#or I guess any az ship

[acourtofthought]

Genuine question, but why do you want Elucien together if they aren’t in love? They aren’t currently attracted to each other right now. They can’t even be in the same room.

Is it just the potential? Or promise of the mating bond or something?

Because I shipped Elucien too when they were declared mates. But by ACOFAS, I didn’t understand why suddenly SJM decided to have them not even interact. If they ever have a conversation I might jump back over to elucien, but so far-there’s nothing between them.

And we know there can be mates that aren’t good romantic pairings. Like Rhys’s parents. All signs are currently pointing to the fact that Elucien is also one of the incompatible pairs.

Idk I just don’t understand why I should keep rooting for them if there hasn’t been any development on the page? Am I missing something??

Genuine question: Why would I want to read a love story that starts with the couple already being in love? Were Claire and Jamie from Outlander in love at the start or was she in love with and married to another man? Where she married Jamie and STILL wasn't in love with him? Were Daphne and Simon in love at the start of Bridgerton? Was he not FORCED to marry her even when he didn't want to ever marry or have children? Were Elizabeth and Darcy infatuated with one another at the start of their book? You have no canon evidence that Elain isn't attracted to Lucien. The only canon evidence we have of anything is that Elain didn't want a male or a mate. Just like Nesta didn't want a mate in her book. But guess what? Those things change. Those are just hurdles for a character to overcome. By the end of her book Nesta proudly called Cassian her mate but she got into a fight with him over it at first. Yes Elain "shrinks back" from Lucien but why are you defaulting to one possible answer "she's not attracted to him"? When you look at SJMs style of writing, isn't it more likely that Elain withdraws from Lucien because he sees her too clearly and that scares her? When Feyre tells us that Elain has even Az beat for secret keeping, isn't it possible that Lucien is the one person who can see through the secrets Elain hides and it's intimidating? Because he might see that she's not as fine and content as she'd have the others believe? Something she wants them to keep believing as she's possibly worried about disappointing them? (Rhys's words). You're right, there are couples who might not be right for one another, evidenced by the example you provided with Rhys's parents. Rhys's father was cold and vicious. Does that sound like Lucien? Rhys's father immediately stole Rhys's mother away the second the bond snapped and married her that night. Does that sound like what Lucien did with Elain? Rhys's mother pleaded with his father to ban wing clipping but he refused. Has Elain asked anything of Lucien that he was unwilling to give her? I like Elucien because neither has to be anyone different if they end up together. Elain doesn't have to struggle with cruelty bothering her as she would if she ended up with a torturer. She doesn't have to hide in the shadows as she would if she ended up with Az. She would get to enjoy balls and party and socializing in a way she wouldn't if her partner was Az who prefers his alone time. She'd get to share her love of nature with someone who the author also confirms is happiest in nature. I like the thought of Elucien because it's so clearly written on the wall that they are right for one another though it's normal that Elain isn't ready to face that yet as she's still processing trauma and figuring out who she is as a fae female. Or maybe she does realize it and it's what scares her, she already suffered rejection and a broken heart from Graysen, I don't imagine she's prepared to run into someone else's arms who has the power to hurt her. My guess is SJM hasn't had them interact because the second Elain and Lucien have a real conversation, it's over for both of them. Their hearts will be gone, flying into the palms of the other. It's more exciting to read about all that in their own POVs rather than someone else's. You don't have to root for anyone you don't like. Hell, Elucien could be endgame and you still don't need to root for them. But I grow a little tired of people acting clueless as to why Elucien's still love the idea of them together and why it's really not a problem that they aren't talking right now.

#pro elucien #elucien #lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #elain archeron #anti e/riel

[lurkinggirlie]

Azriel's mother

A theory about Azriel's mother. aka I'm reaching (not sure if there are similar posts, but do let me know if there are ! I'd love to read them)

Disclaimer: this isn't a ship related post, but both Gwyn and Elain would be mentioned for different reasons. This isn't a Freud wet fantasy post so let's not go there. (Spoilers for the whole series and HOFAS bonus)

For someone we’ve never met, I have a lot of thoughts about Azriel’s mother as a character. We don’t know much about her but here are my best guesses from what we’ve glimpsed.

We first learn of Azriel’s mother straight after we meet him, we know his mom was probably assaulted by an Illyrian lord who was married to an evil female and had two older children.  (not sure if it was mentioned but she was probably really young and worked for Azriel's father)

What we know from ACOMAF:

Rhys’ mom knew Az’s mother which is why she took him in.

Azriel stayed in his father’s keep for 11 years, and was allowed to see his mother for an hour once a week. 

I’m not sure if there are any other mentions of her, but these are the instances I found.

*************************

Then later on in ACOFAS we get a little hint that she’s still alive: 

“When do you head out for Rosehall?”

“The morning after Solstice,” he supplied, turning toward the glittering sprawl of Velaris. He winced—slightly. “I still need to do some shopping before I go.”

I offered my brother a crooked smile. “Buy her something from me, will you? And put it on my account this time.”

I knew Az wouldn’t, but he nodded all the same.”

It's not mentioned who “her” is neither where Rosehall is, but we could guess it’s someone he needs to buy a gift for. “Put it on my account this time” shows us that this isn’t the first time Rhys had asked Azriel to buy her something from him, but why is it that she isn’t invited over? Or why isn’t Rhys offering to visit her? I’ll talk about this later.

We get another mention of his mother in ACOFAS when he stops everyone from eating until Elain is seated.

*********************

ACOSF just confirms the suspicious about her being alive through Cassian’s POV

“His mother had needed a place like this. But Rhys had established it long after she’d left this world. He wondered if Azriel’s mother had ever considered coming here, or if he’d ever pushed her to” 

So, we know that Azriel's mother is still suffering from all the things she’s been through if she needs a safe haven like the library. 

Which brings me back to the point of “why isn’t she around the IC at all” 

Finally HOFAS’s bonus chapter (the Azriel/Bryce and Nesta chapter) 

Bryce jerked her chin toward Azriel. "You've got the broody look of someone with an awful mother, too. Care to share?"

Nesta snorted. "Az never talks about his mother, and neither will our friends, so I’m guessing she's even worse."

The Illyrian snarled softly, "My mother is anything but awful."

Nesta tensed, like she was surprised she'd gotten such a response from him. "I was joking. Az, I didn't even know-"

"I don't want to discuss this," Azriel cut her off coldly.

Azriel's mother is a sensitive topic confirmed. No one talks about his mom, he doesn't talk about his mom. Granted, Bryce is a stranger so of course he isn’t about to overshare but still makes me wonder. Especially since Nesta said that neither Azriel or their friends bring her up.

Now here are all my thoughts in regards to the things we have mentioned.

Reason 1 of why Azriel is keeping his mother away:

Perhaps Azriel is keeping his mother away from the IC, or more specifically his work environment because he doesn’t want her to see him this way, as in his job and the things he has to do, especially since in his bonus he mentions this:

He avoided the urge to cross his arms, not wanting to look intimidating. He blocked out the memory that flashed of his mother cringing before his father, the male standing with crossed arms in such a way that made his displeasure known before he opened his hateful mouth.

