E/riels brag about how Azriel gave Elain Truth-teller as if she takes it everywhere with herself, polish and sharpen the blade daily and hugs it while she sleeps.

Y'all know she gave it back, right?

Just like she returned the necklace as well.

They want Elain to fix him. I want Gwyn to help him realize he’s not broken.

We are not the same.

Well, from groups with 30k-60k members:

Bitch, bye.

It took ten minutes... TEN MINUTES

For this bullshit

A couple things:

1. A deer with a flower doesn't remind me of a SHIP at all. It reminds me of a CHARACTER. Making a connection to anyone else bc the shirt is BLACK, a neutral color, is just... it's laughable.

2. THIS IS ABOUT CRESCENT CITY, NOT ACOTAR. SJM is not going to confirm any ships, especially through ARBITRARY CLOTHING SELECTIONS, through marketing for a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SERIES.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

I don’t get why this E*riel is threatening every Gwynriel… please report this account and block her… she spreads only toxicity and hate.

She’s the same one who said that she hoped a Gwynriel stan should have been r**ed as Gwyn was.

I’ve never offended anyone, never had a bad argument with an E*riel…

Honey, Azriel does NOT WANT ELAIN

HE WANTS A MATING BOND

HER “CHOOSING HIM” WILL NOT SATISFY HIM

Glad we got this out of the way

"Elain's book will be about choice"

(Returning his gift was a choice and a statement, was it not?)

"Elain owes no man her attention"

(just a minor example of how there are no further interactions between E/riel after Solstice).

It's funny how these arguments are used to show that Elain won't end up with Lucien when some in the fandom refuse to see that as of Solstice, Elain has now kicked Az to the curb.

She was willing to give Az a shot (for whatever reasons she had)......

Az blew it.

He called her mistake before going to Rhys, she returned his gift and said not another word to him, shared not another look. There were no hints of her pining. No hints that she was upset beyond Solstice.

Why are some not respecting that she made the choice to walk away from Az? Shouldn’t everyone respect that she was strong enough to not waste her time on someone that rejected her? It doesn't matter why he did it, he still rejected her with no explanation (giving one months later will be too little too late, don't you think?).

Or do her choices only matter so long as her choice is Az in the end?

By the end of SF, there is absolutely nothing in canon to show that Az is her choice.

Could she change her mind and want to give things with Az another go?

Absolutely.

But if we acknowledge that's a possibility than so is her deciding to give Lucien a chance too.

But as it stands now.....

I don't get the feeling Az is on her mind at all, do you?

The End.

Breaking the ACOTAR 4th wall:

Rhys: I won the Blood Rite. But Cassian had to carry me the last bit.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: My sister was decapitated and I had to see the traumatic remains.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: I underwent devastating sexual assault.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: I’m a halfbreed.

Gwyn: Me too.

Rhys: We have a lot in common.

Gwyn: We do.

Rhys: So why do Elriels insist on protecting you from sexual intimacy, call out how you aren’t a real Carynthian and ridicule your roots but not me?

Gwyn: That would be because I’m a rival love interest for Azriel and they have to tear apart my character to invalidate my relevance and keep their sinking ship afloat.

Rhys: *picks at lint* Gross.

Gwyn: Yup.

It may have to do something with me being on my period, but I'm waiting, waiting, till the Elucien or Gwynriel book only so i could be a bitch about it to the other side.

Yep, its definitely my period.

We don’t know what Azriel might or might not offer Elain, we are not privy to any of her opinion on the matter.

But we do know that Elain brings Azriel no joy. Only frustration, self-recriminations, and a reminder of his loneliness and shame. No part of him felt anything like joy, even as he was actively pursuing his desire of her.

And really doubtful on the growth for either of them if he starts out with a baseline of protecting her from anything hard or dangerous and hides those parts of himself from her.

Growth means facing the hard and dangerous things head on. Azriel and Elain use each other to hide from their problems, not face them.

