#proelain

[jardindesombres]

I’m so obsessed with that moment between Elain and Azriel :

The fact that she just arrived in a new house, a new environment — but she doesn’t look at this new place. Or her sister. No. The first thing she does when she gets there is look at HIM.

[ater-love]

I will never get over Elain kissing Azriel on the cheek.

Azriel saving her, keeping her in his arms, asking for someone to break her shackles while his wings were shredded

And Elain thanking him by getting in her tippy toes and kissing his cheek

[dameaylins]

on my "anti elain/anti elriels are allergic to reading comprehension" tirade; taking the word of nesta (who is literally proven in the same book to be unreliable when it comes to her perspective of elain with her "elain is like a dog" comment that cassian later disproves) on blind faith about how elain would love the spring court or that it was "made for someone like her" simply because it has flowers when, in the first book, we are explicitly told that there is no gardening done in the spring court- which is what elain actually enjoys about flowers, the actual process of gardening and getting her hands dirty. it's like sjm is trying to tell us something about elain and how fundamentally no one in the inner circle (cough, besides azriel, cough) understands her as a person.

[cinnibelle]

dear elain lover 🌹💭🍰,

1.  what about elain’s character do you love?

2.  what scene of the seer’s is your favourite?

3.  what is your top theory for the quiet dreamer’s upcoming book?

4.  anything else you’d like to say about the lovely fawn?

I forgot I had this draft from several weeks back, apologies 🙇‍♀️!

MY FIRST ANON 🤧🤍‼️ hello sweet nonnie 💖! I don’t talk on here but I would love to talk your ear off about Elain.

I don’t even know where to begin!

1. My adoration for Elain comes a lot from my understanding of her character. I connect with her so deeply- her softness and kindness which is taken as a weakness. The fact that she does get angry but holds her tongue to not inconvenience others. I do believe she masks and had to raise to her mother’s expectations, flitting about a ball and smiling because that’s what she was groomed to do. I relate a lot to that especially as an INFP, I am very introverted but many can’t tell because how I was expected to be cordial and read cues and respond appropriately, appeasing my mother.

Many are SHOCKED when I tell them I am in fact NOT extroverted, that I do a good job at “playing sociable” and when I burn out or I am comfortable in silence among a familiar, they find it rude. And so, I see a lot of myself in Elain. I think the character we see “glowing with health” is slowly becoming comfortable showing her true self. I don’t think this “extroverted” persona was ever real, the same as Nesta’s cruel one wasn’t either. There are definitely aspects of their personality that were always true but they lived first under their mother’s fist, then impoverished and traumatized, then just traumatized and war beaten.

But acosf Elain makes me SO excited for where her character is going especially with her wittiness and charm. The small fire that we see with statements like “Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” lets me know she is next and ready to show her teeth. 🩷( Added: the double meaning and parallel with the necklace to Elain- a thing of lovely, secret beauty, who’s true depth of color show in a certain light- it makes it clear we don’t know all Elain has to offer and that she DOES have a true self that only Azriel can read and see 🤍. A thing of secret, lovely beauty.)

2. I have SO MANY but I guess we can start with where I actually began to develop a true fondness for her. Her genuine curiosity during the first dinner shared with the batboys reassured me that despite the fear they grew up with, there would ALWAYS be a place at her table for Feyre and extended family. I adore the moment she clutches her fork- small, gentle and frail Elain,ready to wield it against formidable Illyrian warriors. And the small smile Azriel has at seeing that ❤️. But she easily shifts from ideas of impaling them with her fork to asking Azriel “can you truly fly” to which Azriel (who barely small talks with strangers, or even.. doesn’t speak at all even among family) begins speaking to her with ease. And she even looks to him for reassurance and comfort throughout the meal. And I think it is THAT scene that told me Feyre can always come back to her sisters, there would be no splitting between her families and they can gradually heal and have a life they’ve never could’ve imagined before. Together. It’s not my FAVORITE, I have so many favorite Elain moments so I hope I have satisfied with the one that definitely made me like her 🫂!

Bonus: One of my favorite scenes to remind people of is when she has to take a shot of whiskey before a very stressful solstice 😆!

3. Mm controversial ones I suppose, it is so dangerous to even utter you like Elain out here let alone theorize on her without having someone seethe 🥲 but I can share the ones that I do think about!

