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violetasteracademic · 9 hours

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Azriel's shadows when Nesta calls Elain uninteresting:

#elriel #pro elriel #azriel x elain

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violetasteracademic · 10 hours

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For me, it's the fact that people read all of ACOSF knowing Feyre was potentially dying, Cassian being the only of the three Bat Boys making an affirmative statement that he *absolutely* wanted children, and all the while he was courting and mated to Nesta anyways and no one questioned it.

Azriel was asked on page if he wanted children, and he could not have cared less. He was only thinking about Elain. Meanwhile Cassian WANTED kids and no one was reading ACOSF thinking- well this is obviously going to end in Nesta and Cassian not being together. Her pelvis! Cassian wants a bebe!

I assure you, Sarah J. Maas would never keep characters apart because of a woman's uterus. Please go read Crescent City 3 and let this dumpster fire of a take die.

Here’s another problem with the Elain-can’t-have-Azriel’s-babies-therefore-not-endgame argument:

He was in love with Mor for 500 years.

It’s not a secret that non-Illyrians can’t birth Illyrian babies. That problem didn’t need to be explained to Rhys and Cassian because it’s common knowledge and is part of the reason most Illyrians don’t marry outside their communities.

So it’s not as if, in 500 years, Azriel somehow avoided that information. The guy whose literal job is getting information.

If having kids is so important to Azriel that he would choose to not end up with someone who can’t have his babies (and we don’t even know if he wants kids because he wouldn’t say), then why did he keep his romantic focus on Mor for so long?

#elriel #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elriel endgame #azriel x elain

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violetasteracademic · 11 hours

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Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow: Chapter Seventeen (Ao3 Azriel x Elain Fanfic)

My loves, we are barreling towards the end of Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow. Chapter seventeen is out! I will post the link down below, but as always, if you haven't caught up you can find your chapter on the master list here. I will link the new chapter down below!

It is another incredibly special day because we have MORE ART from @rae2velaris and more tears from me. For those of you loving Elain's Ascalaphus feather suit, Rae captured it in a way that is beyond even my wildest imagination. And the moment when Azriel tucks the golden flower in her hair... PLZ I am unwell! I will be adding this to the bonus art chapter which you can find here.

I will literally never, ever, ever be over it.

And now for chapter 17! Enjoy!

#elriel #elriel fanfic #spicy elriel fanfic #elriel art #elriel fanart #elriel fic

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violetasteracademic · 12 hours

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You guys 😭😭😭 @rae2velaris is one of the most lovely and talented human beings on this Earth, and I cannot believe how generous she was to give her time and skills to GDiaVoS. I can't even believe this. The Ascalaphus Feather suit!!! The golden flower Azriel tucks in Elain's hair!!! Please show her so much love!!

Yay! Finally finished this Elriel fanart inspired by the AMAZING fanfiction written by my friend, @violetasteracademic. 🥰❤️ I can't express how remarkably talented she is! When she reached out to me and passionately described her Elriel fanfiction, I was instantly inspired! Can't wait to create more fanart for the story. 🥰❤️

If you're looking for a great read, please check out her fanfiction, but also her tumblr page. She has incredible incites on Elriel, and I'm so incredibly happy she's taken the plunge into posting her ideas!

#elriel fanfic #spicy elriel fanfic #elriel fic #elriel art

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violetasteracademic · 1 day

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I have such big feelings right now about how this fandom treats artists. This is the one hill I am willing to die on: all fandom artists deserve respect regardless of what ships they create art for.

Listen to me. Traditional fandom is dying. AI art is cropping up everywhere in fandom spaces, stealing work from real artists while getting twice as much recognition.

Meanwhile, the artists who are clawing and fighting to stay in these spaces are subject to constant criticism and harassment. They are taking hours to work on pieces that they share with us for free only to be bombarded with ungrateful comments. And on top of that, their work is constantly being stolen and reposted on other platforms without proper credit.

Fandom artists are fighting for their lives right now and the least that we can do is pay them the basic decency of shutting our mouths if we don't have anything nice to say.

If you are not paying the artist, then you are not entitled to art of your favorite ship.

If you are not paying the artist, then you are not entitled to art that fits into your specific interpretion of a ship.

If you want fandom artists to keep creating content that they share with us for free out of the kindness of their hearts, then you better learn to start supporting them.

Fandom artists are part of our community, and they SEE YOU making these negative comments. You may think that you're only putting down one specific artist, but they all see you. And they feel discouraged, and they feel angry, and they feel unwelcome, and many of them leave.

