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Elain “No one ever looks-not truly” Archeron

Azriel “Sees all” Shadowsinger

*swoons*

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apparently in order to read acotar you need a degree to be authorized to read about faerie magic sex 😔💔

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Feyre: Where’s Azriel tonight?

Elain & Nesta: Oh no, here we go…

Cassian: *singing* HE’S WORKING LATE CAUSE HE’S A SHADOWSINGER!!

Cassian would totally be a Sabrina Carpenter fan 🤣

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Elriels: Azriel gave TT to Elain. He’d never even let someone else touch that knife. That’s significant! It shows a great deal of trust between them.

Antis: yEaH WeLL sHe GaVe iT bAcK aNd ThEn He GaVe It To BrYcE

Girl, what??

Why on earth would Elain keep TT? Azriel literally said, “I won’t be using it today, so I want you to.” He never said or implied that she could/should keep it. And if she had, you’d be bitching that she stole his favourite knife.

And he never gave it to Bryce. She straight up stole it. Used her power to take it right from his hand, killed an Asteri, and dipped.

Elriel doesn’t even need to be endgame for the moment he gives her TT (a moment so significant it was in the official colouring book) to be important. Trying to discredit it doesn’t erase it.

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🌹🥀

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Thanks for tagging me: @fauxdette

Up next: @bloomingdarkgarden

Go to Pinterest and google your name and add the word core on the end, the first six images are your aesthetic.

[thanks for the tag @cubeapples!]

tagging @jaenrang, @eleventhboi, @viridianjester, anyone else who wants to join!

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So, while I am a passionate Elriel and my experience is only further cemented with each new detail on every re-read, I have still stated since day one that I still love Lucien and Gwyn! My first ever Tumblr post was a dissertation on Lucien for goodness sake!

And this is where I struggle. I don't personally lurk in anti posts, but they make their way to my eyeballs anyways. And my problem is that myself, and many Elriel's I know, still love all the characters and honor and fully believe they will have their own stories, potentially their own POVs in future books or at the very least play a large role in ACOTAR or the multiverse.

But the a/ti Elriel's, from what I've seen, are almost ALWAYS a/ti Elain. I won't bother going over the comments I get on tiktok from E/ucien shippers that claim they like Elain. They erase her. They misunderstand her. They minimize her. They sideline her. They invent villain storylines. And still ship her with their favorite male character? Just because they want *him* to have his mate. And Azriel is apparently bio hazard waste in all areas of life EXCEPT if he decides to go after Gwyn. Whereas I like Azriel as he is, and I like who he currently wants to be with.

The author, I am certain, also likes these characters. She wrote them. It's difficult to believe her intention was for the fans to turn on Azriel just because a reveal many of us saw coming (that he is down bad for Elain) happened.

I don't have to erase Gwyn from the narrative, or distort her interactions with Azriel, minimize Gwyn's importance, create a shitty personality for her or invent a new storyline to make Elriel make sense.

I don't have to erase Lucien from the narrative, distort his interactions with Elain, call him toxic, minimize his importance, or invent a new storyline for Elriel to make sense.

I personally can't wait to see what Lucien and Gwyn are going to bring to the story. But by and large, I mostly see Gwyn as being a sidekick to Azriel and Nesta instead of the lead of her own story or Elain as a sidekick to the Band of Exiles instead of the lead of her own story for G/ynriel and E/ucien theories to come together. Beyond that, I'd love to look into their stories more, but I'm tired of assaulting my eyeballs with all the toxic sludge about pelvises and pure hatred from Elain festering in those spaces.

So I'll say it again and I'll say it a million times, just because Azriel and Elain want each other and not Lucien and Gwyn does NOT mean I think Lucien and Gwyn are trash. I just want the characters who want each other to be together. If it were written differently, I would feel differently. And if antis would at least address that Azriel and Elain WANT each other instead of trying to explain away their behavior and invent false intentions and narratives, I'd have a lot more fun reading and exploring their theories.

I'm an Elain girl first and foremost. And I want her to have what she wants. As of right now, today, waking up in Prythian, that is Azriel. That is the only thing on page. Anything else is speculation or theorizing. Azriel and Elain wanting each other is not a theory. It's real. Erasing it is not only bizarre, but makes any statement coming after it really not credible.

I ship a ton of non canon couples in other fandoms. Many of them never came to pass. It's just for fun. But because the hatred for Elain is so visceral, and the desire to erase her character from existence is so real, these ships are not fun. And I genuinely wish they were.

