shadowsingcalore

[shadowsingcalore]

Tbh I think fandom generally needs to get better at sitting with the uncomfortable fact that a story/fanwork/meme/whatever can hurt one person and help another

[shadowsingcalore]

From tangled sheets to training rings ❤️‍🔥 Gwyn and Azriel are sated, satisfied and ready to burn off some extra energy in the ring (cue the shadows helping out 👀)

Happy @gwynrielweeksofficial 🩵 artoffrostandflame strikes once again with a hot commission of Gwyn and Azriel and it was such a fun process working on this!!

[shadowsingcalore]

"But another fated mates story would be so boring!?"

Babes I'm gonna hold your hand when I tell you that SJM has been telling us for almost a decade now that she is a Fated Mates author. Maybe don't read her, if you think the fated mates trope has become stale and boring. I know for a fact that there are books out there about characters defying mate bonds to be with other characters. Go read those.

"But SJM said she wanted to explore a rejected mate bond and Elucien has the perfect set up for that!"

SJM actually never said she was going to or was interested in writing a rejected mate bond. She wrote only that the idea of a rejected mate bond was interesting and that it made her question what exactly makes a mate bond and if it was fate, something we chose, or both. That's it.

As for the idea that Elucien would be the perfect set up. No actually it wouldn't. Elucien would actually be the worst set up for a rejected mates storyline because of who Elain and Lucien are as characters. Both of them having suffered so much with previous lovers and dealing with a lot of guilt and (on Lucien's part) self loathing, means that a rejected mate bond is actually NOT a great narrative choice for them.

And how can you claim Elucien would be boring when Elriel is literally just another retelling of Hades and Persephone/Darkness and Spring story that WE ALREADY HAD WITH FEYSAND.

Meanwhile Elucien is a fresh and unique take on the Fated Mates trope where both individuals know about the bond before they get to know each other, and is the perfect set up for a story about what makes a Mate Bond and how fate and personal choice can be wrapped up in each other and yall think SJM is gonna throw that (and four books of build up) out the window for ANOTHER Feysand retelling? lol Okay.

[shadowsingcalore]

Az, Gwyn, and power

Something I’ve seen going around a lot lately, in the past couple of months, is that if Azriel and Gwyn were to enter into a relationship, it would be unequal or imbalanced, basically that Azriel has more power than Gwyn and so it would make for a potentially… bad (? definition tbd) relationship.

I’ve already explained why the theory about Elain not knowing how the bond works makes her look like either stupid, or ignorant, or supremely passive. I’m assuming that is not the intention of the stans.

Now lemme explain why this interpretation, of a gwynriel relationship being inherently imbalanced and problematic for being so, would make Azriel look like an asshole.

I keep seeing people saying “because this person has power and this person doesn’t, this thing is bad”. No. That’s not how it works. Power is much more complex and nuanced than that, and it depends on how the individual decides to wield it. There are multiple ways that someone can gain, retain, and use power. Some have more access than others, for different reasons. However, it is not inevitable that those with more power will exploit those with less.

In the post about power I mentioned Rhys, and he is a great example of why having power isn’t necessarily a bad thing for everyone around him. The only thing that keeps Rhys from literally every sort of privilege is that he is half Illyrian. Other than that, he has everything going for him. However, he rarely, if ever, takes advantage of his power to the detriment of others. We could probably argue about why this is or isn’t true and to what extent, but the point is that we have other examples of similar fae - Beron - who wield the same types of power and do not gaf about anyone else. Rhys intentionally allows the IC to have a voice in what happens in the NC, he listens to them, he takes their advice, and sometimes he does a shitty job but he tries to avoid ruling with an iron fist.

Back to gwynriel.

So the idea that Gwyn and Azriel cannot be equals in a relationship initially came from the idea that Gwyn is, somehow, at 28 years old, mentally and emotionally a child. We know that this is NOT true. It has been confirmed by the writer, who did hear explanation of the different rates at which fae age. So her denial that Gwyn is a child was not out of context. She knew what people were thinking.

