#just like elain lmao

[romanticatheartt]

Nahh I agree cause I only see ship related content for Azriel week.

I did see some Elriel content for Azriel week, but I can’t judge when I don’t know nor care what’s going on over there. I can only agree about Gwynriels focusing too much on Gwynriel rather than Azriel alone. I saw maybe 3 or 4 Azriel fanarts and too many Gwynriel fanarts. The prompt „belonging“ especially is full of ship related content. Wtf?

The only event that I know of in which the character was properly appreciated was Gwyn‘s week. I think Lucien did have plenty of content focusing only on him despite the drama but Azriel appreciation week and Elain appreciation week were done dirty, focusing mainly on ships.

There‘s going to be another Elain week this month so let‘s see how that will go. I have better faith in Eluciens than Gwynriels.

Yeah, I didn't mention Elriel much because I haven't seen more than a few of their works, but in my feed, all I see is Gwynriel. It's crazy at this point, lmao. If I didn't know better, I would've thought it was a Gwynriel week or something.

And for the "belonging" prompt? I literally talked with my mutuals about how no one talked about Bat Boys, or how one day he will feel that sense of belonging about Illyria, or how he has been part of IC for 500 years, and they're his family. NOPE, people decided to make it about a ship. I understand how it would fit the prompt, but he's more than his relationship with another character.

I only saw one Bat Boys fanart with Rhys's mother and a few HoW gang fanart, which are also related to the ship war.

And trust me I saw way too many Elucien fanarts on Lucien week. None of these characters are truly appreciated. It's an event for each side of the ship war to turn it into a competition of who submits more fanart/fic/etc. for their ship...

And honestly, I don't have much hope for the new Elain week lol it's going to be messy imo. These character events are an official week for these people to fight over their ships not to appreciate their favorite character.

Instead of coming together and trying to have some common ground, they turn it into whatever this is…

[arson-09]

i think people who want elriel to happen are just people who are obsessed with the bat boys and just want to read more bat boy romance and don’t actually care about elain as a character 🧍🏻

[gxldencity]

I also draw the line that dai had a better storyline than datv

[astrababyy]

Tamlin and Nesta for the character bingo!

tamlin and nesta in order :DDD

[cleromancy]

it drives me so crazy when people say like such and such male character has like a female characters kind of narrative bc like 95% of the time they're completely wrong... like its not as annoying as the "girl coded" shit but it Is annoying because a lot of the time like. insisting scrimblo scrungus is treated by the narrative the way it would treat a female character 1) is bullshit bc there are female characters RIGHT THERE in that same narrative and the difference in how the narrative treats them is like in your face stupid obvious and 2) the vast vast majority of the time doing this means people ignore the gender stuff thats ACTUALLY going on in the story?? im not saying u have to care about characters' relationship to masculinity but when thats a point of a story ur reading and it whizzes right over ur head thats not a good look!! get better at reading get better at analysis n stop doing this shit

[a-lonely-dunedain]

"A new Title has been bestowed upon you, you may now be known as Celeair, Bird-brained!" DON'T BULLY HIM!!!!!! HE'S TRYING HIS BEST OK!!!!!!!!!!!

[heyimanowl]

[potential-fate]

Abe turned back to Callum. He bit his lip for a moment, then reached for his boyfriend’s hand, “Well this was…–” 

“Abe, dear!” Abe flinched, dropping Callum's hand far quicker than he’d reached for it in the first place, and turned to greet his mother. She kissed one cheek, then the other, and smiled at him. She didn’t spare a glance in Callum’s direction as the other man shifted to stand close behind at Abe’s shoulder, and Abe felt the blonde stiffen at the lack of acknowledgement.. 

“Hey mom…” Abe gave her a half-hearted smile as she pulled away. 

“I’m surprised we didn’t have time to chat before the ceremony started,” Elaine said, “I know we both got here with plenty of time to spare.” 

“Yeah…” Abe let out a short awkward cough, “It’s been pretty busy around here…” 

“Oh, I know!” Elaine clapped her hands together, smiling across the room at the bride, “Pia looks so happy!” 

“Yeah, she does” Abe chuckled pleasantly at that, “Thomas is a good match for her.” 

That, at least, was true. Abe had known pretty quickly how smitten his friend had been in college, even though they’d fallen out a bit in their later years there. Thomas was an ideal match for Pia’s wit and her admirable amount of perseverance. He couldn’t think of a better match for her. She’d been lucky to find someone so well in tune with her own goals.

[separatist-apologist]

You call yourself a one trick pony but nonetheless a trick is still a trick — which is a treat for all of us. 🥰 have a good morning!!

