Pro Elain - Tumblr Posts

Felt the need to paint this sketch I made some time ago. Now it’s ready for @elainarcheronweek day 5 💛

©characters belong to SJM

I just when into #pro azriel before a four hour study lesson and I have found out that half the posts are of ewriel? And I just don't understand

Like,

1. Az hides who he really is from Elain and Elain is scared of him

2. Az thinks he is entitled to Elain because she is the third sister and he is the third brother? Which was a pretty toxic mindset

3. Elain is scared of him (which has been stated in a THOUSAND WAYS)

4. Elain wants to use him to reject the mating bond. She literally wants to pull a Mor.

5. Elain deserves better

6. Azriel deserves better

Honestly, both of them deserve someone who will love them and accept them as they are. Elain is not my favorite character but she needs someone who sees how strong she is *Cough Lucien cough* and Azriel deserves someone who is not afraid of his touch and his shadows *Cough Gwyn Cough*

If you truly are pro Azriel or pro Elain, then you should know that they do not belong together, they would be so freaking toxic it will make TamTam look like an angel

And then they say that Azriel thinking he is entitled to Elain is romantic

Anyway, the hypocrisy

Tiktok says Rhys sending Feyre to the Weavers cottage was toxic and we’re glamorizing bad behavior and he’s toxic for not saving her from the weaver

I read this and then re-read it and tried it one more time to see if it could make sense because I don't want to discredit any theories but the more I read it the less it makes sense, I just don't get it.

What do houses have to do with anything? The houses just mean a place where they can be comfortable. I'm not saying the houses are not important because they are, Feyre got the home she needed, Nesta pretty much gets to live with her best friend and Elain...well, Elain is Elain and we don't know anything other than her needing sunshine.

What you are saying about 3x3x3x3 does not make sense at all because (please read Azriel's extra) it has never been about three brothers being with the three sisters; and if we are going down that path, Nesta considers both Emerie and Gwyn her sisters so the rule could also fall in line for them.

Now, for the mountain, how does the prison belong to Elain? There is nothing in the books that says anything about the prison being important to Elain. She is never near the prison, she does not talk about the prison, she stays away from the prison and she has absolutely no mention of the prison. She is always okay, tending to her flowers and ignoring Lucien.

Next, what do three brothers and three sisters, not matching have to do with your numbers? How did you fall into that conclusion? How do you make the math to make it make sense that if it's not Elain then there should be five brothers and all the numbers you just set in there. Please explain.

The reason why Elriel is denied (And I do not mean to be disrespectful) is because they have no future. Them together would be toxic, it would hurt them both. It has been mentioned over and over how Elain needs sunshine, how she doesn't belong in the night court (and yes, this is on the books. Please refer to ACOSF when they all went to the hewn city and Cassian mentioned it), how Azriel's shadows whom have always been there with him to keep him company becuase they are a part of him go away when Elain is near.

Elain wants Azriel to reject Lucien, Azriel wanted to sleep with Elain; not even have a nice relationship with her, but to just have sex because he though he was entitled to her because he is the third brother. Explain to me how that is a healthy mindset, explain to me how psychologically this would be good for either of them.

They deserve better, be it with or without Lucien and Gwyn, they both deserve so much better.

Now, please be respectful. Any comment I see attacking me for what I think and know will not be tolerated.

Other than that, long live Gwynriel and Elucien.

Why do people think there are 3 bat boys, 3 sisters, 3 houses, 3 mountains??, etc etc but especially couples and houses.

Nessian lives in HOW, Feysand in the river house and Elriel will get the Townhouse. They did plan the townhouse’s gardens during Solstice after all. They all get their own mountain too. Feyre UTM, Nesta Ramiel and Elain the prison.

They are obviously meant to all connect amongst themselves

If the 3 brothers and 3 sisters weren’t meant to all match up(ROMANTICALLY as well as PLATONICALLY) there would be something like 3 boys and 5 sisters, 4 houses and 6 mountains 😂 But that doesn’t flow very well does it?

Its 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 for a reason.

Stop playing dumb.

We all know you know whats coming.

