elrielbaby

[elrielbaby]

I just…I just don’t understand people when they say Elain and Azriel don’t make sense. I picked up on their chemistry during the first meeting and Azriel went all poetic about how it feels to fly. They had the subtle chemistry while Nesta and Cassian were enemies to lovers right off the bat.

Now with five books worth of buildup and subtle moments here and there then a full blown bonus chapter where Azriel admits he can’t sleep because he’s tormented over the mating bond between Elain and ginger, he stares at the headache powder she gave him on his nightstand, and then him just fully admitting he’s down so bad for her he wanted to get on his knees and eat her out without care of her mate, their family, and anyone seeing them? They don’t make sense?!?

What are yall reading?!

[elrielbaby]

ACOTAR Q+A:


🎀 a ship others like but you don't?

🌸 a ship others dislike but you don't?

👛 your favorite canon couple?

💕 a ship you'd defend with your life?

🖤 a character others like but you don't?

📞 a character others dislike but you don't?

🕷️a character you feel is underrated?

♟️a character you feel is overrated?

Hi anon, thank you so much for your questions how fun!

🎀 el*cien/g*ynriel 😆 there truly are no other ships that I don’t like

🌸 I don’t think this is a super wide problem but I’ve been seeing a lot of Nessian hate recently & I still love them

👛 feysand, but honestly there isn’t any canon ship that I don’t like.

💕 elriel. Every damn day!

🖤 L*cien - and not even for any ship reasons. I could have got behind any defence of his actions, up until he tried to force Feyre back to Ta*lin. That did it for me, I was done.

🕷️ Emerie. Again, this isn’t a dig but I do wish we saw more love for her in the fandom. On my (many) re reads of ACOSF, I always really really, really love her and Nestas friendship. (That’s not to say I don’t love Nesta & G’s friendship either, but we’re talking about under hyped characters lol). And I just love her straight to the point, no bullshit personality.

♟️ lol. L*cien. Obviously I don’t like him, but I don’t begrudge others who do - I just don’t understand the way a lot of his stans will fight to the death for him, and curse you, your children & your children’s children if you dare even think about criticising him. I don’t get the need to defend him that violently.

Ps - sorry this took me so long to respond to 💕

[elrielbaby]

Gwynriels: The books speak for themselves.

The books: "Would you like me to show you the garden?" • But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away • “Beautiful." • 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. • "I can help her," said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. • "She doesn't need anything" • It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. • But Azriel asked softly, "What about Elain?" • "I'm getting her back." Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel's hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, "Then you will die." Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, "I'm getting her back." • "Are you hurt?" •

"You came for me." • Azriel still cradling Elain to his chest. He dripped blood behind him the entire time • "We need Helion to get these chains off her." • Yet Elain didn't seem to notice them as she rose up on her toes and kissed the shadowsinger's cheek. • "This is Truth-Teller," he told her softly. "I won't be using it today—so I want you to." • I have never once seen Azriel let another person touch that knife. • Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. • "He is Elain's mate." I waited. "It would be an invasion of her privacy to track him." • "If Lucien kills Graysen, then good riddance." • "Are we supposed to get the sisters presents?" • I felt, more than saw, my sister go still as he approached. Her throat bobbed. • "Sit. I'll take care of it." • "Wait until everyone is seated before eating." • I made to move toward her, but someone beat me to it. • "Oh, that's from me." • Elain smiled again, ducking her head. Azriel mastered himself enough to say, "Thank you." • 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 • "Because of the shit with Elain?" Azriel stilled. "What happened to Elain?" • No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike. • "I know. I helped rescue Elain, after all." • Azriel stiffened, an outright sign of temper from him as he said quietly, "There is an innate darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to." • Azriel stood in the doorway, monitoring them. As if he'd heard Elain's sharp laugh and wondered what had caused it. • Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it. Between them. • A pretty lie. She'd seen Azriel before the fire plenty. But she looked at who sat close to it and knew the answer. • Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond • Letting his scarred fingers touch her immaculate skin. • It had never gone this far. They'd exchanged looks, the occasional brush of their fingers, but never this. Never blatant, unrestricted touching. • He needed to know what the skin of her neck tasted like. What those perfect lips tasted like. Her breasts. Her sex. He needed her coming on his tongue -- • How that beautiful face might appear as he entered her, what sounds she'd make. • Elain bit her lower lip, and it took every ounce of Azriel's restraint to keep from putting his own teeth there. • Her arousal drifted up to him, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sweet scent. He'd beg on his knees for a chance to taste it. • Just this taste in the dead of the longest night of the year, where only the Mother might witness them. • Tilting her face the way he wanted it. • Offer and permission • "You can't order me to do that."