If you wonder why so many artists are putting their work behind patreon and withdrawing from fandom spaces, it's because of the way we treat them. Do better.

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violetasteracademic · 1 day

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On Mate Behavior: Elriel (Part Two- Scent)

Another day of an SJM Instagram jump scare with more stories and no book accouncement (though I am HAPPILY celebrating indie bookstore day with you all!)- So it's another day to be on my Elriel shit. Will we still want posts like this once the announcement is out and we are done fighting for our lives? I feel like the announcement is coming soon so I need to sneak in all my thoughts!

In my previous analysis, I highlighted a moment that would have been perfect for Azriel to display some mate-like behavior towards Gwyn, and it was sorely lacking. You can catch up on that post here!

Today I would like to discuss another area lacking in mate behavior in the BC between Azriel and Gwyn, but present for... drumroll... Elriel. And that is scent.

Bringing back Nessian's bonus chapter to start the parallels, because I do think an additional bonus lends itself to the fairest basis for comparison (also if I used book examples from ToG to CC regarding romantic parings/mates and scent I'd be here for several hundred years):

Cassian is so lost in Nesta's scent that he had to stop himself from letting his eyes roll back into his head while breathing her in. This... sounds familiar:

Azriel's eyes also nearly rolled into the back of his head because of Elain's scent.

As previously mentioned, scent plays a huge role in mates/romantic pairings. I was chatting with my friend @faeprincesswarrior when I first started thinking about the scent thing, and she remembered that Rhys could smell Feyre's scent before they even met. He would wake up with her scent in his nose. Cassian and Azriel both can hardly control themselves when they take in the scents of Nesta and Elain.

Scent plays an important role in romantic pairings, and is honestly probably one of the things SJM lays on the thickest throughout the entirety of her multiverse and she has a tendency to drop it early on, often as an initial indicator. Yes, sometimes scenting is platonic, but Gwyn and Az don't even have that on page. There is simply no mention of scent in their portion of the chapter, but it is heavy in Elain's section.

*Crescent City 3 Spoiler* Even when Ithan is done with all his side quests and spends just a few moments with Perry, he's suddenly like mmm... strawberries and cinnamon. No other indicator of mate behavior there but MANY readers only needed that little nugget to be like- something's cooking here.

Again, in addition to Azriel's lack of response to directly recalling Gwyn's assault from his POV on page- something I would have liked to see to indicate feelings could be brewing there- there is also zero mention or indication that Azriel experiences Gwyn's scent at all. Even something small, like "a shift in her scent" at his arrival, or noticing a change in her scent from her flash of memory as well (as it happened between Nesta and Cassian.)

Azriel lost his mind over Elain's scent in their bonus chapter, just as Cassian lost his mind over Nesta's scent in theirs.

Azriel makes no mention of Gwyn's scent in the BC. It's as if to him, she doesn't even have one.

I want Azriel and Elain to be together because Azriel and Elain want to be together. They experience what romantic pairings experience together, and it is delicious.

I love Gwyn, which is why I think if she is going to have a romance in the future, she deserves more than a regifted necklace and a male who is drowning in the scent of another female's kitty and doesn't even notice what Gwyn smells like. This is really what we want for her?

Hoping for a book announcement soon. Do you guys like seeing Sarah post more? I have mixed feelings. Part of me thinks it is gearing up for an announcement which is exciting. Part of me also is tired of the jump scares and wants complete silence unless it is a book announcement. Judge me if you must!

#elriel #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elriel endgame

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violetasteracademic · 2 days

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Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow: Chapter Sixteen (Ao3 Azriel x Elain)

I cannot believe there are only four chapters left! I am a mess. If you need to catch up on the fic, you can find your chapter on the master list here. Link to the new chapter will be below!

There is not too much more to say today, other than I hope my Tumblr babes catch the note at the end of the chapter. Here is a sneak peek, our girl Elain went THRU it!!

Preview:

Azriel

It had been three days. Three days and Elain showed no signs of waking.

Azriel sat beside her bed at the river house, morning until night. He only ate or drank when Nesta or Feyre brought him food and water and demanded he take a few sips and nibbles for sustenance.

If he felt himself falling asleep, his body responded with lurching panic. Fear that Elain would slip away in the night, and he wouldn’t be there for her when it happened.

Cassian granted him a few hours of rest the previous night after he had quietly slipped into the room with a roll of blades in need of sharpening and polishing.

“Care to join me?” Cassian asked, offering him one of the blades along with a small vial of oil and a whetstone.