Had to share 🤣🤣🤣

Like, I hate fanon Elain so much that I need to go to canon text and calm myself bc it's not her fault that her delulu stans are deluluing

Elain literally used it as a simple knife, stick them with the pointy end as Jon Snow would say, as Azriel used it all those years to kill and torture. She didn't use it as a Made object that's Bryce.

No, Gwyn doesn't kick a beast. She does one better, and she leads and unleashes one on Illyrians to save Nesta and Emerie. Because she's thrown in a situation despite her will, as opposed to Elain, who put herself in that position by following a Greysen vision. TY next

"Cosplay as valkyrie and being a backpack" = Gwyn is the one that introduces Nesta to the valkyrie story and concept, teaches all of them mind stilling, CUTS THE RIBBON FIRST, is ready to die side by side with her sister Nesta as the last valkyries did at the War, when they died all together instead of leaving anyone behind, so Nesta has to neutralize her bc she knew Gwyn would NEVER ABANDON HER.

For the people who cry "misogyny!" anytime anyone says something about Elain that doesn't fit their ship and agenda, they sure act the most misogynistic towards a SA victim who sacrificed herlsef to save children, who would sacrifice herself to not abandon her found family.

the concept that some people read about az’s shadows “skittering back” when elain is near him as opposed to them literally reaching out to gwyn and singing in answer to her and still think that elriel is endgame is so foreign to me,,, like stop lying to yourself 

For all those dumbasses still disgustingly saying Gwyn's lying about her trauma for the sake of their sinking ship.

From the Azriel POV bonus chapter:

i love gwynriel and your answers are really convincing. but I'm confused why the hell Sarah put Azriel having some kind of involvement with Elain if gwyn and Az ended up together in the end. because we can't deny that there's something between Elain and Az, there's interest on both sides, even though it might not be simple, there's something lol. but I still don't know who Az will stay with? I don't have an opinion on that. sometimes I think Az and gwyn are endgame, other times I think they didn't get together and there might be someone else for him and someone else for gwyn, obviously. i find azriel so confusing, sarah doesn't give a lot of hints about him, it pisses me off because i love him so much. Also, I'm so sad that there is so much hate on gwyn and Elain because of the ships, if Sarah didn't put azriel with either of them, it would be a war 😂 Sarah is sharing opinions I'm scared of what she's going to do lol

This got a little long, sorry I just digressed 😅

Honestly, I was an e/riel until I read ACOSF (so I guess a total of like a week?) I thought that the whole breaking the bond to be with someone you loved thing was romantic. I thought their aestetic was cute, if not overplayed a hit. But honestly, SJM gives us a lot of clues in ACOSF to show Elain will not stay in the NC and ultimately won’t be with Az. I truly believe that ACOSF put the nail in the coffin for e/riel as endgame. However, it is important for both Az and Elain individually.

1) Az does NOT respect Elain or view her as an equal. She wanted to help with the dread trove and the moment she left the room he went against her decision. She wants to do more with her life, but the entire IC EXCEPT FOR HER MATE underestimates her.

2) Az confesses he has never thought of Elain past sexual fantasies. “He hadn’t gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to.” This is again him just seeing her as a sexual object and not as an equal. 

3) throughout the bonus chapter, Azriel is CONSTANTLY saying how wrong his feelings for Elain are. The shadows tell him to go to bed because they knew Elain was waiting up for him. I’m sorry, but THAT IS NOT HEALTHY. Forbidden love is the WRONG trope for Azriel. There is a great post by @lunainfortuna linked here that goes into it with my commenting there. There is another great post by @acourtofthought that talks about the negative emotions in the BC here

4) Azriel would stifle Elain's growth in the guise of protection (as we have seen in ACOSF by not respecting her choice behind her back) and Elain will appease Azriel (as she does with her sisters) to keep the peace and allow him to do what Nesta did especially if she notes he gets upset whenever she wants to help even if it puts her at risk (call back to how he was overprotective with Mor to the point she feels guilty about making a decision on her own knowing it will upset him). That's not a couple that would compliment each other's growth or challenge each other. Neither will pull the other out of their shell and this is something I think both Azriel and Elain need because everyone around them is happy to let them be in their own head for too long.

