i feel like the main argument for elriel is that their trope is clearly opposites attract, and opposites attract is a huge part of romance novels. but this isn’t really how sjm writes her endgame couples.
she writes her endgames to have so so much in common, and i just don’t see that in elriel.
feysand: both leaders who value power, family, and pretty much believe that the ends justify the means (not anti feysand and please don’t take it that way)
nessian: both warriors who have shitty biological parents and an amazing found family. they both like fighting and war and stuff (not anti nessian and please don’t take it that way)
but elriel have almost nothing in common. elain is a pacifist, while azriel is a warrior. elain like flowers and cooking and azriel likes training. elain wants to travel and azriel shows no such inclinations. azriel is an integral part of the jnner circle and the night court in general, and elain just isn’t. i could go on and on but you get the idea.
elucien, however, have so much in common. they both never want to see another war, they both need sunlight, elain wants to travel and lucien has friends literally everywhere so he can take her wherever, they both have ties to vision, neither are a true part of the night court, they both liked papa archeron, they are both constantly underestimated by pretty much everyone, they are both really good diplomats, they are both socialites, THEY ARE MATES, they both lost their first love, elain likes cooking and baking and lucien can fish with his bare hands, and and and
also gwynriel have so much in common. they are both warriors, they both have a very strong sense of loyalty, they were both horribly abused, they both have ties to singing, they are both underestimated because of what happened to them, they both have really deep emotional scars, they both have an unexpected sense of humor, and they both passed the blood rite and are carynthian.
i’m sure there are many many more similarities, but i’m wayyyy too lazy to write them all down so drop them in the comments if you think of any i missed!
may you day be as beautiful as lucien vanserra finds elain archeron.