• Elain asked for sunlight because they dull her visions. In Crescent City we learn “what blinds an oracle? Light.” Elain was lost in the murk and continued to be a hermit *until* Azriel’s understanding of her power freed her. Their understanding made her feel less alone. She’s overall a very misunderstood character both in and out of the book, but she sought understanding more than anything. It made her feel less scared of what she was seeing. If this theory is true, it is possible Azriel’s power of shadowsinging will complement her own. That if she needs a dim environment (as she had when scrying), Azriel will be able to give her one. They are the eyes and the ears of the Night Court. Literally.

• The necklace represents Elain and Azriel knew that when choosing it. There’s a thread somewhere on it, I don’t have the link. I just have this saved because it blew my mind!! If someone has the link please share 🙏

The stained glass motif, the fact no one knows Elain truly yet Azriel can tell when she lies, they can read each other without words ! Her true depth of colors when shown in a certain light 🥹 being overlooked and seen even by the fandom as “plain” but she has SO MUCH IN HER, such beauty to show. I know a lot of people say we will never see that necklace again but I think this is so much more intentional and important than the nondescript gift Cassian himself “gave away” to the river. I think especially being that Azriel put it in FATE’S hand and Elain’s whole theme being about what she is fated to, what she WANTS to do and how she sees fate and can perhaps change it.

Which ONTO THE THIRD THEORY I REALLY LIKE

• Cassian’s own “death fate” was thwarted by Elain in ACOWAR. When she says “No, it will not.” she has foreseen his death. He was MEANT TO DIE in that battle. He almost did, had our kingslayer not stepped out of shadow to change that fate. She was reassured by Azriel that truthteller would never fail her, that it strikes true so she used that to kill the king and effectively changed the fate. I really don’t like when I hear Azriel coddles her when here we have a scene Elain rejects Cassian’s knife, likely so he has more to defend himself, likely because she is UNSURE of her own abilities- and Azriel steps forward and disregards that hesitation, setting the dagger in her palm, promising her it will serve her true.

I do think we will have a reflection on that scene and discover and understand the extent of her fear, confusion, and trauma back then. And that Azriel was there to see her, reassure her and gave her purpose and life again. We see a total switch between acowar and acofas/acosf where Elain is much more at ease, “glowing with health” and vowing to practice her powers.

I CAN’T WAIT TO READ HER BOOK. I cannot.

4. My close out thoughts are just: give Elain a chance. Everyone else gets grace and love for their flaws and indecencies and this girl grows flowers happily and gets tossed about.

[enchantmentandshadows]

Elriel Month | Shy Glances & Unrestricted Touches

Word Count: 2,413

Content Warning: None

Theme: Fluffy & Sweet

Song Suggestion: “Tell Her You Love Her” - Echosmith Featuring Mat Kearney

“And just HOW do you know I was watching?” She asked haughtily, very aware that his warm hands still rested on her waist.

"What kind of Spymaster would I be if I DIDN'T notice?" He asked, looking down at her, the green in his hazel eyes looking especially vibrant in the garden. Elain's heart raced at his nearness, his touch, his scent.

Elain closed her eyes and smiled, tilting her head back to let the warm sun kiss her face. She didn’t fret when a gentle breeze took her sunhat, letting it fall to the grass as she dabbed a handkerchief over her neck. Today was a good day, they all were lately, each better than the last. She’d stopped counting the good days months ago, when they far exceeded the bad but she hadn’t stopped appreciating them. Every day she found something to be grateful for, something special, beautiful.

The quiet rustling of paper had the corners of her mouth quirking up as she turned to her normally very quiet companion. Today, she was grateful to have Azriel in the garden keeping her company. He sat back, one booted ankle crossed over the other as he read through a stack of reports. Though, presently, his eyes were on her instead of his reports, a faint blush creeping over his cheeks as his eyes darted back to the pages in his hands.

Elain couldn't help but admire the way the sun shone through his outstretched wings, filtering through in dark reds and golds. If she had Feyre’s talent, she thought, she’d paint him just like this. His wings shifted slightly and she quickly turned her attention back to the peonies she’d been tending lest she be caught staring. He was so easy to admire after all, so beautiful.

Elain blushed, mentally scolding herself for how often she thought of the Shadowsinger. Of his thick hair, always perfectly tousled as if even the wind couldn't help but run its fingers through it. She thought of his handsome face, his kind smile and eyes that seemed to see straight to her soul. She though of the strong arms that had carried her as if she were light as a feather and she thought of his hands. Strong but gentle hands she found so beautiful, hands she’d imagined on her bare skin more than a few times.

A light, that's exactly what Elain Archeron was. Even in the darkest of her days he’d seen it, an undying ember of hope that lived within her. It made her positively radiant beyond her obvious physical beauty.