He was in the library in this scene, talking to Clotho when he was giving the necklace to her.

I'm not saying that Azriel is like his father, but a big part of his job or overall persona is to look and be intimidating. And that could make his mother feel uneasy around him. Maybe Rosehall (wherever that is or whatever it is) is the safe space he has to see his mother; where he doesn't need to be the intimidating Spy/torturer/Shadowsinger.

And maybe the reason he gravitated towards the library, or found himself there not because of some magic singing abilities but because he subconsciously, or consciously thinks that his mother would fit there. Maybe she does end up going there in the next book.

We have seen how Gwyn have suffered, and how Azriel seemed so proud to see her regain her confidence/strength. but then we saw how the rite had triggered her again to go back to the library. So Perhaps Azriel's mother mental state is even more fragile which gets me to my second point:

Reason 2 of why Azriel is keeping his mother away:

Maybe his mother is not sane.

Hear me out, what if what had happened to his mother broke her in a way where being around people just triggers her. And Azriel just doesn't want anyone to see her this way because it breaks his heart.

Reason 3 of why Azriel is keeping his mother away:

I think there could be a possibility that his mother is a Seer but wasn't able to manage her powers properly maybe that on top of everything has driven her mad (or if we aren't going down that she isn't sane theory maybe he just doesn't want anyone using her. Maybe she blurts out her visions and we know that Seers are probably precious so of course someone would want to use that power and he simply doesn't want to put his mom through that). Remember in ACOWAR how he figured out that Elain was a seer? that he was the only one who listened and how he had looked at her and then disappeared. What if he had gone to where his mom is, to talk to her about this, to confirm. Maybe she helps Elain manage her visions

That is all, has anyone thought of Azriel's mother before? What are everyone's thoughts on this?

#azriel shadowsinger #azriel spymaster #azriel acotar #pro elain #pro gwyneth berdara #elain archeron #gwyn berdara #acosf #acomaf #acowar #hofas #Azriel's mother #acotar #sjm books #sjm universe #pro elriel #pro gwynriel #elriel #gwynriel #sjm #Azriel #acotar 5 #acotar 6

[shadowriel]

The Blade of Your Tongue, Clashing Against Mine

I’m super excited to be posting another chapter of what I’m calling “villain Gwyn, down-bad Az.” Aka enemies to lovers (with an interesting twist). Hope it makes you as feral as I feel writing it xx

Summary: As general to Koschei's army, Gwyneth Berdara wields death with power. It's a choice she made after being rescued from Sangravah-to never be helpless again. Yet, her story rewrites itself when the Spymaster of the Night Court is captured as a prisoner of war and claims to be her mate.

Chapter 2: When All That’s Left is Ash

Read here on A03

Read a snippet below:

A low grumble stirs from the depths of the dungeons, reaching her ears along with a series of cacophonous shrieks. In this stretch of the winding stairway, where the walls narrow and sounds converge, Gwyn struggles to recall that she’d once loved listening to the world around her. That once, there had been joyous sounds. Whispered words in a library, tucked in the pages of well-worn books. Laughter interspersed with sharp intakes of breath. Lilting prayers sung with voices like birdsong and melodies held together with the fraying edges of hope.

Now, there is no joy in what she hears, only the sounds brought forth by the sharp edge of a knife. And the singular scream that drowns out her thoughts, even in the brief moments her body finds sleep.

Yet, today, something is different. Gwyn almost doesn't notice at first, the word repeated over and over, an echo working its way through the stone.

Shadowsinger, she hears the earth say, again and again. A premonition. A warning. In response, her hand finds the black blade fastened at her side. Her fingers tighten around its hilt. But—for a fleeting moment, she warms despite the chill of the air around her.

She hasn’t heard the name in years, since the rough rasp of Koschei’s voice whispered it to her in the darkness. When she’d been searching for any sliver of motivation to keep going, and he gave it to her in the form of promised vengeance.

She can still remember her trembling voice, asking for the identity of the man who’d killed her sister. It’s ingrained in her memories, the same as her final night in Sangravah. Yet, despite the clarity of that night’s events—of Catrin’s scream and a dark presence, wrapping her in his cloak—Gwyn hadn’t been able to remember who it had been that had taken a knife to her sister’s neck.

Then, Koschei had named the Shadowsinger.

And so, the Death-lord had saved her twice. Once, in Sangravah, and a second time, here in his territory, filling in any gaps in her memory as he visited her day after day, with a meal and an offer.

It hadn’t been long before she accepted it. It was a simple choice—to never be helpless, again. To make the Shadowsinger pay.

Taglist (I'm just guessing here, so please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed: @foundress0fnothing @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship @trashforazriel @sv0430 @sunshinebingo @shadowsxgwynriel @thelovelymadone @damedechance @estellaluna @mmiscbutterflies @talons-and-teeth

#gwynriel #gwynriel fanfiction #gwynriel fanfic #gwynriel supremacy #gwyn berdara #gwyneth berdara #azriel #acotar #acotar fanfiction #au gwynriel #the blade of your tongue

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

Hello everyone, today I'll do something never before seen on the flames and darkness liveblog which is read TWO chapters!! Idk man, i havent been able to read more than one chapter at a time recently because this book suddenly turned into such a slog to get through, although granted that might also just be my mental illness making it more difficult. whatever, i'll be in treatment for that next week

Anyway, today I'll be reading chapter 44 which is the star fall chapter, and chapter 45 which is. a chapter. Knowing this book series nothing of note is gonna happen in that one but that wont stop me from reading it

Chapter 44

Okay, theyre mentioning Feyre not looking so emancipated amymore and it made me remember all the weird weight shit from the start of this book. Like, she was losing weight because she was throwing up all the time and then not eating a lot and everyone was constantly remarking on that and it was unbelievably uncomfortable, but then when Feyre officially joined the night court and everyone immediately stopped talking about it, it almost feels a little manipulative, if that makes sense. Like, this book is ostensibly about Feyres healing journey but the Night Court cannot, under any circumstances, have anything negative associated with it so her trauma basically just disappears so we dont have to see the unpleasant parts of her recovery, she has one (1) nightmare after she starts living there permanently, one (1) moment where she feels too depressed to leave the bed and a few moment where she acts out but then immediately feels bad for it every time

Ughhhhh Feyre is wearing a dress for this which is really frustrating but you guys already know how I feel about that so shant go into that much more detail on this

I swear Im not just saying this to be a hater, Feyres dress sounds so tacky too

yoooooooo is Cassian implying he'd like to wear a tacky ass dress too??

and yet hes just wearing a BLACK TUNIC bro Feyre is literally covered in diamonds from head to toe so she can look like a shooting star or whatever and Cassian doesnt even have the decency to wear a black tunic that glitters or something?? Or hell, maybe even a red tunic to match his siphons, idk, give me SOMETHING im gonna tear my fucking hair out

Feyre is wondering about the IC being her friends and its like, girlie theyre barely even each others friends and youve known each other for maybe half a year to their 500 years

