If you don't mind me asking how come you haven't read acosf, and why do you ship elriel?
Tried reading acosf. Last part I read was the chapter Az and Cass sparred in front of Nesta and I’m not sure what came after it but that was it. SJM’s writing isn’t for me; I only read acomaf and acowar because I’d already bought the copies and didn’t want my money to have been spent in vain. I actually liked the first book the most. And the reviews about acosf don’t make me feel like I’m missing out on much— Nessian is general doesn’t make me feel anything at all and I’m not a shipper.
And why wouldn’t anyone ship Elriel? I feel like they’re the only two characters in the entire series who just make sense.
Elriel has so. Much. Potential. So much. They practically write themselves/unfold in your head on their own. As an author, they’re the perfect characters to make a story out of and as a reader, they check all the best tropes in fiction. The elriel tag explains it perfectly, all the reasons those two compliment each other.
Elriel is the perfect mix of the two; the fact that they both are mysterious makes it all the more exciting. During my brief reading of the first chapters of acosf, I couldn’t stand reading about Cassian not because he’s a bad character or a bad personality in general— he was just the epitome of boring, read as a 2D character and in fiction, that’s the worst of crimes. He’s strong, he’s loyal, he’s got a heart of gold- the perfect guy. But there isn’t anything about him that makes you want to know him.
Rhys in acotar and acomaf had that question proposed: good guy doing bad things or humanized bad guy with a redemption arc on the way? which made you want to find out all about him and regardless of the way the answer makes you as a reader feel, in the end he checked the fiction trope of a secret/personality being uncovered. You get some form of cerebral stimulation by him. Cassian couldn’t tickle a thought out of you, I was practically brain dead reading the chapters. Nesta was significantly less boring because, you know, there’s a journey for her character— there’s a story about to be told. Even if it was, in the end, the Power of Friendship and Getting The Good Guy.
Elriel is the combination of them both: Rhys’s mystery and Nesta’s story element. We know so little about them, but the blueprint of their characters fit extremely well that if you merge them together or keep them apart, you still get a story. There are so, so many unanswered questions about Az and Elain as individuals. We know they’re different, they’re abnormal, but we don’t know how. A friend of mine here on tumblr pointed out that SJM is keeping Elain under tight wraps because the girl is a walking spoiler and I agree— Elain’s the key to all the next books, and giving anything away about her prematurely takes away the urge readers have to pick up the new books to just find out.
(Which is a brilliant marketing strategy on SJM’s behalf, kudos to her tbh)
But here are some reasons that make my shipper heart go awh, beyond the fact that those two are the perfect couple:
They’re so fucking soft as people. Elain kills the Main Boss in the series who no one else could and then she just went back to her hobbies like it was nothing. Azriel tortures information out of people, is terror personified to his own people and his own family, but he’s gentle and polite around others and he carries traumatized Seer ladies to gardens and sits with them having tea in the sunshine (how is no one else convulsing at this?)
The fact that they’re both INTROVERTS doesn’t just stimulate the very core of your shipper heart? do people not realize how powerful introverts’ love is? How beautiful that shit it?
They’re extremely perceptive and observant. They’re sensitive to the feelings of others around them, they’re aware of people.
They fucking see each other WITHOUT help? Elain notices his headaches (need I remind people that Azriel is famously unreadable? How sharp is Elain’s eyesight for her to notice him rubbing his temples?) and he can read her without his shadows (see: the most controversial POV on the planet) and he knows what she needs/wants without her saying so? Nonverbal communication is their thing and I’m so here for it.
He figured out that nothing was wrong with her. He was the only one from the beginning who was researching Elain’s predicament— people forget sometimes that Azriel didn’t just have an epiphany in that sitting room and realize all of a sudden Elain was a Seer. He was looking into it before that famous moment.
I’m not hyper focused on the small details that everyone has overanalyzed (he went ahead and rescued her, she kissed him, he gave her his knife, she gave him a gift for solstice, he listens to her talk about her plans, she can read him like no one else, he went to find out how she looked like when she was happy, he stays away from his family because of her— all of this fam is without the easy Get-Out-Of-Jail card that’s the mating bond, an insta love feature that plays matchmaker.) but it’s just who they are. It’s not because of the alignment of their powers (though they do align pretty well if i do say so myself) but the alignment of their personality.
