#gwynriel as parents

[sserrafeim]

Gwynriel adopting a black kitten is always on my mind… 🥹✨

[sadiegirl2021]

Just a one shot of Gwyn learning how to kiss!

The Kissing Game on Ao3

[octobers-veryown]

This is so soft!!! What I needed!!!!

26 gwynriel, thank you ❤️❤️❤️

Fluff ahead <3

26 - “I’m sorry for not saying anything sooner.”

Gwyn was holding back tears.

Usually, watching Azriel train had been anything but hilarious. Her mate's movements, assisted by the darkness of his shadows, had always been quick, precise. Deadly.

Gwyn knew he loved it when she'd sit by the training pit, her teal eyes not leaving him for one second, gleaming with a mix of excitement and admiration. She hadn't missed the flex of Azriel's strong, thick arms whenever at the sound of her small gasp, prompted by a particularly powerful swift of his blade. But tonight, his arms were the farthest thing on her mind as her gaze remained transfixed on his usually immaculate Illyrian leathers.

The muscles of his back shifted as he lifted his sword again, and this time, Gwyn couldn't stop her soft chuckle.

His head snapped back to her, brows furrowing in confusion at the sound. "What's so funny, Berdara?"

She waved her hand in dismissal, teeth digging into her lip as she fought back the tears that had begun spilling from her eyes. "Nothing," she choked out, her throat tight from the laugh she'd been suppressing. Nodding towards the training pit, she added, "Please, continue."

Taking a step closer, Azriel angled his head. "Tell me," he demanded, the puzzled look on his face only spurring Gwyn on as she tipped her head back, laughing openly this time.

"Oh, gods..." Gwyn panted, trying to even out her breath. "I'm sorry, it's just..." she reached up, her finger catching a loose tear gleaming happily in the corner of her eye. "Have you been babysitting Nyx today?"

Azriel frowned, a deep crease forming between his brows. "Yes?"

Her hand clamped on her mouth, feeling another giggle rippling through her throat. "I thought so," she managed, the sound coming out muffled, confusing Azriel even further.

He crossed his arms, eyes beseeching for an explanation, and Gwyn's lips formed a tight line as she put all her energy into not laughing at his growing frustration.

"It just..." the corners of her mouth twitched, and she schooled her features into indifference. "It seems he left you a goodbye present. On your back," she pointed, her mouth breaking into another grin.

His head whipped back, searching for whatever Gwyn was talking about, and his eyes widened as he realised the leathers on his back had been smeared with what was clearly the remnants of Nyx's dinner.

"Cauldron boil me," Azriel whispered, his face still with terror. Gwyn howled at that, her laugh half-sobbing as her mate desperately tried to wipe his back clean with no effect.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner," Gwyn wheezed. "But you looked so serious, training with baby barf on your back. I couldn't resist the fun."

Azriel's brows lifted, and he crouched down to meet her eyes. "You know, Berdara," his hand reached to palm her round, swollen belly. "I wonder how funny you'll find it when it's our baby, and it's your turn for feeding time."

"Our baby will be perfectly well-behaved," Gwyn protested.

"If they're anything like their mother", Azriel said, hazel eyes flickering with a wicked gleam, "I wouldn't count on it."

[nikethestatue]

Any time I see any post about 'Rhys is an Elucien and Gwynriel shipper' or, going even further, 'Rhys ordered Elain to go to Lucien!' or, even further further, 'Rhys wants Azriel to be with Gwyn!' and the overall: Rhys wants Azriel and Elain to go to their respective redheads.

The ONLY thing that Rhys wanted at the time of Solstice is not to deal with a political fallout of Azriel potentially murdering Lucien in a Blood Duel. Because Rhys knows that that's exactly what would happen and Lucien stands no chance against Azriel (and just as a reminder, Rhys KNOWS that Lucien is Helion's son. And he still is convinced that Lucien would fall.)

The only thing that happened in the Bonus is Rhys forbidding his employee, who took an oath to serve him, to not pursue Elain. And Azriel, btw, immediately pushed back telling Rhys that he is overstepping his authority. 'You can't order me to do that,' was immediately what Azriel said.

At no point has Rhys ever expressed any desire or encouragement towards the Elucien coupling. I think of all people, Rhys is very well aware of what a bad bond feels like, having lived with his parents and seeing it firsthand.

Notice how he also didn't pull Elain into his office and didn't berate HER. Because his relationship with Elain is very different from his relationship with Nesta. Rhys....likes Elain. Rhys accommodates Elain. Rhys values his relationship with Elain. Rhys doesn't want to upset Elain. Unlike with Nesta, Rhys doesn't push or pressure her into anything.

Rhys would never actually force Elain into an unwanted mate bond. Don't think that Rhys is an Elucien shipper!

Furthermore, as there is not actual 'Gwynriel' anywhere in ACOSF and this so-called 'relationship' is completely made up, Rhys would certainly not be a Gwynriel shipper.