However, there are still issues that people bring up regarding Gwyn being a priestess and Azriel being the spymaster. But let’s be clear about who Gwyn and Azriel are:

Gwyn is a priestesses. She is not a nun. She spends her time learning and aiding others in that pursuit.

She protected children when her temple was under attack.

Gwyn is Carynthian. One of the only two women in history to earn that distinction. That accomplishment took intelligence, cunning, cooperation, and strength.

Gwyn is mostly High Fae.

Gwyn is a SA survivor.

Azriel rescued her.

Azriel is a spymaster.

Azriel is also Carynthian.

He is part Illyrian.

Azriel’s role in the library is not “supervisor”. He is not their camp counselor. He is not their authority figure. He brings women to the library who have been victimized, and then he leaves. 

The two people who are actually in charge of the library and its citizens safety are Morrigan and Rhysand.

Combining all those facts with Gwyn’s age, Gwyn is not Azriel’s inferior in any way. No matter which way you look at it, there is nothing about Azriel that inherently puts him in a position to abuse his power.

She is also not his inferior in terms of maturity (while I can see that being an argument, it would need to be equally applied to nessian, feysand, elucien, e*riel, etc…. and it’s not. Unless an sjm anti is reading this, then yeah, I can see them making that argument.)

So let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that Azriel does hold a position of authority over Gwyn. He doesn’t, but let’s just pretend that these arguments are actually valid.  If - if - Gwyn and Azriel were problematic as a relationship because of some power imbalance, then it stands to reason that that ship is problematic because Azriel is the type of person to exploit that imbalance.

Is that what y’all were going for when you try to say that gwynriel makes you feel uncomfortable??? Doubt it.

One last point about my list above - if y’all think that the fact that Azriel rescued Gwyn means that he can only see her that way, that he can only see her as an SA survivor and can never see beyond that, fails to recognize her growth and strength, even though he helped her to complete the Blood Rite Qualifier… again, that doesn’t say great things about Azriel (and maybe doesn’t say great things about people who would make that argument, since people are not defined by their trauma!)

I have seen (maybe? maybe I imagined this) a comparison between Azriel and Gwyn that he’s like… a teacher, and she’s the student, to explain why they are not an appropriate ship. The big problem with a teacher/student relationship is that the student in the scenario feels like they cannot say no. Your teacher is an authority, they are more mature, more knowledgeable, they have influence over whether you pass a class and get a good grade, they can tell your parents if you have been behaved or completing your work, etc. There are a lot of ways that a teacher can punish a student for not doing what they want. This is why those relationships are always frowned upon - it’s big dubcon territory, if not straight up noncon. 

However, again, Gwyn is participating in the Valkyrie training voluntarily. She lives at the library voluntarily. She is a priestess voluntarily. There is nothing that Azriel can do to Gwyn that would force her to comply with what he wants. Gwyn can tell Azriel to fuck off, to go choke, to eat dust, to go jerk off, and… nothing would happen. He would probably stop hanging around as much, but that’s… it. He has no actual power over her in the sense of being an authority figure or being in control of her life in any way.

Something that I almost put in that original post but didn’t because it was besides the point at the time, was that there are always power differences. People will always have differing levels of access to privilege and power. That does NOT mean that people can and must only ever be in relationships with people of similar levels or power/privilege. In that post I mentioned how feylin didn’t work out because Tamlin had so much access and Feyre had none - to compound this problem, he allowed her access to none. He did nothing to try to even the playing field, to educate or empower her. That’s what made it a problem. 

So do y’all think that Azriel would be like Beron? Someone willing to take the privilege he has and wield it over someone else like a cudgel? Or is he more like Rhys? Aware of his position and working to support - not manipulate - others? Because even if we were to accept the premise that there is a problematic power imbalance between Azriel and Gwyn, the only reason we should be uncomfortable with that is if we think that Azriel is the type of person who would exploit that imbalance. 