Azriel could only shake his head, too exhausted to even answer. He didn’t have the energy to polish a blade, though he knew his brother only intended to help him keep his mind focused on a task while they waited for Elain to wake up.

“That’s alright,” Cassian shrugged. He looked to Elain, eyes pained, then back to Azriel. “I’ll keep an eye on her if you want to close your eyes for a few minutes.”

Azriel hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but the flick of those blades gliding along the stone was like a lullaby. He clasped Elain’s hand, using his arm as a pillow on the bed and closed his eyes.

When he woke a few hours later, Cassian was still alert in his chair, eyes fixed on them and watching intently for any disturbances, Azriel’s heart clenched.

“Thank you,” he croaked.

Cassian only nodded and rolled his shoulders. “I needed to catch up on those blades, anyway.”

Azriel eyed the freshly polished blades on the roll and knew Cassian had been done with the work a long time ago, but he made no mention of it.

Cassian walked up to him and gripped his shoulder tightly. “You once told me I would know,” he tapped at his chest, “right here. I would know.” Azriel’s throat tightened unbearably. “You would know too, Az. If Elain wasn’t still with us, you would know. Give her time.”

Azriel tried to blink back the burn in his eyes, tried to hold on to his brother’s words as he looked towards Elain, so pale and still on the bed. Her neck and hands bandaged from the burns she suffered in the duel.

You can go mad or perish.

He had done this. He gave her his power without testing it first, without getting a sense of how it felt or what the limitations were. He gave and gave until Elain removed Beron’s head from his body, put on a massive display of power in front of the leaders of the courts, then hit the ground with a sickening thud that he felt rattle his very core.

Her burns were healing. Madja had said that was a good sign that whatever was happening beneath her skin was likely also making progress. Still, it wasn’t fast enough. If she woke up soon, she’d likely still experience some pain.

If Elain wasn’t still with us, you would know. Give her time.

He released a heavy breath and waited.

Please enjoy, and thank you for reading!

#elriel #pro elriel #elriel fanfic #spicy elriel fanfic #elain x azriel #elriel endgame

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violetasteracademic · 3 days

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My queeeen! Sara Anne everyone!

FYI to my lovely readers, as of last night Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow is a completed fic. 🤭 All that remains is polishing and posting!

I will probably push into the first week of May because I really want to give everyone at least a day in between chapters to read and catch up, and myself time to perfect all the little details and ensure the chapters are well edited before releasing. (Always shouting out to Sara Anne aka @SaraAnneReads on tiktok for being so generous with her time and proofreading/line editing/chatting with me about my problem areas and giving so much support to this fic!)

I'm still going through my early chapters when I wasn't polishing as cleanly and correcting typos and weird syntax 💀 #haunted. If you downloaded onto your Kindle, I hope you'll consider getting rid of those and redownloading the full piece when it is finished for my peace of mind. 🫠 But I am genuinely just so honored that you all have come on this journey with me, and the final chapters are truly for you. It's actually taking effort to not just dump them all out right now.

You guys have made this experience genuinely amazing. I had no idea I would find such a community here and I'm already mourning the process a bit, but also excited for you to have the complete story in your hands.

Thank you for everything 💞

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violetasteracademic · 3 days

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Friendly Reminders: Elain Archeron and Sarah J. Maas

After Elain got dragged by the fandom for being boring and useless online, Sarah J. Maas- knowing full well that she as an author loved Elain and couldn't wait to tell her story that has been brewing for nearly a decade- wrote this:

-ACOSF

And this:

-Feysand Bonus Chapter, ACOSF

After certain members of the fandom collectively decided that Sarah J. Maas so *obviously* ended Elriel because she may not be able to have Azriel's babies and nothing is more important than that, or she owes Lucien her time because she is his mate and he deserves her, she wrote this:

-HOFAS

It's almost as if the author of the books has heard the things people said about a FMC whose book she has described as being *obsessed* with writing, like when you have a crush, and explicitly addressed and dragged the legitimately abhorrent takes surrounding the remaining Archeron sister.

Sometimes I truly wonder why one would read a book from an author they so vehemently disagree with. The author has told you her stance on these opinions. And it is... not positive. She does *not* agree with these ideas. Full stop.

I have no doubt most will be won over by Elain's book. But I find theories antithetical to the beliefs of the author to be at best bizarre, and at worst needlessly harmful to women. And the author has made it quite clear she has no interest in catering to those ideals.

#elriel #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elriel supremacy #pro elain archeron

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violetasteracademic · 3 days

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FYI to my lovely readers, as of last night Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow is a completed fic. 🤭 All that remains is polishing and posting!