The awful bullying and atrocious behavior and weird hatred for the books and characters in this fandom gets me down some days. Sorry for the wallowing. Love you all 😘

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What if Az fucks the bond out of Elain? 🤣

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Feyre watching Lucien and Elain together : « It was the most uncomfortable thirty minutes I could recall »

Feyre watching Azriel and Elain together : « Why not make them mates? »

Feyre imagining Lucien and Elain together : « I shook my head, trying not to imagine Elain subject to that … fire. »

Feyre imagining Azriel and Elain together : « I smiled at the thought—at how handsome they would be together. »

Nesta to the idea of Lucien near to Elain : « If you bring that male anywhere near her, I’ll »

Nesta when Azriel is near to Elain : « Nesta monitored him like a hawk, but kept silent as Elain took his hand, and out they went »

Nesta noticing how Elain look at Azriel : « Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it. Between them. Elain’s breath caught slightly »

Nesta noticing how Elain look at Lucien : « Her brown eyes were wary. Usually, that look was reserved for Lucien. The male was definitely in the family room, »

Bonus : Nesta trusting Azriel with Elain’s safety :

« Nesta met his stare, knowing he was the only one aside from Feyre who could truly understand her hesitation. We won’t make the same mistake twice. She believed him » (Also, I always find it funny when she says that Azriel was the only one aside Feyre to understand her hesitation. No mention of Lucien)

Conclusion : Nesta and Feyre are Elriels.

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Elain and Azriel in the bonus chapter: *just two consenting adults, trying to act on their mutual attraction for one another*

Half the ACOTAR fandom:

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Hot take of the day is Gwynriel has loads of chemistry and Elucien plenty of potential but I’d still rather see Elriel together for the sake of the plot…

What I mean by that is I think an Azriel/Gwyn & Elain/Lucien love story is the path of least resistance for SJM. It fits perfectly into the “everyone is mated and happy together” stereotype much more so than Elain/Az, especially if (as most people predict) Emerie and Mor also wind up together.

I love the Valkeryies and their relationship too much for them to just be absorbed by the IC and that’s exactly what I feel would happen if we get Gwyn/Az, Elain/Lucien, and Emerie/Mor. If Azriel winds up with Gwyn it’s highly likely we’ll get an “i told you so” moment from Rhys who will continue believing he is right about everything and that its totally okay to control the lives of his so called family. Nessian will remain strong and Nesta will be even further solidified in the Night Court (FREE HER) if her two closest friends become IC equivalents.

On the Elain side of things, so many people seem to imply her being with Lucien would be an escape from the Night Court but Rhys wants Elain with Lucien because it’s a way to drag Lucien further into the Night Court. He’s already using their bond to manipulate diplomacy with Lucien and no matter where Lucien ends up, if he’s mated to Elain he will be stuck with strong ties to the Night Court and so will she.

I think Elain/Azriel are the only option that could really push and fuel change for the IC. Rhys drawing a line in the sand about their relationship forces the members of the inner circle to genuinely have to pick sides and I think it would really push Feyre and Nesta to confront their own relationships with their mates and the Night Court. And honestly I’ve always found it ironic that so many people use the “Elain doesn’t belong in the Night Court” argument against Elriel because Azriel doesn’t belong in the Night Court either.

As early as ACOMAF Azriel tells Feyre he doesn’t feel like he belongs in the NC. We’ve seen countless times throughout the series he is left out, ignored, and manipulated by his so called family. People like Rhys and Mor who are the “closest” to him have admitted to being lowkey afraid of him, most of the IC admits they know little about his thoughts/feelings, and its not one of his oldest friends but Nesta who comforts him while he isolates himself during a holiday when he’s feeling like absolute trash because he feels that lonely and unworthy.

