Azriel may have his found family by his side, but he’s still searching for where his heart belongs. He treasured his love for Mor for centuries, but then a sweet, doe-eyed seer swept in and his world was forever changed. After the kind of childhood Azriel had, I think he will find peace, comfort, and solace in the warmth of Elain’s love 😭 I can’t wait to finally read their love story (Sarah, please, I’m begging for this to be sooner rather than later 🙏🏼)
to find a person who brings so much joy and light to your life that you can finally let your guard down after years of being on the defense- that’s the meaning of belonging. that’s the meaning of home.
having someone who truly sees you, who does not balk from your scars or shadows or darkness, who can both sit in comfortable silence with you or talk with you for hours into the night, someone who makes you laugh harder than your loved ones have seen in ages and brings light back into your eyes, who matches your wit and humor, someone who is the embodiment of the sunshine you were deprived of as a child and have been searching for your entire life.
and with everything this man has went through, i’m so glad he’s found that in elain, wherever their journey may take them from here.
Art by the sweet and talented sunshinecovey_ on instagram and commissioned by me🦇🌸
In Azriel’s bonus chapter, we learn he’s been sleeping terribly because of his feelings for Elain, but when Elain asked him to put her necklace on, his head went quiet. I think we’ll see Azriel finally get a restful sleep once he’s able to sleep next to the woman he’s been wanting and needing for over a year now. The woman who caused those razor sharp thoughts in his head to quiet at the prospect of being close to her.
Once they finally act on their feelings, I think there’s nothing Az would rather do on his time off than spend time with Elain (and catch up on his sleep 😅). We already saw hints of this when he chose to spend time with her in the garden or stay up with her at 3am to talk while everyone else went to bed 💗
Please do not repost without permission. Likes and reblogs are appreciated!
Rhys said to Azriel, "If I had not met a shadowsinger, I would not have known that it is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters. I would not have known what it is to truly hope, even when the world tells you to despair.” -ACOWAR Chapter 69
For this piece, we really wanted to capture a young Azriel finally finding a place where he belongs. A mother figure to love him as her own, brothers who tease him lovingly not cruelly, a family he chose for himself, and a place to call home. One of the sweetest parts of this piece is the quiet joy and tenderness in Azriel's expression as he looks on his found family.
We can not thank aurithemoon enough for bringing this piece to life for us. She captured everything that we were envisioning in a way only she can. It is such a pleasure and honor to work with someone so talented, so accomplished, and so kind 💙
let's not forget that this is the fandom that brought us the 'pliant bones theory'. And 'they can't be together because she can't give him babies!' (?) And Lucien deserves happiness! And Elain is a slut because she is unfaithful to her mate. And Feyre is an illiterate whore who cheated on Tamlin who 'gave her so much!' and who doesn't deserve to be a High Lady.
The list is endless.
Feminism always dies on someone's dick around here.
Yes, imagine if we just thought/judge of women as equals. It’s sad that people think this way but I have hope that if you gently point out the prejudices things may change.
The best we can do is support women’s autonomy fiercely yet compassionately and hope people will be decent and not bigoted.
What do you think of the Gwynriels being too confident in their ship? Are you sure Az has feelings for Gwyn and is always looking for her and stuff? And what are they matte?
I have tried, really really tried, to see where they’re coming from. I’ve re read the books multiple times to ensure I’m not missing any context, I’ve looked at it through every angle possible and I still cannot fathom why they are so confident.
I have a couple of theories as to why they’re so confident and I’m feeling a little spicy today, so I’ll share. I could go in to heavy detail, but I’ll try keep it brief anon.
1. They hate Elain and so are looking for any other option. Literally anyone. G*yn happens to be in the bonus chapter and so they go with that, without really thinking about it* (I will circle back to this).
2. They blindly follow the word of one or two people online.They don’t like Elain, or they love L*cien (and they totally miss all the clues that say L*cien doesn’t actually want Elain but that’s a whole other can of worms) and so they accept other people’s interpretations - which those people very intentionally present as fact, and use them as a jumping off point, so when they go back to the books they have that other persons narrative in their head that far better suits their ideals and so they’re looking, twisting, turning any and all of the narrative to fit that. They are gaslighting themselves, basically.
3. They don’t re read the books and they don’t open themselves up to any other possibility. I can say for myself that before I started posting online about elriel, I had heard about G*riel after reading the books and re read them to be sure. I’m nearly positive a lot of them don’t do that, and either never re read or re read as per the second point.
As to the second part of this question, I don’t believe he’s got feelings for G*yn, nor do I think he’s always looking for her - so, I’m very sure of that. If you meant Elain, it’s pretty obviously laid out in the text, without SJM having Azriel and Elain say ‘I’M IN LOVE WITH HIM/HER AND I DONT CARE WHO KNOWS IT’ - because how does that make any sense when they haven’t had their book? If they had, I’d be less sure of their endgame.
As for the last part, I’m going to assume you’re asking if I think either G*yn or Elain are mated to Azriel. I do not believe G*yn is Azriels mate. At all. There are a few signs that Az & Elain could be, but it truly doesn’t matter to me if they are or not. I think SJM has been metaphorically winking at us with some of the things she’s said about them but it could go a number of ways, in terms of wether they’re mates or not.
One things for certain though - they’re endgame ❤️
* to circle back to them not really thinking about it, as I didn’t want to bog down the main text with this, they don’t seem to consider a number of different things.
They don’t consider that it’s a limited bonus chapter that was only available for one specific book store. It is not available in the copies of ACOSF you can buy now, nor was it available in a huge number of copies you could buy at its initial release.
They don’t seem to consider that if you remove the bonus chapter, we still have four books that include build up for them. It literally makes no odds as to wether the bonus matters or not. For them though? Most of their argument relies on that bonus chapter.