Denying doesn’t do anything for anyone it’s just irritating.

Even I want Lucien and I'm not part of ACOTAR

"Elain doesn't want Lucien"

My sweet summer child.

Everybody in the ACOTAR series wants Lucien.

She's just the one who is most terrified of that realization.

WHAT IF GWYN IS ALSO HELION'S DAUGHTER?

So I was thinking

Well, not thinking, I'm listening to the graphic audio of ACOSF and I'm in the chaper of Nesta hearing Gwyn singing and when she said "A faint glow" I was like 'hold up sis'

We know Helion sleeps around. We know he has one illegitimate son (hot fire sexy Lucien) and we know he-well, he is a play boy, let's not lie.

So, what if the glow in Gwyn when she sings is not because she is a lightsinger but because she is Helion's daughter and has his light power?

We are all expecting for the reveal of Lucien's parentage, and I am honestly waiting to hear more about Gwyn's life before Hybern.

Is this a crazy theory?

And if it's not a theory but a fact, how weird do you think it will be for Azriel and Elain when they find out their mates are actually half siblings?

I'm down for this.

*whispers in awe* the pictures are alive

| 𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓶𝓪𝓲

To be known by you

I'm just gonna giggle like a little girl and drop this here in Tumblr.

This is a little peek into something I've been working for a while now. It's gonna be a series (elucien/gwynriel) but the main characters will be Elain and Gwyn. ELRIELS, BRYRIELS OR WHOEVER OTHER TOXIC SHIP YOU BELONG DO NOT INTERACT.

WARNINGS: Honestly, just two girls being girls (👩‍🦰🗡👱‍♀️🌸).

Enjoy this little peek! And don't forget to show your support, I really want to keep this one going.

Elain was convinced that she, as a matter of fact, did not belonged in the night court.

But then, she didn't belong in any court.

The proof was how she had asked to go to the house of wind to visit Nesta and Cassian, but since Nesta was not there and Cassian had to go somewhere she wasn't allowed to know because she wasn't a member of the inner circle, they had dropped her off at the house and told her that someone would go and take care of her soon.

Now, she was there, a grown woma--female, and she was waiting for her nanny to come and pay heed to her needs.

She didn't know what was more pathetic: the fact that they thought she needed a nanny, or the way she simply accepted it.

Currently, she was looking around the library, remembering those first months where she had been reborn, remembering how empty she felt at the way she had lost everything. She still felt like that sometimes.

"You must be Elain." A voice behind her said, curiosity being laced with the delicate voice of the female.

Elain turned around ready to find an actual nanny, but instead she found a tiny red haired girl with teal eyes and a million freckles, with a toned body being covered by illyrian leathers.

The female blinked at her, and Elain found her voice. "Yes," She mumbled and then shook her head clearing the whispers in there. "I mean: yes, I am Elain."

The red haired girl nodded and closed the library door behind her. "Well, I must confess that I was expecting to take care of a kid." Elain blushed furiously which caused the red haired girl to hurry and explain. "Not that there is something wrong with needing someone to take care of you! Because it is okay, I should know ," the girl shook her head with a sight. "What I mean is that the way Cassian said I had to come and they way he worded it made me believe I would be babysitting."

That unsettled Elain. The inner circle had stopped protecting her a long time ago and had started to keep her locked within herself. They didn't told her anything, they kept quiet always, they didn't include her in plans that could possibly affect her.

And Rhys, by the cauldron, Rhys acted with Nesta so horribly simply because Nesta hadn't kept Feyre from going into the forest to hunt. Sometimes, when Rys was being a total arse, she imagined herself getting up and screaming at him that she was also guilty of it, that Nesta wasn't the only one to blame.

Sometimes the guilt ate her alive. Yes, she had no idea about hunting like Feyre or being aggressive like Nesta but she knew how to grow things. She could have grown vegetables to feed her family instead of spending all that money on flowers. But the inner circle only blamed Nesta, and kept Elain in a cocoon that was starting to deem a bit too tight.

"I do not need a nanny." Elain mumbled quietly, not wanting to offend the female that had clearly gone to babysit her in good graces.