Feyre is describing Azriel hungrily staring at Mor's ass and it reminded me of that one bonus chapter Ive seen discussions about where he's really horny about Elain in a way thats pretty uncomfortable, and a lot of ex-Elriels say that it made them stop liking the idea of the ship because thats when they realized that SJM was just gonna mutilate both of their characters for the sake of smut, but honestly I dont think she would even need to mutilate Az that much

I could not give less of a shit about the Mor/Cassian/Azriel drama but I have to admit its kinda funny reading about Feyre speculating so much about Mor's relationships knowing shes gonna turn out to be interested in women

Mor says that Rhysand was very upset after she had sex with Cassian and beat him up as hard as he could (#incest) but she says he wasnt upset because of her virginity but because of the danger she put herself in by losing it, which is like, first of all that seems like splitting hairs, he was still upset that she lost her virginity even though that was none of his business. And second of all, I think it would actually make sense for him to have the kind of archaic sexist beliefs that would make Mor losing her virginity upsetting to him, considering he was also 17 when that happened just like Mor and Im guessing there wasnt anyone around to teach him feminism. or maybe hes so feminist he came out of the womb believing in womens rights and didnt need to be taught anything

god, the inner circle dynamics are so comically fucked up I have no idea how they can stand being around each other

Again, Im not much of a Feylin girlie but "Your hair looks... clean." >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "You look like a women again." (???? whats thag even supposed to mean)

So Rhysand is not wearing a black tunic, but he is wearing wearing a black jacket which is equally disappointing. atleast he has his tits out i guess

Rhysand was gone for 50 years and yet his best friends are not spending any time with him at their first party together since theyve been seperated, thats what i call friendship goals

Yeah, I guess its kinda sad that Rhys missed out on important holiday that meant a lot to him while undr the mountain but you know who else had to do that? Literally everyone that wasnt from the spring court

So he doesnt wanna tell his friends, who are by all accounts doing alright because theyve spent the past few decades trapped in a beautiful idyllic city, about his trauma but hes perfectly fine traumadumping on a twenty year old woman who just started to recover from her own trauma

Maybe Im just in a bad mood but this bullshit where theyre getting covered in star spirits or whatever feels so joyless to me, like its not whimsical or fun to me

Okay so, Ive heard about Rhysand calling Feyre exquisite and it made me cringe just thinking about it, but it looks like theyve translated that to him calling her 'herrlich' which means the exact same thing but it sounds a lot less weird and bad. once again, thank you, Alexandra

Feyre really just said "You regret sexually assaulting me? But why?" huh

Chapter 45:

Okay, thats the end of the chapter but theres two more things that kinda annoyed me that I didnt feel the need to mention as I was reading. 1) Feyre kept going on and on aboht Rhysand being her friend, it felt so insincere, its like sjm say a post online right before she started writing this chapter that was like "in the best relationships, your partner isnt just your partner but also your best friend" and decided to put that sentiment in her book, and 2) I felt like there were so many moments towards the end of that chapter where Feyre is like "oh, ive never felt this way with anyone" and its very obviously alluding to how she didnt love Tamlin as much as she does Rhysand now, and it was just very strange to read, like Tamlin was haunting the narrative even though hes not even dead yet

Uhm. so i got really tired all of a sudden so I took a nap at this point and read some gay vampire fanfic to rejunivate myself and now Im ready for whatever happens in the next chapter

"I was a traitor. [...] Even though I oficially left Tamlin - it was only two months ago, after all. By Fae standards that was probably barely more than a day." Oh yeah, i havent been keeping track of the time thanks for reminding me that this story about immortals is moving at a breakneck pace for no goddamn reason. But also, as an author trying to write a grand long-lasting romance, why would you write this. I know Feysand are gonna get married at the end of book and now when I get to that point Im not gonna be thinking "wowwww such romance" Im gonna be thinking "damn these bozos did the fae equivalent of getting eloped in vegas after knowing each other for barely a week"

Oh, men of all ages are training at this camp? would you say some of them are. child-aged

Feyre is being all "its so cold here, im freezing in my illyrian leathers I cant imagine a child with no clothes surviving here for a single day, much less eight years" (referring to Cassian) and yet she doesnt spare a single thought to all the children who have to be at this camp as well because this is the camp that the batboys grew up in, its not like this is a different kind of camp where they dont train children

God I hate Feyre thinking about how fuckin powerful the batboys are especially because its like, Rhysand is literally their high lord, he already holds so much power over the guys running this camp we dont need a reminder that he could easily crush their minds or that his goons need more syphons to contain the totality of their power or whatever

I get that these guys are like, shitty misogynists or whatever, but I dont think Rhys throwing them out of the house they live in is some #boyboss move hes just being an asshole

Rhysand would never want to lock Feyre in a house for protection, but he does want to decapitate anyone who lays a hand on her which is soooooo much better

Rhysand keeps calling the.... "females" of this camp "girls" which implies one of two things: 1) hes talking about adult women, hes just calling them girls, which is not very feminist of our feminist king, or 2) hes talking about actual girls aka children which. thank god for our feminist king having equal-opportunity child soldiers

Its actually kind of surreal how theyre at the camp where the batboys spent their CHILDhoods and Feyre keeps talking about what it mustve been like for Cassian while the narrative is actively avoiding talking about children being at the camp at this present moment while also not outright stating "there are no kids here at this present moment"

"'[The clipping of the wings is] to ensure the safety of their women, they said.'" this reminds me of something @/kateprincessofbluewhales said in regards to Rhysand forcing illyrian women to train but not doing anything else to advance their rights, which is that the wing clipping mightve started as a way for men to help women dodge the 'draft' that seems to be mandatory for all healthy illyrians. I dont really have anything else to say about that, it just popped into my head and i thought it was interesting

Rhysand is talking about how at some of the camps, women are declared anti-marriage material if they train and how he cant do anything about that and its like, even if these women are not officially declared unmarriable or whatever, the misogynistic men that make up these camps are probably not gonna wanna marry a women who trains, so what difference does that really make

Also, he says the only thing he could do about 'laws' like that is to murder the warlords and take their children/trainees? under his wing and I guess he thinks he would have to do that for every camp that does that but honestly, I think just doing it once or twice would send a powerful enough message to discourage other warlords from being misogynistic. And he wouldnt have to raise all these children all by himself either, Im sure he could get the help of a few non-sexist men or even, gasp, some women. Like those priestesses living in that library Im sure some of the ones that have already recovered from their trauma somewhat wouldnt mind teaching some boys about the harm that misogyny does

Okay so the blood rite is called a Blutritual [blood ritual] in german which is a little confusing because a ritual is a pretty specific thing and I dont think the blood rite is that specific thing but whatever, it sounds cool enough

Ive said this before, I am not a Tamlin girlie, at best I prefer him to Rhysand, and I dont like or trust Rhysand at all, but imagine hearing that tragic story about how their families killed each other, leaving them as the only survivors and being like "I cant believe Tamlin killed Rhysands family!!" especially when its like, the only person Feyre actually knows Tamlin killed is Rhysands dad who sucked ass, its not exactly a great loss

I feel like i had a lot of thoughts about a lot of things in this chapter that I couldnt write down because theyre these abstract half-thoughts, so I think I'll let those marinate until theyre full thoughts and share them with you at some later date

#anti acotar #anti rhysand #anti feysand #anti acomaf #flames and darkness liveblog

[the-darkestminds]

An E/riel made me raise my eyebrows when they said “If Gwyn and Az are mates, why aren't they together in HOFAS? Why would Az say he doesn't have a mate or a partner in HOFAS if Gwyn is his mate? Az certainly would have felt the mating bond by now given the amount of time they've spent together and the traumatic events Gwyn has gone through that Az has been present for. There is nothing keeping Gwyn and Az apart. There's no reason they can't get together immediately. They have no barriers to their relationship, internal or external. Maybe that's why Az says he doesn't have a mate or a partner yet in HOFAS-because he wants to be with Elain but he can't be. Because e/riel is next and we'll see them overcome these barriers to get together in their book.”

