#I would never regift!

[rivercommastone]

glinda talking to her granny about all the crazy things that wanted criminal did: AND she stole my hat!

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Sometimes I remember my early years in the basketball dyke fandom and suddenly the fact that I married a car fandom fenme makes A LOT more sense

[aleixis]

— ᗩᑫᑌᗩᖇIᑎᑌᗰ ₊˚.༄

0.6k words

fluff   request   probably ooc rin   googled shark facts >:3   

when it comes to dates, rin prefers nice dinners at a restaurant or movies at home, not crowded areas. but you are you. you are his girlfriend, and anything you want to do, he’s willing to try once. but when you bring up how your friend gifted you two tickets to a local aquarium, and that it would be a waste to not go, rin hesitates.

though he could have told you to regift them, he knew that would disappoint you. he saw the amounts of shark and other marine merchandise in your room. hell, your room was themed like it was under the sea, and so was everything you owned. so, rin holds his tongue and smiles, agreeing that it would be a great idea. rin would much, much rather not walk around a fish exhibit with crowds upon crowds and running children squealing.

but, when he sees the sparkle of joy in your eye when you recognize a marine animal, the smile on your face widening as you excitedly list facts about the animal, rin can't help but feel warm inside.

“–and, rin! did you know that sharks actually feel like sandpaper?” you tell rin, your eyes glittery. rin hums in response and smiles, letting you go back to your rambling. you gaze at the penguins one last time before grabbing onto rin's hand and dragging walking with him towards the next exhibit.

as you two reach the next exhibit, you smile with giddiness.

"look, rin!! they have a touch tank set up– we can pet lemon sharks!" you run over to the tank, waving rin towards you. rin smiles, your excitement infecting him as well. you and rin listen to the aquarium worker's instructions carefully before settling your hands into the cold water, fingertips brushing against the rough skin of the lemon shark. you smile with giddiness, snapping some pictures that you'd post later.

"they do feel like sandpaper," rin offhandedly remarks. you turn your head towards rin, your eyes lighting up.

"how'd you know that!"

rin mumbles under his breath, "you told me just now, remember?"

you smile to yourself– you always knew rin would be listening to you, even if it didn't seem like he was.

the employee informed you, as well as the other children at the touch tank that their time was up, and to enjoy the rest of their day. rin handed you a paper towel from a dispenser nearby to dry your hands before enclosing them in his.

"where should we go next?" he asked. "there's a shark section nearby, do you wanna go there?"

you smile up at rin and swing your arm. "yeah! let's go!!"

rin holds your hand in his as he walks with you to the shark exhibits, stopping in front of the main tank and display of the aquarium. in the tank were multiple species of fish and other marine life, but the most eye-catching was the whale shark. your grip on rin's hand tightened, your smile widening.

"oh my god, rin! it's a whale shark! i didn't know they had them in here, look! it's so cool, right? look at the patterns on it's back, it's so pretty!" you exclaim excitedly, the familiar spark in your eyes reappearing.

rin feels a warmth in his chest blooming ever so slightly. he looks up in the same direction you are and remarks, "yeah, it is pretty."

you giggle at his response, like you always do. his gaze shifts from the swimming whale shark down to you, still admiring the shark.

"i think you're more prettier, though.”

bonus content !

"hey rin, where'd you get that keychain from?" charles asks innocently, pointing toward rin's sports bag. a small shark-shaped charm hung from his sports bag's zipper, staring back in all it's cute glory. rin scowls in response, snatching the bag from charles' view. unfortunately, he was one step too late.

"huh? keychain??"

"i bet it's matching with your girlfriend– you never have cutesy things."

"i wanna see! i wanna see!"

choruses of voices flooded the PXG locker rooms, all too invested in rin's keychain. he slams his locker and storms out, his face hot.

"shut it, you lukewarm bastards!"

tysm for the request nonnie hope u enjoyed this !! if u think the bonus part is too similar to the bonus part for my sae fic you'd be correct !!! i wanted to include a keychain part so that's why ^_^;; thank u for ur time reading and make sure to reblog comment & follow 4 more bangers :3 !! luv u all mwa <33

taglist : @why2277 @koffeekat @skullvgirl

[allpiesforourown]

i am Thinking about the city that only allows married couples and on one hand i am obsessed with big beefy shizun dressing up as sy’s wife. i would, however, like to present the inverse for your consideration

binghe thinks about shen yuan dressed up as his pretty little wife and is immediately desperately extremely interested. (he needs to see it he needs to see it he needs to see it aaaaAAAA!!!!!)

he wraps sy in fine silks, and when sy says ‘really shizun, isn’t this a bit much just to sneak into a city?’ binghe shushes him and drapes more jewelry over him. if shen yuan is going to be his wife, he’s going to treat him like his wife. which also means he’s wearing a weimao, because nobody gets to see binghe’s wife’s face!! that’s *his* wife!!

ough or maybe he’d put sy in a mili to keep his whole body covered. it’s not practical but binghe is possessive of his wife—disciple. his disciple (yes these are all from different time periods but liu mingyan’s miansha isn’t even historically acurate so i am playing in the playground)

i lost track of my thoughts but i am simply picturing binghe peacocking through the street because his favorite disciple is dressed up all pretty and has his lovely face covered. people can only look in envy while binghe gets to see sy after he takes the veil off

and he may or may not leave once sy is asleep to jork it furiously bc fuck fuck fuck shen yuan is too pretty like this oh no oh shit oh fuck

sorry for babbling but not sorry for Picturing this in my terrible little head

COOK ANON, COOK!!

Binghe: a-yuan has to wear makeup!

Shen Yuan: but no one will see it under the veil so why-

Binghe grabbing shen yuans chin and putting rouge on his lips: don't think about it too hard, just do as your shizun says...

The clothes having very very subtle embroidery that resembles binghes hidden demon mark and Binghe's sooo happy to mark shen yuan all over..

Bonus points if after they return to the bamboo house, shen yuan changes out of the clothes and hands them back to binghe and says, "Shizun should return these to the tailor or regift them to a woman he fancies."

Binghe frowns and insists shen yuan keep them, but his disciple isn't having it... so binghe is left standing alone in his room holding the clothes and goes yeah I should get rid of these... I should..... and then he buries his face in the clothes and inhales shen yuans scent and decides he is never getting rid of these

[enbysiriusblack]

rereading lily's letter to sirius:

starting off strong with 'dear', very formal letter writing but also kinda endearing depends how you look at it. BUT she follows with his 'padfoot' soo it's def endearing. it already shows just how close the two are from those two words.