And we know Elain values that over anything else. Elain who’s dismissing the most sacred bond in the universe, because he doesn’t know me. Elain who values tradition, who values culture and habits, who put aside her prejudices and her fear for the sake of goodness. Elain’s not boring— she’s just not problematic and I think most people can’t digest a female character that doesn’t swing around a ten-stone sword or lay waste to kingdoms with some Pick-Me-Chosen-Girl powers shit.
That being said— she has a lot of potential. The position of her character puts her at so many crossroads and it’s exciting to think about which one she’ll end up walking and if anyone is going to walk that path with her.
Azriel, too, has so much room for development. I wont say ‘healing’ because man’s 540 yo. If he was going to ‘heal’ or change he would have a long time ago and he’s not suddenly going to just because a cutsey girl (Ginger or Brunette) smiled at him.
That being said, what did he do about the transgressions against him? Cassian killed his mother’s village and his father. Rhys apparently shattered the bones of Az’s brothers but they’re not dead. Does Az work with them? Is his mother alive and if so, what is the nature of his relationship with her? Does he have siblings? He’s a spy, and the boss of the NC spies, what does his job look like? How can he torture people and then be fine with it? Is he fine with it? Will he stop? Will someone (i am totally referring to a Seer) develop ways with him to extract information out of people without the need for violations? What exactly are his powers? What is a shadowsinger?
Him and Elain are similar. They’re the sensible people, the quiet ones who speak only when they know they’ll be listened to, the ones who people don’t know anything about and whatever information about them is known, it’s very faulty. They’re both misunderstood. They have a wicked discreet sense of humor— brilliant roasts and inside jokes. Az’s shadows are a comfort blanket the way Elain’s baking is her comfort zone, and they meet each other halfway. I’m not a fan of people learning to let go of their comfort zones because like… no. Why would you take that away. I am a supporter of learning to utilize that comfort for develop.
Elriel is just romanticized life. I know Azriel is the perfect dark book boyfriend and that SJM probably sees him as one too but he’s just a soft boy in my head. A soft boy trying to fall in love with the world and there’s a woman who’s trying to do the same and they are literally the equivalent of a peaceful picnic in a meadow of green and earth and just life. Life, horrible and rough and unkind as she is but it’s nature. Mother nature. She’s not evil, she’s not good. She just is. Nature, nonsentience at its best, being exactly who she is. Formidable, scary, unwavering but not evil. Not human. I can’t describe it.
The potential secret dating trope?
I am a woman of the firm opinion that being paid attention is the sexiest thing that can ever be done by man. I don’t care about looks, I don’t care about tropes— when a character just pays the right attention to another person? That they’re conscious of them? They have dedicated their mind and day to them? That shit slaps harder than the oblivious You-Are-In-Love-With-This-Person-Even-If-You-Havent-A-Clue. It’s like hello? You are a sentient being of your own, you are an entire person, and you consciously choose to acknowledge my own person? You are aware of me so keenly? And the best part is that it goes both ways fam. IT GOES BOTH WAYS.
They are iconic. Literally icons of perfect blissful love.
The fucking Hades/Persephone vibes??????
Notice how I frequently say development. Not change. The person Elain was in Chapter 1 of Acotar is not the same as the one in the chapters of Acomaf and is most certainly not the lady in acowar, acofas and acosf. But notice how she’s true to herself? I’ll stop going on about those two anon because I’m not sure this is what you asked for, but yeah. At the start of February 2020 I was a fan of Elriel, now I’m a full on AC blasted 24/7.
Here, have some soft elriel aesthetic so you know what I mean.
Let me just say that if you can’t understand why we ship Elriel, HERE IS YOUR ANSWER. 😭 @thefangirlofhp You always have such a way of conveying yourself. This was so perfectly worded. 💙🌸🦇
THIS WHOLE POST!!!
Who they are as characters, the aesthetics, the vibes, the potential, and the CANON moments all make up our reasoning for why we ship Elriel so hard.
Their story is going to be incredible, both as individuals and as a couple. And I absolutely cannot wait to read it!!
this post describes perfectly well why I shipp and love elriel ♥