[shadowsingcalore]

old enough to remember when smut was called ‘lemons’ but young enough that i had absolutely no business knowing that smut was called ‘lemons’ at the time 

[shadowsingcalore]

Might fuck around and post how I would've written the Azriel BC if my intent, as SJM, was to make E|riel endgame

[shadowsingcalore]

I fear once my writing was shaded for literally zero reason on the ACOTAR Ship Debate Subreddit, I decided to bow out.

[shadowsingcalore]

hot take: if you treat fictional characters like real people with unbreachable autonomy and personal boundaries, maybe fandom isn't the space for you.

if you genuinely think a ship is "non-consensual" or "rapey" because two characters don’t like each other in canon do you think smut should even be allowed to exist? Because by your own standards, the author didn’t get “consent” from these characters to:

exist??

2. go through trauma

3. be shipped with anyone at all.

you can’t hold that sentiment consistently without revealing hypocrisy. if you hesitate to answer that without twisting yourself into knots, take the hint and reflect.

fandom spaces are collaborative and interpretive. if you treat canon as untouchable scripture, refuse to tolerate alternate interpretations, or shame people for exploring creative deviations, you are functionally conservative, pro-censorship and functionally anti-fandom.

please spare me the shallow "fiction affects reality" one-liner I'm sure you think makes a serious difference here. That statement demands nuance that I simply do not trust you to actually know how to effectively implement or understand. Yes, fiction can influence culture but the fanfic you hate-read on AO3 or the ship art you share to make fun of in your discord will rarely ever have the same cultural awareness or reach as something like 50 Shades ended up with to actually make noticeable impact. it is not impacting the broader cultural landscape i'm sure you may want to pretend it does so you can moralize preference and feel morally just, righteous or "correct" about text on a page.

which, again, is a functionally conservative and evangelical form of action to take. just because you're reading fairy smut doesn't mean you’re not employing the exact same false moral framework right wingers use to shame and control real people.

your personal distaste does not equate to cultural harm. unless you're willing to engage with how narrative framing, reach, and context differentiate depiction and endorsement, you’re not equipped to make that claim honestly. and i will never think you deserve to be in fandom spaces.

[shadowsingcalore]

I truly think some don’t realize how detrimental to both characters an Elain and Azriel pairing would be. Them being a couple would literally decimate their characters.

There’d be no growth, no healing for either of them because they’d still be stuck in the same old cycles.

Elain:

• Would still be stuck in a place she doesn’t seem to truly feel like she belongs

• Wouldn’t be allowed to do anything other than tend to her garden or bake if it were up to Azriel

• Wouldn’t heal from her trauma since Azriel doesn’t seem to think of that

• Would stay surrounded by darkness and violence that is canonically said to bother her

• Would most likely not find her courage and strength to stand up for herself like we know she can do

Azriel:

• Would stay in his self-loathing cycle

• Would constantly feel like he’d tarnish Elain with everything he’s done

• Would settle for less than what he deserves—not a mating bond and someone else who’s soul tied to another for the entirety of their life

• Would constantly feel like he has to hide a part of himself with Elain and never be his true self

• Would likely never heal from everything that clearly is ready to boil over after so long

I’m probably missing others, but just listing these makes me even more convinced that they’re not what each other needs. Yes, as of the latest book, they’re canonically attracted to one another but no relationship has a solid grounding on physical attraction alone. None of SJM’s endgame couples are based on physical attraction alone.

I want growth and healing for both characters and see them come into newer, stronger versions of themselves that I know is in them, deep down. But they won’t find that in each other.

[shadowsingcalore]

@separatist-apologist

[shadowsingcalore]

Rhys was old enough to go to war at 28 against Hybern 500 years ago but Gwyn is somehow "not old enough"/"mature enough"/"too young" for Azriel also at 28. Interesting! Have you considered not making yourself sound insanely fucking irrational and illogical for the sake of two people pretend kissing?