ofc harry's favourite present was the one sirius got him (#bestdogfather)

ofc sirius gets a 1yr old a toy broom (#funnestdogfather)

i love how chill lily is about harry almost killing the cat and smashing a vase. she's so the fun mum. also petunia and lily still sending each other christmas presents, like why do i find that so sad/sweet?? idk. i love their relationship sm it's so interesting. and ik some people are gonna be thinking 'oh petunia probably regifted the ugly vase' but no. i think she went shopping specifically for lily and picked it out thinking it looked great (she's got horrible taste)

lily saying james found it funny as if she didn't also. girl please, you know you found it so fucking funny. also james already planning out harry's quidditch career. the man is obsessed. (no war au hari def would've became a professional qudditch player i fear)

btw if you're not british, "we've had a very quiet birthday tea", basically means like an afternoon tea. they're not just drinking tea, they do have tea but also some food (like lunchy food, sandwiches and cakes) and sit down at a table and chat basically. and harry will likely also be opening presents during it too

harry kinda having a doting grandma with bathilda>>>

lily prioritising the order !! she's so responsible, smart, dedicated i love her. plus she's being so real about babies. like. yeah he ain't gonna remember it anyway (also i'm guessing this means like. sirius had an order mission so couldn't come to harry's birthday? but does this mean peter and remus did too? or was only sirius invited??)

james having trouble with just staying at home constantly <33 and trying to hide it so lily doesn't worry <333 cutest husband ever.

fuck dumbledoreeeee. i don't mind him sometimes, but how dare he take james' cloak (his family heirloom) so james and lily and harry can't go on secret outing together??? they are NOT made for staying inside. james needs his runs and flying and fresh air and chats to strangers and lily needs her woods and nature and hiking and camping.

"if you could visit, it'd cheer him up so much" SHE GETS THEM.. SHE GETS THEM

lily also calling peter "wormy", they're so also her best friends and not just james', do NOT even argue.

ik people argue this bit about the mckinnons as a proof lily was never close to marlene, but it so is proof of the opposite to me!! maybe i'm coldhearted, but i would NOT be crying all fucking evening just cause a family that i kinda know and am colleagues with one or a few of them got killed.. all evening??? ALL EVENING?? yeah, they were def close friends for sure. (and she's not just gonna single out marlene because it was ALL her family, it'd be a bit weird and disrespectful to only say marlene. especially if you, as a lot of people do, hc lily and marlene as roommates and close friends all throughout school. like lily would've visited marlene's family quite a few times. she'd know them fairly well)

lily getting ALL the gossip about dumbledore from bathilda. love that for her. also her not believing dumbledore was friends with grindelwald i'm giggling. she would've lost her mind at the idea of them as exes fr (also lily building up the suspense about dumbledore being friends with grindelwald by putting the "friends with grindelwald" part on the next page so he'd have to read the next page.. she totally didn't just run out of room. that was on purpose)

"lots of love" SCREAMING. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SM. lilypad ily. lilypad ily. bestfriends fr!!!!!!!

also not related to the text itself, but severus taking the page where lily says "lots of love" and cutting lily out of the photo of harry on his broomstick like... FUCKING MAN.. that was for SIRIUS. that's lily's love for SIRIUS. don't take her love, she didn't fucking mean it for you, don't try to pretend it was you, you absolute wanker.. anyway

[violetasteracademic]

Why do you think gwyn would be added as a love interest for azriel if they don’t end up as endgame? Why complicate the love triangle between elain/lucien/azriel?

Hello my lovely anon!

It can sometimes be hard to tell where the anonymous asks in my inbox are coming from. It is never my intention to argue or try to convince any other ships why they are wrong. I tag my work very carefully, ask my beloved rebloggers to do the same, and just want to stay in a cozy bubble. I think all ships are allowed, and the time I spend here breaking down the text and providing analysis is only for fun and comfort. I don't ever want or wish for my posts to end up in the wrong tags. Now that I've gotten that disclaimer out of the way, this is an ask where I can't *totally* tell what perspective it is coming from, but I am assuming it is being asked in good faith and I will answer how I typically do.

Point blank, I do not believe G/wyn was introduced as a love interest. Only Elain was.

I don't really know that I have anything else to add to that conversation, because people either think it was romantic or it wasn't. But I will say that I assume we can all agree on all sides that the bonus chapter is what led to the fervor of the G/wynriel ship as G/wyn quite literally replacing Elain as the romantic interest and not just a fun, enjoyable ship for those who don't jive with Elriel and want to carve out a space for themselves in the fandom. And as someone who has read all of SJM's bonus chapters and not just this one, I'm going to provide side by side comparisons using *only* bonus chapters that I can almost guarantee many people have not read- since most people don't read the bonus chapters. I still get comments on old tiktoks every day asking what the Azriel bonus chapter is and where to find it. And not once have I ever been asked about the myriad of other BC's out there.

Crescent City Spoilers ahead:

House of Sky and Breath has three bonus chapters. There is one in particular that is almost a carbon copy of G/wyn and Azriel's portion in his POV bonus, and it is the Tharion POV chapter with Hypaxia:

^^Both men head to a place where they assumed they would be alone, minds heavy and restless and needing to work off some tension before they could sleep- only to find their space already occupied.

^^They both flounder a bit with social niceties, awkwardness, being polite, the other person clearly wanting to be alone, and yet wind up falling into a conversation anyway.

^^ Both pairs experience surprise at being asked questions no one has ever asked them before. They also reveal information about themselves- and notably- both bonus chapters reveal heavy backstory or indications about unique or hidden powers.

^^ Both men experience some sort of lingering sensation that they could have sworn was happening after saying goodnight.

And last but not least:

Both Tharion and Azriel end on a particularly strong emotional note. Tharion is passing notes through Fitz back and forth with Hypaxia. He notes how he has never had such an instant, honest, and deep connection. He won't let anyone interfere with her birthright, and if she was in danger, he would risk everything he had to protect Hypaxia.

Azriel is secretly regifting a necklace to Gwyn, and feels truly happy at the thought that it might make her happy. He likes and respects her and is glad to think of being able to make her smile. (I of course think there is a reason for this, which I've broken down here but I also don't think it's necessary to minimize their friendship for this post.)

If you look at these two bonus chapters side by side, they are literally a copy and paste. Two people needing to be alone and winding up together, talking about things they have never talked about anyone with, and both men really powerfully feeling the strength and depth of a connection. And if you read Tharion's chapter in full, there are actually way more details of him talking about how beautiful and gorgeous she is, and how he has to stop himself from going down that road. But did this set up Hypaxia and Tharion as romantic love interests?

Nope. Hypaxia is queer as queer can be. Kitty only on her menu. But they develop a very genuine and close friendship. Because the thing is, SJM writes an incredible amount of deep and meaningful friendships between men and women. And they are always a blend of emotion, intimacy, a bit fun and flirty, full of banter, and true trust and connection. So as far as BC's, Azriel and G/wyn and Tharion and Hypaxia are the only comparable ones in her catalogue. And they are pretty damn comparable. It's also important to note that the Tharion and Hypaxia bonus chapter was included in the book where she is very much revealed as 100% queer and not even a little bi, so it's not like SJM was trying to create a red herring or a conversation. That's just how she writes her hetero platonic friendships. Take it up with her, man.

Meanwhile, the things that make it clear that a romantic interest is being introduced occurs in the Elain portion, and can be directly compared to the Nessian bonus chapter. Both men being willing to beg on their knees for a taste. Both men absolutely losing their minds over Elain and Nesta's scents. Both men knowing it was wrong, it was stupid, but being unable to stop themselves anyway. Both men having issues of what their family would think if they found out introduced (only Rhys DID find out and laid down that forbidden romance hard.)