I think it would make perfect sense for Azriel to leave the Night Court with Elain, maybe even with Nesta and the Valkeryies considering both him and Nesta have been tied to the Dawn Court now and Nesta made a point of saying she is not a member of the NC. I’m not saying we’d get a full on Nessian break up (I can dream) or that Feyre is going to leave Rhys (SJM will never do this) but I do think Nesta and Feyre would both pull for their sister’s happiness. Especially for Nesta, I feel like part of why she takes how Cassian and the IC treats her is because she feels worthless and doesn’t think she deserves better, but if there’s anyone Nesta will stand up for it’s Elain and hearing that Rhys is manipulating her love life could be such a good catalyst for this girl to move on (my dream crack theory, she leaves Cas in Elains book, Lucien’s book is Autumn Court centered and we get a Nesta/Eris redemption romance arc)

Overall I think the effects that would result from Az leaving the NC with Elain however it happens has the potential for the most complex and intriguing story. I’m sure both Gwynriel and Elucien could be perfectly happy couples, if they get books I will read them and they will probably be fine because SJM knows how to write romance (tho sometimes, I have my doubts recently 👀) but these two relationships don’t have much potential to spark the big changes in the ACOTAR universe Id like to see for the Archeron sisters (and babyboys Az and Lucien). If SJM doesn’t keep doing weird things like the necklace situation, I think Elain and Azriel make perfect sense as a couple and the breaking of the status quo they symbolize is just what the world at large needs.

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Fake Mating Bonds: The Similarity Between Rowan/Lyria and Elain/Lucien

This post was inspired by @violetasteracademic who pointed out the similarity when discussing fake mating bonds between Azriel's ACOSF bonus chapter and Empire of Storms. You can read it here!

I've decided to take her breakdown a step further and 1) compare Rowan and Lucien, and how they regard Lyria and Elain, and 2) rely on these canon scenes to suggest that the mating bond between Elain and Lucien is fake. None of this is novel. It's been around for years, and most people who've engaged in the fandom probably know all of this. But I like having page numbers to reference, so I thought this would be helpful.

This post contains spoilers for TOG, ACOTAR, and HOFAS.

(KOA: Chapter 5 - pages 62-63)

She’d [Maeve] gone into his head to trick him into thinking Lyria was his mate, had fooled the very instincts that made him a Fae male…. Why Lyria had been so frightened of him for those initial months, why it had been so damn hard to court her, even with that mating bond, its truth unknown to Lyria as well. She was gentle, and quiet, and kind. A different sort of strength, yes, but not what he might have chosen for himself.

(ACOWAR: Chapter 24 - page 249)

Touch her, smell her, taste her— The instincts were a running river… But there she was. His mate. She was nothing like Jesminda. Jesminda had been all laughter and mischief, too wild and free to be contained by the country life that she’s been born into…. She had chosen him. Elain had been…thrown at him.

What Rowan and Lucien Think About Their "Mates'" Personalities

To start, let's look at how Rowan and Lucien think about Lyria and Elain, respectively.

Rowan describes Lyria as gentle, quiet, and kind—all three are attributes he respects. And yet he admits that they're not characteristics of a mate he would have chosen for himself. He knew that Lyria's personality wasn't his preference, and it's even implied (refer to the last line from the section above) that he questioned why Lyria was his mate.

Similarly, Lucien describes Jesminda as laughter, mischief, wild, and free. He claims that Jesminda had chosen him—regardless of station—but Elain had been thrown at him. Through this comparison between Jesminda and Elain, it's implied that 1) Elain does not have the personality traits Lucien admired in Jesminda—personality traits he would have liked his mate (his true love) to possess, and, therefore, 2) Lucien doesn't see Elain as a mate he would have chosen for himself.

Both Rowan and Lucien make it clear that their "mates" had/have unusual personality traits—traits that oppose their preferences. [Note: Lyria and Elain's traits/personalities (being quiet, kind, gentle) are not depicted as bad traits. They're simply not the traits these males prefer in a partner.]

Lyria and Elain's Reactions to Their "Mating" Bonds

Now that we've established similarities between Rowan and Lucien's thinking about Lyria and Elain, respectively, let's look at how both female characters react to the bond.

Rowan tells us that Lyria was afraid of him, initially. And while Rowan admits to eventually coming to love her (same chapter, bottom of page 62), Lyria's fear—due to the unnatural state of their bond—made their courtship difficult. The text implies that 1) she avoided Rowan and 2) only once he proved himself a decent male—and because of the tug of the bond—did she give into him.

Similarly, Elain remains disinterested with Lucien. I don't think it's implied that she's afraid of him, like Lyria was of Rowan, however, she is uncomfortable around Lucien. She avoids him, and she only interacts with him when her family forces her to. And her interactions are polite, nothing more. Their "courtship" is difficult and problematic with Elain not wanting to entertain Lucien's attention/forced affections, and Lucien being uninspired to truly pursue her. [An aside: I don’t think that Lucien deserves applause for giving Elain space. A male not forcing himself on a woman is not admirable—it’s the bare minimum of human existence (in this case Fae existence).]