The red haired girl nodded. "Noted. What about company? Azriel is going for bloodshed today in training and even though I am up for a challenge most of the time, I have my cycle and I feel near death."

Elain nodded curiously even though the mention of the shadow singer had moved an old wound inside her. Her mind whispered a name and Elain couldn't help but ask, "what is your name?" The female walked to one of the couches, giving her a soft smile.

"Gwyneth Berdara, but you can call me Gwyn." She recognized the name.

Gwyneth Berdara, one of Nesta's closest friends. She had won the blood rite as a carynthian, was a valkyrie and was an acolyte in the library.

Not only that, but she was also Azriel's mate.

The knowledge made her wince a little. After winter solstice, after the fiasco with Azriel, she have had a vision.

Azriel had gone with Rhys and Elain had been left clutching her necklace for dear life when the vision suddenly struck her. In her vision, Azriel was laughing but she couldn't hear his laugh, his eyes were sparkling as he stared at someone, and then a blur of red was going in circles around him, with a soft laugh echoing through her mind; his shadows were twirling freely and peacefully, and when the blur stopped, she saw red hair and Azriel gave a step forward and whispered "Gwyneth."

Elain had been able to see the threads of the mating bond between them, had seen the love and the longing in Azriel's face and she had known that she didn't stood a chance against it, so she had left the necklace behind and walked to her room, just a few door away from her own mate, and cried herself to sleep. Now, his mate was right in front of her and she was sure he knew who she was.

Her knowing who he was seemed impossible, but that was not her business. She had enough with her own mating problem, or in better words: the lack thereof.

This is amazing. We should recognize that people are so much more complex than they appear at first sight. It only makes sense to call someone “boring” after you get to know them. Even then, you may only think that because you don’t share the same interests. But I truly don’t think that anyone can be “boring”.

Can’t wait for Elain to break society’s stereotypes and show everyone that being feminine isn’t the same as being weak or boring.🥰

A Secret, Lovely Seer

This post uses the symbolism of roses to peel back the layers of Elain’s character. There are four layers I describe using textual evidence: (1) love and beauty, (2) strength through silence, (3) healing and balance, and (4) carrier of secrets and understanding. This symbolism comes from The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History by S. Theresa Dietz. In the final layer, I predict where her story might be headed based on textual evidence and interviews with Maas.

A Loving Beauty

Elain has been associated with love and beauty since the very beginning of the ACOTAR series. It is no coincidence then that the rose—a flower widely connected to love and beauty—is one of her dominant symbols:

“I slung off my outer clothes onto the sagging dresser—frowning at the violets and roses I’d painted around the knobs of Elain’s drawer.” (ACOTAR, Ch 2)

“I marveled at it, actually—that those years of poverty hadn’t stripped away that light from Elain. Perhaps buried it a bit, but she was generous, loving, and kind—a woman I found myself proud to know, to call sister.” (ACOTAR, Ch. 29)

“Beautiful—she’d always been the most beautiful of us. Soft and lovely, like a summer dawn.” (ACOMAF, Ch. 23)

Delicate, loving, and beautiful. These qualities define the first layer of her character. They are also used to confine her to a role that Mama Archeron assigned to her at an early age:

“Elain is pleasant to look at...but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our maneuvering, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match.” (ACOSF, Ch 17)

Throughout the series, her family fights to protect that rare brand of beauty—an inner beauty that mirrors her outward loveliness—to the point of undermining her agency. They assume she desires to remain in her garden and find a suitable match. But from the very first book, we discover that Elain never intended to stay in her garden. Like her family in the Night Court, she is a dreamer. She dreams of places far beyond her garden. Places that require braving the sea to travel:

“These bulbs,” Elain said, pointing with a gloved hand to a cluster of purple-and-white flowers, “came all the way from the tulip fields of the continent. Father promised that next spring he’ll take me to see them. He claims that for mile after mile, there’s nothing but these flowers.” She patted the rich, dark soil. The little garden beneath the window was hers: every bloom and shrub had been picked and planted by her hand; she would allow no one else to care for it. Even the weeding and watering she did on her own...