Here's the thing- many people read Elain and Azriel as romantic for over four books and there were people out there like, nah, I don't see it, they are more like brother and sister. And then the bonus chapter confirmed, no, actually, they are wildly down bad and desperate for each other. Wanting to taste and touch and kiss each other- romantic interest confirmation. Fun and banter-y conversation occurring because two people needed to be alone but actually wound up in the same vicinity as someone else and had a deep conversation and talked about things they've never spoken about with anyone before-Platonic friendship. You can disagree. But it doesn't change the fact that right now, a group of fans are interpreting G/wyn and Azriel's interactions as romantic, and preferring it to Elain and Azriel's confirmed romantic interactions.

Sarah did not add G/wyn as a love interest and complicate things. The fandom did. Until Azriel is not sleeping, not thinking clearly, down bad desperate to get on his knees for G/wyn- and until G/wyn leans into his touch and says yes, they are actually currently friends. Could that change in the future? Totally. But Sarah literally has not written it yet.

I don't mind that the G/wyn ship exists. I love her. I have real life G/wynriel friends who are not online like we are. They are good people with good hearts who have different taste in Azriel's potential romance than me. They don't ride at dawn for Elain like I do, nor are they violently misogynistic against her or being toxic and hateful towards other women online. They just liked G/wyn's story and want more of her. That's okay. But it is important to pay attention to what has actually been written vs. what is being assumed by a group of people that openly dislike the only female character remaining with a confirmed book and who has been confirmed as a love interest.

Read Sarah's other bonus chapters! They are fun. Azriel's isn't the only one that has ever existed, but it seems like that sometimes (and I'll admit, it's amazing and I love it so fair). And nothing happened in the bonus chapter that is going to change the course or foreshadow to anything new. Not everyone has access to them, and bonus chapters do not create new plot. They are just an incentive to make money and secure pre-orders.

I think that's everything! You guys are awesome for reading these insanely long posts and vibing with me here. ily.

[tis-i-spookie-pie]

What BSD Characters Would Regift?

Not everybody gets what they want for Christmas, or their birthdays, or just on any occasion, resulting in some simply “regifting” the gift to someone else. Who in BSD would do that..?

Atsushi

No, he wouldn’t dream of it. Living the life he’s lived, Atsushi views anything he’s ever been gifted as a precious treasure and could never bring himself to regift something, even if he absolutely hates it.

Dazai

Yes, absolutely. If it’s going to someone he particularly dislikes (Chuuya), he wouldn’t even bother removing the original “To/from” tag.

Kunikida

You’d think he would lecture someone who gave him a gift he dislikes, but alas, Kunikida is grateful for any gift he’s given and would find some use out of seemingly the most useless of gifts instead of regifting them.

Ranpo

No, simply because everyone who gifts Ranpo gifts knows to get him sweets, and there’s no way Ranpo is giving those up.

Chuuya

Yes, but you would never know about it. If Chuuya was given a gift he disliked enough to regift, he would make absolutely sure the person he’s regifting it to has no clue who the person who originally gave the gift is. The guilt eats him up every time, but Chuuya wouldn’t know what else to do with it.

Akutagawa

Surprisingly, no. Most of the very few people who would give Akutagawa a gift know him well enough to know what he would and would not like. However, if Akutagawa was given a gift he dislikes, he wouldn’t even accept it in the first place to be able to regift it.

Fyodor

No, because bro doesn’t even get gifts.

I promise Fyodor is one of my favorites despite my relentless bullying of him

[lurkinggirlie]

Elain & Azriel are EndGame

Azriel’s bonus chapter: semi-essay on my thoughts

This post will be a long one. The shipwar has been going on for far too long, and there's a possiblity that we'll be getting closure soon. So, I want to put my thoughts out there. For Obvious reasons, I could be very wrong, but this is what I think based on canon text: (Ignore any errors..I haven't edited this, and I'm sure there are many posts like this that are way more articulate)

Elriel are endgame. If they’re not then Azriel is kinda pathetic and having him end-up with anyone else is bad writing and character assassination. (Which we sadly won’t put past sjm but I don’t think she would..at least I hope)

1- Elain has no other love interest. Yes, Lucien is her mate but we have hinted at a broken/rejected mating bond for the longest time when it comes to these two so having them accept it eventually is going to be quite underwhelming, repetitive and boring. Even Lucien seems to have given up/isn’t interested in bridging that gap between them, which we’re told in both acofas and acosf. Unless you want to count the longing pointed out by Cassian, although Cassian also pointed out that Lucien was also uncomfortable when he mentioned his mate. To add on, there is no sexual tension between the two, and we know how important that is for sjm’s couple. You can't keep whining "but Elain isn't giving him a chance, if only she gave him a chance, then maybe this and maybe that" Elain is not a seprate entity, she is what SJM writes, Sjm could have written that but she did not yet and I'm not sure if she will. It feels too late at this point, she had already shown us that Elain has feelings for someone else aka Azriel. The author doesn't have to spell everything out for us to understand to what's going on. Sarah usually makes it clear who's endgame. and she literally is. So, it would be very sudden and out of the blue if Lucien and Elain were to end up together when she had never shown it before. When even Azriel pointed this out “I think Lucien will never be good enough for her, and she has no interest in him, anyway” people can say Rhys killed elriel, that the bonus chapter ended them. But this line right here tells us otherwise! First we know Azriel and Elain can read each other so well that they don’t need words, and then Azriel tells us this. He’s literally telling us that Elain does not want Lucien.

We also cannot compare elucien to Feysand or Nessian in the “enemies to lovers" department, because these two seem to hardly care about each other. For obvious reasons she wouldn’t accept or reject Lucien in a book that isn’t hers. But if they do end up together I’d feel robbed that she had more sexual tension with Azriel than she did with Lucien. And we know that Nessian and Feysand had sexual tension before getting together. Most of what we got from Elain and Lucien was awkwardness, and discomfort. Not a single spark. Furthermore, it would feel like Azriel was just leading Elain own. Plus their romance (Lucien and Elain)  would not feel organic, only getting with Lucien because she felt rejected by Azriel, which doesn’t give epic romance no matter how sjm tries to spin it. It would always make Lucien seem like the second choice.

2- Azriel regifting the necklace was a dickhead move, and offensive to both girls. Anyone thinking the regifting of the necklace ended elriel or started gwynriel is delusional and clearly doesn’t know how the romance genre works. (should’ve thrown the gift in the Sidra like Cassain did) I can’t believe Rhys isn’t paying Azriel enough that he felt the need to return the necklace to the shop instead of throwing it. Senstive Illyrian baby indeed. 

3- Rhys saying stay away from Elain (can we take a moment to appreciate how sexy Rhys was for pulling rank, he really made the ship more interesting now) and Azriel actually listening to him?? When he told him you can’t order me to do that. shit would be underwhelming if Azriel actually stayed away? Hello? Secret relationship potential ? Hello? Forbidden romance potential  ??? The tropes would be epic. Sjm had never done that. And I’m not saying she will, but this is how I see it playing out. + Azriel saying it was a mistake to Elain, and Elain apologizing?? The fact she was confused/hurt and probably thought she misunderstood the whole situation? SHE IS BABYGIRL?? Regardless, Azriel saying it was a mistake and it being a mistake is NOT it. This is not how romance works most of the time. This is such a basic romantic trope, why are a lot of people misinterepting it? Elain deserves better, and sjm isn’t about to hurt Elain’s feelings without making it up to her. And she’s definitely not making Azriel end up with another girl before he fixes that shit. I will be needing a proper apology to Elain.  