I will probably push into the first week of May because I really want to give everyone at least a day in between chapters to read and catch up, and myself time to perfect all the little details and ensure the chapters are well edited before releasing. (Always shouting out to Sara Anne aka @SaraAnneReads on tiktok for being so generous with her time and proofreading/line editing/chatting with me about my problem areas and giving so much support to this fic!)

I'm still going through my early chapters when I wasn't polishing as cleanly and correcting typos and weird syntax 💀 #haunted. If you downloaded onto your Kindle, I hope you'll consider getting rid of those and redownloading the full piece when it is finished for my peace of mind. 🫠 But I am genuinely just so honored that you all have come on this journey with me, and the final chapters are truly for you. It's actually taking effort to not just dump them all out right now.

You guys have made this experience genuinely amazing. I had no idea I would find such a community here and I'm already mourning the process a bit, but also excited for you to have the complete story in your hands.

Thank you for everything 💞

#elriel fanfic #spicy elriel fanfic #elriel #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elriel endgame #elriel supremacy

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violetasteracademic · 4 days

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@emmitaaa4 thank you so much for these thoughtful additions! I absolutely think Azriel cares about Gwyn, and I do believe his reflection on her growth and how far she has come shows that quite clearly. But yes- it is the difference between how he also viewed Feyre's growth, another female he trained, and his pride in all her work and commitment to flying (which helped save his and Elain's life) and whether or not he is acting like a *mate.* Wonderful adds, my love!

On Mate Behavior: Elriel

So, when it comes to Azriel's mate behavior, I would say the most commonly discussed point (which I definitely agree with) to *disprove* that Azriel displays any mate behavior towards Gwyn is his overall calm demeanor and focus on Eris when the Valkyrie are kidnapped in the middle of the night and dropped into the Blood Rite.

However, there is another example that additionally highlights the lack of "mate behavior" in the bonus chapter, and I truly don't see it come up that often, though I think it is even more telling!

When he meets Gwyn's gaze, and that bloody memory of when he first "met" her (if you would like to call that their meeting) flashes, he is otherwise completely unruffled. He simply reflects on Gwyn's growth, and two seconds later, is snorting and having an easy, playful conversation.

While this certainly points to their comfortability and fun banter that they share, it does not scream *mate behavior.*

ToG and CC spoilers ahead

I think about Rowan seeing Aelin's ruined back for the first time, and being so overcome with anger at discovering the violence that had been enacted on her that he took to the skies to get control of his violent instincts:

I think of Cassian in his bonus chapter with Nesta- going into a rage as he smelled Nesta's fear while she recalled Tomas's attempted assault. He would have gone to kill him right then, I have no doubt:

I think of Ruhn hating Lidia, being sick over discovering the female he had fallen for was The Hind. And yet, when Pollux lays a hand on her, he was ready to rip out his throat for hurting Lidia. He couldn't understand how he could hate her and need her and want to kill for her at the same time:

So I do think it's interesting that in comparison to the to the other mated males who get a POV and an inside look into their heads while they reflect on trauma their mates have been through (even before knowing they are mates, which is the case in all three of these examples) they are completely unhinged. And yet we get this pointed moment where Azriel actively reflects on Gwyn's trauma, the absolute horrors that had been done to her and... nothing. A snort, and a little bit of form correction and teasing.

Meanwhile in this same book, Elain gets called boring and Azriel's shadows are like hoe who do we need to mf-ing end right tf now:

Azriel has already established that he believes the Cauldron could be wrong. While I personally disagree that there is foreshadowing to Azriel and Gwyn being mates, even in trying to give it a fair and unbiased look and say okay- could they be mates? I still wind up drawing the conclusion that even if they are, it would mean as little to Azriel as Elain's mating bond currently means to her.

I am personally super open minded about whether or not Azriel and Elain are true mates. I think a reveal that they are could be lovely. I also think them choosing each other above all, even fate, would be lovely.

But there is simply no denying that these two already have a set up plotline of questioning the Cauldron, and the only two characters *acting* like mates in this scenario are Az and Elain.

As always, I am Lucien and Gwyn positive even though I ship Elriel, so be kind in the comments! But I just really don't see how this could possibly play out any other way. Azriel has had too many on page opportunities, even from his personal POV, to display mate behavior towards Gwyn and there is nary a lick. It's just... not how a lead up to a mate reveal typically goes. So the pure, undiluted facts are that even if you think Sarah is a "fated mate" author above all, she is not treating these characters as she usually does. And that is noteworthy.

Thank you for joining me on this dissertation!

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