5) Aesthetics and being nice to each other does not warrant a long-term stable and equal relationship when we actually look at them as characters and their personality and actions. Azriel, like Nesta, speaks for Elain even if he thought he was thinking in her best interests but those "best interests" are clouded by his desperation for a mate and his jealousy of Lucien and Rhys and Cassian. They weren't Elain's own words and she does have a voice to speak out on it instead of Azriel.

6) I still think ACOSF and the bonus chapter are big indicators that they don't work out as a couple. Sarah could've made them more appealing to the readers but she didn't. This was Nesta’s book, and she could have made Elain a larger part of Nesta’s recovery journey and had her spend more time with azriel. But she didn’t. You know who had the most page time in ACOSF? Nesta, cassian, gwyn, and azriel.

7) rhys is almost always right. The podcast BookTalkforBookTok consistently jokes that he is always telling the future. When he steers Azriel off of Elain before things escalate, he is truly looking out for Az’s best interest. Rhys has great intentions and poor execution. However, whenever rhys says something it’s true. If rhys thought they would be good for each other, then he wouldn’t interfere and would work something out with lucien.

8) cassian saying that Elain looks dreary in black is just SO ON THE NOSE and idk if SJM can make it any clearer. Black is the night court color, black is azriel’s color. @yazthebookish confronts this here and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

9) time and time again, SJM is asked about what the couples would do and EVERYTIME she talks about what Elain and lucien would do together. In her head, they are end game. When asked where they would go on vacation together, she said Paris. Then there was this beauty:

10) Az is still not over mor by solstice and he has a LOT of work to do before being in a relationship. He is using Elain as a distraction against his bigger issues with intimacy and belonging.

Ultimately, I have a theory that Elain tried to steer herself towards azriel and away from lucien for all the wrong reasons. Azriel, despite the wings, looks more or less human. He has rounded ears, is soft spoken, and she associates him with her human life. She meets lucien on the worst night of her life (mirroring how gwyn met Az on her worst night too just fyi), he has long hair, fae ears, a mechanical eye, and looks the part of the fae she grew up hating. HOWEVER, if she got to know the males the opposite is actually true. Despite his looks, azriel is incredibly male and fae. He follows his instincts, he growls/snarls, he is a fighter and a torturer. Lucien, on the other hand, has a very human soul. He currently even lives with Jurian and Vassa. She clings to Az because accepting lucien means accepting being fae and I think she is still in denial. I wouldn’t doubt there would be a point at the beginning of her book where she might want to jump at the opportunity to become human again. She lost the most out of the three sisters by becoming fae and she loves life. Accepting the bond means accepting being fae and this emotional and sexually charged relationship with Az is the bandaid on her gaping wound. It will only keep the bleeding at bay for so long.

Both azriel and Elain are using each other as distractions from their true trauma’s. Azriel latches onto women who are unable to give him the love he deserves. Elain is trying to keep the one human part of her she has left, the ability to choose her partner and not have it chosen for her by the cauldron.

TOG Spoiler:

After finishing TOG, I feel like chaol and azriel will be on similar love stories. Chaol had loved a girl prior to the events of throne of glass but found her in bed with Rolland, and I think this parallels to Az’s relationship to Mor. Then his next relationship was with Aelin. It was hinted at through all of TOG and before they got together in COM. Their relationship was short and brief and ended badly (I think they were officially together for like a week before shit hit the fan). This parallel’s Az and Elain. Both couples look good on paper, but lack the special spark that makes SJM couples endgame. They end up being worse for each other because of their personalities and they give into their insecurities with each other. This leads me to think that Azriel will go on a journey of introspection and emotional healing with the help of gwyn, just like chaol did with yrene. Just like yrene, gwyn has the power to heal with her invoking stones. I can go on but you get the point. When they all meet again in KOA, they are all happy for each other despite their rocky past just like I think the whole Elain/lucien/Az/gwyn group will be.

Ultimately SJM is gonna do what she is gonna do. But I for one will be incredibly disappointed if Elain and Az are endgame because I think they both deserve better. They are both good characters, but toxic together.

"What if the Cauldron was wrong?"