4- Whenever people think of the bonus chapter they weigh in Azriel’s feelings far more than Elain’s. It’s clear that Elain and Azriel’s feelings are MUTUAL, ignore the bonus chapter and it’s right there in the actual book. I don’t think Elain got the memo that Azriel had  a conversation with another girl after he hurt her feelings which made him realize he’s in love all of a sudden. *sarcasm*  that would be very out of character for Azriel. 

5- His chest sparkling at the thought of Gwyn getting the necklace was so??? I have been saying he’s for the streets and yes this was out of pocket. So, I understand people shipping them. However it could mean anything really, you can't continue saying that Gwyn in the bonus has to mean something, and that that spark must mean somethig but continue to disreagrd every single Elriel interaction like they mean nothing. Because for it to be taken as romance we’d have to ignore the beginning of the bonus, the feysand’s bonus acosf/acomaf/acowar and acofas. + we could easily take this in a platonic way, which is how I viewed it when I read the bonus. Not everything has to be romantic. And sjm will NOT introduce a new guy to make him end up with Elain since we already established Elain doesn’t want Lucien and Lucien doesn’t want her either. 

6- I know that a lot of people have theories about Gwyn being a lightsinger and all of this happening because of her powers (While I do think this is very smart, it wasn’t something I thought of so I won’t talk about it). I do think it’s possible, and all the theories I saw were really cool but idk where sjm is going with this, so to make it simple I do think it could be because she’s his student, she went through a lot it could simply be platonic happiness that a girl who went through so much is going to be happy about something. Even if it was a secondhand necklace specifically picked with ANOTHER girl in mind PLUS I do think sjm wanted drama, and for people to doubt elriel cuz now they have all these obstacles, so Gwyn would be the easy choice, but the second choice regardless. The relationship would feel icky and I genuinely cannot see the potential gwynriels keep talking about. I would take the ship a lot more seriously if a) he didn’t regift her another girl’s necklace b) there was more to them in the actual book. c) he wasn’t still upset about it 3 days later… 

7- There’s a high possibility Gwyn never even got the necklace..

He gave it to Clotho not Gwyn, he didn’t want his name mentioned, and then said if any other girl would like it to give it to them: the aim was to get rid of Elain’s necklace. It’s sort of a parallel with Cassain throwing away Nesta’s present.

I think it’s possible that Azriel went there because he knows how much the girls in the library have suffered, especially since his mom did too, it's possible he thought "okay this is a pretty necklace, I don't want to hold onto the reminder of what could've been, so instead of throwing it let another girl be happy about it. At least it won’t go to waste”

Clotho could tell there was something wrong, like maybe she sensed the energy and decided ayeee let me keep this aside for him, he might come back and ask for it. 

The bonus did not happen at the end of the book 

If Azriel was truly in love with Gwyn now /or he wanted her/ or more between them was going to happen/ or they were mates according to some theories we could have AT LEAST gotten more after the bonus. 

We know the bonus happened after solstice.

Nesta mentions that Azriel was stone-faced and more aloof than usual, he wouldn’t even give her a smile. That was 3 days after the necklace situation. I think it would’ve been a great opportunity to highlight any attraction between Azriel and Gwyn.

Maybe he sees the necklace around her neck, maybe Nesta and Emerie compliment Gwyn’s necklace, or Gwyn telling them she doesn’t know who it’s from, maybe they tease her that someone might have a crush on her. Nesta could’ve pointed out that Azriel was looking at Gwyn’s necklace.or looking at Gwyn in some sort of way. Literally anything. 

Anyone pointing out the way Azriel and Gwyn looked at each other. A charged glance perhaps. Literally ANYTHING. We only got him looking at her with admiration which is very teacher coded. 

If sjm hadn’t made Nesta realize Azriel had a thing for Elain then maybe gwnyriel would’ve been more appealing to me. But no, Nesta noticed. This doesn’t mean nothing people.

aside from that we got nothing romantic, but a part of the fandom still acts like we need to exile Elain because she’s coming between Gwyn and Azriel’s epic love story.

Not everyone has access to the bonus.  

The Azriel chapter was only in ONE store in the US, but Feysand’s bonus chapter was in 3 stores in the US and UK. I don't know but something tells me it’s more important.  Soooo if SJM would do a love interest switch she would not do it in a bonus chapter, and wouldn’t be highlighting the Az/Elain interactions in ACOSF as much as she did. 

Feyre’s chapter focuses on Elain, it literally tells us Elain is next once we’re done helping Nesta. EASY MATH. and the Azriel bonus also focuses on elriel/Azriel’s feelings. ENDGAME MATERIAL RIGHT HERE. 

But the girls swear up and down that Gwyn and Azriel’s book is next because of a secondhand necklace. 

Let’s assume elriels are the delusional ones (like so many of them say), how do we explain these. 

Casual readers who usually read books and aren’t on the internet and aren’t looking for bonus content (wish that was me)  (lord knows I skipped every bonus chapter in throne of glass and crescent city and I wasn’t confused about anything. Not even once) so they’d expect answers for 

The Charged glance between Azriel and Elain

Azriel following the sound of Elain’s laughter. 

Elain looking away when Azriel smiled at her during family dinner, Cassian god bless him that idiot could NOT piece all of that together. BUT it was still highlighted through his POV ???

His secret to tell never hers (and we do learn of that secret in the bonus but people who didn’t read it could only guess so they’d want a confirmation) and sjm did say in one of her lives that Nesta learns of one of Azriel’s secrets (she looked all giddy about it)... and that Azriel is going through some shit right now…and we learn why from the bonus chapter. 

Cassian being confused that it seems like Azriel moved on from Mor

Nesta pointing out that Elain moved on from Graysen

Cassian wondering why Elain is lying about where she’s going. (I viewed this as her avoiding Azriel but idk) 

Azriel’s protectiveness of Elain. He gives mate behavior without the mate part. (I will hit him on the head though omg let my girl do something)

Elain willing to look for the troves even when Nesta wasn’t, the girl wants to do something  (her journey is coming next) 

Nesta wondering if Elain is training with Azriel or the twins (who are spies that were trained by Azriel !!!) 

Feyre telling Azriel that Elain got him beat for secret keeping. Sure it might sound delusional but Elain keeps being compared to Az/being a spy and maybe this could be a thing. 

Elain speaking back to her sisters about them treating her like a child?? Hello finally 

The way Elain’s mother only treated her like a pretty doll which shaped up Elain’s whole life??? I want this from Elain’s POV sooo bad 

In conclusion, we’re not pausing Elain’s story so Azriel can end up with a side character in a spinoff about an og side character, we’re sticking to our og side characters for now.

