The only reason Elain is on a side quest with Azriel is because SJM has told us that her and Lucien are BOTH not ready. Not just Elain. Lucien too. Who has a lot going on and he doesnāt even know the parental shitstorm coming his wayā¦
At the end of the day,Canonically and plotwise Azriel and Elain donāt fit. He thinks he deserves her because sheās the third sister and his brothers got the other two. Elain likes him because honestly heās not Lucien and heās single.
Sheās still dealing with becoming Fae. We know she doesnāt like being Fae and would go back to being human. So OF COURSE sheās not ready to acknowledge her very Fae mate. To her itās just another way of her humanity being taken away. So she gravitates to Azriel (maybe cause he has human ears who knows)
Az is in no way shape or form ready for a healthy relationship either (and thatās why his setup with Gwyn on the foundation of friendship is so important)
The fact that weāve gone into his head and seen the way he thinks about Elain makes this obvious. E/riels romanticize it obviously but thatās their personal problem....anyway back to Lucien.
People have this image of Lucien constantly chasing Elain but canonically all he does is give her space. He has his own shit to sort through. Only time they see each other is Solstice and heās there for Feyre, his friend. Heās a GENTLEMAN so OF COURSE HE BRINGS GIFTS.
Heās not pestering this girl in any shape or form because as the author has stated HEāS NOT READY TOO.
Their book is going to be a slow burn and coming into their own with Elain accepting that sheās fae now and can never go back and eventually falling in love and accepting her mate whoās Heir to the Day Court and theyāll skip off happily into the sunset together.
Elain and Lucien
Azriel and Gwyn
Mor and Emerie
SJM has set up all these characters with their endgame already itās just a matter of fleshing it out.
Hello everyone, as some of you know today is Day 1 of SJM romance week (prompt: first kiss.) Thank you to everyone who helped me compile a list of couples for each prompt. and I hope you enjoy!!!!
Synopsis: When Azriel discovers that Gwyn is just as competitive as he is, a heated snowball fight turns into something more.
Snow clung to Azriel's eyelashes as he held his hands up for the flakes to fall upon them, watching them dissolve into his skin as he waited for both his brothers and his nephew to show up.
Footsteps sounded behind him, his fae senses picking up on them, noticing the difference in them as he whirled around dodging Gwyn's attack as she fell onto the snow with a groan, causing Azriel to lift his arched brows at her as footsteps sounded behind her, a voice calling out,
"I told you. There is no sneaking up on him. Trust me when I say I've tried." Nesta reminded her, Cassian's arm around her as Emerie stood at her other side.
"Is there a reason why you were trying to sneak up on me in the first place?" He asked Gwyn as she sat up, snow clinging to her cooper hair as she brushed it off of her coat.
"Nesta claimed that no one could sneak up on you, so I volunteered to prove that theory to the test."
A hint of a smile cracked on Azriel's lips as he said,
"Well I'm glad to prove her correct."
Gwyn huffed, stranding up as she crossed her arms over her chest in response,
"One day I will catch you off guard, Shadowsinger. Mark my words."
A chuckle escaped Azriel as he responded.
"You'll be waiting for quite some time. What are you all doing here anyway?"
"They were at the house with Nesta and I for solstisce, and when they figured out I was coming for our annual snowball fight, they followed me here." Cassian answered with a shrug making azriel glare in answer.
He had no problem hanging out with the females, he even formed a sort of kinship with Nesta after everything they had gone through, but that didn't mean he wanted them here when it was just supposed to be a tradition between him, Rhysand, and Cassian. He couldn't argue with Rhys bringing Nyx, he was a child after all, but the females...he wasn't so sure if he wanted them there.
snow crunched over to his side, making Azriel's head swing in that direction as he saw Rhys, Feyre, and Nyx come down the path, making him frown in response. Was there nothing that was sacred anymore now that both his brothers had found their mates?
"You too?" Azriel asked Rhys as quirked an eyebrow in question, his eyes finally flickering over to where the others stood.
"Feyre was just walking me over here, she was going to winnow to her studio as soon as she made sure we both got here safely." Rhys explained as Nyx babbled a greeting to Azriel, making him smile.
Nesta shuffled over to where they were, taking Nyx from Rhys's arms and giving him a hug in greeting,
"How is my favorite nephew doing?" She inquired as Nyx smiled, his two front and bottom teeth in full display. out of everyone in their inner circle, it was Nesta who seemed to make Nyx the happiest.
Nyx babbled to Nesta, making the female listen as Azriel noticed the love and admiration in Cassian's gaze. The two had decided to wait awhile before they had kids, but that didn't mean that he couldn't see that his brother was thinking about it, especially when he saw Nesta like this.
