Elooo

human turned fae who brought back the valkyries

Yes they are part of the IC, of course, but there is an 'otherness' about them that feels deliberate.

Cassian, and Nesta by extension, are heavily entrenched in the IC (I suppose to the dismay of many Nesta stans). From the very first scene when Cassian meets Nesta, there are all these conflicting emotions that are running through him, mostly because of Feyre and his loyalty to her, and he lashes out at Nesta at the dinner table.

As the story progresses, there is all this drama between Feysand and Nessian, warring emotions, Nesta hates Rhys, Rhys doesn't like Nesta, Feyre and Nesta are at odds, Cassian is torn between the two fractions. Add to that Mor, who's had a weird relationship with Cassian for 500 years and who flexes her muscle in relation to him very frequently. Plus, there is Amren, who also interferes at different times for various reasons. Rhys and Cassian have this unbreakable bond of brotherhood and there is a lot of push and pull between them, and in relation to the two sisters. Even from the very beginning, Rhys 'suggested' Cassian, not Azriel, as a potential lover for Feyre. When Rhys was telling Feyre about UTM, he again evoked Cassian saying that it felt like Cassian was next to him when Feyre was battling the Wyrm and in his head he heard his brother's voice 'if you don't marry her, I will!' And then of course in ACOSF, Feyre and Nyx are saved by Nesta.

It's a TIIIIIIGHT knot between all those people.

Which brings me to Az and Elain.

From the start, they are a couple apart. They don't match the dynamic or the behavior of the rest of the group. There is no bickering, no accusations, no push and pull. Azriel, while fully part of the Bat Boy Trio, is also...different. Too different. He is a shadowsinger, his powers far exceed Cassian's but aren't as strong as Rhys's, though Rhys is the only person that goes head to head with Az and then relents. Azriel is solitary and mysterious. He is a man apart in the Cassian/Mor/Azriel Trio as well. One who loves, but one who isn't loved. One who is pushed out, always forced to look from the outside in. Azriel is untamed. He stands up to High Lords, he sneaks into the Hybern camp. Once he says something, he goes after it. He isn't like the rest of them and remains an enigma even to those who are closest to him. Cassian doesn't ask him questions, knowing that Azriel wouldn't want to answer. Rhys misreads him and assumes that he knows him, but he doesn't.

And Azriel's love for Elain is a thing of secret, lovely beauty. It's private and his own. Only she is aware. Yes, some have started seeing the signs, but they are so subtle, no one is quite sure. Only Nesta, it seems, understands him.

Elain is the one apart from them too. She is kept in the dark, she isn't told things, she is left behind. The irony is that it's SHE who is the Seer. The one who actually sees everything (even through Azriel's darkness and aloofness). It's Azriel who Saw her Sight, and his words were 'SHE doesn't need anything. It's WE who need...' They need her, and they don't even realize it. They keep her away and push her aside, whereas she is the one with the Eyes.

it's SHE who shocks them. She sneaks up on the King and stabs him in the throat. She is the one who accepts Truth Teller. She is the one who volunteers to scry. She is the one who offers to beg Lord Nolan for the humans' safety. She is the one who finds the Suriel. She is the one who surprises Azriel with her gifts. The continuous theme about Elain is that no one knows her or understands her. Not her sisters, not her mate, not her ex-fiance.

To Azriel, she is always unavailable. When he meets her, she is engaged to a human. The moment she becomes Fae, she is mated to another. Yes, the pull is strong. It torments him. And while Rhys was willing to go against another High Lord for Feyre, and Cassian was willing to take on all of Nesta's darkness and brokenness, Azriel is willing to go against THEM ALL--The Cauldron, Elain's mate, ALL the High Lords, and his own High Lord.

The second Fae that Elain met calmed her down, her shoulders relaxed and he answered her question in a gentle, poetic manner.

She was terrified, stolen from her home, and Made into a different species because of that first Fae, and then forcibly mated to his best friend.

She was calmed, cared for, taken to the garden and gently, quietly comforted by the second Fae.

Spring Court is violence, loss, destruction and death and Lucien

Because that’s the point anon. If you value a character’s choice you acknowledge what they are currently choosing. And if you aren’t on board with what they are choosing, then you aren’t supporting their right to choose. As it stands Elain has not been choosing Lucien in any capacity (which is a choice in itself).

Also I don’t know who you think you are but I don’t have to listen to you lol. Keep living in the land of delusion and hypotheticals. I’ll stick with what I’ve actually read in the books. And you can keep supporting a ship where the woman loses her boldness around the male you ship her with (couple goals 🤪).