It seems that both Lyria and Elain had/have an instinctive knowledge that something was/is wrong with their bond—both females avoided/avoid their "mates" unless forced to see him. An unusual characteristic considering that we're told a mating bond overpowers your base instincts and should have compelled them to at least show some interest in Rowan/Lucien.

Males Portraying Mate-Like Behaviors with Their Fake Mates

I've seen a few posts circling about how Lucien feels so strongly for Elain and because he portrays mate-like behaviors towards her, that means they're end game.

In the KOA passage, we learn that Rowan felt mate-like tendencies for Lyria. He claims the mating bond that Maeve constructed "had fooled the very instincts that made him a Fae male." The very instincts.

We also see these mate-like behaviors described earlier in the series.

(HOF: Chapter 35 - pages 303-304)

"When you lose a mate, you don't..." A shake of the head. "I lost all sense of self, of time and place..." "For ten years, I did nothing. I vanished. I went mad. Beyond mad. I felt nothing at all. I just...left. I wandered the world, in and out of my forms, hardly marking the seasons, eating only when my hawk told me it needed to feed or it would die. I would have let myself die--except I...couldn't bring myself..." "I had nothing. No one. At that point, I hoped serving her [Maeve] might get me killed, and then I could see Lyria again."

Even though Lyria wasn't his real mate, Rowan still felt that pull to her. He believed—thanks to his fae male instincts—that she was his mate, and when she died, he spent ten years mourning her. Ten years barely eating. Ten years spending most of his time in hawk form. And he took the blood oath to Maeve with the hope that he would die and reunite with Lyria.

Remember: Lyria wasn't Rowan's real mate. And yet he still displayed all of those mate feelings and behaviors. So much so he nearly died because of his grief.

Similarly, we see Lucien display the same feelings/thoughts for Elain—hence his internal monologue in ACOWAR to touch her, taste her, claim her. However, as we've learned from Rowan's experience, male's portraying mate-like behaviors and feelings is not confined to real mate bonds. These instincts can be—and have been—bastardized and abused to create fake bonds.

So, even though Lucien displays some mate-like feelings/behaviors for Elain, it doesn't mean that Elain and Lucien are real mates. Even then, his willingness to stay away from her and give her space (again, I will not applaud him for not forcing himself on Elain), is at odds with how a mated male acts around and towards his mate. Compare Lucien to Rowan—Rowan couldn't stay away from Lyria and he actively pursued her, even though she wasn't his real mate.

Based on these comparisons, we can safely theorize—and assume—that a fake mating bond exists between Elain and Lucien. Elain does not act like a mated female (I will not judge Elain for wanting to kiss Azriel, and I will always support female characters choosing their own love), and even though Lucien shows some mate-like tendencies, his willingness and ability to avoid Elain, and compare her to Jesminda, is unusual for a mated male.

The real question is: Who or What created the fake mating bond between Elain and Lucien?

I'm inclined to believe it was the Cauldron. From what we learned in HOFAS, the Cauldron was "warped" by the Asteri.

(HOFAS: Chapter 19 - pages 195-196)

...the Daglan captured it [the Cauldron] and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction.

The Cauldron is not a benevolent or good Thing. It causes both creation but also destruction. And it's not farfetched to theorize that the Cauldron—like Maeve—created the bond between Elain and Lucien. However, there's not enough canonical evidence to truly suggest that it was the Cauldron that created their bond.

That being said, canon has made it clear that 1) a fake mating bond can exist, and 2) mate-like tendencies are not definitive of a real mating bond.

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What if”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden— “that is what she needs? Is there no free will?

@elriel-month | Choice 🌸

✿ Art by @pinkpiggy93

✿ Comm by me

Instagram | Twitter

please don’t repost.

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I just can't get over how every single time Azriel is mentioned in any of the books, from the perspective of any character, he is described as beautiful. Like... I think about him way too much.

Also, I'm sick of people portraying him on social media like a creep when canonically he is the most polite and the one you go to for peace and quiet. There is even a scene when Amren is resting against him. HIM, when she doesn't have physical contact with any of the IC except on exceptional occasions. And he is so sweet in his gestures to his friends, how he bothered to get Nesta a present. And not just any present, but something he knew she would love. That and everything else, really. How he showed Feyre how to fly and helped train the Valkyries (who were sighing over him even though males terrify them).