In fact, I can guarantee that if he found out that Azriel was going after a Priestess in a sexual way, he'd literally banish him and strip him of all his ranks and powers.

So no, just like Feyre, Rhysand, the High Lord of Night Court, is not a Gwynriel or Elucien shipper.

He is a Feysand shipper first and foremost. And he has shown again and again that he likes Elain. And will ultimately care about her happiness.

[lady-embers]

Gwynriel Family Portrait - Beach time

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Margaret 🇱🇷 (@bookish_embers)

Artwork is by Delilah's Drawings & Commissioned by Bookish_Embers

Blurb:

I have a little headcanon that Gwyn and Azriel have twins, one boy and one girl, and both have a perfect blend of their parents. This artwork is of them at the beach for a little family fun time together 🥰

The artist @delilahsdrawings is the one who created this beautiful artwork of their little family for me! 💖

Characters belong to @sarahjmaas

[bluiela]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the cutest gwynriel shippers.

HOFAS Nesta, Azriel and Bryce BC-

"And with each mile onward, she could hear Azriel humming softly to himself. The rolling, wild melody of "Stone Mother" flowed of his lips, and she could have sworn even the shadows danced at the sound"

ACOSF Azriel BC-

"How was the party? Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard a silent music"

" Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer."

It's as if they know who their parents are.

[thesoulthatistainted]

A hilarious elriel post I came across that I couldn't help but talk about because of the sheer ridiculousness:

The most ridculous ones:

"<insert random headcanon that is generally accepted as fact by GAs who haven't even read the book>"

The Luring theory? Lucien betrayal theory? elucien mate bond fake? ... and some more like dude call is coming from inside the house. And don't you claim casual readers don't ship gwynriel (not true but they think it) so now people who don't even read the books ship them? (its funny seeing them backtrack and go against the things they themselves say)

<"Ugh Elriels are so stupid! The books might literally say XYZ but that is not the case if you consider this <insert out of context scene">

These people are ones who think Az saying that he hadn't planned for Elain beyond sexual fantasies, Elain rejecting Az, Az saying he regretted the kiss, Az saying Elain can't handle the darkness is not the case if they consider this<insert crack out of context scene and theory> like girl the call is coming from inside the house.

<"Well if you think about it, the last 5 books don't matter because SJM changed her mind">

The last 4 books show Az loving and yearning for Mor and they think it doesn't matter, the last book shows Elain rejecting Az and them not even interacting after that and Elain being shown moving on in the epilogue but they don't think it matter again dude the call is coming from inside the house.

<nitpicks at random one word to make a positive thing sound like a bad thing>"

Potatoes? hold tight? (Home girl was kidnapped and the dude told her to hold tight😭😭again dude call is coming from inside the house.

"<randomly mentions Elucien arguments even though nobody mentioned them>"

literally i want to know how this person sees all gwynriel posts and see elucien being mentioned because like Im on the tag and I don't see it.

"Sparky sparky glow glow = mating language"

SJM named a dating app spark and makes other mates feel similar spark. Like we can see how salty you are and it's so hilarious omg I love it😂😂

"Gwyn is shadow mommy"

again them being salty that the shadows know who their parents are😂😂like they are salty that the shadows only dance for Gwyn and Az.

<"Have you read the bonus chapter??"

These guys base the entire trope/setup for the next book on the Bonus chapter and they think we are the ones obsessing over it? its like they know that the BC sinks their ship and again get triggered when someone mentions it.

[temperedink]

my favourite ACOTAR fic by authors not on tumblr

I wanted to give some love to stories that aren't often mentioned on Tumblr and don't get reblogged over and over because their writers don't have accounts here. (I also just want more people to read some of my faves and scream about them with me.)

A Court of Ash and Sunlight by aturner1205 (Elucien; complete)

This Elucien fic had me on the edge of my seat and making up wild theories while it was posting. (I was incredibly wrong in said wild theories.) Elain and Lucien start to get to know each other better when they both are mourning her father on his birthday, and she confesses to him that she's never felt their bond. They're getting closer, and then Lucien is sent off on a dangerous mission, there's an accidental pregnancy, and Koschei after the Archerons. Tons of twists and turns here!

Fury and Siren by hurricane (next-gen; complete)

Next-gen fics where the kids are already adults are sometimes a hard sell, but these two interconnected stories get you deeply invested in Nyx and his cousins (their parents are all still around too). The first one is Nyx and an Illyrian shadowsinger (hmmm...) who's secretly been avenging abused and clipped Illyrian females, and the second is Nessian's son Caden and the only female Darkbringer who's been sent to assassinate him. These boys are definitely their fathers' sons, with their charm and flirting, but their partners do not let them rest on their privilege.