You'll get the first part of it tomorrow and tragedy is some of my best sass is in chapter two

[featherstcnes]

regret had been aching in his very bones since he'd left elain in that hall during the winter solstice. he'd had no choice, not entirely. if it were a different world, and rhysand was not his high lord, he would simply have never left. the image of possibility had been on repeat in his mind for longer than he'd liked to admit. this was a mistake. it was painful, practically -- seeing that image of hurt on her face after he'd said those words he'd never meant. had he ruined every single memory in her head that they'd shared? every single walk in the garden, every moment that he'd sat with her after the cauldron?

his shadows seemed to be creeping around his shoulders even more lately, as if they wanted to pull him into a corner and drag him down into depths unseen. he wanted to pretend as if nothing could hold him down, as if nothing could stop him from having what he wanted, but of course, he understood rhysand, despite his hatred for having to stay away, despite the envy he felt for what his brothers had and yet he lacked. he'd been successful, for the most part -- keeping away from the house was easy, if he kept himself busy. but velaris was home, he couldn't stay away forever. and despite his attempts to stay away and keep his distance, the very voice he'd been trying to avoid filled his every sense. shadows slowly started to disappear from around his shoulders as she spoke. azriel stilled.

@homebehind asked: did you mean it? any of it? (elain to azriel? 👀)

with his gaze focusing on her, he felt the hit of her words to his chest. it seemed they both were saying things as if they were daggers ready to be thrown, finding their target. " elain. " the name leaving his lips felt almost like a plead to him. but it sounded as if he was unsure of what even to say -- her name leaving his lips softly, as if it was a petal from a flower in her garden. he allowed himself to look at her then, desperately trying to replace the memories of that flash of hurt in his mind, the image of leaving her standing there as if he'd not wanted to kiss her then and never leave. as if he didn't want to simply disappear into the shadows with her and finally taste what it was like to kiss her, to hold her in his grasp.

he didn't know how to approach this, and so, instead of filtering through his mind for the right thing to say, he simply spoke. he was sure rhysand would hate that he was even having this conversation, but it was too late for that now. it was too late to pretend as if this hadn't been eating away at him endlessly since he'd last seen her. " if you think, for one moment, that i have not meant every word, every action before i --- " he didn't really feel like bringing up the event in their recent past; of leaving the both of them wanting. he continued, hoping that the expression on his face was enough of an explanation as to what he was referencing. " i'm sorry. " he didn't want to blame rhysand, he didn't want to go into details that he knew he shouldn't share.

PRE ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP PROMPTS

[daycourtofficial]

In a world of boys, he’s a ✨gentleman✨

Summary: based on this request - your friends help walk you through all the nice things Azriel does for you

Author’s note: I forgot all about this tbh lmao why was this just sitting in my drafts all alone

“I think Azriel has the best manners,” Feyre says, her cheeks glowing from the wine, wisps of brown hair coming out from her braid.

“And the biggest wingspan,” Mor adds, raising her blonde eyebrows.

“I’m serious,” Feyre turns to Mor, “he’s so polite, he cleans up after himself, he treats (y/n) like a queen, he-“

You choke on your wine. “Treats who like what?”

Mor slaps your shoulder, causing you to almost spill your glass. “Oh, do not start this again, I will scream.”

“Start what?”

Mor rolls her eyes, falling back on the couch, “pretending like you don’t know how nice Azriel is to you.”

Your face heats involuntarily. “He’s very nice to me, I’m well aware of that. He’s a nice guy.”

Mor groans, getting up for more wine, “see! This is what I’m talking about!”

Nesta and Feyre giggle, but you sit up, “what do you mean what you’re talking about? What is wrong with me thinking that he’s nice to me?”

Feyre’s giggles continue, “it’s not that, sweetie. It’s just… he’s exceptionally nice to you.”

“So? We’re friends.”

Mor chimes in, “if any male was as nice to Nesta as Azriel is to you, Cassian would slit his throat.”

“Cassian’s more of a hands-on brute, but I see your point,” Nesta corrects.

“Friends don’t act like the two of you do,” Feyre muses, refilling her wine glass.

Soft touches, sitting needlessly close to each other at gatherings, Feyre catching the two of you napping on her couch on multiple occasions.

“He always blushes around you,” Elain observes.

Images of Azriel’s reddened cheeks and ears flood your memory, and how adorable you’d find it.

“He always asks you if it’s okay for him to pick you up to fly.”

A montage of soft “may I?” and “is this okay?” flutter through your mind. His soft touches of your hair when you’d take off, knowing it was your least favorite part, trying to comfort you in some way.

“He pulls out your chair for you at every family dinner.”

“-and plates her food!”

Azriel’s scarred hands grab the back of your chair, a soft scraping noise filling your ears, replaced by your soft “thank you”.

He sits next to you, grabbing your plate reflexively, piling it with roast, carrots, and potatoes, knowing to avoid the celery.

You thank him again, oblivious to Cassian’s exasperated arm movements at the two of you, as well as Nesta’s immediate swatting of him.