"What are you all doing here?" Rhys asked, directing the question at Gwyn and Emerie as Emerie answered,
"We wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this snowball fight. We were hoping we could watch three grown illyrian warriors launch snowballs at each other."
A blush painted Azriel's cheeks as Feyre laughed,
"I think it's adorable."
"Maybe we could all start our own tradition." Nesta said, glancing at Emerie, Feyre, and Gwyn as Feyre made a suggestion,
"Perhaps we could leave the boys to their game and meet the others for some hot coco."
"I'd like that." Emerie smiled stepping towards Feyre as Nesta handed Nyx back over to Rhys, giving the toddler a quick goodbye before joining Emerie and her sister.
Azriel wasn't sure why, but his gaze caught on Gwyn, her hair still flecked with snow, making her look even more beautiful than Azriel thought possible. He wondered how it would be like to-
He banished the thought away, not sure what had come over him as Gwyn barely spared him a glance before heading over to her sisters before saying,
"Sounds better than sitting here in the cold and watching the Shadow singer win."
"He doesn't always win." Rhys muttered under his breath as Cassian chuckled.
"True. I did win a couple years ago." He reminded them sending a wink over to Nesta, who blushed and giggled in response. giggled. Gods save him from mates, this was the last thing he needed right now.
Nesta sent him a week, a promise in her eyes for later as she extended her hand towards her sister.
"Shall we?"
"it might take me time to winnow all of us, but-"
"I could help you." Rhys told her, handing Nyx to Cassian as he came to meet his mate, offering his hand to Emerie as she took it and Feyre took Nesta, sparing a glance at Gwyn as she said,
"We'll come back for you in a second." She assured her as her and Rhys winnowed the two away leaving Gwyn alone with both Cassian, Azriel, and Nyx.
Azriel's gaze flickered to her while Cassian was distracted with Nyx, taking a moment to observe her. Although the priestess had gotten better at going out and being surrounded by fae who weren't the priestesses, Azriel knew there was still a small bit of hesitation and fear that still resided in Gwyn. A fear that wouldn't go away anytime soon, but Azriel still commended her strength and her willingness to take charge of her own life. it was definitely something about the priestess he admired.
Her teal eyes flickered to him in the mist of his stare as her eyes narrowed somewhat,
"Problem, Shadowsinger?" She asked as Azriel shook his head.
"Not at all."
Gwyn opened her mouth to reply, about to come up with some witty retort before Feyre winnowed in front of her, looking between her and the the shadowsinger before she addressed Gwyn, extending her hand outward.
"Ready?" She asked as Gwyn slipped her hand into the High Lady's answering,
"As ready as I'll ever be."
And before Azriel knew it, the two were gone.
"Are you still stuck on what happened earlier?" Nesta inquired as Gwyn's gaze snapped up to meet hers, the steam of their hot chocolate curing around them as they sat at a cafe by Feyre's studio where the others were bundled up inside.
"I wouldn't say that, no, I was- I was really hoping they would've let us stay earlier. i know that it's their tradition, and I can respect that, but-"
"Was it something that you and Catrin did together?"
Gwyn nodded, a lump forming in her throat as Nesta scooted to the chair beside her pulling Gwyn into her embrace as some tears escaped Gwyn's eyes, Gwyn swiping at her tears as she tried to pull herself together.
"Sorry, i didn't mean to-"
Nesta tipped Gwyn's chin up, her gaze meeting her own as she said,
"Don't feel shame for your grief, Gwyn. It's only natural. "
Gwyn nodded, laying her head against Nesta's shoulder until she felt like she could pull away.
She wiped away the tears, giving Nesta a sad smile as she focused on the here and the now.
"Thank you." She said as Nesta squeezed her shoulder in reassurence.
"Anytime."
She took a sip of her hot coco, letting the warmth fill her as she explained,
"Even though the memories are great memories, they still cut like a knife when I realize that she's still gone. When I realize that she's never coming back and I can never make those memories with my sister again."
Nesta listened, but Gwyn knew she could only understand so much, she never had to experience that kind of loss.
"Maybe we can do something to help ease your mind." Nesta suggested as Gwyn's teal eyes met Nesta's silver blue ones,
"What did you have in mind?"
A slow smile crept on Nesta's lips as Gwyn wondered what she had just signed herself up for.
Azriel crouched down in the snow, his fingers splayed on the ground as he listened and observed, waiting for any sign of his brothers as he hid behind the safety of the fort he had constructed.
Naturally he was in the lead, Cassian close behind him in second place as Azriel gritted his teeth, he would not let Cassian win this round. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was here his and Nesta's victory party at The House tonight if he did.
His eyes scanned the snowy landscape before a snowball flew past his head, making him dodge it as he growled, sending another snowball to Cassian's direction who swore, managing to barely dodge the one Azriel had hurtled at him but not expecting the 2nd one until it was too late.