I Miss You (When the Lights Go Out), I Want to Taste the Way That You Bleed, and I Am Done With My Graceless Heart by greenvelvet_couture (Nessriel; ongoing series)

Soooo much Nessriel smut that kicks off when Azriel returns from a mission injured and Nessian want to take care of him (physically first, then sexually). Also a lot about Nesta training her post-ACOSF powers and the dangers that go along with that. But the author is VERY dedicated to the smut, bless her. Part 2 has just started and picks up with Bryce in the Night Court.

A Long Way Down by becauseofreading (Nessian; ongoing)

This one is a tough read, but it does a beautiful job of showing the recovery process from trauma and a suicide attempt. Nesta is suicidal and has deeply convinced herself of her unworthiness. Cassian is taken to task for his treatment of her and the words he's levelled at his mate, and the Valkyries, Azriel, and Elucien rally around her as she tries to heal and love herself with proper therapy. Cassian is ashamed of his treatment of her and is allowed in to help her heal if he doesn't upset her.

Where You Used to Lay Your Head by loveL (Gwynriel; complete)

This one is a bit of a time mindfuck, so you have to just accept that the Archerons and the Valkyries were born much earlier than they were in canon. Sixty years ago, Azriel and Gwyn were happy in their secret 20-year relationship (the IC knew he had a partner, but didn't know who she was) when suddenly Gwyn up and left him. Now she's back in the Night Court with Nesta and Emerie after creating the Valkyries in the Day Court, and Azriel is finally going to try to find out what happened that made Gwyn leave and stay away for so long.

Forgive Me, A Court of Shadow and Smoke, and The High Lady, the Shadowsinger, and the Omega, Part 1 and Part 2 by darcyshandflex (Elucien, Azris, next-gen; ongoing)

This epic series starts with Elucien and explaining why Elain has avoided him for so long--but now she's ready to fight for him. In A Court of Shadow and Smoke, we have omegaverse!Azris finally getting together (Azriel's the alpha, Eris is the omega) and all of the emotional and political issues that causes. The final two parts span 30+ years with Azris raising their three girls. When the girls are adults, their future partners are discovered, and that has long-lasting impacts on multiple courts in Prythian. This one is still ongoing, and apparently the final part is going to be sad and I'm not ready for it.

And here are three writers I would have included on this list who have since gotten on Tumblr (I procrastinated on writing this post for THAT long, but they were on the original draft!):

A Little Bit of Light Reading by @infinitefolklore (Elucien; complete)

One of my all-time favourite ACOTAR stories that I have reread a bajillion times. Elain and Lucien are alone at the townhouse and start flirting, which leads to other things, including library sex, a sorta blood duel, a reconciliation, a solstice sex party in the Summer Court, PLUS a threesome near the end, as a little treat.

I Can Wait For You at the Bottom by MissFreakingFortune/ @missfckingfortune (Elucien; ongoing)

Listen, if you're not reading this super-sexy modern Elucien rockstar second-chance romance, I don't know what you're doing with your life. Elain and Lucien were high school sweethearts who had their lives together all planned out, until Lucien left to chase his rockstar dreams. Ten years later, he's returned home for Beron's funeral and once they're back in each other's orbit, they both can't stay away. Lucien is determined to win her back, but Elain is much more wary, even though the attraction is definitely still there. There's also a great big bro Eris, and Mama Vanserra finally has her freedom from Beron so she can maybe start something up again with hot French professor Helion...and also tell him about their child, who is also going to need to know about his true parentage.

Phoenix Rising by Vivienne1412/ @annaskareninas (Elucien; complete)

I need you to drop everything and go read this fic. Yes, NOW. No, I'll wait.

Beron has seized control over all of Prythian and has either killed or exiled all of High Lords and other powerful fae (Feysand and Nyx are in the Hewn City dosed with faebane everyday; Nessian escaped to Hybern). The humans have also gathered enough power that they're a dangerous threat to the fae. Elain has been working as a nurse for the fae resistance efforts, and her latest patient is the long-thought-dead Lucien, the only free heir of any of the High Lords. They go on the run to protect him, as there's a prophecy about him that makes him the last hope to defeat Beron and Autumn for good, and shore up support from the Continent to get a fighting force. This is an incredibly well-written fantasy story with crazy-high stakes and DRAGONS. Go read it.

[elainsgirl]

I find it really weird how some Gwyn stans hate the IC and want Nesta, Gwyn, Emerie, and Azriel to make their own court and get away from the IC. However, while bashing the IC and claiming that Gwyn deserves so much better, they continue to make headcanons inserting Gwyn into the inner circle.

According to them, Gwyn will despise Feyre and make that completely obvious by openly disrespecting her and criticizing her for being a bad high lady, a bad sister, and a bad mother. Gwyn will have to step up and show Feyre how to a be a mother, sister, and leader. In fact, gwyn will raise Nyx and Nyx will go to her for comfort rather than his own parents - and apparently everyone will be completely alright with this because gwyn is just so nurturing.