And side note fiction reflects reality. Books are used to make commentary on real life issues. So not only are you wrong about the direction these books are going, you also don’t understand how books (even fictional ones) can be a form of activism.

Of course, as expected, most of her opinions are tired old hyperbolic exclamations that have a lot of 'shadows', 'love Gwyn', 'cliche', 'boring', 'dance', 'sing' and other similar words in them. You know the ones.

The other day, she popped up, RANTING. So I am nosy and I watch her reel. And she is yelling about another series, where apparently, she didn't think that the ship that ended up happening was happening, and she thought that the FMC is gonna end up with another guy. Mind you, i've read the series, and it was SO OBVIOUS that the ship that was shipping was going to be the ship.

I am sitting there, pulling an SJM 'i thought it was obvious' in my head, actually being shocked that she didn't understand where the couples were headed.

And my god did I need strength not to leave a comment along the lines of 'still confident in Gwynriel?"

I didn't.

But that again reminded me that these people seriously are in such an echo chamber that they cannot see the forest behind the trees. Another example of them reading only what they want to read and not what's in the actual books.

his spirit animals:

Cassian was inexplicably drawn to Nesta from the moment they met.

And Azriel was, and still is, inexplicably drawn to Elain, to the point of questioning the Cauldron himself about why ELAIN, specifically Elain, isn't his mate.

Azriel can't sleep because he can't stop thinking about Elain. He's training more than usual because the second he stops, his thoughts immediately go back to her. He risked his life to save her. He tries so hard to keep his distance, even when all he wants is to be near her, because he knows that if he lets himself get too close, he won't be able to let her go.

There is simply no one else on Azriel's mind like this. No one else occupies his thoughts this intensely.

And people still want to tell me he doesn't care about Elain?People love using the stick scene between him and Cassian as "proof" that Azriel doesn't care about her, while conveniently forgetting that right afterward, he CHOSE to spend hours with Elain in the garden before going to the Hewn City. They also forget that, in that same scene, the protagonist herself wonders why Elain and Azriel aren't mates.

Their love has never felt temporary to me.

It has always felt like something quietly growing beneath the surface, waiting for the moment neither of them can pretend anymore.

One day, Elain will grow tired of convincing herself that walking away is the right thing to do. She’ll stop choosing everyone else’s expectations over her own heart. She’ll stop pretending that what she feels for Azriel isn’t real.

Because a love like theirs was never meant to stay hidden.

It’s too big to disappear.

Too gentle to be forgotten.

Too pure to be denied.

Some loves simply refuse to fade, no matter how hard you try to bury them.

I can’t wait for the day they stop fighting what has always been there and finally choose each other—not because anyone tells them they should, but because it’s what they both truly want.

A love this beautiful deserves to be chosen.

Think about it.

How many times have you seen a post that has nothing to do with Elain and Azriel, and yet, you immediately screamed internally 'ELRIEL!'

A brush of fingers

A cute cottage covered with flowering wisteria

A man tucking a flower behind a woman's ear

A man carrying a woman in his arms

A gentle kiss on the neck

A caress of a female hand over a male hand

A determined neck bite

A brush of male knuckles down her spine

A pretty house surrounded by lush gardens

A man resting his head in a woman's lap

A kiss that you just know is Elriel's kiss, especially if it's raining

A woman tucking a flower behind a man's ear

A man pushing a woman on a swing

Bare feet in the grass

A kiss over a display of pastries on a marble cafe table

A man handing a dagger to woman

Flour dusted fingers, laced together

A dab of whipped cream on her nose, licked off by him

A curve of her neck, in the throes of pleasure

A man carrying a bouquet of flowers

Peonies

Roses

Gardens

Cottages

Misty mornings

Mr. Darcy walking through morning fog towards Elizabeth

Gazebos

Cozy fireplaces and books

Steaming cups of coffee and morning buns

A woman's hand gently curled around a man's neck

A man braiding long golden brown hair into a plait

A bare thigh and his fingers gently tracing a pattern over skin

A whisper into his ear

Collarbones and a delicate rose necklace

Dark shadows and silhouttes

A couple waltzing

An exchange of looks

Elriel IS A WHOLE AESTHETIC

If Rhysand and Feyre are power, and Nesta and Cassian are strength, then Elain and Azriel are love

All I did to find all the GIFs was to type the word 'love' in the search bar.