Sarah is not going to write an off-page romance. She is not going to write about a mating bond (something extremely important) snapping off-page, especially in a book that’s not ACOTAR. And that’s why Gwynriel’s were fine with Azriel saying he doesn’t have a mate or a partner. Because we get to read about it happening. That’s what we want. We want to see Gwyn and Azriel becomes friends, fall in love, and have a mating bond snap. If it happened off-page, the I would honestly be really upset and disappointed. I know E/riel’s love to believe that their ship, their “forbidden romance”, is happening off-page (which is highly unlikely), but us Gwynriel’s prefer to get to actually read about the romance blossoming.

And as for Azriel not feeling the mating bond, how do we actually know? We don’t have his pov, so we don’t know. It’s been three months since SF ended, and we haven’t had his pov since his bonus chapter, so we don’t know what has been going on through his head, or what he’s been up to. And as for nothing keeping Gwyn & Az apart, both of them have their own things to work through. Azriel struggles with self worth, and he needs to talk to Mor. That conversation needs to happen. And Gwyn has her own trauma, so it’s understandable. Sarah is not going to not write about this and have Gwynriel develop off-page. That would be wasted plot. I don’t think Sarah has ever written an off-page romance (please genuinely correct me if I’m wrong).

I have heard this argument a lot too. I think part of Azriel's issue is that he feels so much icy rage all the time, is so used to fighting to suppress it that he supresses a lot of the good stuff too. He comes across as cold and focused but from his short POV we see he is quick to anger, hates himself and feels unworthy, and has a lot of issues to work through. I don't think he would even realize the mating bond if it clunked him on the head. And if he did, I have to wonder if he would feel worthy of that bond either. Personally I think that will be a big part of his story--accepting himself and the fact that he does deserve love. I'm not saying he's currently incapable of it, he clearly loves the IC and in HOFAS he mentions finding people he loves. But his obsession with Mor, and his thoughts in the ACOSF bonus chapter suggest he has a long way to go. Also side note, but a forbidden romance for Azriel would be disastrous and do absolutely nothing to help with his lack of self worth.

Imagine if when asked if he has a mate he said yes. We'd all be like wtf? Since when? (Although personally I believe it's Gwyn) I don't really understand why Elriels seem perfectly fine with their ship developing off page. I want to be present for all of it. Also we have no way of knowing for sure what happened in that time after ACOSF and HOFAS, like you said. But why should we have to guess and make stuff up? We will find out in the next book. I agree with you, I can't think of any romance that developed off page. Or of a female main character who did not need to go through a painful healing arc to realize what she truly wants and needs. I only bring this up because I often see the claim that "Elain is happy and fulfilled in the night court, she has friends, she loves Az". I do not see her happy and healed at all. And if that were all true then why exactly does she need her own book?

#thank u for the interesting ask anon #love u #anti elriel #anti e/riel #azriel #pro gwynriel

[kayas-obsession]

My nosy ass went to antigwynriel tag and when I tell you the things I read. It is absolutely amazing how ignorant people can be when they are biased.

I guess, although, the same thing can be said for me.

So hear me out.

Gwyn and Azriel are not in love.

There.

Okay.

I know it, you know it, the entire ACOTAR fandom knows it.

It’s not what they have now we are focused on it’s what they could have or more importantly what it could grow into.

It’s funny how Elriel’s point out that Gwyn was a distraction and nothing more because he was commanded to not court Elain.

And???

Feyre told she wanted Rhys as a distraction at first too but it wasn’t the case, was it.

And if you guys are arguing about his POV, how he was too polite to leave the ring because Gwyn saw him already. Helloooo????

"Happy Solstice," she said, as much a dismissal as it was a holiday blessing.

He snorted. "Are you kicking me out?"

He could’ve just left. But oh wait, he didn’t.

And him not caring about Gwyn being in the blood rite and going to save Eris. Let me ask you, could he go even if he wanted to? When even Cassian couldn’t? And Gwyn and Azriel wasn’t anywhere near as close as Elain and Azriel were when he saved her from Hybern.

And not to mention it’s a rule to not interfere in the rite as it can get them killed.

Were we not reading the same book???

And it’s not that he didn’t care. When Nesta was mentioned there was no reaction but when Gwyn’s name was mentioned, he did show concern.

“There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her,” Cassian said, voice thickening. “To Emerie and Gwyn.”

The shadows deepened around Azriel, his Siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. “You—we—trained them well, Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.”

And for people saying she is a light singer because she did a high pitched scream next to Azriel one time because it caught his attention.

Crack. I tell you. Absolute no logic.

Also, his shadows did not dance around her but reached out to her breath. Okay. Then. What. Is. This.

“Gwyn asked Az, her teal eyes bright, “What do we get if we finish the course?”

Az’s shadows danced around him. “Since there’s no chance in hell any of you will finish the course, we didn’t bother to get a prize.”

Another thing they pointed out was how sour Azriel’s mood was the next day of the solstice, given how his night was supposed to go after meeting Gwyn, shouldn’t he have been happy.

That’s what I’m telling you!! They are not in love at that moment!

Was Feyre in love with Rhys when him and her were under the mountain? No. She despised him. Was she in love with him when he brought her to the Night court? Yes, of course not. But it’s what all build up to the climax of their relation.

How the relationship started.

I repeat in case Elriels are confused. They are not in love!

But you know what did happen the next day after Elain and him didn’t kiss?

His smiled thinking of Gwyn and picturing her joy on receiving the necklace. But ofc that they overlook because it’s a “bonus” scene but jump to the scene of Elain and Azriel about to kiss cause it sails their boat.

Some argue that bonus chapters shouldn’t matter. Um, okay so the near kiss didn’t happen either I guess.

Keep your 4 book buildup of ambiguous relation for all we care.

If 4 books couldn’t help Elriel move their relation up to a simple kiss. Idk what really can.

Maybe your “let’s tear down a perfectly solid character” will help keep the ship sailing.