“You should come with me,” Elain went on. “Nesta won’t go, because she says she doesn’t want to risk the sea crossing, but you and I … Oh, we’d have fun, wouldn’t we?” (ACOTAR, Ch. 29)

And she is more perceptive and courageous than we expect. When war comes to their doorstep, Elain sets those dreams aside. She conveniently finds herself a match who will offer her family the necessary protection even though she wasn’t particularly interested in the season. Is that a coincidence or the first hint of her quiet steel?

A Quiet Strength

Time and time again, Elain surprises her family with hidden depth and strength. Roses also symbolize strength through silence, which rings true for our gentle gardener and stealthy assassin. She does not parade it around for all to see and it is often forgotten or overshadowed by others. Nevertheless, it is there, and we see it evolve over the course of the series as we peel back her soft exterior and find steel:

Elain, to my surprise, had a horse, a satchel of food, and supplies ready when I hurried down the stairs. My father was nowhere in sight. (ACOTAR, Ch. 31)

“I’ll do it,” Elain said, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. She didn’t wait for either of us before she strode out, graceful as a doe. (ACOMAF, Ch. 23)

Cassian claimed the spot beside Elain, who clenched her fork as if she might wield it against him, and Rhys slid into the seat beside me, Azriel on his other side. A faint smile bloomed upon Azriel’s mouth as he noticed Elain’s fingers white-knuckled on that fork... (ACOMAF, Ch. 24)

“It’s already ended badly. Now it’s just a matter of deciding how we meet the consequences.” (ACOWAR, Ch. 49)

The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast’s face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. (ACOWAR, Ch. 58)

“I’ll make sure you don’t have to,” I said, grass crunching as I stepped closer. Elain weighed my words … and slowly closed her fingers around the blade. (ACOWAR, Ch. 69)

Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.” (ACOWAR, Ch. 74)

Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them. “And that entitles him to my time, my affections?” (ACOFAS, Ch 18)

“I still wanted to come,” Elain went on with that focused calm, the quiet steel building in her voice. “I wanted to see you, to explain” (ACOSF, Chapter 17).

Elain remained in the doorway, her face pale but her expression harder than Nesta had ever seen it. “You do not decide what I can and cannot do, Nesta.” (ACOSF, Chapter 21)

Elain cut in sharply, “I am not a child to be fought over.” (ACOSF, Chapter 21)

But Elain turned on her heel. “Find me when you wish to begin.” The doors shut behind her. (ACOSF, Chapter 21)

Elain held up a hand, wiping her eyes with the other. “You’ve never said such a thing to me!” She laughed again. “I think that’s a good sign, isn’t it?” (ACOSF, Chapter 58)

Over time, Elain’s quiet steel becomes more vocal and violent when needed. She is a fighter, and the coddling she once allowed no longer suits her. She does not hesitate to do what is necessary, and at every turn, that strength and bravery surprises her family: from welcoming fae into her home, to deceiving her ex-fiance, to fighting off the attack of a naga hound, to killing the King of Hybern, to finding objects of terrible power. She is willing to get her hands dirty to do what is necessary. And afterwards, she brushes it off and it is conveniently forgotten about it until the next surprise.

A Healing Presence

As Elain’s claws begin to show, Nesta observes that she is glowing with health and appears to be thriving (ACOSF, Ch 17). Is it surprising, then, that roses are also associated with healing and balance? She is a gardener and true to her love of living things, Elain’s first instinct after facing the horrors of a bloody war is to restore balance by bringing forth life:

“What now?” Elain mused, at last answering my question from moments ago as her attention drifted to the windows facing the sunny street. That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this … I think the world needs more gardens.” (ACOWAR, Ch. 80)

Even her scent—jasmine and honey—is compared to a “promise of spring” (ACOSF, Ch. 17). And what does spring signify? Renewal. The warmth, light and life of spring balances the cold, dark and death of winter:

“the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two.” (ACOWAR, Ch. 69)