Azriel being over Mor because of Elain, and Elain moving on from Graysen because of Azriel only for Elain to get over Azriel to be with Lucien (who we got nothing from aside a mating bond..) and for Az to get over Elain and questioning fate for her…only to end up with gwyn…like I don’t think anyone could take Azriel’s feelings seriously if this happens. Shit will be too goofy.  Because if he ends up with Gwyn who says he won’t move on to the next pretty girl he sees afterwards.

To add to that, what plot would we have for Azriel and Gwyn. We'll get more Valkyries training, more healing journey so the plot would have to be paused for this. Nesta’s book was mostly about her healing journey and friendship, while it was nice I don’t want a repeat for the next book. Especially since we know the Rite took a toll on Gwyn, she went back to the library, wasn’t even sure she would make it to Nessian’s mating ceremony. This doesn’t give the protagonist of the next book to me. Or "I thought it was pretty obvious"

Elain’s healing journey had started in ACOWAR, she got her friends in ACOWAR. Now is their TIME to do something!! She is next. 

Closing thoughts on what I think would happen based off each ship happening: 

If elriel happens = new sjm couple dynamic/interesting plot. Fresh sjm protagonist that is unlike sjm's others + we don’t ignore all the foreshadowing and hints. We follow the love triangle we set up in the og trilogy + finally get a rejected mating bond. And instead of warrior training we might get spy training and instead of physical power (as far as we know) we get something more mental. Again this is very new for sjm + there’s a lot to Elain’s power that we don’t know and since Azriel was the one who found out what she was, I think it would make more sense for him to know how to help her. Imagine the sexual tension during training..yes please. I hope sjm doesn’t rob me. Elain is really mysterious, we got Nesta’s inner thoughts before her book but we still haven't gotten a peep about Elain’s inner thoughts and I’m just dying to know more. AND THE STAKES!

1) Rhys forbidding Azriel from Elain, 2) Elain’s mating bond,3) Azriel’s self doubt and how he doesn’t think he’s good enough. 4) The blood duel and the political mess we could get into. (Lucien probs won't but what if Beron would, the breeding potential, A seer must be a powerful thing she can see things others can't and I think that’s valuable. If Eris thought Nesta was valuable as cauldron made and there was no potential there, so The Autumn court probably feels even more entitled to Elain) We have high inner and outer stakes. I have a feeling SJM will fumble all this potential but a girl can dream 

If elucien happens = another successful mating bond + “enemies”  to lovers sort of but they won’t ever be mean to each other so maybe not enemies, just dislike and awkwardness to friends to lovers?  We ignore the hints about a rejected bond and in mating bonds we trust. We also ignore all the elriel hints, and their mutual feelings. We follow the love triangle set up in the og trilogy. I don’t think Lucien could train her in anything? Maybe self defense, Idk Sarah could pull something, but I don’t see Elain leaving her circle of friends but neither do I see Lucien settling in the night court and leaving his own friends. There are no stakes but Elain’s and Lucien’s awkwardness around each other + Elain’s feelings for Azriel. Elain’s and Lucien’s plot connects though so at least there’s that, SJM could ship them off on a mission together and make them get closer. Forced proximity sort of thing. 

If gwynriel happens then = we lost the whole plot, ignored the foreshadowing and hints found in the actual book. Mentor to lovers, civil with each other. Azriel has to move on from Elain first though and that could be icky. Healing journey, more Valkyries training. So we pick up from where we left off in acosf, and we’d see Azriel trying to get her to come out of the Library, or he goes to visit her there until she agrees to come out again. Maybe if Gwyn is a lightsinger then idk more training with Azriel? Again, no stakes but Gwyn’s trauma and Azriel’s self doubt oh and also his feelings for Elain. But that’s it, Gwyn as of now does not connect to the overall plot with the troves (she’s not made therefore she can’t use them) or koschei. So I don’t see us making her go on a mission like that. I’ve seen a lot of gwynriles saying Gwyn has spy potential idk where, but she could barely keep a secret for Nesta so I highly doubt she’d be keeping secrets for the IC. 

Ps: the original koschei plot is 3 sisters marrying 3 very powerful wizards and like idk 3 sisters 3 brothers…we can have a retelling ya know 

[gwynethshadowsinger]

My Thoughts about the Bonus Chapter(s)

Feysand - Happens around Ch. 22 (I think)

I do think everyone has spent a long time assuming Elain is sweet and innocent and that we will end up seeing a different side emerge when it's time for her story to be told. I think she's a lot like Lucien. Willing to stand back, but won't be afraid to step in and show that other side when needed. She'll access her surroundings beforehand, though, and act accordingly. Almost like a sly fox just waiting for their moment 👀

Feyre is right. If Elain had been wearing the gloves Lucien had gifted her the previous Solstice, she wouldn't have gotten hurt by that stubborn rosebush. Is this particular phrasing some type of foreshadowing for Elucien? Will Lucien protect her from any and all harm if she's just let him in instead of running away?

I loved finding out where the baby's name came from 😍

Azriel - Happens around Ch. 58/59 (I believe)

Poor Azriel. He just wants a mate and what Rhysand and Cassian has 😭

I didn't much care for his interaction with Elain. It felt wrong and off. He's full of negative, only sexual emotions, and him being around her is not good for him.

Azriel shouldn't be trying to go after a female who has not rejected the bond, especially knowing how he holds the mating bond in regard.

I also didn't like how Elain was willing to let Azriel kiss her so close to her (supposed) sleeping mate. Both of them were in the wrong here.

That rose necklace..... Elain was hurt once again by something with roses. This is the second time Sarah has mentioned her being hurt by something with roses. That's gotta be intentional on her part. Maybe Elain will give Lucien a chance now? I doubt she'd end up hurt by him. He's done everything to respect her and is just waiting on her to come to him. I really hope she does.

Rhysand asked all the right questions 👏

The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another. Boy... you couldn't even say Elain's name?!?! The Cauldron also only turned two sisters. Not three.... so he's already way off base....

Azriel admitted he didn't get far with his planning, certainly never behond the fantasies he pleasures himself to after saying Lucien would never be good enough for her...well that absolutely killed any lingering thoughts I had about a potential pairing between him and Elain. Yuck. I'd want a man to think of more than just sex and for his own sexual purposes. Lucien so far is the ONLY male good enough for Elain.

He'd been so vigilant about keeping away from Elain as much as possible, and had stayed up here to avoid her, and tonight... tonight had proved he'd been right to do so.

His interaction with Gwyn was 😍😍😍😍

I LOVE the shadow's reaction around Gwyn. How they dance with her breath. How they were calm and content to sit on Azriel's shoulders after something restless settled in Azriel. How they SUNG BACK IN ANSWER!!! If that isn't major foreshadowing, idk what is.

I'm insanely proud of how far Gwyn has came to.

Again...the necklace.... while I HATE he regifted it... I love this ending to the bonus chapter. How he found himself in front of Clotho, unconsciously.. almost like he was drawn by something 👀

He might not consider Gwyn a friend, BUT.... I say that might change in a big way.