Elain giggles, “he always comes by every Sunday asking me to help him arrange a bouquet for her.”

Nesta smirks as the other two females let out soft “ooooh”s, as if you all were gossipy teenagers. Maybe you were. Your eyes draw towards the bouquet sitting on the table in front of Elain, the pink and yellow hues making you smile.

“He always has a hand on you whenever you’re out in town.”

The warmth from his hand is a welcome presence on your lower back as you two push through the crowds of the Velaris stalls. You prefer going out into town with him in tow - he was much taller than you and could see over the crowds.

Not to mention how he carried all of your bags and you spent the rest of the day catching his scent on your clothes afterwards.

“I’m not even sure you own your own coat from him lending you his.”

Nights out at Rita’s always ended with the two of you walking along the Sidra, his arm around your shoulder. He’d always wait for you to start shivering before placing his coat around your shoulders, helping your arms into the sleeves.

You scratch at your neck, uncomfortable with all the attention on you. “That doesn’t mean anything… right?”

Mor huffs, dramatically falling back on the couch after draining her glass, “I can’t explain this again.”

“Ask him out,” Feyre says, while Nesta nods her head, “just do it.”

As if the Mother herself were in the room gossiping with you all, Azriel strolls into the room, a bit shocked when five pairs of eyes peer back at him, amusement in four pairs, adoration in one pair.

You can’t help the smile that graces your face when you see him, and Nesta loudly placing her cup on the table jolts you out of your trance.

“Will you- would you,” you clear your throat, rushing the words out before you get too scared, turned in your seat to peer at him, “would you like to have dinner? Tonight? With me? Alone?”

Mor and Feyre are trying, but failing, to hold in their giggles at your nervousness, but you have completely forgotten they were in the room with you.

Azriel’s lips curve into a smile, “I would love to. I can pick you up at 7?”

[thestrangeblob]

"I'm getting her back" "then you will die" "I'm getting her back" “You’ll never get far enough into the camp” “I’m going to walk right in.”

You know what I’ve been missing from the ACOTAR books? The absolute ferocity that mates are supposed to feel when the other is threatened or in danger. I need to see some of these characters going bat shit crazy no matter who it is they’re up against.

Azriel slaughtering every single Hybern soldier in Sangravah within moments to save Gwyn? That’s what I want to see.

Lucien using his spell-cleaving powers for the first time to get to Elain after she was dumped from the Cauldron? That’s what I want to see.

I can’t wait to see Gwyn and Elain both having the “you touch him, you die” personality because they absolutely would and Azriel and Lucien deserve it.

[gxldencity]

.

[kopfkino-o]

Three Sisters: The Beacons of Change

Been a minute since I yapped on the internet and I’m bored on a long layover so here we go! A few housekeeping items before we dig in:

This post is pro Nesta, Feyre, and Elain. I love them all.

Some of the discourse involves pro-Elriel ramblings. This post is largely about Elain herself, so I’ll be including her general tag in this post, but wanted to make note of the Elriel discourse in case that isn’t your cuppa.

A huge shoutout to @jasmineandcedar and @nikachansstuff for the inspiration on this post. Their post/comment largely inspired this.

My thoughts are never coherent and all of this is just my opinion. Also I didn't edit this whatsoever lmao.

If any of these things aren’t for you, no worries, but peace out Girl Scout, keep on keeping you're peace. If you're interested and ready to read more then let's get on into it!

One interesting theme I picked up on within the ACOTAR series is change. More specifically, inciting change on not only a personal level, but also on the societal level. And I’m of the mind that each sister is meant to spark some sort of change, both within themselves as they get their healing arc, but also within the greater Prythian society as they come into power.

Let’s start with Feyre darling.

The First High Lady

Before Feyre came to Prythian, before her story, there were no High Ladies. Or at least the history of them were lost to society as we learned in the CC3 series. Females were not welcome to the role of 'High Lady'. They were not equals to the High Lords, even as their mates.

But with Feyre’s rebirth, with her sacrifice as the Curse Breaker, she rose to power in a way that changed fae society. She was the first High Lady. And we can see that this change spread with Viviane becoming the High Lady of Winter.

Feyre, as a monarch, represents ruling power. The power to command. She is the Crown. And with her character arc she brought change to Prythian in that she opened the door for other High Ladies to take their thrones. She challenged the misogynic lens on which Prythian viewed political leaders and proved that women can have their own political power.

The Valkyrie Reborn

Before Nesta, before her being Made, the Valkyries were lost to the world. The systems in place, largely those in Illyria as we saw in the forefront of her novel, believed women couldn’t be warriors. That they were lesser, weaker.

But with Nesta’s healing, and the revival of the Valkyries alongside Emerie and Gwyn, she challenged this. A challenge that was overcome in the Blood Rite.