Jasmine, Elain’s scent, is consistently connected to the Night Court because it blooms at night and promotes sleep. It is the first thing Feyre smells when she arrives in the Night Court and it appears on official court property. Two Night Court spies, Nuala and Cerridwen, also smell of jasmine under the mountain when Feyre meets them for the first time. As Elain’s closest confidants, it is no coincidence that their name etymologies are also associated with new life, prophecy, and a legendary cauldron that combines transformation, knowledge, and inspiration. They are the perfect partners for Elain, a Made fae who brings forth life, has powerful sight, and is loved by the Cauldron. The Cauldron is arguably the most powerful ally of all: it is the creator of life, master of death, and spinner of fate. And of course it found her to be lovely and gifted her with powers: she is a healer and has a role to play in restoring balance to the realm.

A Secretive Seer

The rose, as a symbol, is also a carrier of understanding and secrets. Elain has proven to be an excellent keeper of secrets like her family and friends in the Night Court. We begin to see hints of this skill set in ACOMAF and years later we find Feyre teasing Azriel, the Night Court spymaster, that Elain may be even better than him at keeping secrets:

Elain pushed, “We keep it secret—we send the servants away. With the spring approaching, they’ll be glad to go home. And if Feyre needs to be in and out for meetings, she’ll send word ahead, and we’ll clear them out. Make up excuses to send them on holidays. Father won’t be back until the summer, anyway. No one will know.” She put a hand on Nesta’s knee, the purple of my sister’s gown nearly swallowing up the ivory hand. “Feyre gave and gave—for years. Let us now help her. Help … others.” (ACOMAF, Ch. 23)

“My sister Elain can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles.” (ACOMAF, Ch. 24)

Feyre smiled. “Elain was the only one who guessed. She caught me vomiting two mornings in a row.” She nodded toward Azriel. “I think she’s got you beat for secret-keeping.” (ACOSF, Chapter 21)

Elain not only demonstrates that she is willing and able to keep major secrets, but she is also several steps ahead of others—including those who are supposed to be cunning—in creating a plan. She uses her beauty and charm to disarm the staff and convince them to follow her directions. Oblivious beauty? I think not. Elain’s ability to understand others’ motivations, tuck them away for future reference, and resurface them at the right moment is demonstrated again by her recollection of Nesta’s battle on the dance floor. She speaks of her sister’s planning and execution with awe and this well-timed story informs both Rhys’s and Cassian’s strategies.

Elain continued, voice hushed with near-reverence, “The duke was vain, and Nesta played into that. The entire room came to a standstill. Their dancing was that good; she was that beautiful. And when it ended...I knew she was an artist then. The same way Feyre is. But what Feyre does with paint, that’s what Nesta did with music and dance. Our mother saw it when we were children, and honed it into a weapon. All so Nesta might one day marry a prince.” (ACOSF, Chapter 44)

“I’d forgotten,” Feyre murmured. “About this, and about her dancing.”

“Nesta never spoke of it afterward,” Elain said. “I just observed.”

Nesta was wrong, Cassian realized, to think Elain as loyal and loving as a dog. Elain saw every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why. (ACOSF, Chapter 44)

•

They moved on to far merrier subjects, but Cassian mulled it over throughout the evening. The fighting was only one part of it. The training would sustain her, funnel that rage, but there had to be more. There had to be joy...There had to be dancing. (ACOSF, Chapter 44)

•

Rhys leaned back, and Nesta frowned, the only one of them apparently not aware of what this meant. Rhys said to her, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t wish to. But Elain mentioned that you have particular skill on the dance floor. Skill that once won you the hand of a duke in a single waltz.” (ACOSF, Ch. 55)

Seers, like spies, gain access to hidden information—secrets. Elain has the advantage of both. She can secretly collect information in plain sight or “in the open” as Rhys calls it when he tells Cassian that Azriel is overwhelmed and needs support (ACOSF, Ch. 3). Who would suspect Elain of spying with her pretty face and doe eyes? And she can access knowledge, hidden to others, through dreams and channeling her sight. In addition to her information advantage, Elain is stealthy and patient. Not long after befriending two highly trained spies, Nuala and Cerridwen, Elain demonstrates newfound stealth when she steps out of the shadows and strikes the King of Hybern in the throat at the right moment. This stealth reappears in ACOSF as she often suddenly appears and startles members of the inner circle who are arguably the realm’s most powerful warriors.