A curse flew from Cassian's lips, making Azriel smile in response as another snowball flew at Cassian from Rhys and Nyx's direction, making Cassian swear again as Cassian rose his middle finger to both of them making Az chuckle. He was glad Rhys was on his side this time. Even if it was only for a little while.
He was so enamored by his small victory that he didn't see the snowball coming before it was too late. It slammed in the side of his face, the cold startling him and catching him off guard as Azriel's gaze flickered to that direction. Where the hell had that come from?
His eyes scanned the area, his senses tingling in response because he knew that had not come from Rhys or Cassian's direction as he caught a flash of golden brown hair before another snowball pelted him in the face making him throw out his hands in response. What the hell was-
Another snowball flew from another direction, pelting him as a flash of black hair caught his vision this time, him swearing he could see the flash of Emeries' smile before she vanished into thin air making Azriel's guard go up, what were they-
His back hit the ground, someone's body firmly slamming into his as he flipped them to the ground both their bodies colliding with one another as a snowball pelted the side of his face once more making him sputter at the coldness and shock of it as a laugh rose from his attacker's lips.
"Gwyn." He gasped out, the female grinning up at him triumphantly as he tried to catch his breath.
"And I thought you couldn't get caught off guard, Shadowsinger. Guess I proved you wrong, didn't I?" She laughed, amused as several emotions swirled around Azriel at once.
He didn't think, had only wanted to catch her off guard and swallow up her laughter as his lips meet hers in answer, catching her by surprise.
Still hidden by his snow fort, he knew the others couldn't see them as the kiss continued, Gwyn not pulling away as her hands cusped his face, their lips fighting for dominance as if this was just another challenge for the two of them to see who would pull away first.
He thought she would pull away when his tongue darted to her lips, asking permission to be let in, but what he didn't expect was for her to flip them around, straddling his lap as she deepened their kiss, his scared hands stroking her face as her hands met his own in answer moving her face to the side so she could deepen it.
He had been kissed by many people before, but none had ever measured up to Gwyneth Berdara, no one had ever kissed him like this, had made him feel this exhilaration like she did.
His hands moved to her waist, wanting nothing more than to feel the warmth of her flesh as her body answered his touch moving closer to him, both their bodies answering each other's calls as a cough was sounded in their direction, making them pull away from each other. A blush painting Gwyn's cheeks before his gaze snapped to everyone who had gathered around them. Embarrassment on all their faces.
Another snowball flew to the side of his face as Gwyn lifted hersef from the ground, a look of triumph in her eyes as she claimed,
"I win, Shadowsinger. Better luck next time." Gwyn laughed as Nesta and Emerie followed her, no doubt wanting every single detail as Rhys's eyebrows rose,
"You want to share what that was about?" He questioned as Azriel sat there, still stunned,
"I wish I knew." Azriel answered, swearing he could still feel her lips on his own as he gazed on Gwyn's retreating form, a smile curling on his lips as he sent the thought out to the universe.
Sometime in the middle of last year, I became aware of these beautiful illustrated covers for the Polish print of the Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy. And I thought to myself, āSelf, you should replicate these for your friend headcanonheadcaseās ACOTAR AU fanfic series based on the Off-Campus series, Velaris U.ā
So I did!
You can follow my art account on Instagram here! It doesnāt get a TON of action, but Iām hoping to work toward doing art with a bit more regularity!
azriel has spent so long chasing sunshine-coded women to bring some light into his life but little does he know there's a moonlight-coded valkyrie who's not only going to bring light into his life but also thrive in his shadows while she does it
Confession: I have a friend who likes to text me at like 4am when heās had nightmares or he canāt sleep or he just needs a friend. He thinks Iām always awake at 4am but really I go to bed around 12am and I change his text-tone to the loudest one I have just so it wakes me up when he needs me.
I think that since its been a year since I made this post its time for an update. In the past year Iāve watched this post grow and grow, people I work with have told me about it as āthis post I saw the other dayā and they have no idea itās my post. The person I wrote this about has even reblogged it. He is no longer texting me at 4am. Not because we no longer speak but because the nightmares have stopped. He and I both are in a much better place. Most often the only times heās waking me up at 4am is when heās pulling me closer to him while we sleep. Heās more than a friend now and Iām forever thankful to have him. Everyone messaged me saying he was lucky to have me but I think I was just as lucky to have him and I would do it all over.
I'm like if a chivalrous knight kissed a fair maiden's hand and said "my lady, I fight for you" and then walked off and immediately tripped over his own armor and fell on the ground
#funny#if the lady's a keeper she would make a funny comment to dissipate the tension#'my good knight though I admire your skills you have no need to fight the whole earth for my sake'
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