With Nesta, she proved that women can have physical power. That they can be warriors. She brought about the rebirth of the Valkyries: an all female army. She challenged yet another societal (and misogynistic) standard within Prythian.

The Bondbreaker

Warning: Pro-Elriel content below

Like her sisters, I think Elain Archeron will also challenge an aspect of Prythian society. But the way she changes society and challenges it will be different than that of her sister's. Like Elain's personality, I believe her own defiance will be softer. Rooted in the heart and emotions.

But damn will it be a choice that radiates through the narrative.

As it stands in Prythian, mating bonds are sacred. Holy. They’re something not to be questioned, no matter what. As we learn from Rhys, some mates aren’t even true matches in spirit, but the bond is regarded so highly that females accept it any way, despite what they want for themselves for their lives. For their hearts.

Tamlin's parents and Rhysand's own mother and father are excellent examples of mated pairs who aren't "true pairings of souls". And I'd argue that SJM introduced these pairings to the narrative as a way to hold a mirror up to Elain's own mating bond.

I believe Elain will challenge this societal standard by rejecting her mating bond. Autonomy and freewill is a huge theme with her character and rejecting the bond would be the culmination of this. More of my yapping on this can be found here.

Elain's choice would also be a sign to other females with unwanted bonds that they too have a choice. That the bonds don’t always know best. That perhaps the Cauldron doesn't always know best. Elain’s rejection of the bond would spark change in Prythian, just like her sister’s arcs sparked change.

Note: Yapped a bit about the lore drops in CC3 and the implications of it in my post here. I personally believe there's two forces warring in the Cauldron (the Mother v. the Asteri's corruption) and believe it raises some interesting implications...

The TLDR: Each Sister is a Beacon of Change

Feyre, the monarch, challenged the system surrounding females in positions in power. With her, the role of High Ladies was reborn and the stigma in Prythian surrounding female leaders was fought.

Nesta, the warrior, challenged existing systems surrounding the strength and validity of female warriors. Through her, the Valkyries were reborn.

With Elain, I theorize that she'll lead a quieter rebellion. But one long overdue. She'll challenge the issue of fate, of the Cauldron's eddies and the Mother's will, over the heart. She'll challenge the heart. The bond. And stand in defiance of it.

okkk bye!

[jasmineandcedar]

Azriel's bucket list

So. Elain and Azriel develop a connection and Elain gifts Azriel a headache powder for Solstice, which brings joy to his miserable soul for the first time in forever. Azriel lies sleepless for a year, staring at said headache powder like a lovesick teenager. The stone-faced Spymaster can't hide his emotions whenever Elain is brought up. There are brushing fingers and exchanged looks. He starts pleasuring himself to the thought of her. Next Solstice, he finds himself alone with Elain. Elain—the goddess—glows like the sun at dawn, flashes her delectable neck and goes "put it on me". What then?

Azriel immediately starts mentally listing all the ways he needs to pleasure Elain, all the parts of Elain he needs to taste like its his bucket list.

◻️ Need to know what the skin of her neck tastes like ◻️ Need to know what those perfect lips taste like. ◻️ Need to know what her sex tastes like. ◻️ Need her coming on my tongue. ◻️ ...

On and on, until he gets himself so hard his pants are straining so badly he's in so much pain he can "hardly think", praying she won't look down (he threw a prayer in there lmao? "Mother save me! Please don't look down, please don't look down, please don't look down..."). He's fighting for his life to not put his teeth to her lips, to not have his eyes roll back in his head, and to not fall to his knees when the scent of her arousal reaches him. I'm sorry but I find it very sweet but also kind of funny how he's spiraling. Mr. "Don't show your hand all at once", "save some for later". He was not going to save anything for later. He was mentally preparing for a goddamn feast.

Yeah. Azriel is falling in love. He's spiraling just like Cassian spiraled over Nesta. Just like Rhys spiraled over Feyre. Falling in love and incredibly aroused. And Elain—the goddess—seems equally into it, pivoting into him and giving him that sexy, sexy offer and permission.

I know it's meant to be hot (and it is), but also, It's all just very endearing to me. Like, I can't help but smile to myself over how its all just kind of sweet.

[theshadowsingersraven]

He's not only entirely focused on Mor, but Hybern established he can manipulate the poison in Azriel’s body, which is exactly what the text indicates in the same sentence. lmao

...Azriel shouted, back arching, as the king's poison worked its way in.

It's literally right there. That's why he cries out, lol. But given how e/riels thought Koschei was specifically trapping Azriel only when working with Briallyn in SF just because he said he was waiting for him when immediately following up with the fact that he expected Cassian to charge in, I'm not surprised that they'll analyze fragments of sentences so it suits what they want.

Did we read the same book? Because Azriel was crying out for Mor not Elain, once again Elriels twisting canon text to fit their ship.