Elain spoke from the doorway, having appeared so silently that they all twisted toward her, “Using me.” (ACOSF, Chapter 20)

She threw a nod toward Azriel. “Including Elain, who is more than capable of defending herself against the darkness of the Trove, if she chooses to. Don’t underestimate her.” (ACOSF, Chapter 29)

“You came,” Elain said behind her, and Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach. She scanned Elain from head to toe, wondering if she’d been taking lessons in stealth either from Azriel or the two half-wraiths she called friends. (ACOSF, Chapter 58)

What if our stealthy fawn has already started training in secret for something she has seen? Though she may be trying to hide them like Nesta, Elain’s powers have not disappeared. And they were intentionally given by the Cauldron as a missing piece of the puzzle in the Night Court’s inner circle. They are also a gift to Elain as they enhance her ability to defy the role she was assigned by Mama Archeron: she dreams so far beyond her garden now, even beyond the present. Perhaps it will be Elain, rather than Nesta, who will help the Night Court quietly out-maneuver their foes and help those in need. She may already be several steps ahead if she is using her sight and like both heroines in The Little Mermaid and The Wild Swans, two tales Maas wants to combine, Elain may not be able to reveal the truth until the right moment.

In her virtual chat, Maas even talks about planting secrets in ACOSF for the next book. She states that she is keeping the subject of the next book secret for now—something she told us she thought was obvious. Is that another hint for Elain, our keeper of secrets? Maas’s hints are not subtle. She provides several reminders of Elain’s connection to roses, a symbol of secrets, in ACOSF:

(1) Cassian touches Elain’s painted drawer, which was described as having roses in ACOTAR and ACOMAF, in their dilapidated cottage:

His fingers traced the twining vines of flowers on the second drawer. “Elain’s drawer.” (ACOSF, Ch. 55)

(2) Nesta finds Papa Archeron’s wooden rose that he carved for Elain. It is hidden in shadow and associated with the Mother before she places it on his gravestone in the final scene:

She plucked another figurine from the mantel: a rose carved from a dark sort of wood. She held it in her palm, its solid weight surprising, and traced a finger over one of the petals. “He made this one for Elain. Since it was winter and she missed the flowers.” (ACOSF, Ch. 55)

Her gaze shifted to the carved wooden rose she’d placed upon the mantel, half-hidden in the shadows beside a figurine of a supple-bodied female, her upraised arms clasping a full moon between them. Some sort of primal goddess—perhaps even the Mother herself. (ACOSF, Ch. 56)

Her father had died for her, with love in his heart, and Nesta held love in her own heart as she pulled the small, carved rose from her pocket and set it upon the gravestone. A permanent marker of the beauty and good he’d tried to bring into the world. (ACOSF, Ch. 80)

(3) Azriel gifts a stained-glass rose necklace with hidden beauty to Elain on the darkest night of the year:

The golden necklace seemed ordinary—its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. (Azriel’s Bonus Ch)

(4) Feyre and Rhys talk about Elain’s behavior and potential evolution. Feyre recalls Elain tearing her hands on a rosebush and indicates that she will be the focus of their next family intervention:

I whipped my head toward him. “You think I stifle her?”

Rhys held up his hands. “Not you alone.” He surveyed the study as he thought. “But I wonder if everyone has spent so long assuming Elain is sweet and innocent that she felt she had to be that way or else she’d disappoint you all.” He sighed toward the ceiling. “With time and safety, perhaps we’ll see a different side of her emerge.”

•

“I think she’s kind, and I’ll take kindness over nastiness any day. But I also think we haven’t yet seen all she has to offer.” A corner of his mouth tugged upward. “Don’t forget that gardening often results in something pretty, but it involves getting one’s hands dirty along the way.”