And while some gwyn stans think Rhys is the scum of the earth, they still want him to befriend Gwyn. Rhys is apparently going to trust and confide in Gwyn more than everyone else (including his own wife). He’s going to allow gwyn to snap at feyre - in fact, he’s going to admire gwyn for her motherly instincts and bash Feyre for her inability to calm Nyx down.

Gwyn is going to snap at Elain and snatch Nyx out of her hands because “she isn’t holding him right.” And like with Feyre, gwyn is going to lecture her on her behavior towards Nesta and Lucien. And from their headcanons, everyone is going to applaud gwyn for putting elain in her place and showing her how spoiled and stuck up she is.

Gwyn is going to yell at Mor for how she treated Azriel and scold Amren how she treated Nesta.

They want gwyn to leave the IC, but continue to make up headcanons that center around the IC. They hate Feyre and Rhys, but want gwyn to raise their baby as if she isn’t in her twenties and doesn’t have her own life to live. They hate Elain, and use gwyn as a tool to bash elain. It’s funny how some gwyn stans write headcanons and fics about her coming into the IC befriending all the guys and criticizing all the women. They have to make it clear that while Gwyn deserves better than the IC, she will be accepted with open arms by the men and she will be more caring, compassionate, and just better than every single women in the IC.

Hey anon 🫶

This ask took me back to when I came across a gwynriel HC? A part from a fic? idk and let’s just say….Gwyn definitely takes centre stage lmfao. I’m sorry, why on earth would Gwyn of all people criticise Feyre? I had no idea she was an expert in ruling and politics, it must’ve been mentioned in the gwynriel version of acosf. “Openly disrespect her” im sorry, what? Do they honestly think Mr. Be careful how you speak about my HL will sit there and let gwyn be unnecessarily rude to Feyre? The characters you’re mentioning aren’t the canon characters I know off but are we suprised? Gwynriels and canon don’t mix unless they can twist it. Thing is: I wish I could say you’re exaggerating but from the HC I came across a few weeks ago made by a gwynriel…yh some gwyn/gwynriel stans actually do believe and write about this stuff.

As much as antis want their “house of wind” gang they also know Sjm will always have feysand and the IC as main characters. So even if they hate the IC, antis can’t deny how important those members are to the series. Hence why they make lots of HCs w gwyn interacting and becoming an integral part to the night court club whilst removing Elain from them. The whole Rhys x Gwyn agenda started bcs elriels pointed out how each sister became besties with a bat bro. Feyre/Cass. Nesta/Az. Logically you’d think it would be Elain/Rhys to fit the pattern but when have antis ever cared about that? Rhysand isn’t confiding in Gwyn anytime soon. Especially not about his deepest struggles bcs for 1) that isn’t how these friendships play out and 2) it makes feysand’s bond look weak which isn’t the dynamic Mass is going for.

All im saying - the gwynriel version of Gwyn isn’t a girls girl like the canon version, dare I say she’s potrayed as a pick me? The self insert is real.

Acting like Gwyn is going to fight Elain for Az. Idk what kind of Gwyn they’re stanning but the one I liked in acosf would rather pull her own hair out then fight another woman for a man.

at the end of the day, their HCs will remain HCs. If gwyn was to be *that* important,

She 👏 would’ve 👏 been 👏 introduced 👏 earlier 👏

Not in a standalone spinoff. She definitely would have had more interactions with the IC members if she were to become such an important part of their team.

[sunshinebingo]

Gwyn and Azriel stumble across Rhys as they leave for their date.

Gwynriel with a dash of Gwynsand - 700 words

For @lulling-night-sky who is a sucker for fluff and anything that has to do with Rhysand (except my fics where he gets beaten up)

***

“Ready?” Azriel asked Gwyn after having gaped at her in awe for a while.

Gwyn beamed, her heart fluttering at how flustered she had – not for the first time – rendered the usually stoic Spymaster, and nodded excitedly.

She had been looking forward to this moment for the entire day. Even as she had fed and played with Nyx, her thoughts had kept going back to Azriel and their upcoming evening together.

Having happily agreed to spend the day looking after the little lord with Nesta at the River House so that his parents could focus on their duties, Gwyn had decided to bring everything that she would need and get ready for her date with Azriel here instead of asking someone to winnow or fly her back to the House of Wind. Besides, Emerie and her had spent so much time here with the inner circle that the High Lord and Lady always had a guest room reserved for them.

She took the hand that Azriel offered and followed him from the bottom of the staircase to the foyer. From the living area, she heard the voices of Nesta and Cassian who was enthusiastically responding to the prattling of Nyx, as well as Feyre who had returned while Gwyn was stressing out over whether to put her hair up or leave it down.

She had gone with the third option proposed by Nesta to tie the top half up with a pretty silver hair stick gifted to her by Emerie for Solstice. The best thing about it was the thin dagger hidden inside that could potentially come in handy. She might be going out with one of deadliest – and most handsome – male alive, but she was still a Valkyrie who loved daggers, especially when they were disguised as pretty accessories.