#acotar #azriel #gwyneth berdara #fantasy #gwynriel #books #anti elriel #azriel x gwyn #gwyneth x azriel #gwyn acosf #gwyn acotar #gwyn x azriel #gwyn supremacy #gwynweek2023

[gwyns]

I’m the anon that asked about Gwyn & Az! It’s nice getting to talk about things like this! I don’t go on twitter as much, because the e/riel’s there are truly unhinged. I don’t know why e/riel’s think it’s stupid that gwynriel’s are fine with Azriel saying “I don’t have a mate”, but we are because we’ll get to actually see it on page. Why would they want their ship to develop off page where you can’t read about it? Makes no sense. One of the best things about romance is getting to see the two characters slowly become enamored with each other.

I don’t think they have crushes on each other either (Gwyn might think he’s attractive) or are best friends (yet), but I think they are very good acquaintances. We will get to see their friendship develop on page, as well as their romantic feelings which will be so nice to see. I definitely agree that there is a mutual respect and trust between them. Azriel sees the warrior in Gwyn. He doesn’t see her as a victim. And so far, he treats her with respect and his interactions with her feel healthy compared to his interactions with Mor & Elain.

Do you think Gwyn and Azriel will become lovers/a couple first and then will have sex/explore it, or start exploring sex and then become lovers? I have a lot of thoughts on the sexuality aspect. It grosses me out how some e/riel’s think survivors of assault can never have sex or have sex that might be more kinky. I honestly feel like there’s a lot Sarah can do with them not only as lovers/a couple, but their friendship build up and them as individual characters. I don’t think Gwyn is going to fix Azriel, but she will help with his self worth and help accept parts of himself.

hiii i'm so sorry it took me awhile to get to this!! i agree it's very nice to be able to talk about this <3 i understand your avoidance of twitter they're... horrid on there. i've gotten to the point where i just drag any of them i happen to see on my timeline and they usually block me so, it's been fun!

i grow more and more convinced every day that e/riels have never read books before. when a character says something like "i don't have a mate" in a fated mates series that's the author telling us "yes he does, he's just too stupid to see it right now". of course he has a mate, sjm loves her happy endings. it's a little something called dramatic irony and i believe the greeks coined the term. like it's obvious to us, the readers, where this is going but he's oblivious to it. it's not hard to figure out

yes, yes, yes! i definitely think that by the end of acosf they're both on each other's radars. gwyn is comfortable being alone with him and az admires and encourages her. they're not super close (yet) but they find themselves liking one another's company more and more. it'll be such a seamless transition from acquaintances to friends to best friends to lovers and i can't wait for it!

now that's where this gets tricky. it's hard to tell when sjm will introduce their physical relationship but i hope it's more towards the end. i want their friendship to be at the front of their relationship for awhile. i do think that they won't become "official" or anything until after they have sex. i think they'll realize they're attracted to each other, and gwyn will be curious enough to ask him about it and az would be willing and... well you can guess the rest lol

oh definitely. azriel needs to self reflect a lot and realize he's worthy of love as is. he doesn't have to constantly try and prove he belongs when he already does. i think gwynriel have the potential to be one of sjm's most beautiful couples. the comfort they'd find in each other, how they'd help one another to see that they're worthy of everything they have and want... ugh i love it. they really do share many similarities and parallels and that's not a coincidence on sjm's part

as for e/riels being gross, nothing about their behavior surprises me anymore, unfortunately. i have to believe they're younger, stupider people that don't fully realize how harmful their thinking is. gwyn can and will have a healthy sexual relationship in the future, if that's what she wants. she's more than her trauma and assault, she's even said so, stop reducing her to only that and reflect on how your words can harm real people who have experienced similar things

#antielriel #anti e/riel #acotar #azriel #gwyneth berdara #gwynriel #asks #anonymous

[freyjas-musings]

Can I ask since you’ve read the bonus chapter, will reading Az’s bonus chapter from CC3 totally spoil the story for me if I read it now??

I’m so tired of E/riels showing up on my feed claiming it proves Gwynriel is wrong, so I want to read it but not if it’s going to reveal too much about the CC3 storyline

Hello, I have read 4 of the Bonus Chapters so far , as far as Nesta , Az and Bryce's bonus it's safe to read as a stand alone , there aren't any HOFAS spoilers in it. I absolutely love that chapter and I would definitely say read it , its a balm to every Nesta Stan and Every Az stan. We get to see a very different side to Az and the equation between him and Nesta is adorable 😍.

I don't know what those Elriel fools are on about, they are better off ignored at this point ... They are clearly trying to ruin the experience for everyone else since they know their ship sank ( freaking losers)... That chapter disproves the lightsinger nonsense and also gives a very spl detail that proves Gwyn and Az are mates and Gwynriel is most certainly happening . Go read it and ignore the noise.

SJM basically said FU Elriels and made the entire bonus of Nesta Az and Bryce music coded 🤗🤗... so much for mocking Gleeriels I guess 😅

Don't read Ruhn Lidia and Ember Randall Bonus Chapters they contain major spoilers

#gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #pro gwynriel #gwyn acosf #azriel shadowsinger #acotar #gwyn x azriel #post acosf #acosf theory #azriel #anti elriel

[bookofmirth]

I'm sorry sad that Elain isn't taking credit for the King's death.

I think Sarah must be doing it on purpose, because to me it shows that they still see Elain as needing protection and prefer to cut off her participation.

Not that Elain might want to be reminded of this fact, because I still don't think she's going to be like her sisters . Death for her is not something easy to accept.

But the lack of recognition is really so strong.

But I wonder if in the future SJm will make any character outside the IC recognize Elain's achievements?

This doesn't make me sad, personally, because I think that Elain is likely haunted by her actions in the war. Yes, killing Hybern was the right thing to do. Elain saved Nesta and Cassian, she made a significant step to ending the war, it was incredibly important that she kill him.

But... Elain is not a killer. She's not the type of person to ever be comfortable with that type of violence. I have made a post before about this! You can read that here.

To me, it would be like someone saying "wow, I am so impressed that you killed those faeries when Amarantha forced you to!" to Feyre, because 1) it was necessary for Feyre to do, but 2) Feyre had nightmares about that. Did it lead to the greater good? It did!

I guess... I could see being upset that Elain isn't acknowledged from the perspective of no one ever really acknowledging what value she brings to the table. She's just there and nice and people probably dismiss her actions re: Hybern as a fluke. Which to me it is - like you said, death is not easy for her to accept and not something she wants to be involved with - but not in the way they mean. Hybern is a fluke because of what Elain values; I don't expect her to make killing people into a habit. It is NOT a fluke in the sense that she is capable of doing what needs to be done and people don't see that. She is capable of doing more, she just isn't noisy about it. Elain makes herself small, and so everyone assumes that is her natural form. Ugh now I am in my Elain feelings.

And also, since I assume you said this because of the Nesta&Az&Bryce bonus chapter, I think it just reinforces the fact that Azriel dismisses her actions as a fluke, too. He's just one in a long line of people who underestimate Elain. Which is one in a long line of reasons that I can never and will never ship it.

If we were to smush Sense and Sensibility on top of acotar, then Nesta is Marianne (not in the romantic sense, just the emotive sense), and Elain is Elinor (in the stoic, "someone in this room needs to be calm and I guess it's me" sense). That makes it easy for people to forget that actually, Elain does have thoughts and feelings and desires and isn't just FINE all the fucking time.