Like calls to like. Maybe that's why even the sun seemed to worship her, bathing her in it's light while it basked in HER glow. The rays making her strands of honey gold hair glow as they wove through the soft brown curls cascading down her back. How many times had he dreamed about running his fingers through those thick tresses? More than he'd ever admit and too many to count.

He smiled to himself when his shadows whispered that she'd been watching him. Now he watched as she turned to the light, eyes closed as she let it warm her. He could almost imagine what it would feel like, to stand before her and press his lips to hers. How soft and warm that kiss would be, how sweet she would taste and what a kiss like that might mean. That maybe, Elain cared for him as much as he'd grown to care for her.

He took one last look at her before turning back to his reports, watching her weave through the garden in his periphery, listening to her soft footsteps and occasional humming, sometimes quietly joining her though he doubted she could hear.

"How are the new additions faring?" Azriel asked, his smooth voice drawing Elain's attention once more.

"Well," she began, clearly happy to have been asked. "The wisteria is positively thriving and the tulip bulbs you were kind enough to bring me from the continent are nearly ready to bloom. I've planted so many, it'll be like a sea of colors."

She went on about all her latest changes to the garden, pausing only when she thought she'd perhaps talked too much and had begun to bore him.

"I had no doubt they would thrive in your care." He offered with a smile, forearms resting on his knees as he listened to her with rapt attention. "Until we can get you to the continent, I'll bring the continent to you."

"One day." She said, offering him a shy smile and a nod of thanks. He knew what it meant to her, how long she dreamed of seeing the continent with her sisters. How she'd always imagined her father joining them. True, it wasn't the same as going, but the gesture was no less thoughtful, especially when he was likely away on important court business. That he'd thought of her at all touched her more than she would ever be able to tell him.

Azriel stood and stretched, his sun warmed wings extending before tucking back behind him. Elain admired his lean form, the wide sweep of his wings and the way the sun glinted off his cobalt Siphons and his eyes, eyes that were looking straight at her. She saw the faint color on his cheeks and Elain knew he'd caught her staring this time. Quickly, she turned her attention to the rose in her hand. Carefully, snipping it from the bush and laying it with the rest she'd collected.

"As usual you are too kind." She said nervously, snipping another rose. "I haven't planted the seeds you brought me from the Winter Court yet, I'm hoping I'll have better luck them when the weather cools."

Met with silence, she looked up to find him watching her now. She couldn't stop the blush she knew was creeping over her cheeks under his soft gaze. Her heart fluttered every time he looked at her like that, and lately that had been quite often.

Azriel took one step toward her, then another and another, his eyes never leaving hers. Those warm brown eyes, full of so much understanding, hope and love.

"And the roses, how are they coming along?" He asked, watching her delicate fingers trace along the edges of the petals before leaning in to take in its sweet scent.

"Perfectly happy here." She answered softly. "They had a bit of trouble at first but now their roots are strong, they're flourishing beautifully.

He couldn't help but think the same about her. How happy he was that she lovingly called the Night Court her home now. Even if in the dark recesses of his mind that fear still existed, that one day she might accept the bond and make a home for herself elsewhere. Far from Night. Far from him.

Her eyes flicked from the rose back to him and he took another step, as if waiting for her permission, as if she willed it so. Each step brought her into better view, no longer so hidden by the lush greenery of the garden.

"Az!"

She started as he froze, just close enough to spot the freckles that danced across the bridge of her nose.

"Cassian." He answered, turning toward his friend as he made to meet him halfway. So close.

Elain's heart sank as the distance between them grew, even as his shadow seemed to try to stretch to meet her before his retreat.  It was nothing, she told herself. A simple conversation like many they'd had before, there was nothing remarkable about today, nothing different...aside from that look.

She tried to busy herself with her roses again but it was no use. She hung on his every word, listening to him and Cassian discuss looming problems with the Illyrian forces. Selfishly, she hoped he wouldn't be sent away to help with those problems. As it was, she found that she already missed him on days he didn't turn up for family dinners.

Judging by his tone, Azriel didn't wish to oversee the Illyrians either. Not wanting to eavesdrop further on what seemed to be a tense conversation, Elain found herself wandering deeper into the garden until she could only faintly make out Azriel's voice. She let the timbre and cadence of it soothe her as she wandered and wove through, snipping and collecting blooms as she went. Eventually, she settled in a spot a safe distance away that allowed them privacy while she admired the garden and the Shadowsinger.