THAT ENDING!!! The SPARK ✨️ The PICTURING OF GWYN'S EYES LIGHTING UP. THE TUCKING THE THOUGHT AND PICTURE AWAY DEEP DOWN WHERE IT GLOWED QUIETLY. THE SLIGHT SMILE THAT ACTION CAUSED THAT HE HAD TO CONCSCIOUSLY ERASE... OMG ARE THEY GOING TO BEMATES?!?!?!

A THING OF SECRET, LOVELY BEAUTY!!!! AHHH!!!!

These bonus chapters totally made me 100% an Elucien & Gwynriel supporter.

[heart4gyu]

just for show pt.3 || mc!heeseung x mc!reader

|| pt.1 || pt.2 || note: i’m sorry it took so long TT but i hope y’all enjoy this i enjoyed writing for my hee again (a little jealous heeseung moment i HAD to ahhh) i haven’t proofread this so i’ll probably make some adjustments when i have the time okay byee <3

the way you smelled, the way your eyes gazed up into his, your hand on his chest, and the way your lips were almost on his was all he could think about.

he had let almost a week pass since the whole “dressing room incident.” but there wasn’t a moment that passed when heeseung wasn’t thinking about it, thinking about you.

staff and fans had also noticed the slight change too. the way he stared just a bit too long after you’d finish talking and the light pink that dusted his cheeks when you would touch his arm had people talking. though it was impossible for him to pay attention to any of that when he was finally coming to terms with something:

he felt something for you, and he had to know if it was mutual.

today would be the day. the day he finds out if you are possibly feeling the same thing he’s feeling. when heeseung arrives, he immediately heads towards the ‪mc dressing room.‬ his heart tight in his chest as he hears your bubbly laughter float down the hall.

a smile making its way onto his face before he even realizes it himself. did this always happen when he heard your laugh? even just your voice? could the tightness he felt in his chest around you not have meant nothing after all?

he stops just as he approaches the open door. another voice. a man, someone familiar, but making you laugh nonetheless. a laugh he hasn’t heard from you for a while now. he barges in.

“heeseung,” you say, surprised at his abrupt entrance. “oh uh… yeonjun was invited to be a special ‪mc this week.”‬

heeseung bows, politely, a bit embarrassed about how riled up he was at just the thought of another man making you laugh.

“ah no need to be so formal, just wanted to introduce myself to y/n before the show,” yeonjun said, flashing you a charming smile.

you looked down as his eyes met yours, unable to hide the smile that played on your lips. and heeseung noticed it all. a different feeling tugging at his heart, one that he wasn’t used to. but how could he be upset when he hurt you first, when you weren’t his…

“i think we should probably start getting ready…” heeseung said, awkwardly, walking over to his side of the room. you watched as he sat at his vanity and started scrolling on his phone. something was wrong but you just didn’t know how to approach him anymore.

everyone got ready individually, but everytime yeonjun spoke to you, you could feel heeseung’s lingering eyes. now you understood, and how could you not use this to your advantage?

once you were on stage, heeseung was back to his normal self. of course, everything was perfect for the audience. and everyone loved your trio. yeonjun was the perfect host, it was no wonder they always invited him back.

heeseung’s biggest issue right now was that yeonjun’s charisma didn’t stop once the cameras were off. he made you laugh so easily and he never let the conversation die. and from what heeseung could tell, you were very intrigued.

he couldn’t help it, the twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach. he could never hate yeonjun, he considered him a good friend. but the thought of you being swept away by someone else made him feel sick.

the next couple days were terrible in heeseung’s eyes. yeonjun would help you put your hair back in place when a strand fell out, let you read from his cards when yours got misplaced, he even got you coffee each morning. even if he didn’t know your taste exactly, heeseung knew you were the sweet ‘it’s the thought that counts’ type of person.

it wasn’t until yeonjun’s last day as a special mc, that heeseung had enough.

yeonjun was gifted a bouquet of flowers to which he regifted to you, kindly, when the three of you made it back to your dressing room.

“i do have a schedule this next week but maybe we could hangout sometime,” yeonjun said, making you blush down at the flowers.

yeonjun’s intentions truly were only to befriend you, and you didn’t particularly feel anything more than appreciation towards him. but in heeseung’s eyes? that was a whole confession.

he didn’t hear any part of the rest of your conversation and almost completely missed when yeonjun dismissed himself from the room. but as soon as he realized the two of you were alone, it was go time.

“y/n,” he said, approaching you at your vanity once again. an all too familiar atmosphere around you. “are you planning on going out with yeonjun?”

his directness baffled you a bit but you couldn’t help play along with how cute he was being. “well i might take him up on his offer,” you said, looking at him though the mirror.

“would there be a problem, if i did?” you asked, turning to face him. he was closer than you realized now that you were practically chest to chest.

with his eyes glued down to the ground, he shook his head. you smiled at the way he didn’t realize his lips were in a pout. “hee, is there something on your mind?”

“i’m still sorry that i hurt you with what i said… i’ve been thinking it over all this time. and now i realize that everything i thought i was doing for the audience was really because i liked- like you. i like you and i wanted to deny it to myself back then but now i just want you to know.” he said, finally meeting your eyes.

you couldn’t find the words. after having such strong feelings for him and then trying to make yourself get over him. all you could do was shake your head at the situation you found yourself in.

he took a step back at your reaction, not wanting to make you uncomfortable with his proximity and confession. but you reached for his hand pulling him back in, a bit closer this time. he felt his heart bloom with hope.

“it took you long enough,” you said, a playful smile on your lips as you reached a hand out to his cheek. he leaned into your touch, a content smile on his face too.

“do you feel the same as me? do you like me too?” he asked, taking another step into your space. you felt your breath get caught in your chest when he turned to kiss your palm. all you could do was nod, your face heating up quickly.

“i wanna hear you say it,” he whispered, impossibly close now but somehow you couldn’t pull your eyes away from his.

you lifted your head slightly, your noses almost touching at the movement. “i like you too, heeseung.”

he smiled, and you returned it shyly. you felt him backing up and couldn’t stop yourself from wrapping your arms over his shoulders. lips crashing onto his in an instant.

his soft lips molding into a smile as he kissed you back immediately. though you felt his hands hesitantly pull your waist into him, tilting his head slightly to deepen the kiss before finally pulling away.

“…well i was gonna ask first, but i wouldn’t mind if you did that whenever you’d like from now on,” he said, hands finding home at your hips, swaying you gently.

you smiled up at him, blushing. your hands sliding down to rest at his biceps. “what does this mean for us?���

“well, i hope it means that you’ll be mine, cause i am definitely all yours,” he said. both of you swaying side to side now, as if to song that only you two could hear.

“yeah, i think we can make that work,” you nodded. and he leaned down to kiss your lips once (or twice) more.