[elrielbaby]

them: omg elriels are so delulu. they read into everything way too much. sjm is just posting on instagram. it means nothing. she’s just wearing a fawn shirt because she likes it. the fucking Times mentioning an Elain book is literally not a big deal. it means nothing. you’re delulu if you think those are all hints that Elain’s book is next.

also them: okay so I tallied up the total number of times this character appeared or was mentioned in the text and according to this math we can definitely say that—

like babes you know you’d be going feral if all these things trended in favor of your ship but I don’t think y’all wanna talk about that

[elrielbaby]

IS THIS ANOTHER HINT FOR ELAIN?!?! ELRIEL? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Verse 1]

Drownin' in the Blue Nile

He sent me "Downtown Lights"

I hadn't heard it in a while

My boredom's bone-deep

This cage was once just fine

Am I allowed to cry?

I dream of crackin' locks

Throwin' my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks

Crashin' into him tonight, he's a paradox

I'm seeing visions

Am I bad or mad or wise?

[Chorus]

What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?

I'm slippin', fallin' back into the hedge maze

Oh, what a way to die

I keep recalling things we never did

Messy top lip kiss, how I long for our trips

Without ever touchin' his skin

How can I be guilty as sin?

[Verse 2]

I keep these longings locked

In lowеrcase inside a vault

Someonе told me, "There's no such thing as bad thoughts

Only your actions talk"

These fatal fantasies

Giving way to labored breath takin' all of me

We've already done it in my head, if it's make-believe

Why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?

[Chorus]

What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?

I'm slippin', fallin' back into the hedge maze

Oh, what a way to die

My bed sheets are ablaze

I've screamed his name

Buildin' up like waves crashin' over my grave

Without ever touchin' his skin

How can I be guilty as sin?

[Bridge]

What if I roll the stone away?

They're gonna crucify me anyway

What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?

If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me

They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly

I choose you and me religiously

[Chorus]

What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?

I'm slippin', fallin' back into the hedge maze

Oh, what a way to die

I keep recalling things we never did

Messy top lip kiss, how I long for our trips

Without ever touchin' his skin

How can I be guilty as sin?

[Outro]

He sent me "Downtown Lights"

I hadn't heard it in a while

Am I allowed to cry?

[elrielbaby]

“Find me when you wish to begin.”

Elain Archeron | ACOTAR Series by Sarah J. Maas

Character belongs to SJM. Do not repost my art without permission.

[elrielbaby]

[elrielbaby]

Outlets that have talked about Elain’s book being next and/or Elriel

- Business Insider (shared by Bloomsbury)

- Time (the writer spent the week with Sarah leading up to the HOFAS release)

- People Magazine

- Today

And more I can’t even think of off the top of my head. All I know is that when SJM said it was obvious, these publications agreed 🌸

[elrielbaby]

When did you pick up your first sjm book?

And what made you join the sjm fandom?

Lol I genuinely can’t remember specifically when I picked up my first SJM book but it was somewhere between the end of 2021 & the beginning of 2022 - I was on maternity leave with my youngest at the time.

I joined the SJM fandom because I’d finished all the SJM books, and kept getting Gw*ynriel vids on TikTok.

I loved elriel from my first read through of the books, but I wasn’t so attached to them that I would have been distraught if they didn’t happen. Upset, maybe, but not overly bothered.

I’m not so arrogant to believe that I am right all the time, so I re read acosf again because I thought - maybe I have missed something (and all the bonus chapters). When that still didn’t give me anything that I felt added any weight to all the Gw*ynriel stuff I was seeing, I re read the entire series, making sure I had a completely open mind - trying to see what these people were saying - and I still didn’t see it, and came out the other end even more convinced of elriel, and decided to seek out like minded people. I also started to put out my own elriel content to try and reach people who maybe felt like I did, so they didn’t feel so alone in this fandom, which at that point (and still to this day) felt super manipulative & gaslighty.

#pro elriel

[elrielbaby]

Anytime I get nervous about Elriel not being endgame, I look at why I’m nervous and every time it’s nothing more than the gaslighting and loudness of the other side. They tell you over and over that Elriel isn’t romantic, despite countless romantic moments. And that gwynriel are mates, despite Az not once acting like a mate, even when her life was at risk. And then I see that a 2016 FB comment from SJM somehow means Elucien is guaranteed to be endgame, despite her writing them to want nothing to do with each other.

Then I open the books and remember what’s actually canon. And then I see Time Magazine talking about Elriel, and Today talking about Elain’s book being next, and then another publication, and another, and another. And then I remember that SJM, just a couple weeks ago, was talking about rejected mates. I look at old Elriel theories from years ago and remember that they were either correct, or are still on track to being correct.

Nothing about the books or the author makes me nervous about Elriel, it’s ALWAYS outside noise. The waiting sucks, but we are so close to finally having our Elriel book and silencing all the bs noise💕

[elrielbaby]

💌send this to the twelve nicest people you know or who seem to have a good heart and if you get five back you must be pretty awesome.💌

Thank you, my friend 🫶 right back at you ❤️❤️

[elrielbaby]

It’s important to understand the difference between reading between the lines, theorizing, and fanfiction.