I can't wait until she starts to assert herself more 🥲

#this response was all over the place #whoops #you made me think thoughts #elain #acotar #ask #anon #antielriel #hofas spoilers #house of flame and shadow spoilers #spoilers #hofas bonus chapter

[nikethestatue]

I find it funny that those other shippers are saying we're dead because of that BC 😆 like huh?

I'm sorry, but I read that BC and never felt like it doomed our ship?

Azriel and Elain aren't shown to be a couple? Of course not, the elriel book is coming, why would they already be together before their book?

Azriel and his shadows hummed/reacted to music? Yeeeaaahhh...? What does that prove other than music in general makes his shadows react? Looks to me like their special girl wasn't special after all 🤨 not to mention that both Stone Mother and the Glass Coffin have a woman freeing herself from someone they don't love and getting with someone of their choice.

Az said he didn't have a mate, so that means elriel is dead? HUH? How did they get that conclusion? Yes, because OBVIOUSLY a really big couple is going to get together OFFSCREEN and mentioned in a BC? Do these people have any thinking skills whatsoever? NOTHING about that BC denied elriel, AT ALL. Not to mention the suspicious way Azriel was acting when referring to mates 🤔😏

Anyways, these shippers just don't seem to understand that the biggest and important elriel developments will happen in A BOOK OF THEIR OWN, and NOT in someone else's or in a BC of another story.

Either way, our ship is still alive and well 😁 the only reason why some elriels are frustrated is because the other shippers are ONCE AGAIN misinterpreting the text of the BC and passing it off as canon 😮‍💨 the only thing that will give them is disappointment when they realize they were wrong all this time 🤭

They think that EVERY bonus kills Elriel.

They legit think that SJM sits down to write bonus chapters (regardless for which series) with intentions of killing Elriel?

Also, I was under the impression that she already KiLLED ELRIEL with Azriel's Bonus and that he was mated to Gwyn and feeling chest glows because of the bond?

(This is from the first chapter of HOFAS. I guess Bryce and Amren are mates! Because you know...)

And it wouldn't be weird at all, if Azriel was like 'Yeah, I have a mate!!!' to Bryce all of a sudden, in a BONUS.

All we've learned in the bonus is that his shadows react to music. And that he is a shadowSINGER, which obviously somehow connects these mysterious powers that he has to music? SJM clearly has had this idea for over a decade, since he was introduced as a shadowsinger back in ACOMAF. And I am sure it's connected to some deeper magic that we know little about at this point. (I personally think it's Valg related, but that's just me)

But anyway. If it gives them peace and if they are so sure that multiple bonuses have killed Elriel, then they need to sleep easy and not obsess over it.

[acourtofthought]

It's interesting how some claim Elain loses all her boldness around Lucien then ignore how she was shaking while handing Az his gift and *whispered* "I'm sorry" after he rejected her.

So very bold of her, right?

This from a female who told off her sister in SF. Shouldn't she be able to give Az a piece of her mind if they've grown oh so close?

And for those who claim she's not attracted to Lucien....

When Aelin was still struggling to move past Chaol, did we know she found Rowan attractive? Not even just objectively good looking (which I don't even remember her saying anything along those lines) but proof she was attracted to him?

She met her mate yet was still thinking about another man.

Before Nesta's pov in the ACOMAF bonus, did we know she was attracted to Cassian?

Regardless of what people assume they know of Elain's thoughts on Lucien, we have yet to have her POV and therefore cannot speak on how attractive she finds him. Someone can make all the guesses they want but until her book, it is unproven.

Hell I could make the case that Elain didn't actually find Az all that attractive at first considering she met him in the human lands yet still wanted to marry Graysen. Considering Az was right there in front of her while sitting in the gardens yet she still tried to go back to Graysen. Where Az "saved her from Hybern" yet she still stared after Graysen as he left the meeting after the war. Maybe she was willing to kiss him on Solstice because she believes him to have a nice personality (at least what he shows to her) and she started finding him somewhat attractive because of that (it's a thing).

"But Az is the prettiest of the brothers!"

And multiple characters call Lucien handsome.

Objectively I'm pretty sure it's impossible for her to not note that her mate is fine as hell.

There is no evidence that Elain had any sort of immediate attraction to Az yet she was still open to kissing him so there's no valid reason for why we can't find out that Elain has always considered Lucien attractive but her engagement to another man was something she needed to remind herself of so as not to be disloyal. Because the bond overwhelms her and she's afraid to let herself face the truth of things.

Also, if the argument is that all the endgame couples fought prior to ending up together (something they claim Elucien is lacking even though Elain literally calls Lucien out in the Lucien pov) than wouldn't that confirm that Vassa and Jurian are in fact endgame?

I guess that debunks the Vassien ship.

#anti e/riel

[a-girl-and-her-robo-dog]

Pinned Post I guess

Hello people. I'm Juliana. I like picnics, cool rocks, and pokemon battles. I'm a champion ranked trainer. I moved to Paldea from Galar about a year ago. Chandelure is my partner, I've had her since before I moved here.

That is an old photo. Ignore how terrible I look.

Any weird Pokemon you see with me are completely normal and totally not shady and/or special

Pokemon:

Crater Variant Cyclizar - Matrix

Chandelure - Freight

Quaquaval - Tuna

Crater Variant Donphan- (Miley) Cyrus

Tinkaton - Tinkerbell

Tsareena - Audrey (II)

Gengar - Krueger

I also have Noodle who is a rare species thought to have gone extinct called Chien-Pao. I do not use him in battle and do not research him.

OOC under Read More:

OOC: Hey! Mod Pluto here! (It/It's but you can use literally anything, idc)

[a bit of background: In this universe everything Area Zero was a cover-up. Paradox Pkmn are Variants, Turo went insane from exposure to Tera Energy, and Juliana Did. Not. Go. In. There. She'll usually make shit up on the spot if you ask so you'll get a lot of conflicting stories. She has trauma from Area Zero (The other Miraidon actually attacked them) but she won't really talk about it much. Just a warning for potential descriptions of violence. This is set before and during the DLC]

She might be a bit of an asshole. She's a bit inspired by the manga version (Scarlet) who is inspired by Wednesday Addams. Very loosely based on Scarlet. My Juliana is a middle ground between the silly happy-go-lucky she's supposed to be in the game and how she is in the manga. This is her, not me, being mean. If you are uncomfortable, feel free to leave.

Peliper Mail/Malice/Unmail: Yup

Musharna Mail/Malice: Yeppers

Sentient Pokemon: She might think you're joking but sure

Magic Anons: Nah, sorry

IN CHARACTER Anon Hate: Yup

Juliana is like 14-ish so no NSFW please.

I see the AZ gang as siblings so no shipping here.

Swearing is fine.

Please don't send random photos that have nothing to do with Pkmn in my Inbox.

Anything written like this is in her head

I have anxiety and think I'm funnier than I actually am so... yeah.

Couple other things: I accidentally made this my main blog so if you see me like something it's prolly not in character. Also, I reset this blog. Anything from before February 18 is not canon to this blog anymore.

Ooc blog: @comet-the-frog

I think that's it, Byeeee!