[akindplace]

realized that i grew up in a place so hot that before i moved to the slightly colder area that i currently live in i barely had any coats. not in a “my parents didn’t give me clothes to wear” way but in a “my city was so hot we didn’t need coats”. from my teen years i remember having my school coat (uniform is mandatory here), maybe 4 long-sleeved blouses, a thinly knitted long coat i bought when I was traveling to a cold city and a denim jacket that i thought was one of my warmest coats (used it while traveling once and realized it wasn’t actually a warm coat, I just lived in a warm place) and i had a hoodie that was regifted to me which i never used while living there because it never got cold enough for that. I don’t think I can recall anything else.

im from the type of place where 30C (86F) during the day is considered mild weather, and anything below 25C (77F) was enough for people to wear their warmest clothes giving winter fashion week. one time it got really cold during the early hours of the day (15C - 59F) and it made it as news in the paper.

so yeah, i had more than enough clothes for summer, since summer there was a yearlong thing. It was never cold, just less hot. but I can’t really remember having coats, only for school, and for going to the cinema because malls had air conditioning and it would get cold. that’s it.

my first year living in a different city had me feeling constantly cold. i have never felt any temperature bellow freezing and i never saw snow.

being from the time where emo fashion was at its peak i would have loved to wear some cool long sleeved clothes/hoodies/etc but alas i did not want to have a heatstroke

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

okay, I haven't done this yet, but I want to know if I WOULD be the asshole in this situation.

Bath and Body Works is going out of business in Canada (where I live), and seeing as it was the main place I'd get gifts for my mom and grandma (the closest Bath and Body Works to them is over an hour's drive away so getting a nice candle or body wash from there was a rare treat), I picked up a candle for my grandma there while I was getting stuff for my mom for Mother's Day so that this way I could give it to her for her birthday in September. it even has elephants on it! (they're my grandma's favourite animal)

however, shortly after I bought this, I learned from my grandma that her bout of Covid about four months ago has left her still unable to smell anything at all. a scented candle now seems like the worst possible gift I could give her because it's one purpose - smelling nice - is something she can no longer experience, and I know she's decluttering right now in preparation for a move in a year or two's time, so she wouldn't want another useless item in her house.

the problem is, I can't just give this candle to someone else in my family instead, because they all know my grandma adores elephants (she has a rather large collection of elephant figures and even a decent chunk of the decor in her home is elephant-themed) and would probably realize very quickly that it was a gift meant for her being regifted to them, which feels rude to me. there is a chance that my grandma's sense of smell might come back in the next few months, but it isn't a guarantee and I don't want to hold onto something I might not be able to gift to anyone ever.

so it should be noted that I adore scented candles. I like bathing by candlelight, so I go through a lot of them. and I've been very tempted to use the candle I originally bought as a gift, since there's a solid chance I'll never be able to give it to it's intended recipient. I feel kind of like a jackass using something that was supposed to be a gift? but this thing feels like it's taunting me, sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be used. no one outside from me knows I originally got it for my grandma, either.

tl;dr - would I be the asshole for using something that was meant to be a gift for someone I discovered later can't actually use it? or am I just overthinking this?

What are these acronyms?

[acourtofthought]

Bonus Chapters matter.

While they also don't.

What I mean by that is the information presented in them is important only if the author continues on with the information presented in them in the actual book that everyone has access too.

There are still people shocked to find out about the Azriel bonus from SF. Had they missed reading it, they would have never known about the almost kiss with Elain, about the regifting of the necklace, about Gwyn sparking something in Az's chest.

Nesta and Cassian shared a near kiss in the ACOMAF bonus but you know what happened after that?

We are not left questioning whether Cassian has feelings towards Nesta and we don't need the Bonus Chapter to tell us that. You can remain completely unaware that Wings and Embers exists yet still see that Cassian is drawn to her. The bonus is a fun little extra but it's not really the main source for telling us what we need to know. Without the bonus, all Elain and Az interactions drop off after Solstice. Before that, there's the question of whether there might be something between them but Az is still jealous over Mor (which we see in his interaction with Helion) and how he interrupts Nesta's question about Elain to ask about Mor. So while E/riel did share a charged look, there's enough to make us doubt exactly what it is we're seeing and SJM does not give us reason to think it was anything at all considering there are zero clues after Solstice (not on his end or hers). After Solstice, even if you had missed the Az bonus, you would have seen his banter with Gwyn become more apparent. Where Az has zero mentions of anything with either Elain or Mor related but where he shows admiration and amusement towards Gwyn and where she is sassy towards him "see you tomorrow, Shadowsinger", where Nesta tells Az he's Gwyn's new ribbon. We don't need the bonus to see that something has shifted for he and Gwyn, it's subtle but it's there. But there are Elucien clues after the Feyre bonus. In the Feyre bonus, she thinks on how if Elain had been wearing Lucien's gift from last Solstice, nothing would have pierced her. Had you not read that particular bonus you would have still seen that Lucien stares at her with longing on Solstice and how Elain is standing near Helion for the fist time ever on Starfall. Again, subtle clues but there is something there versus nothing for Az and Elain after his bonus. Elain standing next to her mates unknown father sets the stage for them to have future interactions and where Helion is, Lucien will eventually be. Sarah mentioning how Cassian and Az will still train the Valkyrie after the Rite sets them up for future interactions. But there is nothing that sets up Az and Elain for anything in the future once Solstice has passed. She's not connected to the time travel plots (Az and Gwyn are). She's not connected to Illyrian plots (Az and Gwyn are). She's not connected to the Valkyrie (Az and Gwyn are). Az is not connected to the Trove items (Elain and Lucien are). He's not connected to Koschei (Elain and Lucien are). He's not connected to Vassa (Elain and Lucien are). He's not connected to Spring (Elain and Lucien are). So again, the bonus chapter matters but it doesn't matter all that much. If SJM does not carry on the information learned in the bonus in the actual book then it's information that isn't going to matter all that much moving forward.

[sil3ntfr34k]

Birthday Bakugou Headcanons

Yea I missed his birfday and he might be mad at me but it’s bbabygirl we still gonna write something

• Probably says some shit like “Oo I don’t like surprises” but then will act disappointed when you tell him your plans for him

• I.E.; Don’t tell him about his birthday plans

• You and the entirety of Class 3-A are going all out to make this the most outlandish and ridiculous birthday party of his life purely because y’all wanna annoy him

• Cut scene to you basically dragging him all around the city after school to stall time so everyone can set up the decorations

• As SOON as you get that “We’re ready” text you gotta drag him back kicking and screaming because he’s overstimulated. Bakugou is DREADING stepping a single foot into the dorms because he just KNOWS something is up

• As expected, as soon as Bakugou opens the door; everyone screams and pops those streamers directly in his face, which is quickly followed with a couple of deadly explosions

• Thankfully most of the decorations survived 💪

• You better believe that cake is big asf, big thanks to Sato who whipped it up in the kitchen for Bakugou 🙏

• All the girls had to cook the dinner bc NONE of the boys can cook expect Bakugou, and it would be rude to make Bakugou cook his own birthday dinner. The girls made him some spicy mapu tofu with some bottle labeled as ‘Devils Tears’. The color is a bright red to show how spicy it is, but ofc Bakugou is still going to complain it’s not spicy enough

• Bakugou resents having to open presents, way too nervous of how he’s supposed to react. At least when he’s with his parents they don’t expect much of a reaction since they know he’s pretty stoic.

• Calls every present he gets shit, but still gets defensive if anyone tells him to regift it. He appreciates the gifts, he just has a hard time giving reactions most people want.

• Still doesn’t stay up late for the party. WILL just stand up and go to his room to get ready for bed.