Azriel half listened to Cassian, in the end he knew Cass would unload all the mounting issues, but be the one to go. The one to face the Illyrian's ire for bothering to help. Azriel just didn't have it in him to pretend to play nice for long enough to get anything accomplished. He found he'd much rather be here, staring into the lovely brown eyes that now peered at him between flowering branches in the distance.

"Fine, I'll go." Cassian said without argument, "But next time you're coming with me. It'll be good for you." Cassian said, clapping him on the back.

"Next time." Azriel agreed with a nod, like he did every time they had this conversation.

Elain knew he'd seen her but she couldn't bring herself to look away, not until she pricked her finger on a thorn as she carelessly reached for another rose. She gasped, snatching her hand back and cradling it, a bead of crimson blood resting at her fingertip. She watched as the small wound quickly healed and used a clean handkerchief to wipe the tiny ruby of blood away.

She stilled for a moment, suddenly realizing the garden had gone quiet. She looked up, searching for any sign of Azriel, but he was gone. Likely back inside the manor with Cassian. She craned her neck, hoping he might have returned to his reports but his seat remained empty.

“Damn.” She breathed, not wanting their moment to have been cut so short. Not when it felt like some new version of what they were was ready to bloom. They regularly caught each other staring, shared secret smiles when no one else was watching. So many times he’d brushed by her, and she’d reached out, fingertips lightly brushing over his hand as he passed.

"Have you lost something?" Azriel's voice asked playfully from behind her.

She gasped and spun to face him, Azriel's hands gripping her waist, stopping her before she backed into the thorny roses she'd been hiding behind.

“Azriel,” She laughed, playfully scolding him. “You scared me half to death!"

“I apologize, Lady.” Azriel chuckled, not all sorry for catching her staring or for having an excuse to touch her.

“Yes, your laughing sounds very regretful.” She scolded, laughing herself.

“It’s difficult to have any regrets in my current position.” He admitted, his heart aching over how right this felt. Still, he had to be careful, Elain wasn’t just anyone, not to his family and not to him.

“I DO wonder,” He started, “How you could be startled at all.” A mischievous grin played at his lips. “You were watching so intently."

Elain narrowed her eyes even as a pretty blush colored her cheeks.

“And just HOW do you know I was watching?” She asked haughtily, very aware that his warm hands still rested on her waist.

"What kind of Spymaster would I be if I DIDN'T notice?" He asked, looking down at her, the green in his hazel eyes looking especially vibrant in the garden. Elain's heart raced at his nearness, his touch, his scent.

“Translation, YOU were watching ME.” She smiled up at him, looking too proud of herself.

“Every chance I get.” He admitted, the confession surprising them both.

"You're hurt." He said, before she could respond. His eyes resting on the hand she still cradled to her chest.

"Yes-no, I was." She clarified, stumbling over her words as he took her hand in his own, carefully looking it over.

"I pricked my finger is all." She says, sheepishly extending her now healed finger for him to see.

"Dangerous business, gardening." He said, heart thundering in his chest as he raised her hand, pressing a kiss to her fingertip. He didn't know what possessed him to be so forward, but neither did he regret it.

The softest touch of his lips on her skin sent a sparkling energy coursing through Elain.

Slowly, her lips parted as she silently watched him, wishing to feel his lips against hers next.

"But worth the risk." She breathed.

Unthinking, she stepped forward, resting her free hand on his chest, beside his glittering Siphon. If she were braver, she would pull him in and kiss him herself instead, she let the rhythm of his heartbeat steady her nerves as he pressed another kiss to the palm of her hand.

She couldn't stop herself then, from tenderly caressing his cheek as his hand ghosted down her forearm and came to rest on her waist again.

"The best things usually are." He answered, as he held up a freshly trimmed rose, no doubt magicked into his hand with the help of his clever shadows.

"Is that the one that pricked me?" She asked with narrowed eyes, settling into the comfort of their closeness.

"It had to be done.” He said, smiling as he carefully tucked it behind her ear, the soft peach rose looking perfect nestled in her golden brown curls.

Elain felt it then, that bravery she'd lacked earlier as she leaned forward. Azriel didn't dare back away, not even as his shadows whispered that the High Lady was fast approaching. No, he too leaned in, Elain’s fearlessness catching.

"Elain?!" Feyre called out.

 Elain's eyes widened as she turned to her sister's voice before glancing back at Azriel who was already backing away toward his shadows.

"Tomorrow?" He asked, offering an apologetic smile.

Elain nodded. "Dinner?" She asked, smiling as he nodded before disappearing into the shadows completely.

“Elain!  There you are!” Feyre called, smiling as she approached.