“You are breathtaking.”

Gwyn blushed from his compliment. Emerie and Nesta were right about the fact that her little black dress was the ideal choice. It was also a perfect match to Azriel’s entirely black attire.

“So are you, Shadowsinger.”

His answering smile almost made her trip on her own feet. He brought their intertwined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

Azriel opened the door and started to leave when another set of footsteps was heard coming their way. Looking to her left, Gwyn saw Rhysand strolling towards them with his hands in his pockets, no doubt having completed his work for the day and ready to reunite with his mate and son.

“Bye Rhys.” She waved a hand at him.

Gwyn still couldn’t believe how close they have become over the past few years. Sometimes they were a High Lord and a Valkyrie who worked together for the well-being of those they cared for, other times they were confidants who listened and offered support. Sometimes they were like protective siblings who looked out for each other, oftentimes they were the type of siblings who teased and pestered the other. But at the core of all these versions of them were mutual respect and care. The kind of bond that Gwyn never thought that she would ever have. None of the relationships that she had forged so far had been expected, yet they were all precious in their own way.

“Be home by midnight,” he ordered, pursing his lips to stop the smile that was threatening to break on his lips. His violet eyes sparkled like the first stars that had started to appear in the sky. Azriel snorted at the curfew that his brother was imposing on Gwyn.

“Fuck off.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re not my father.”

Rhys crossed his arms and puffed his chest. The arrogant asshole, she thought.

“I’m old enough to be.”

Gwyn laughed. She squeezed Azriel’s hand and dragged him out of the door, eager to finally be alone with him.

“You’re old enough to be the cauldron’s father,” she shouted at Rhys before slamming his own door shut in his face.

The sound of Rhys’ gasp on the other side of the door was covered by the chuckle that Azriel let out beside her. What a lovely way to start their evening!

[sunnybyler]

i’ve been sitting on my thoughts for so long but i just have to get this off my chest. i don’t like to yuck ppls yum so if you like e/riel pls scroll away nd keep having your fun it’s not my problem. however some of y’all can get mean as HELL and as an elucien i have to get this off my chest. (also warning for gwynriels i’m with y’all i defend y’all here however i do go in a bit on az in this so fair warning). i truly have no idea why e/riels cling so hard to the azriel bonus chapter in acosf because that chapter, more than literally anything else in the series, proved to me that e/riel is absolutely NOT going to be endgame. let me explain:

1. it is explicitly stated that azriel did not think of his relationship with elain outside of a sexual nature. i think some ppl get kinda annoyingly puritanical when trying to make this point when it’s like 100% certain lucien had sexual thoughts of elain too. the point isn’t the thoughts themselves. the difference here is the explicit mention that he didn’t consider anything with her outside of that.

2. the point above ^ is further exacerbated by the fact that az did not give a flying fuck if he killed elain’s MATE. even if elain hasn’t accepted the bond, it would still be extremely painful for her based on what we’ve seen with rhys, feyre, and even rhys’s parents (who weren’t good for each other, yet we saw how rhys’s dad lost it when she died). now of course us lucien lovers know damn well he would never in a million years call a blood duel to try to claim elain (and fuck u rhys for saying that, i usually have your back but come ON you are not the only male who can respect their mate’s autonomy). but az doesn’t know that!? in fact seems to agree with rhys that he could. ppl argue on who would win that fight — my opinion hinges 100% on if powers are fully unleashed but that’s not the point at all. no matter WHO wins, elain is going to feel responsible for someone’s death. of course it wouldn’t be her fault if men decided to be fucking stupid, but with the little we know about elain shows that she would feel so guilty if that happened. but azriel doesn’t seem to give af that anyone fighting to the death over her is the last thing she would ever want. not only did az not think of elain outside his fantasies and therefore not fully care for her, but he doesn’t seem to even KNOW elain in this chapter. now, i could go in on this in acosf as a whole. but i’m keeping it to this chapter alone.

3. and further on THAT point, az doesn’t really give any reasoning on his interest in elain outside of this insane “three brothers/three sisters” thing he fully pulled out of his ass. tbh i almost thing this is sjm’s way of addressing the fan theories on that. now i get it to some extent from az’s pov — seeing his brothers happy with these sisters must fuck with your head after you’d all been bachelors together for 500 years. especially considering how he’s felt unworthy of love his whole life and this seems to support that insecurity of his. i get that it makes him feel ostracized from them, and that he’s now an outlier not being with an archeron. i get that. i do. i sympathize with him here. however that does not change the fact that he isn’t speaking of elain like she’s her own individual here — hell he fully calls her “the other”. i think part of this conversation was him being frazzled, i give him a bit more grace than some do (tho he pissed me off BAD in this scene), but we were fully in this man’s head. did he give us a full reason why he liked elain besides his brother’s mates and his sexual thoughts?? they would’ve at least crossed his mind when rhys was grilling them if sjm was trying to set up her next romance here. as it is, we have literally nothing to imply azriel actually likes elain herself and not the idea of being closer with his brothers.