[shadowsingcalore]

characters who are undead. characters who die in the end and so they've been dead from the start. characters who are chased by death. characters that chase death. characters who died and came back to life. characters that die again and again and again. characters who consider their past self dead. characters who were born in someone else's corpse. characters that claw their way out of the grave. characters whose deaths leave such a gaping wound that even their absence is still a presence. characters who are emissaries of death. characters who are alive but consider themselves dead. characters whose deaths are ambiguous. characters whose existences are defined by death.

[shadowsingcalore]

gwynlain is so inspired because like y'all can try to pit them against each other as much as you want but the reality is that if Elain got too drunk at a bar after a break up, Gwyn would absolutely be that random DD sober girl in the bathroom who finds her there and helps hold her hair back without even realizing this is her bestie's sister but just because she's That Girl and Elain would be like "wowwww, you're so nice and pretty 🥺🥺 we should totally make out. hahahahaha." and Gwyn would be like "aw you're sweet and pretty too, but you're very drunk." then she'd call Elain a cab, help her in, and give her her number to text when she got home safe and Elain would save it in her phone as something ridiculous like "Beautiful Angel Lady From The Bar 😇💖💪🔥" and text her like fourteen embarrassing texts in a row as soon as she got home. then the next morning, Elain would wake up to find that in her phone without much context and be too mortified to follow up but then one day Nesta invites her to coffee to meet her friends and surely, you see my vision by now?

[shadowsingcalore]

fandom about some mf (is a man): you might dislike this character but you have to admit he's very interesting. even if you don't like him, he's a very well-written character. he's very complex. so even if you dislike him you should maybe reconsider that. because he's complex and interesting. and i think deep down he cares so much. there's a lot to analyze about his decisions, which he was force to make due to the terrible position he was put in. and if you don't like him you don't really understand the show tbh.

same fandom about a woman who has done comparable or much tamer things, with a much smaller fraction of fans: this may be a hot take but no one else has said this and i have to get this off my chest. some of you might like her but she is a TERRIBLE PERSON! she didn't have to do any of those things she did. she put herself into a bad situation, inconveniencing everyone around her and showing no remorse for it whatsoever. you may like her but i just don't get it!! if you like her or defend any of her actions, you are probably a real life abuser and hate women. so even if you do like her, maybe think about that. you can like her but you have to admit her flaws. otherwise you are encouraging women in real life to murder others and commit crimes, which is ignorant and wrong. her sympathetic scenes are not even canon because they're so manipulative, performative, and trite. such a waste of screen time very obviously trying to get us to feel bad for a MONSTER! she clearly didn't actually mean any of the good things she's done. deep down she is just a rotten human being with no motive but to make other people's lives miserable. i'm sorry but that's the truth.

[shadowsingcalore]

Where You Are: Moodboard Teaser(s)

Maven Callore was empty. 

Elara ensured as much. What better vessel to use for her own gain than someone she could mold since birth? Everything was going according to their plan. 

Until the Security officers find another Red with Silver abilities in Summerton. And the moment he laid eyes on her, Maven felt a want root in him that he knew without a doubt was truly his. 

How could he let that go?

Mare is gone. But Sarina is not. And she can't choose Cal over him if Cal isn't an option. 

Set during the end of the Red Queen and following the series forward. 

COMING SOON

[shadowsingcalore]

“Public libraries are such important, lovely places!” Yes but do you GO there. Do you STUDY there. Do you meet friends and get coffee there. Do you borrow the FREE, ZERO SUBSCRIPTION, ZERO TRACKING books, audiobooks, ebooks, and films. Have you checked out their events and schemes. Do you sign up for the low cost courses in ASL or knitting or programming or writing your CV that they probably run. Do you know they probably have myriad of schemes to help low income families. Do you hire their low cost rooms if you need them. Have you joined their social groups. Do you use the FREE COMPUTERS. Do you even know what your library is trying to offer you. Listen, the library shouldn’t just exist for you as a nice idea. That’s why more libraries shut every year