“Here I am.” Elain breathed, pulse still racing and skin flushed.

“I don’t know what you do out here for hours, everything looks perfect to me.” She said, gathering the flowers Elain had collected.

“Oh, just planting seeds, seeing what grows.” Elain answered quietly.

“Well, you’re as red as a rose, come inside and have lunch with me.” Feyre asked, nodding toward the house. Sensing she wouldn’t take no for an answer, Elain nodded, looping her arm through Feyre’s as they headed back.

On the way, Elain noticed Azriel’s stack of reports missing from his usual spot, her discarded sunhat sitting in its place. Tomorrow, she would see him again tomorrow and perhaps that boldness they both seemed to feel today would return tomorrow too.

[shadowhunterssizzy]

So i’ve promised myself not to engage with the whole theories/ship wars stuff anymore because sometimes i get really mad about certain comments but today i feel petty and full of rage after reading a lovely comment on FB about pregnancies and stuff so here we go:

1- ACOTAR fandom has a really big, BIG, big problem with fertility and misoginy in general but this has been accentuaded since ACOSF. If you’re a big sarah janet maas stan don’t get mad at me but i need to vent about a few things. The pregnancy trope in ACOSF was harmful, painful and triggering. She wrote that scene just to redeem Nesta instead of having her talk and figure out her shit with her own sister. Giving up her powers to change feyre’s pelvis and save her baby was extremely painful to read and to witness but the conversations after that are even more harmful, however, i’m not going to exent Sarah from her responsibility at this because let’s be real she’s the main problem here. By changing nesta’s and feyre’s pelvis and being vague about elain she left open the fact that maybe elain couldn’t have children in the future. And of course, people are going to use that as a ‘’excuse’’ to defend their ship or attack the ship they don’t like. ‘’Azriel is not going to end up with elain bc she can’t have his babies’’, ‘’she destroyed elriel with the womb stuff because elain won’t have his kids’’, ‘’she said we would see a lot of kids in the future books but elain’s womb is the same so she can’t be with azriel’’, ‘’azriel and elain aren’t endgame because her pelvis is the same and she would die in childbirth’’... just SHUT UP. Shut the fuck up because first of all this is very nasty stuff. . Some women can’t have kids. Some women don’t even want to have kids. Some women want to talk with their partners and choose if they want to have kids. Some women aren’t CIS . Some women had an abortion and lost their kid. Some women had a traumatic childbirth like Feyre and lost their kid or suffer from trauma about it. Some women are forced to have kids. My point here is that every time you bring up feyre and the pelvis plot you can hurt someone who is real and who is reading your comments thinking damn... i can’t have kids... if azriel can’t be with elain bc her pelvis is not okay does this mean i won’t either?. Does this mean my partner would leave me for someone with flexible bones who can carry their babies?. Give.me.a.break. Seriously. Stop it. I’s been 2 years since ACOSF came out and every day i wake up and i see a bad take about feyre, her baby, and elain’s pelvis. It seems like the star of the book is elain and her vagina because you sure as hell talk more about her pelvis than her. This is insane. I don’t know how sarah is going to end up the books but if these people are right i’m going to be really mad.

2- Lucien deserves happiness so therefore he has to be with elain?. Oh, so you admit it?. You see women as a prize that has to be given to a male because he’s been suffering?. What about elain?. Sometimes i do worry about the friends that are surrounded by these people because imagine asking for advice and being told: ‘’Karen, sweetie, he’s traumatized. You need to be with him. He’s nice, he’s respectful, he’s been suffering, you need to choose him and shut up because i feel pity for him. You are the consolation prize’’. In which moment are women the prize men deserve just because they suffered?. Elain suffered as well. A LOT. Feyre suffered. Nesta did. And yet i don’t see anyone saying omg but elain deserves this guy because poor thing, she went naked into the cauldron and changed against her will. Where’s the pity for elain?. Where’s her agency?. Why is always lucien this, lucien that but never Elain?. I don’t understand but sometimes it is scary to read some of these theories. I feel as if the handmaid’s tale has become something really real thanks to the ACOTAR fandom. 

Margaret Atwood, you need to have a talk with Sarah J Maas, please and thank you

[queenofterranova]

Azriel the Gardener

Hear me out: Azriel’s secret hobby is gardening. He has beautiful gardens at Rosehall that he has designed. The night he was listening to Elain’s plans to expand the garden (pass beyond 3:00 am), he was totally taking notes to steal Elain’s ideas for Rosehall. ;)  

[gopeachllama]

crack theory but not really a crack theory:

what if elain is the fourth dread trove object?