They don’t seem to consider any other reason as to why G would be in that bonus chapter. None whatsoever. The Elain part was explicitly romantic and if you look at G’s part there is no romanticism in sight. The ‘spark’ happened after a conversation with Clotho, not even when G was present. Almost like G didn’t actually have anything to do with it at all. If you connect the dots to the main text, at least for my interpretation, you have Elain & Az, who very clearly have feelings for one another. You have G, who has a powerful affect on Nesta, and Clotho who also has, to a smaller extent, a powerful affect on Nesta.
And those are just the few things off the top of my head that I have the bandwidth to come up with right now. ❤️
See, the argument 'but he did it with Mor first' doesn't hold as much water as the antis think it does.
It's actually a good argument. In favour of...Elriel.
But he saved Mor first
But he laughed with Mor first
But he gave Mor gifts first
He beat up Eris because he was disrespectful to Mor
But he ....whatever he did with Mor.
Thing is: HE DID. He did all those things with Mor.
Because Mor was his first love. And a long term love, we are led to believe. A love so strong, it's become legendary. This love has TENURE. It's the BIG LOVE.
Which has been annihilated by Elain.
That's the thing. The BIG LOVE went poof. Once Elain arrived on the scene, it was HER and only her.
It was Elain that Azriel clung to
It was Elain that Azriel risked his life for
It was Elain that Azriel armed with Truth Teller (not Mor)
It was Elain that Azriel was looking for in the windows
It was Elain that made Azriel laugh
It was Elain that he wanted to sit at the head of the table, forbidding everyone, including Mor, from eating
It was Elain that he rushed over to to wish her a Happy Solstice
It's Elain's gift he's been looking at for a year
It's Elain's necklace
It's because of Elain that he lost the snowball fight
It's because of Elain that he couldn't sleep
It's because of Elain that he didn't bother answering 'what of Mor?'
I might question the strength of his love for Mor, but no one denies that he did love her, and that he did many things for her which were heroic, passionate and reckless.
But once Elain arrived, Mor was forgotten. Because he wants Elain. Because Elain managed to make him forget all about his 500 year old love by doing...nothing.
not tryna stir shit but all I’m gonna say is like 94% of Elriels I’ve come across are also pro-Feysand, pro-Nessian, pro-IC, etc. Some members of other side(s) though… not so much. Which is okay. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But if you’re hating literally all the main characters/parings, then maybe, JUST MAYBE, you’re reading these books wrong.
✨ Beneath a silvered sky, trapped within the still waters of Koschei’s lake, Elain awaits the arrival of dusk—the only time she’s freed from her watery prison. Bound by enchantment yet tethered by love, her soul aches for the brief hours of night when she can finally escape the lake’s grasp and meet the one who holds her heart.
The night becomes their refuge, a fleeting sanctuary where whispers become promises, and shadows hold secrets that even Koschei’s chains can’t bind. Every sunset is a sliver of hope, every dawn a reminder of the curse they defy. Perhaps one day, love will break the spell. Until then, she waits…🌙
The following piece was inspired by Swan lake and Elain and Azriel's forbidden romance 💜 Elain being trapped by Koschei in his lake and only getting to meet Azriel in secret, just for a taste in the dead of the night, where only the Mother might witness them!
Happy Howl-oween Week! Have you seen this take on Red Riding Hood? I recently rewatched it and couldn’t help but notice some Elriel vibes between Valerie and Peter!
Honestly whoever came up with the “it’s just lust” anti theory is absolutely diabolical. They single handily convinced a section of fans reading a fantasy romance to completely warp a kind male character, and turn him into a broken, lust filled airhead, just because they didn’t like who his “lustful” thoughts were about.
Like holy shit. Ignoring how completely baseless that idea is - how can you say you’re here for the romance and then twist the male love interest into this wildly unappealing character?
“Azriel only had explicit thoughts about Elain!”
Yeah girl, that’s how romance novels work! Are you new here?
I guess when they couldn’t gaslight everyone else they decided to just start gaslighting each other. How else do you explain “interpreting” mutual attraction, interest and affection into “just lust”. The confirmation bias is astounding.
Hey, anon! I am fully aware that Elain is 23 (human) plus her fae years old. I also understand how numbers work. In this particular case, standard math doesn’t exactly jive.
In ACOTAR Alis discusses her nephews. Her nephews who are still children at over 50 faerie years old. She also reinforces that fae age differently than humans.
Tarquin, at 80 years old, is considered young by the other high lords.
Beron, Tamlin, the bay boys, etc … are all 540+ and in their “prime”.
Mor was promised to Eris at 17 and LoA to Beron when she was 20. But their partners were also MUCH closer (hundreds of years) in fae age than Gwyn would be to the bat boys.
The canon references to Gwyn’s age include Cassian calling her a “nice girl” and Azriel calling her a “young priestess”. Even NESTA agrees that to Cassian she is indeed “a girl”. Even if she can be considered “an adult”, she’s still very, very young for a faerie. Young enough that, combined with the way that both bat boys AND Nesta have described her above, I don’t find her to be a good choice of partner for the 500+ year old bat boys. Impossible? No. Rhys’s parents were 900 and 18, but… we know how that worked out.
In the human world, the Archeron sisters are MUCH closer to their “prime” than their ages seem when compared to the fae world. They would’ve been considered approximately 1/3 into their expected human lifespan, and thus fully old enough to be married, have children, and to be considered full adults.
Sarah gave us conflicting information across the series regarding fae age, but in my opinion the fact that Cassian, Azriel, AND Nesta all describe Gwyn as very young makes her a less than ideal choice as Azriel’s mate in future books. Much like it wouldn’t be palatable for me, someone in their “prime” to be with someone “very young”.
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