4. az has kinda a habit of ignoring the reality of the women he’s attracted to in some way. he has his own version of them in his head that he puts on a pedestal. now i could do a whole psych eval on this man and how he thinks he’s unworthy of love and therefore only allows himself to have feelings for women he knows/thinks he can’t have. but to focus on this chapter alone, my points above ^ about how he doesn’t really think of elain outside his fantasies/bringing him closer to his brothers and not really understanding her pretty much wraps it up there. i mean he even talks about how he thinks his scarred hands don’t belong on her because she’s so perfect in his eyes. that’s not love, that’s obsession and it’s unhealthy. he clearly thinks himself below elain and ignores that she has her own flaws too.

5. aaaand i saved the biggest for (almost) last….. GWYN. this is a genuine GENUINE question. why in the fucking hell. would sjm make half the chapter focusing on az & gwyn if she was teasing e/riel. like that makes no sense. not to be annoying and mention chekhov's gun but that idea applies to relationships too. i’m sorry but she couldn’t be more explicit about her future romances. you could argue “oh well it’s because there’s gonna be a love triangle”. y’all. elain has. elain has a mate. there already IS a love triangle. there was absolutely no reason for her to bring gwyn into this chapter other than her preparing us for a future relationship, literally none. especially with all the romantic subtext (hell not even subtext, just TEXT). gwyn getting him to talk about himself so easily when he’s so quiet usually, him taking the idea of making her happy and he “buried the image down deep, where it GLOWED QUIETLY” (which SCREAMS mating bond to me but even if it’s not it’s clearly something he cherishes deeply), the SHADOWSINGERS SHADOWS SANG FOR HER!?

6. the fucking necklace regifting. oh it’s bad. OHHH ITS BAD. when the girls realize it’s gonna be SO messy but im hoping sjm doesn’t go the stupid cat fight route bc neither of them did anything wrong. az did. i’m sorry i’m dunking on him so much in this post i rlly don’t hate him i just think he needs like decades of therapy (which tbf don’t we all) which i unfortunately don’t think sjm is going to give him before giving him his romance. but even the biggest azriel lovers have to admit that this was insanity. a few points on it here. first, if it’s so easily regiftable then it couldn’t have been that well thought out in regards to elain. say what you will about lucien’s gifts, even argue that he gave her jewelry too. but elain was actually shown wearing pearls. az’s gift seemed shallow to me — it was something pretty, and elain’s pretty, and it had a flower, and elain gardens. it’s clear lucien put SO much more thought into his gifts, whether he succeeded or not (which i need to remind y’all — we still don’t know. maybe she liked the gifts maybe she didn’t, but regardless she acted the way she did bc of her feelings about the bond, not the gift). and azriel has spent so much more time with elain than lucien has. if that necklace really felt like elain to him, he could’ve kept it or returned it. but nope. buddy gave it to a whole other girl bc he could easily associate it with someone else. he clearly felt some special pull towards gwyn too, going out of his way to give it to her. he had ONE meaningful conversation with her. i already discussed the quote earlier that makes me think mating bond personally. but no matter what, him giving her the same gift he gave someone he was pursuing romantically is a clear sign of what’s to come (and probably a setup for some sort of drama that i don’t think im mentally ready for).

so there we have it! why i think that the bonus chapter thoroughly proves that e/riel is not going to be endgame. i honestly think it’s possible they might be a thing for a minute (tho i could also see this being the closing of that chapter), but i don’t think it’s going to last. sjm just gave us too many blatant hints that elain and az would NOT work together long term, and that azriel in particular is more suited for someone else. i might’ve missed some points bc there is SO much that goes down in this tiny chapter so lmk if there’s other stuff you picked up on!

[tremsing82]

ACOTAR Future Families Headcanons

Ok I have few fun family headcanons for the acotar ships. (Disclaimer: I am not an fanfic author/writer so none of this will ever show up in a fanfic, I just like to create characters for headcanons, if anyone wants to use any of this for a story your more than welcome to do so just tag me so I can read it please 🙏😊😊😊🙏)

Feysand: they obviously have Nyx. I think they will definitely have 1 more and it will be a little girl. I also expect her name to be Stella (Star). (Personally I was expecting Nyx to be named Noctis and that their daughter would get the name Nyx since Nyx is actually the name of the Goddess of Night.)

Nessian: I am 100% committed to Cassian being a girl dad. My headcanon is that they have 4 girls. All with beautiful untouched wings. All who have embraced their Illyrian Valkyrie warrior training but also love fashion and formal events. I have this funny snippet that lives rent free in my head of Cassian proudly yelling at someone saying “My 10yr old daughter can kick your ass while wearing a tutu.” I think all their names will begin with the letter C: Cassandra(Cassie) Nesta surprised him with this name, Corine(Corie), Calista(Callie), Camille (Camie).