“Wouldn’t the mating bond have snapped into place for them if it exists?” Rhys’s eyes shuttered. “I think that is a question Azriel has been asking himself every day since he met Mor.”

Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it

“And you were never with anyone after it?” Not the cold, beautiful shadowsinger who tried so hard not to watch her with longing on his face?

Azriel’s head lifted from where he was sprawled in his own blood, eyes full of rage and pain as he snarled at the king, “Don’t you touch her.” Mor looked at Azriel—and there was real fear there. Fear—and something else.

"Such terrible things that it was a sacrilege for his fingers to touch her skin, tainting her with his presence"

“The issue, actually, wouldn’t be me. It’d be him. I could peel off my clothes right in front of him and he wouldn’t move an inch. He might have defied and proved those Illyrian pricks wrong at every turn, but it won’t matter if Rhys makes him Prince of Velaris—he’ll see himself as a bastard-born nobody, and not good enough for anyone. Especially me.”

"He'd beg on his knees for a chance to taste it"

She wore a gown of pure white, little more than a slip of silk that showed off her generous curves. Indeed, a glance over her shoulder revealed Azriel staring blatantly at the back view of it, Cassian and the stranger already too deep in conversation to notice what had drawn the spymaster’s attention. For a moment, the ravenous hunger on Azriel’s face made my stomach tighten.

I had to look away to keep from laughing. Az, to his credit, gave Mor a smile of thanks, a blush creeping over his cheeks, his hazel eyes fixed on her. I looked away at the heat, the yearning that filled them.

"I'll defeat him with little effort"

Despite being an outsider, Azriel had wanted to invoke it when he's found Mor all those years ago. He'd been ready to challenge both Beron and Eris and kill them both.

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.”

She knew Azriel would say no, would want her safe. As he had always done. Az would have been pissed, and withdrawn even further into himself.

Correct me if I'm wrong but according to some, Azriel is completely over Mor after 500 years simply because a new female he's only known for two(ish) years has entered his life. Despite multiple books of buildup telling us of his love for Mor, despite Elain telling us as recently as ACOFAS that she didn't want a male and instead wanted a human man, despite centuries of love and longing and lust, he's easily moved on.

Moved on with a female that we've not seen he's had any feelings for that are uniquely special to Elain when you consider he's had the exact same thoughts about Mor.

So please do explain why Elain can't also be replaced just as quickly if someone else happens to come along? Someone who possibly turns out to be his Mate? Someone he already shows admiration for?

Love doesn't happen instantly but all he needs is another few months with Gwyn and Elain will simply become the new Mor.

Or.... What's more likely is Elain was never someone he truly loved at all and he instead transferred his unrequited feelings for Mor onto the only available female within his circle while she herself is looking to hook up with Az as a distraction to her own problems and the things she's been trying to avoid.

Rebounds are a thing and it does no good to pretend it's not a very real possibility. To me, Az isn't really over Mor and his focus needs to be on coming to terms with his past with her before getting involved with anyone else.

Some thoughts about the necklace

There was a post I saw last week on Instagram - I didn't want to read it because I knew it would light the rage inside me - but some friends did and we ended up talking about it anyway.

In this post, the op states that there's no proof that Clotho gave Gwyn the necklace after Azriel left the library. I hate this take, because what reason would Clotho have to choose not to give it to her. But there doesn't seem to be a mention of a delicate golden chain and glass pendant in the rest of ACOSF.

So lets just say, for the sake of argument, that Gwyn did not receive the necklace. Does that change anything?

Does that change that something in Azriel settled after speaking with Gwyn in the training ring on Solstice night?

Does that change that Azriel smiled when he thought about how Gwyn's eyes would light up when she saw the gift?

Does that change that he tucked that image away, in his chest (close to his heart, one might say), and considered it a "thing of secret, lovely beauty"?

Does that change that he felt a spark in his chest when thinking about her receiving the gift?

The answer is... NO. It doesn't change anything. Regardless of whether or not Gwyn actually received the jewelry in question, Azriel's reactions and thoughts remain the same.

Thank you for coming to to my TedTalk.