He is just... I love him.

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Silver Flames BC

(This is my interpretation. If you don’t like it, or agree with it, that’s fine. I’m not forcing you to agree with me.)

Okay so my first note is that Azriel isn’t envious of his brothers because they have mates. He’s envious of the fact that they love freely, that they are loved. This makes complete sense for Azriel’s character. He is always “the quiet one” always “in the shadows” due to his childhood. He was never allowed to freely express his feelings. He was never loved. He probably thinks he will never be loved. It’s very understandable he’s envious of his brothers because they don’t feel the way he does. This doesn’t mean he wishes they weren’t happy. It means he wishes he was.

Elain so the one who’s dictating this whole situation. She is the one who’s moving doorways. The one who is making the moves.

If she doesn’t like Azriel, if she doesn’t want to be with him, if she wants to be with Lucien (who’s in the same house) why go to Azriel? Why not go knock on Lucien’s door? Elain is making her own decisions and I applaud her for this!

Azriel, thinking of Elain for a year. Keeping some gag gift for him to look at. To think of her. But right yes it’s only lust.

If you’ve never had an interest in someone where you share glances, small touches, and it doesn’t send your heart beating. If all those small touches, lingering gazes, didn’t build up the tension of that said relationship so much..then i guess I can see why you don’t understand this scene..and I feel sorry for you.

And can this fandom stop vilifying mural sexual attraction? ITS NORMAL. It happens. People are sexually attracted to people. PEOPLE HAVE SEX.

Elaine feeling rejected by this?? Why would she be so hurt if she only wanted sex???

I can’t add anymore pictures so I’ll add quotes.

“Rhys’ power rippled through the room like a dark cloud. “I’m talking about you about to kiss Elain in the middle of the hall where anyone could see you.” He snarled. “Including her mate.”

“Oh, I can, and I will. If Lucien finds out you are persuading her he has every right to defend their bond as he sees fit. Including a blood duel.”

To those sayjng Rhys is trying to be controlling. No, he’s thinking like a leader does. If Azriel kills Lucien then the night court will lose many if not all allies they have worked so hard to gain.

Also notice how RHYS IS THE ONE TO BRING UP THE DUEL?? So many people saying Azriels fantasizing about killing Lucien when he’s literally never mentioned it before.

Azriel is also the only person so far that has mentioned out loud that Elain has no interest in Lucien. Hmmm.

Also, y’all are LYINGGG if you’ve never had a crush on someone and thought that you could treat them better than any other person. Even though Azriel never treats Lucien badly. she literally didn’t give Elain the necklace with everyone because of Lucien. He stays away from them, gives them space.

And Azriel giving away the necklace because he couldn’t bear to see it?? I think that’s more important than him giving it to Gwyn. Especially when he says “If there’s any other priestess that will appreciate it, give it to them.” So, he went to give it to Gwyn but didn’t want her to know it’s from him, then said actually just give it to anyone. Why would you want this to be a staple of your ship? Like not judging but how would that work? If she wore the necklace that he originally gifted to Elain then regifted? Think about how awful that’d make Gwyn feel.

Anyways. That’s just my little rant.

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Rot and bloom and bone | Elain Archeron moodboard

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“𝒲𝒽𝓎 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈?” 𝐼 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹.

ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ: ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.

✮♱✮ art by @luxury_banshee

✮♱✮ commissioned by me.

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One of my absolute favorite artists to work with will always be the ever amazing @luxury_banshee, who not only gave this piece her all, but I am more than proud and grateful to call my beloved friend. When the prompts were announced, we couldn’t wait to begin and to work on something beautiful and special together, so here it is! We have Elain and Azriel sharing an intimate moment in an enchanted garden, with their true mating bond finally snapping into place. I couldn’t be more pleased and in love with how this piece turned out. The biggest thanks to the most amazing and wonderful @luxury_banshee for being an absolute pleasure to work with each and every time. This glorious piece was inspired by Swan Lake, which I feel like is so perfect for them! Let me know what yall think? @elriel-month

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✮♱✮ quote is from A Court of Wings & Ruin

✮♱✮ characters are Elain Archeron & Azriel from A Court of Thorns & Roses by @sarahjmaas.

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✮♱✮ likes, saves, and shares are always appreciated!

✮♱✮ no reposts allowed.

༉‧₊˚🕯️🖤❀༉‧₊˚.