I do have this idea that Nesta and Cassian start their family journey off with them adopted an orphan/abandoned Illyrian baby girl that Cassian found and brought home to get her medical help and to just nurse back to health. Nesta sees him holding this crying baby trying to get her to eat from the bottle the healer gave him and she just melts for them both. And this baby is Cassandra.

Gwynriel: they had twins, boy girl twins. The girl was named after Gwyn Sister Catrin. And the boy’s name is Haden with his nickname being Hades (this is a guilty pleasure name for me, I have wanted to name a character this for years it even was a name on my boy baby name list). If though they want to stick closer to his name being similar to his sisters though, the boy version of Catrin is Cayson/Kasen/Cason (let me also add Kasen is my sons name so I am slightly bias in the boys names for this one).

Elucien: my favorite ship by the way. And yet I headcanon that they have 1 child, a son. I know crazy 😜. I have 2 reason for this 1) I like to think they like to keep their life simple. 2) I think they struggled to get pregnant. Their son is one of the youngest of the cousins, and he is highly cherished by his parents and family.

Their son’s name is Renard. Renard is French for Fox and Reinhard is German for Brave/Strong Council, which I think perfectly represents a child of Lucien and Elain. His nickname is Ren, I love it so much 🥰🥰🥰

He comes off as shy and definitely likes to clutch at his mother skirts when they first arrive at places. He is the quietest of ALL the cousins, lol (including Eris’ kids). But he’s observant and inquisitive and can be intrigued/curious. He likes to bake and garden with his mother, plays chess and work with his spell cleaving magic with his father and grandfather, go on hikes with his father and uncle where he learns about tracking and living off the land, he loves to read books, he loves to paint and draw, and he likes the piano. He literally is the little chameleon of the family, he see what interests other people and absorbs all their knowledge and collects it to try for himself. He’s been a little cautious around Uncle Cassian because Uncle Cassian was super excited to have another Nephew and tried to treat him like Nyx and Hades and that’s just not the kind of kid Ren is. Ren is closest to Nesta and Cassian’s youngest daughter Camille though. Camie is usually the bull in a China shop but with Ren she will slow down and let him show her what he is reading or drawing or teach her a new piece on the piano.

Eris: Eris is my other girl dad. He has 5 girls, which are nicknamed the Autumn Vixens when they get older. Him and Cassian are in a silent competition about who is the better girl dad, Eris beat Cassian recently by being able to do better girls hair styles. I am leaning towards their names being French inspired: Reine, Sophie & Sylvie (twins), Colette, and Elise.

Vassian: Vassa is an all boys mom. She has 6 boys and on her 7th pregnancy it’s finally girl.

[theshadowsingersraven]

this nyxlin drama lowkey reminds me of the time a zutara artist was run off tumblr because they drew aged up katara/zuko romantically, but I think it was actually angry kataang’s or e/riel’s -because they also drew gwynriel and e/riel’s were jealous- who were stirring up shit 😭

That would honestly make a lot of sense for how/why I didn't see many posts from them or overall in the Nyxlin tag when I was catching up on what happened. Pretty much every person (notably largely Elriels) who supported Elain Week's censorship got an insta-block from me if they weren't already. And I'm sure a decent amount of people blocked me from my stance on Elaingate, Rhys Week, and Nyxlin Week.

And good! You should block me. Seriously. Art has the right to be celebrated and appreciated, especially in the circumstances designed to do that for a specific character and dynamic! Character appreciation and celebration will never look the same to everyone, and just because it's not what you enjoy doesn't mean it stops being appreciative or celebratory. If you can't grasp that, you don't deserve access to my art anyway. You certainly don't deserve to be in my space, that's for damn sure. Kindly, get out.

Honestly, it kind of makes sense considering the overlap of canon rigidity, purity culture, and morality policing of fiction coming from sides of the fandom that generally can't accept criticism about their faves, or even things that go against what they want for their faves. They are terrified of creativity that doesn't give them what they want and it shows. It's the most Evangelical-ass shit ever, and it's fucking weird.

Like...for all intents and purposes, Nyx is an OC in any works that feature him. And I'd know, because I wrote an adult Nyx for my ongoing ACOTAR D&D campaign set 20 years after ACOSF. So yes, Nyx is twenty in my timeline, because it's writing and I can do what I want lol. I have no basis to write Nyx off of other than Rhys and Feyre. Which means...I'm still doing my own character-building to only less than I would for a completely new OC.

Let's compare, shall we?

Writing my OC Solara's backstory: Writing her parents from scratch ✔️ Writing her early childhood ✔️ Writing her trauma ✔️ Writing her adolescence and relationships ✔️ Writing her interests and adventures as she became an adult✔️ Writing her dynamic with her love interest and how she interacts with Prythian as a whole ✔️

Now obviously these are all at minimum influenced by/will be derivative of aspects of ACOTAR because, y'know, transformative works. But still, I made her.