What came up? Elriel

… who is hope incarnate …

… was hopeless here.

Because he fears the absence of Elain more than the presence of Lucien.

What if he hates the bleakness that overcomes her when Lucien is around? More so if he himself is the reason for it?

What if the thought of his person not being his hurts but the thought of her merely shackled to someone else is unbearable?

What if the panic is so loud he can’t breathe? Can’t sleep? Can’t function right? What if he put physical distance between them because of it? Moved houses? Because he knows it’s not his place to say or do anything?

What if he’d rather stand by an exit than sit in a room with them in case he lost control and carried her out of there? In case he couldn’t breathe again under the weight of her longing for freedom and his yearning for her?

What if he’d rather die trying to save her than live through her absence? Give her his most precious weapon even though it causes him absolute panic without it?

What if he stares at her gift for a YEAR straight every night? What if he’s so desperate to get rid of his gift that he doesn’t even wait to return it—he gives it away?

What if it causes him anxiety to not keep tabs on Lucien like he does everyone else, just so she can maintain her privacy? To not know if she’s safe? If she’s forcing herself to fit into someone else’s box? If he’s treating her right?

What if he knows he doesn’t deserve her, knows he’s a monster, but something inside him also whispers he can do everything in his power to be her freedom?

What if he’s been so wrapped up in all this, he forgot his 500-year-old unrequited love? Hasn’t felt the need to look back ever since?

What if his brain knows Elain can’t be his but his heart indubitably beats for her?

I get that ACOTAR got people back into reading. I really do. I didn't realize people had STOPPED reading but listen, any reading is better than none you know?

But this 10 yr gap in people's reading history is SERIOUSLY crippling reading comprehension. And then it's taken to social media, and the insanity spreads 😭

Like ONE person said "I love Tamlin", invented a whole other story in their head about his apparent greatness and infallibility.... and now suddenly there's hundreds of women placing this literal ABUSER on a pedestal.

The amount of times I've seen:

"Well what tamlin did wasn't really that bad he just locked her in a house"

"Feyre is ungrateful she doesn't deserve Tamlin"

"They're so mean to Tamlin kicking him while he's down"

"Tamlin deserves a full redemption arc - give him Elain"

STOP. Like I don't care how much you love this weak willed man. THE WORDS SAY A DIFFERENT STORY.

Like I can say I love Draco Malfoy all I want, but I know he was lowkey a dick the entire series until he redeemed himself in the end. And he's mainly forgiven because HE WAS A CHILD.

TAMLIN IS 300 yrs old. The whole point of the romance in ACOTAR vs ACOMAF was to show Tamlin prioritized himself, HIS pleasure, HIS court, HIS image.

The romance with Rhys showed us how Rhys prioritized FEYRE. He taught her how to use her powers. Taught her how to read and write. Gave her the tools to become the powerful high lady she is today. He never trapped her. Never raised a hand on her.

If people can't tell that, and choose to go with their own theories, whatever. But it's specifically this flow of:

"I think Tamlin is the good guy"

"I think SJM is prepping us for a book where Rhys has been evil all along and Tamlin saves the day"

"You don't think that will happen? Well you're wrong. You're stupid for thinking Rhys is the good guy here. Idiot."

Azriel

he always walks on the side closest to danger; it’s instinct. when you’re tired, he adjusts his pace without saying a word, matching your steps until your breathing evens out. he opens doors softly, holding them just long enough that you don’t feel rushed, never long enough to make it a performance. when you’re cold, you don’t notice his cloak until it’s already around your shoulders. later, when you try to give it back, he only says, “leep it. i’ll get it later.” he means: i’ll come back for you

Mor

she adjusts your coat collar before you step outside, fingers light, affectionate. she keeps spare hairpins, lip balm, a shawl; always offering them like it’s casual, like it isn’t devotion. when a conversation turns uncomfortable, she squeezes your hand twice: do you want to leave? when you’re dancing, she spins you once before letting you go, smiling like she’s proud to be seen with you. her gentlemanliness is softness disguised as joy.

Cassian

he offers his hand when you step down from somewhere high, grinning like it’s nothing, but his grip is steady, careful. when you’re overwhelmed, he positions himself so you’re half-hidden behind his shoulder, a quiet shield. he notices when you haven’t eaten and wordlessly slides his plate toward you, pretending he’s full. at night, if you fall asleep on the couch, he carries you to bed with such care it feels like reverence, not strength.

Rhysand