#pokemon #pokeblog rp #pokeblr #pokeblogging #rotomblr #rotumblr #pokemon rp #pokemon scarlet and violet

[nyxreads]

VASSIEN + ELRIEL PARALLEL

Idk if someone already did this, I recently read a compilation of Vassien moments (thanks to @emnlln ) immediately thought of Elriel ones.

Let us start with both men being unstoppable despite the warnings thrown at them:

Lucien shifted his focus to Rhys, to me. “I’ll go,” he repeated, rising to his feet. “To find this sixth queen.”

Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows.

My friends glanced to each other. Mor said, “It will be—very dangerous.” A half smile curved Lucien’s mouth. “Good. It’d be boring otherwise.”

Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

Spending time together:

Vassa still remained inside, chatting with Lucien animatedly. I supposed that if she only had until dawn before turning back into that firebird, she wanted to make every minute count. Lucien, surprisingly, was chuckling, his shoulders loose and his head angled while he listened

Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the town house, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight

Both are given ship names by the author

A bird of flame … and a lord of fire. I wondered if they’d found each other yet.

I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder.

My Queen Feyre connecting the two: Vassa and Lucien as Exiles, Elain and Az both good at secret-keeping (spies👀)

“Jurian isn’t an exile,” I said. Vassa, yes. Lucien, two times over now

Feyre smiled. “Elain was the only one who guessed. She caught me vomiting two mornings in a row.” She nodded toward Azriel. “I think she’s got you beat for secret-keeping.”

Spending time together? Check

But Vassa’s freedom would end. Lucien had said as much months ago, and still visited her often enough

Elain sat silently at one of the wrought-iron tables, a cup of tea before her. Azriel was sprawled on the chaise longue across the gray stones, sunning his wings and reading what looked to be a stack of reports

How both men looked at the women with pain and sorrow because of the situation they are in:

Both Jurian and Lucien stared at her, the former’s face utterly unreadable, and the latter’s pained.

and Azriel … It was pity on his beautiful face. Pity and sorrow as he watched my sister.

Both men were relaxed and chuckling while with the women:

I supposed that if she only had until dawn before turning back into that firebird, she wanted to make every minute count. Lucien, surprisingly, was chuckling, his shoulders loose and his head angled while he listened.

He chuckled, unable to suppress the impulse. “No wonder you didn’t want me to open it in front of everyone.”

Blushing you say?

Lucien blushed, “She’s got a foul temper and a fouler mouth.” He cut me a wry look. “You’ll get along just fine.”

Color bloomed high on Azriel’s golden-brown cheeks, but he inclined his head in thanks and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.

Indeed, sjm really said the couples are obvious 👀💜

I am not allowing any hate toward this post, no anon hate nor any comment (and if you're too stubborn and will still leave nasty remarks then don't block me so I can reply to you and let's talk about canon)

#vassien #pro elriel #elriel #azriel shadowsinger #lucien #elain archeron #vassa #Acotar

[elrielbaby]

I was thinking on my Acotar journey earlier today, and whilst I’ve been an elriel since my first read I wasn’t a staunch elriel until August/September of last year. It did not occur to me that there would be any other potential end game pairing for Azriel & whilst I knew Elain had a *potential* someone else, it seemed highly unlikely, given the formula of SJM’s writings and my knowledge as a reader of this genre. It was only until a got on tiktok and I was all of a sudden bombarded with G/Az posts that I was like what on earth? So I re read. First, I read the bonus chapter, then ACOSF. Then I fully re read the series, including ALL bonus chapters. I fully took my shipping goggles off & read as unbiasedly as humanly possible. On my first read of Azriels BC I could understand why someone might think there’s something romantic there, but something felt off. I couldn’t put my finger on it. There was nothing actually romantic in their interaction. His shadows seemed to have a reaction to her, but given that they tend to lighten around people he loves or when he’s happy, that didn’t feel like a particularly positive or negative thing. What caught me off guard was the necklace. It does not fit SJMs usual style of creating new ships, but to reuse the Secret, Lovely beauty line? Red. Flag. I remembered feeling a little suspicious of G in the beginning but as a casual reader I didn’t think too much about it, I was content to just wait until the next book came out. Then I start seeing patterns. I start reading tumblr posts about G being a lightsinger - it makes so much sense. But I don’t just do that. I look at the other side and their theories to make sure I’m being as thorough as possible - I don’t want to miss anything & I don’t want to set myself up for being upset when the next book comes out. Now, we are talking almost a year ago I was doing this research, so I can’t remember exactly what their theories were but I’m sure you can all take a guess. None of it was canon based & when they did pull from canon all context was either left behind or completely twisted into something else. So I spent a good couple of months on the fence. I kept my personal feelings on ships to one side because someone could convince me that g/Az wasn’t icky. That could happen. It did not, and I just felt even ickier about it. None of their theories stood up when you re read the books. And so here I am in my own personal elriel echo chamber & I couldn’t be happier to be here, or on this side of the fandom who make canon based theories and arguments. 💕

#elriel #pro elriel

[jemdeserveslove]

I read the ACOTAR trilogy years ago and liked it, but I was never interested in reading any of the next books. I remember that Lucien and Elain were supposed to be mates but she didn't want to talk to him(?) and it was left unresolved at the end of ACOWAR. After that I only know bits and pieces I came across online, and I often saw people saying Elain should end up with Azriel instead. So I'm here to ask: what's going on, what happened since then? What is her relationship with both men at this point? Is there a love triangle? Who is she more likely gonna end up with? Can you please tell me the tea? 👀

Omg this is like a big question that requires a big answer, so bare with me ✨

First things first, I wanna start by saying that I’m completely biased at this point, since I want Elain and Lucien to be together. I will present the facts and how I see them. I did this post ages ago discussing every ship! There are more details

So, since the end of Wings and Ruin, Elain and Lucien’s relationship hasn’t really improved. She still avoids him whenever he’s around and, as far as we know, he only shows up in Velaris when he needs to report something to Rhys and Feyre (since he works for them as emissary) or on Winter’s Solstice. He always gets her a gift and she ignores him, as usual.

Now, as for Elain and Azriel, we know due to Azriel’s bonus chapter that they spent a little time together, usually in the garden, with Elain going over her garden plans and stuff.

Idk if you read his chapter or not, I guess you must have seen it around, but if you want to get more context to this, I recommend reading it even if didn’t read the book. You can still understand lots of it.