Writing Nyx's backstory and how he is as a twenty-year-old adult: Writing his parents from scratch ❌ Writing his early childhood ✔️ Writing any trauma he might have ✔️ Writing his adolescence and relationships ✔️ Writing his interests and adventures as he became an adult ✔️ Writing his dynamic (collaboratively) with his love interest and how he interacts with Prythian as a whole ✔️

And this is a version of Nyx that I made. Yes, it's still influenced by canon, but if I put in 90% of the same effort to write him as an adult as I did a complete OC, we can acknowledge they're functionally the same.

It's not that people look at Baby!Nyx and instantly think he's perfect to be shipped with someone and there's something to be gleaned from canon about him in particular. We know nothing about Nyx as an individual. That applies to any Nyx ship.

The appeal, at least in my experience, to Nyx ships, including Nyxlin, is the dynamics at play around Nyx, i.e., his role as an eventual leader and powerful figure in the Night Court, the dynamics that affect Rhys and Feyre also extending to him, how the rest of Prythian/Illyria might view the first offspring of High Fae, Illyrian, and Made parents. It's about his circumstances, not him as a character because he is not a "character yet", he just exists!

People are just creative enough to consider those long-term effects on who he could become and how that interplays with other characters. I don't mean to be cruel, but genuinely, have these people never created an OC before? Have they never shipped anything outside of canon? Have they never read any fics featuring time travel, for example, as a plot point to get characters in the same era at the same time when otherwise the ship would not be able to happen? Are they that unfamiliar with making circumstances outside of SJM's canon to allow things to happen for fun?

Genuinely, the lack of creativity for all of us being in this for reading and writing is concerning.

Even just saying this and advocating for Nyxlin's right to be celebrated as well as Tamlin as a whole pretty much puts me in the position of having to tag this as pro-Tamlin. And I wouldn't even describe myself as anything other than Pro-Azriel and probably Pro-Nesta and Pro-Elain because I don't really dislike any characters. I'm equally as critical to all of them and if their good parts just sort of cancel out the bad or are only a bit outweighing one or the other...I don't actively dislike them, I'm just neutral about them.

But this fandom is so fucking polarized because of the toxicity and the Us v.s. Them, Morality Policing culture that's been festering, people can't even neutrally address something. People are harassed so quickly just for not understanding or being familiar with something, and then in the other court people do the harassing because they don't understand or aren't familiar with something the other party likes/dislikes. If don't utterly despise Tamlin, it's somehow considered supportive enough to qualify as "pro" to antis.

Too many people in this fanbase create this parasocial-adjacent attachment to these characters like they're real and have real feelings/boundaries that need to be protected. They are not! Characters can't be hurt by anything happening outside the narrative. Just because you personally do not like something/don't find it appealing or even find it discomforting does not mean it's morally objectionable. It's just not for you, and understanding that experiencing content not made for you is not an attack on you is kind of a necessary life skill.

This rant ended up way longer than I expected it to be, but anyway...y'all stay safe out there.

[stargirlie25]

What type of kids ACOTAR couples would have

Feysand- They already have nyx but i imagine them having like another son and Nyx being an older brother

Nessian-They are so girl parent coded its insane. They would probably have like 5 girls and 2 boys haha

Gwynriel-There one of those couples who have one boy and one girl. Perfect. Since they give off boy parents more, the boy would be eldest.

Elucien- They specifically will have twin girls. Exactly that and i refuse anything else.

[bluiela]

I'm sorry but why is it only e/riels who see spoilers before reading or finishing the books 😂😭like I'm sorry but wtf? who checks for spoilers before the books? are you ok? Like literally 90% of them go "I saw gwynriel art before reading the book and my world became upside down when I didn't find them in the book"😂like I'm sorry what?

and then they reply condescendingly below gwynriel Tiktoks that "I finished everything and the BC, but I still don't see them" yes because burying someone's image deep down while unconsciously smiling at them after they made you feel calm/settled after an emotional turmoil and made your shadows dance is completely platonic.

Like I'm sorry you are fooling no one😂😂it honestly gives me secondhand embarrassment when people talk in such a juvenile mean girls way like return your phone to your parents and study.

[redheadsdefender]

Sarah's latest interview is just feeding my Elucien and gwynriel and anti e/riel vibes so much.

Typical e/riel : Elain doesn't need to have kids, pliable bones arent important, don't diminish a FMC to her ability to carry children, the SF feyre subplot doesn't mean shit.

Meanwhile SJM today:

A typical HEA for SJM includes a thousand children, interesting.

Sounds like Lucien and Elain will solve the prythian demographic problem and I'm here for it

PS: being child free, adopting, having kids however you want or can or don't have them is completely your right, apparently the disclaimer is necessary. In a fantasy world, where babies are rare and precious, and a High Lady almost died from complications that could happen to other couples, these details matter. Saying they matter doesn't diminish any other parenting choice.