“And torn up by thorns,” I mused, recalling a morning this past summer when Elain had come into the house, her right palm bleeding from several gashes thanks to a stubborn rosebush that had pierced her gloves. The thorns had broken off in her skin, leaving sharp splinters that I’d had to pull free.

•

I sighed, absently rubbing my still-flat stomach. “Let’s focus on helping one sister before we start on the other.” (Feyre and Rhysand’s Bonus Ch)

And if our High Lady’s words weren’t indicative enough, three out of four of these connections are referenced in the final scene or bonus chapters to tease what (or who) comes next. Azriel’s bonus chapter created a figurative mess and has grave implications. Elain will need to work hard and maybe suffer for her happy beginning. Good thing, then, that our secretive seer, our stealthy kingslayer... enjoys getting her hands dirty.

i literally don't understand why people can't treat each other with kindness?

is that so hard?

no one can even voice out their opinion anymore because when you do, you get hated on. you get turned into the villain somehow? like how is that fair?

you people are allowed to call elain a "dead brain garden gnome"

and when us elriels try to say anything about that or even say anything at all about the gwynriel ship (with valid facts, points and canon scenes) you guys start chaos...

this piece reminds me of elain like idk why? maybe it's the colours, the flowers, the softness and gentleness in this painting, just everything honestly.

so beautiful omg. ♡︎

Sunset in the Pontine Marshes (detail), Enrique Serra y Auque (Spanish, 1859–1918)

stanning elain archeron, the pretty-kind-kingslayer- flower girl-seer is honestly a lifestyle at this point

no wonder why az likes her so much, like get in line mister you're not the only one 🙄☝🏻

[ cr : @ mftfernandez on instagram ]

For @elainweekofficial Day 5: Blooming Bud, because I love my cottagecore girlie ❤️

Art by me/vivictory_draws on instagram

I realize that Lucien would probably rather chew on glass than wear the fox mask again but I've been obsessed with the idea of Elain in a fawn mask so I'm asking for some suspension of disbelief here. I imagine them dancing away at some Autumn Court ball (probably after Beron kicks the bucket), just for the vibes only.

@elucienweekofficial

Art by me/vivictory_draws on Instagram. Please do not repost anywhere without permission.

Azriel had his shadows since he was a little tiny boy, locked away in a small room with no windows, feeling unloved and uncared for.

The shadows were not a part of his trauma, they actually may have been one of the reasons he survived through his trauma.

They are his company, his little spies, a literal manifestation of his powers and honestly, very loveable little beings. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Azriel is that he is a Shadowsinger.

AND Y'ALL WANT THESE SHADOWS TO DISAPPEAR?

Let me tell you something: That's exactly why I don't ship e/riel. Because, if they were to truly be happy together, someone (or both) would have to give up in such essential parts of themselves that they wouldn't be the same person.

Elain would have to give up on traveling around the world and planting gardens everywhere. She would have to give up on glamorous parties because her partner is an introvert and terrifies everyone in Prithyan except his family and the people who want to fuck him (I'm looking at you Helion). She would not live somewhere sunny all the time and take walks in the nature.

Azriel? Apparently, he has to give up his shadows. He will have to hide the darkest parts of himself, not because Elain can't deal with it, but because he is clearly extra-self conscious and ashamed of those parts around her. He would forever feel afraid of "tainting" her or scaring her away, because he clearly doesn't consider her someone capable of dealing with darkness. He would have to give up on having a mate.

IN ORDER OF THIS SHIP TO WORK, THEY NEED TO BE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS.

Spoiler ahead: these characters already exist.

I don't ship Gwynriel and Elucien because I'm anti-elain or some other bullshit. I ship it because I love these characters and I want to see them grow without needing to become something completely different from what they are.

I don't need gentleman, well dressed Azriel because LUCIEN IS THERE.

I don't need warrior, bloodthirsty Elain because GWYN IS THERE.

Honestly, it's so very simple it hurts.

I am all for Elucien ruling over Spring or Day because of Lucien's connections to both courts, but

What if they ruled over Spring because Elain did such an amazing job there and the Land's magic just went "I like this lady, I want no male thank you very much" and chose her as High Lady?