But basically what happened is this:

It’s after the Winter Solstice party and Azriel and Elain meet after everyone left to their own rooms. In the chapter, we get Azriel’s pov so we get to learn a bit more about his state of mind and how unwell he is (and has been for a while). When they meet, Azriel intercepts Elain as she’s going downstairs to put a gift in his gift pile, so she hands him his gift. He then also gives her a gift, that he didn’t give earlier as well, a rose shaped necklace

They have a bit of a moment, with Azriel thinking about how they always had slight touch of hands and shared glances (not really conversations), but nothing else happened beyond that. Azriel thinks about how he has the hots for her and also how bothered he is about Elain and Lucien’s mating bond

Then, they almost kiss, BUT they are interrupted by Rhys, when he has a mental conversation with Azriel, who then tells Elain this was a mistake and she apologizes, and as far as we know, they haven’t talk since

NOW, Rhys basically tells Az to stay away from Elain, because she has a mate and if he saw them kissing (Lucien was just upstairs) he would have, like, the right to be really pissed off and call on Azriel the blood duel (traditional of the Autumn Court) and then fight to the death for Elain. Like, Lucien would never do that, but anyway

Azriel tries to reason with Rhys by saying that Elain is not interested in Lucien and that maybe the cauldron was wrong and that they were not supposed to be mates, which leaves Rhys all “what the actual fuck????”. To which Azriel responds by saying that there are 3 sisters and 3 brothers, so how come were 2 sisters given to 2 of those brothers (Rhys and Cassian) but the third one wasn’t???? Rhys gets all 😡 and tell Azriel that he should go to a pleasure house and leave Elain alone, to not jeopardize their relationship with Lucien, cause he’s a really important ally for them, as he has ties with many courts + the human realm

Az gets really mad about the whole thing, we know he always wanted a mate, so this whole thing is a sensitive topic for him. He then meets Gwyn, a new character to the series, he trains her on combat with Cassian, and she was overall a really important character in ACOSF. They have a moment, filled with playful banter and even a couple of revelations (we learned from their conversation that Az sings) and when he leaves her he was much more cool minded

As the chapter goes, we learn that Elain returned the rose shaped necklace, putting it back in his gift pile, without even talking to him. He then gets the necklace and anonymously gives it to Gwyn, thinking about how her eyes will shine upon seeing it, calling it “a thing of secret, lovely beauty”

NOW, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and even if I don’t agree, I see why people would ship Elain and Azriel considering some other moments they had during the other books. I for one think that the bonus chapter was a way of Sarah to put an end to them. I think his interaction with Gwyn was much more interesting and had that sjm couple banter thing, that she always writes, and honestly it just seemed healthier (considering how Az’s pov goes)

But even if we forget about Gwyn for a moment, during Silver Flames there were a couple of moments when Az just pretty much dismissed Elain, when she wanted to do finally do something and help everyone. Saying how Elain should not be exposed to such darkness and all. Which could be cute, like, “awnn he wants to protect her”, but he did it behind her back and she was really just trying to help and do more. And that didn’t sit right with me

As for Elain and Lucien, I’m not gonna lie, it’s looking very good for them lol. But, I think they will overcome their issues, cause they don’t have anything against each other. They don’t even know each other. Their issue is not personal, And I think that eventually they will know each other and things will work out just fine

So, answering your question, Idk who’s gonna end up with who. I have my personal beliefs and some people have completely different ideas. Not really sure who to blame for this, maybe we should blame Sarah for being a little ambiguous or ourselves for being maybe a bit too emotional about it 🤡

But I’ll tell you this: acotar 5 is next, so we’re gonna find out soon enough ✨

#acotar thoughts #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #azriel #gwyneth berdara #rhysand #acotar 5 #discussion #annonymous #sarah j maas

[azrielgreen]

Hey Az I was wondering if you had any advice on jealousy. Or more “envy” I guess. I know we should write for ourselves and try not to rely on external validation, but I find it so hard. I’m constantly comparing myself to other writers, seeing how many kudos and comments they got, wondering why I don’t measure up. Wondering why certain readers left a super long comment on a certain work and then a short one on mine. I don’t want to be resentful, and I know this feeling is toxic and bred from insecurity. I keep trying to improve and to find new ways to get over this mindset, but nothing seems to be working. I just obsess over why I’m not good enough, why I’m not on rec lists, or why readers stopped commenting when they had previously reacted to every other chapter. It’s embarrassing and pathetic to even type this all out, but I figured you’re the best person to go to with shit like this because you’re so honest. I keep coming to the conclusion that “if I was a better writer then I’d have better statistics, and people would stick with my stories, so I must suck.” I wonder if there is something I’m actually doing wrong technically or if my negative attitude is somehow seeping through the words I write. I don’t know. Maybe I just need therapy. But yes, any tips on how to not see others’ success as my failure?

Thank you so much for even reading this stream of consciousness diary entry. And thank you even more if you respond. xx

Hello lovely. I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply, I've been working my way through these and I wanted to devote a little more time to yours because this is a really common feeling that's rarely discussed.

So, envy and jealously about other writers is, I think, natural given the system used to publish fics (hit counters, kudos, etc...) and also the fact that this fandom is a very loud, wide open space. I've been in very small spaces before, sometimes with five or six people total in the entire ship and that was a very different vibe. I really wish more people get to experience that.

But this fandom and many others are large spaces now and they'll only get bigger so we have this constant comparison, even though not widely acknowledged, of who gets more readers, who gets recced, hits, kudos and comments. It's difficult not to compare, even when you know you shouldn't so what you're feeling is completely valid. External validation for writing can be really important and it's one of the reasons fanfic can be so gratifying, with comments to boost you up along the way.

The thing is, focusing on those elements will only ever harm your self esteem because once you tie your worth to a number, a percentage, literally anything quantifiable and reliant upon people other than yourself, you're doing damage to your mental health and your understanding of what is or isn't "good writing". There are so many beautiful, stunning, fucking life altering stories on AO3 that have a mere handful of kudos and under 100 hits and I don't know why. I don't know what if it's word of mouth, if it's reclists, length, tags, word counts, I have no idea what makes something a "hit", but here's what I do know.

I know that when you don't look at those numbers, when you instead look ahead to your future and where your writing will take you, those numbers really don't mean much. I've had plenty of "flops" and I love them so much, I go back and reread them even after orphaning them and I see that maybe two or three people commented, hardly anyone even read it, but that doesn't matter because I'm already on the next project.

You are good enough. You are so good, you're brilliant. You're unique and you know this too, deep down, otherwise you would never have started writing. What people do or don't respond to is more to do with them and their personal lives than you and your work.

My advice is to never look at other people's specific success numbers and compare. There are only two outcomes of this. Yours will be more and you'll feel good that more people read your work than others - you ego will inflate artificially, it'll be tied to this numerical system. Or, yours will be less and you'll be feel bad that your work wasn't read as much as others was - your sense of worth will shrink, and to remedy this, you'll feel the need to create content that drives up these numbers. This is a toxic spiral, and believe me, I know it very well. I would tell myself, years ago, if I didn't get 25 comments on a new chapter, the chapter was awful. I had the most awful time waiting for comments to hit 25 and I barely even read them.

Give yourself space. Reconnect with your creativity. Fill a journal. Make a playlist. Print out all your good comments and read them and then burn them. Read more, find your inspiration. Be so fucking proud of yourself, love what you make and stay away from those numbers because they make no sense and they never will. Trying to establish self worth from anything less than your own self will always backfire. I know this is super vague, but it's my honest opinion.

More specifically, for you, I want you to know that this feeling is transitional and it'll pass and you're going to look back and think, "Wow, I can't believe I ever cared about that." So hold on, keep going, fuck what anyone else thinks, and make your art, my darling. Good things are coming, I promise.

Az.

💜💜💜