's just training, not sleeping, and putting rocks in snowballs.

When trying to determine what is being foreshadowed as romance, if we have to stretch beyond asking the simple question what is romantic, I fear we have lost the plot.

[stargirlfeyre]

“Where did this narrative that Elain doesn’t want Lucien come from?”

The books?

[duskcowboy]

@elriel-month | Shy Glances and Restricted Touches

“I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, ‘Beautiful.’”

♡ 🎨 by @/viliaud00 on insta ♡

♡ commissioned by me ♡

Kicking off the month with some blatant, unrestricted touching 😉 I will never get over how soft and intimate Azriel and Elain are in this—from the tenderness in her face to the love brimming in his eyes 🥹 Vivian was so wonderful and accommodating, I cannot emphasize enough how grateful I am to her for this piece.

[feyrescourt]

I mean this with every fiber of my being, you people do not like/care about Elain, and therefore should not participate in Elain week. Why the fuck should the person running Elain week accept fanarts of her with Tamlin and Beron? A male who abused and sexually harassed her sister, and a violent misogynist???? Are you insane?

Stay the fuck away from her; don’t look in her direction, don’t make content of her, don’t even think about her. I’m so serious, you people do NOT LIKE ELAIN! So stay out of her own appreciation week. It’s not for you.

Oh btw go ahead and keep counting up Elriel fanarts, clearly you people have nothing better to do. It’ll prepare you for when their book drops next year anyway.

[cateyesinlove]

The ancient healer jerked her chin toward Lucien. “See what he can do. If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate.” “The mating bond. It is a bridge between souls.”

The way I am feral about this moment in ACOWAR like!! *feral possum screams* how can anyone doubt Elriel after a moment like this.

We have been told repeatedly that if anyone can help it is a mate and Azriel is dedicated to Elain this whole book.

He is the one who gives clarity on what is happening to her, he gives her an answer and he gives the answer everyone ( including Lucien) has been looking for.

People love to say that Lucien is the savior and whatever not because he recommended sunlight... ( cricket noises) and while people love to use the; Elain is a flower metaphor so she needs sunlight to bloom and blah blah I will rebut by saying that, a flower not only needs sunlight and that too much sunlight can also kill a plant, they can get burn.. you know like that one quote by Feyre;

I shook my head, trying not to imagine Elain subject to that ... fire.

I just think it's crazy that there are so many things like this and people still would rather turn their heads and pretend their ships have better moments

[highladyjane]

So... it's 3am and I might be delirious and delulu, so this'll be a very quick dive, but I just couldn't help but see some parallels and connections that I felt the need to share no matter how far-fetched😅

If/say Azriel is Death & darkness aka Hades.

And Elain is the lovely fawn of Spring aka Persephone...

And Mor is Leuce who was Hades' first love who had similarities with/was friends with/an epiteth of Persephone much like Mor and Elain has Golden/Sunshine etc. similarities

Then could our resident red-headed nymph Gwyneth be... Minthe?

And diving deeper... Cocytus, which literally means "lamentation" (which is, you know, also a special kind of song 👀), the underground river/lake where Minthe is from...

And just who lives in an underground lake? Koschei.

I don't really want Gwyneth to turn out to be a villain, and I especially do not want her to join the drama and give Gw*nrie/s and the necklace fiasco anymore validity than they're due, but she does have suspicious qualities that I know many are already familiar with...

All in all, this just further gives quite another meaning to secret, lovely beauty in my eyes 👀

[a-court-of-lust-and-stardust]

Elain Archeron is not going to let a pot dictate who she can and cannot be with. No one...nothing... will ever tell Elain who she can and cannot love.

[tswaney17]

Azriel’s Fantasy

“𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴—𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴.

𝗛𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲.

𝗛𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘅. 𝗛𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲.”

-𝗔𝘇𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩 (𝗔𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗙)

I wanted to start off the Solstice season on a sexy note. 😏 When rereading Azriel’s bonus, it’s clear that he has deep feelings for Elain. Much like many of SJM’s other prominent couples, he wants to get on his knees for the woman he loves. To touch and taste her. And while I hate that Rhys stopped them from kissing, he has set up the perfect plot for a forbidden romance🌸 and I cannot wait to see it play out in the pages of Elriel’s book. 🛐

I’m so happy to have commissioned Azriel’s Fantasy from the incredible @/arielfriass. He took my idea and produced such a beautiful, intimate piece that I couldn’t have pictured better. Ariel, you were an absolute pleasure to work with. Thank you for bringing this piece to life. 💙

Do not repost.