I came across a reel on Instagram today that was essentially just to get views and comments; it was of course about the ship debate when it comes to Elain, Az, Lucien, Gwyn, and Tamlin. I hated even typing that but here we are. Anyways, the comments were predictably horrible, and I still can’t tell if the author of the original reel is an Elriel or not lmao. Here are some of those comments, bc I have some thoughts.
“Elain has to 💀. SJM has to sacrifice someone so let it be her. She should not have brought Amren back either.”
“I need Azriel to have more than one line and Elain to develop a personality lol.”
“Elain and Az sounds boooooring. Lucien is exactly her speed. Az needs Gwyn.”
“F that!! If Az and Elain end up together I'm not reading anymore. 😡”
“Tamlin gets redemption, Azriel gets Gwyn, and that useless gardener who can’t even plant a vegetable gets a hot Autumn male and heir of the best court!!!”
“I really hate the idea of Elain and Azriel ending up together.”
These haters make me want to scream. Keep your opinions to yourself if they're unkind. These comments help no one. You don't see me hating on other ships for absolutely no reason and utterly unprovoked.
“I hope it’s Tamlin and Elain. Love Az but I honestly think he’ll end up sacrificing himself to protect Mor. I would rather have a well written redemption Tamlin that would throw everyone for a loop. And leave Lucien but he deserves a break and to live in the countryside somewhere quiet for a while after what he’s been through hahaha.”
“I’ve been saying all along Elain and Tam Tam end up together.”
“I am living for the theory that Elain is Tamlin’s mate. Lucien saw the bond with his eye and lied to protect Tamlin. And now Tampon is shapeshifting as Lucien to visit Elain in the Night Court. As Feyre said herself: Elain belongs to a place like the Spring Court.”
“I would love to see a Tamlin redemption arc and end up mating with Elain. In my mind it just makes so much sense because she just radiates Spring and, even though Tamlin did a lot of red flag things, he meant well. Az and Gwyn also seem like a much better fit than Az and Elain. Of course, this is all just my opinion and I will read the next book either way it goes. Love seeing the different perspectives though!”
I don't even have the words to express how insane the idea of Elain's endgame love interest being her younger sister's abusive ex-fiancé is, but I think perhaps that phrasings works just fine. To excuse Tamlin's actions is wild to me, and I'm confident Elain knows enough of Feyre's history with him to never even give the male the time of day.
“I really hope that Lucien gets everything he wants.“
“Lucien and happiness please.”
“Lucien deserves to get what he wants and needs his own story arc. He should be with Elain, not Az. It's too cliche and poor, lazy writing for all the sisters to end up with the bat boys. Gwyn is a much better fit for Az. If Az and Elain end up together and Lucien doesn't get what he wants, then I'm fully done with the series and won't even read the book. It doesn't all have to happen in the next book, it can happen over several books but if that's how she chooses to make things happen, I'm done!”
“I guess I'm in the minority because I don't want Elain and Az together. If Sarah seriously puts all 3 sisters with all 3 Bat Boys, I'll pull my hair out! I am a sucker for a character arc, and I think Elain has more to her. I wouldn't mind a redemption for Tam Tam, but I like to think something happens to him, the Spring Court goes to Lucien and Elain goes with him to rule the land she was made for.”
“Am I the only one rooting for Lucien? Look, if Elain doesn’t want him I’ll take him off her hands.”
“Am I the only one who doesn’t want Az to end up with Elain?! Why don’t people want good things for Lucien?! I love him so much. He’s been through so much shit, he deserves his happy ending. Married to Elain and heir to the Summer Court.”
“If Lucien doesn’t find happiness I will riot.”
“I want a Tamlin redemption arc, Elain and Lucien (because he's my favorite and I want him to be happy), and Azriel and Eris.”
You know, it's totally fine to like Lucien. (I don't, but I don't hate him either. I honestly just don't care.) But it's a problem when your only concern is for a male, when a female has stated explicitly that she isn't interested in him or the mating bond. You can want Lucien to get a happy ending without ignoring the choices of female characters around him (aka Elain).
“Elain & Lucien. I just want them to go on a quest together and be mad and petty the whole time until the end. Like maybe Lucien goes on a little quest to free the phoenix queen from her curse. And Elaine swears she’s not jealous or anything. But she somehow MUST go on this quest with him.... Eris & Az. Eris is like literally the only person who can truly get under Azriel's skin and make him lose control and I just yearn for a true enemies to lovers arc. Like a storyline where Eris is trying to overthrow his father and Azriel is just there spying and helping undermine the whole Autumn Court with him via Rhysand's orders. And he's so mad he has to help Eris but they're forced to work together. And maybe Eris knows they're true mates but he's terrified Azriel will never forgive him for Mor, even though there's more to the story. And well, okay you can all see how l've thought about this a lot…”
“This is how I think it's going to happen according to the last extra chapter of book 5. I think Azriel has to have sex with Elain and they will have to be together at some point but I don't think it's going to be the couple he's going to end up with. I think Azriel is a bit confused if he feels attraction to Elain but he hasn't even managed to finish what he had with Mor. Even when Rhysand tells him about it, he doesn't say anything. He has issues to close but I think like the story with Gwyn more and how he saved her and helped her train and that something comes out of that, it seems more interesting to me from my perspective.”
These crazy theories are based on nothing but fanon. Canon text for these ideas does not exist. Well, besides the bit about Azriel and Elain wanting to have sex--we're definitely going to read that eventually hehe. Ummmm, also: Mor prefers females, so she and Azriel aren't going to have some sort of romance. Like what? And may I just say also that I hate the Azris ship sm. It's ridiculous. There's no reason behind it whatsoever.
"Hear me out: Azriel and Bryce."
Bryce has a damn mate who she's completely and utterly in love with. Why on earth would she want to be with Azriel I do think Hunt and Azriel would get along well hehe.
You know, it’s my fault for having Instagram. But I also have found the most beautiful community of Elriels there, so really I’m grateful. And BLESS THE SWEET ELRIEL SOULS holding their own in the comments! I saw comments like this, too:
"My vote: free choice for women. 🫶 Elain said NO to Lucien and said YES to Azriel. In a series where the basic premise is women's rights and equality, you would think that the next female protagonist would choose which guy she wants. I would be very surprised if it were any different. The next book also takes up another such theme (just like Feyre and Nesta). Why exactly should Elain surrender to her misery when SJM has already addressed the rejection of the bond in ACOMAF?"
✨ Girl, thank you, I love you!
Sending love to all the Elriels out there--we only have to wait a little longer for ACOTAR 6! 🌸🗡️🦇
