bree.

This is coming from the same group that believes Lucien, the one who had to bow down to Rhys, is going to become THE High King of all 8 courts. Lucien will become High King over the most powerful high lord of all time and the Cursebreaker who has power from all courts.

 One thing I think gets lost in these “ ship” discussions is the difference between a passing detail and narrative emphasis.

Authors don't spend pages on something by accident.

Elain rescue scene

the truth teller scene

Azriel carrying Elain over the threshold to then take her into the Garden

Azriel figures out Elain is a seer

Azriel taking the potatoes from Elain and making sure everyone waited for her before starting dinner.

The headache medicine soltice gift scene

Etc.

When a story slows down, lingers on imagery, dedicates multiple paragraphs to describing an interaction, has other characters comment on it, ties it to symbolism, and then makes that moment pivotal to the plot—that's the narrative telling you to pay attention.

Azriel giving Elain Truth-Teller wasn't a throwaway moment.

Feyre literally pauses to describe it like a painting. The scene is given weight, imagery, and emotional significance. Then Elain uses that same knife to kill the King of Hybern, one of the defining moments that ends the war.

That's how stories create meaning.

So yes, I struggle when fandom turns a one-line interaction, a glance, or someone lifting an eyebrow into "proof" while simultaneously dismissing entire scenes that the narrative itself put under a spotlight.

Since ACOMAF, Azriel has been built up as one of the strongest supporting characters in the series. He's the legendary spymaster of the Night Court, a character with deep connections to the main cast and years of development behind him. It only makes sense for his endgame relationship to be with someone equally important to the story—and that's obviously Elain.

Not to mention the countless breadcrumbs SJM has given us over the years, all leading toward the reveal that Azriel is completely gone for Elain. Their bonus chapter alone left readers with one of the biggest romantic cliffhangers in the series.

Yes, SJM originally paired Elain and Azriel with other characters—Lucien and Mor, respectively. But as the story progressed, she gradually moved both of those possibilities aside. Lucien became increasingly tied to the human lands and his own journey, while Mor's story evolved in a completely different direction. Looking back, it almost feels like SJM was quietly telling readers, "Yes, you're seeing what I'm seeing. It's Elain and Azriel."

And before anyone asks, no, I don't personally buy into Gwynriel. In fact, Gwyn's role in the story still feels a little unclear to me. One thing that has always stood out is her survival during the Blood Rite. Emerie was literally carrying her at one point, and the whole situation felt less like an earned victory and more like she succeeded because her friends refused to leave her behind. Maybe that's exactly what SJM intended, but it has always felt a little off to me.

Like if e/ucien destined to be endgame then this is the ✨PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT ✨reason or starter for Lucien to be close to Elain. To gain her trust. Elain has no choice but confide to Lucien abt her lucid dreams see if he could help. Search for the queen together, go to the human lands out of the NC, bond with the BOE organically, search for lucien’s mystery parentage, seer + trove + Koschei = lucien is now tied to the main plot, mating ceremony, Have BABIES!!!!! happily ever after😌

BUT NO!!!

He just sat there and let Az do the job🤣🤣🤣

Lucien silently slid into one of the chairs, before the window, that metal eye whirring as it roved over my sister. It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not … Perhaps he, too, had suffered as Elain had before he understood what gift he possessed.

Seriously theres no need for Azriel in the mix for the reluctant mate trope to happen.

Azriel ALONE had listened to her. Only Az. Not Azriel and Lucien. Yk throw the mating bond some bone to chew on. Anything to know that yes!! thats why Lucien is meant for Elain. This is it.

Lucien yearns for the bond not elain

He yearns for what they’ve been taught to think is the truest form of love and that the bond always is right

He doesn’t know elain to love her

His feelings are because of the bond and only that

It’s not yearning when the man knows nothing about the girl

—>

Elain yearns for the kettle to burn slower so Lucien leaves and she doesn’t have to see him any longer

Elain yearns for the day Lucien gets the hint and leaves because Elain isn’t interested

Elain yearns for the day her sister doesn’t throw this weird red head plant loser at her and stops saying “ he’s a good man”

Elain yearns for the day people stop assuming just because he’s her mate that she secretly loves him

It did not have to go to Elain first(and describe elain perfectly btw) and Clotho did not have to be in that chapter at all. He did not have to give it to her instead.

They never once question the purpose of Clotho taking the necklace from him. Especially when Clotho is the name of one of the 3 Fates of greek mythology. Clotho wasn’t necessary in that scene unless she was playing a greater more symbolic role.

The obsession with proving Gwynriel or Elucien are endgame is honestly more interesting than the ships themselves.

Canon setup, narrative focus, marketing, interviews, and even mainstream media coverage of ACOTAR have spent years pointing people toward Elain and Azriel. Professional entertainment writers whose job is literally analyzing stories keep arriving at the same conclusion: Elriel. Yet somehow every new interview, emoji, article, or piece of official content gets weird twisted into evidence for ships that have little to no actual romantic development on the page.

Maybe the problem is that some fans have forgotten that ships don’t need to be endgame to be valid.

If your ship ONLY has value to you if it becomes endgame, then maybe you didn’t actually love the ship in the first place—you just wanted to be right.

At least Elriel fans have the books. The rest is just arguing with the text.

BUT. It does crack me up to be called delusional. I have to stare at the wall for a few minutes. not the call coming from inside the house 😭

🙂‍↔️ yall are the same ones who tried to ship emerie with Cassian. That alone was enough to know to never listen to the bs. You just morphed it into some new drama after acosf, because you were wrong. you guys literally love to hate on the archeron sisters and it’s all your theories are ever rooted in lmao. Acotar isn’t rocket science and everything you’re saying at this point is just boring.

Yes, we'll always connect information to Elain. New or otherwise. Everything always revolves around her. Welcome to the side of the fandom that actually likes her.

Meanwhile the E/uciens who two weeks ago were so insistent they love her just as much are talking about Gw/n left and right and anyone bringing up Elain is getting crickets 🤣

Elain said to Azriel, perhaps the only two civilized ones here, “Can you truly fly?”

He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.”

VS.

She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. “Do you, though?” she pressed. “Sing?”

Azriel couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yes.”

By your romantic rival

Archeron Sisters

I love them. None of them are perfect characters, and they’ve all made mistakes toward one another, but at the end of the day, they love each other. They have overcome many hardships, and they continue to do so.

I’d love to read more about their relationships in the upcoming books