We see Azriel take Elain to the garden twice. We see them in the garden together from another characters POV. We see them staying up past 3am talking. It is reading between the lines to assume that there are other times they have spent with one another, even when it’s not explicitly written on the page.

Azriel says “we’re the one who needs a seer”. Characters question if Elain has been training with Az and/or Nuala and Cerriwden. Based on the evidence in the text, it would be a theory that Elain’s story would involve her being a spy with the three spies her behaviors seem to mirror.

Elain and Lucien can’t stand to be around each other. Gwyn and Azriel have shown no romantic interest towards each other. Any headcannons about these two pairings are fanfiction at this point.

[elrielbaby]

Don’t worry baby boy, you’ll have your chance 😙

[elrielbaby]

Azriel needs someone who can handle his darkness.

"Elain had always seen every horrible part of her and decided to stick by her anyway."

Nesta, Chapter 17 in ACOSF

"She had been born wrong. Had been born with claws and fangs and had never been able to keep from using them, never been able to quell the part of her that roared at betrayal, that could hate and love more violently than anyone ever understood. Elain had been the only one who perhaps grasped it."

Nesta, Chapter 49 in ACOSF

[elrielbaby]

Elain and Azriel - A Court of Thorns and Roses

Artist: @pencilstitch.art

[elrielbaby]

Azriel: <just doing his job in Sangravanah, angry to see another woman violated>

Gwynriels: omg mate behavior

/

Azriel: <Saved Gwyn from two Hybern soldiers and passed her off to Mor, who carried her out>

Gwynriels: omg he carried her to safety

/

Azriel: <goes against orders to save Elain from Hybern's camp, won't let go of Elain despite his shredded wings, demands to get the chains off her>

Gwynriels: Feyre saved Elain, not Azriel. And Elain didn't even care about Azriel

/

Azriel: <is willing to get on his knees for Elain>

Gwynriels: omg incel

2 pages later

Azriel: Helps a priestess train when he was trying to be alone but ran into her by accident

Gwynriels: something sparked in his chest, they are mates how romantic

/

Cassian: <going feral and numb with worry when Nesta gets taken for the BR>

Azriel: they'll be fine. You know who we need to save though? ERIS

Gwynriels: it's because he trusts that they're capable and that's shows mate behavior duh

/

Which is it? Either the supposed bond between them snapped when he saved Gwyn or it didn't.

Either it snapped when something "sparked in his chest" or it didn't.

Either he's an incel or he's not?

You can't have it both ways. People don't change within TWO PAGES. He cannot be an incel with Elain and then magically reformed with Gwyn on the next page.

It just doesn't make sense that Gwyn is supposed to be his mate. He's seen her in a traumatic situation, and the bond didn't snap. He trained the priestesses every day, and the bond didn't snap. She got taken -similar to Elain- and the bond didn't snap. So tell me, don't you think if this theory were true, this 500 yr old Spymaster would know she is his mate by then? Especially if the antis believe all he wants is a mate anyways?

Let's be logical now.

Azriel is literally the most protective/respectful of the bat boys. You're telling me he found his mate (that he's been so desperate for apparently) and when she gets taken to the BR he just - what? Doesn't react at all?

You want mate behavior? Look at Cassian. He has more reason than Azriel to believe the girls are trained well they should trust in that, since he was their instructor from the beginning. And yet, he's going crazy because that's his mate. Azriel does not react that way at all in this scenario ...

... but he does when Elain gets taken.

Arguably, that's the only time we've seen such a reaction from him on the page.

Gwynriels stay contradicting themselves with each new argument. Honestly, just pick a struggle 😒 How are you out here claiming Azriel and Gwyn are mates, Az is an incel, and Azriel doesn't care about Elain all in one breath?

[elrielbaby]

Azriel & Morrigan vs. Azriel & Elain

Azriel around Morrigan:

Azriel around Elain:

*titters and explodes*

My man CANNOT keep it together.

I need this angst and pining.

There is a lot to unpack about Azriel and Morrigan. I think there is more to it than he's had a crush on her for 500 years but never made a move because he considers himself unworthy. It's important to note that is *Morrigans* interpretation of his actions, but these two obviously don't communicate and the inner circle is largely oblivious about Azriel's innter thoughts.

I also think the biggest possible plothole in all of the SJMverse would be for Azriel, the only person whom Nesta trusted to keep eyes on Elain while she scryed again, does not know our babygirl is queer. If Sarah comes out and says explicity: Azriel had no idea Morrigan was interested in women! I would say: Sarah, respectfully, you are lying. I have a theory on Mor and Az, but it is one I've heard has gotten other posters bullied off the internet. I'll see if I'm brave enough after a few more posts!

However, with all this supposed pining for Mor, it has never interrupted family dinners or his ability to be around Mor and work together. Less than two years around Elain Archeron and our little solstice and family dinner loving Bat Boy cannot even stand to show up at Solstice and stays by the door in case he has to leave.

Just rip my heart out and stomp on it, why don't you?