• Cue everyone following him to his room because they don’t want him to sleep yet, it’s Friday man just stay up a little longer!

• Has to blast everyone out and lock his door.

• What no one knows is that he actually does stay up longer, he just wanted some alone time to recover and actually enjoy his presents and kind letters. He probably just skimmed over the words at first, but now that he’s alone and can think straight he takes time to read each one carefully

• Might be a little OOC but he probably cries JUST A LIL BIT bc he’s never had so many care enough about him to throw him such a big party AND want him to stay up with them

• If he got games or something, he’ll stay up and play them for a bit. Same with manga and other trinkets, like exercise equipment and small figurines (of all might)

•Bonus points if someone gives him a personalized gift like a drawing or hand crafted sculptures. Is low key a WEAK SUCKER for personalized items

Okay that’s all I can think of

[laiqualaurelote]

writers ask from ages ago! 9, 10, & 11 🖤

thank you for the asks! (from this ask game, never too late to play)

9. What is your favourite line/interaction in your fic?

I'm really fond of this exchange from gig officially gigged:

That said, Crystal has zero clue what’s actually transpired between Edwin and Thomas, and Edwin certainly isn’t telling.  “If you must know,” he informed them primly, “he asked me to play for him. That is all.” “Oh yeah?” Crystal demanded while Charles seethed. “What’d you play?”  “Just the classics. Clair de Lune, that sort of thing. It was hardly a chore.” “Huh,” said Crystal. “Guess you really put your whole Debussy into it.” Charles put his fist through the drywall. “Oops, innit,” he said balefully when they turned to stare.

10. What is your favourite AU? Have you written anything for it?

My dream AU is a noir AU and I have never successfully written a full one! the closest I've ever come is the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned, in which Edwin as a noir detective is the framing narrative for the time travel AU. I would love to do a proper one someday though.

11. Is there anything important in your fic you think readers have missed/overlooked?

I would like to talk a little bit about Maren in still my heartbeat with your bare hands! she is the only female character (my bad - that said, question mark over the gendering of Edwin's Hell-forms?) and she is acting as a cup-bearer and most likely a peace-weaver (a woman from a warring tribe pledged in marriage to prevent further bloodshed), in the way the queens Wealhtheow and Hygd do in Beowulf. (Maren trying to give Charles the torc is a reference to the necklace Wealhtheow gifts to Beowulf after he kills Grendel, which he then regifts to Hygd). I thought it would be fitting for Maren to be a cup-bearer in this AU because in canon that is sort of what she is, and also it is how she manages to poison Brad and Hunter, because she is expected to be the one pouring their drinks.

Maren is the one name that I would not have had to change, had I Anglo-Saxonified the characters' names (Ceorl, Ēadwine, Sæmund, etc). One etymology of the name links it to the Proto-West Germanic 'mari', from which you get the Old English 'mere'. Another suggests it is a Danish variant of 'Maria', which is related to...you guessed it! Mary-Ann. So I like that even though she and Edwin do not meet in this AU, there's this connection between his canon death and his AU dwelling, woven together in her name.

[violetasteracademic]

What does it take for regifted jewelry to be romantic?

Rambling crap post that will literally only make sense of you have seen the movie The Family Stone but let's do it.

Sometimes I genuinely try to understand other ships. I actually really mean that, in a deeply authentic and non sarcastic way. If this shipwar wasn't so nasty, I'd engage with other people the way I do with my real, human, offline friends- some of whom are E/lucien's and G/wynriels. They are genuinely wonderful people who are not chronically online like we are (and we are, there's no point throwing that around as an insult) and they don't actually care that much. They are just going off vibes - but would be absolutely disgusted to see the violent misogyny and bullying that takes place here. We enjoy talking to each other about the ships, even when we don't agree.

Typically, when I am trying to understand something, I seek out more of it. I've asked my friends for fated mate book recommendations that match E/Lucien's story (meeting your mate, then genuinely falling for another person that is absolutely right for you in every way except for the fact that he is not your mate, and somehow the plot leads to falling in love with your mate that you don't like anyways because fate is always right and never makes mistakes, even if everyone is questioning it because you have feelings for someone else) and I haven't been able to find anything. The closest I can get is meeting your mate when you are possibly already in love/engaged/what have you to someone else and then you find out that person you are already with is actually the worst (aka Graysen) and then you wind up falling in love naturally and authentically with your mate. This is what makes it work. The person who isn't your mate showing his true colors and realizing you were wrong about them.

I think this is why Azriel's character has been rewritten to create a moment of the male Elain is actually into showing his true colors. Otherwise, her moving on to her mate that she isn't interested in just because the guy she likes rejected her literally doesn't make any sense. It can't be political machinations and the threat of violence and exterior motives and interference keeping Azriel and Elain apart. It has to be Azriel's personality and personhood, or the fated mates typical structure that I assume everyone is basing their thought process on falls apart.

I've actually been wracking my brain for years to find a piece of art or story that represents a piece of jewelry being regifted symbolizing the transference of a relationship and I FINALLY realized- my favorite holiday movie- The Family Stone! My God, the movie is literally named for the piece of jewelry, his mother's ring.

Finally having a piece to work with and pick apart allowed me to understand what elements are required to really pull off "regifting" to show that the gift is symbolically landing where it needs to go in a moving and romantic way.

1: The jewelry must not have been picked out and purchased for a specific woman, with deep and thoughtful insights as to why the man saw this piece of jewelry and thought of the woman he loves. In The Family Stone, the ring is an heirloom. It is no one's ring but his mother's. And the journey of this stone landing on the hand of the woman that is right for Emmet is deep, complicated, and heart breaking.

This is not the case for Azriel, who saw the rose necklace (very widely agreed to symbolically represent Elain on all sides) and saw something that the full depth and color was revealed when held to the light, a thing of secret, lovely beauty. And he knew it was meant for Elain. My God. Jfc. That's poetry.

2: The original recipient of the gift must actively show displeasure or disappointment in the jewelry- further revealing that this is the wrong woman.

In The Family Stone, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), the "first" and "wrong" woman sees the ring on her little sister Julie's finger (Claire Danes) and while there is some drama (the ring symbolically gets stuck on Julie's finger lolol) Meredith looks at the ring and hilariously goes- "That's it?" because the diamond is so small. She doesn't like it. She wouldn't want to wear it. Meanwhile Julie was stunned. She lost her breath over its beauty and was overwhelmed.

Elain was also stunned and breathless at how beautiful her gift was. She wants to wear it immediately, and she wants him to put it on her. The act of this beautiful, thoughtful gift emboldens Elain to do something she has never done before: Blatant, unrestricted touching. Even while the man she is supposed to be with, the man whose gifts do disappoint her, sleeps upstairs. So the classic holiday romance trope of one gift is right and one gift is wrong is already playing out. From Elain's perspective, the woman who will demand a say in who she chooses and is the only confirmed FMC, she's been getting disappointing gifts from her mate for years. When she finally sees a gift that steals the air from her lungs and lights up her eyes, a gift she wants to wear and use immediately after years of lukewarm responses to the man she is "meant" to be with, it's romantic as fuck. Unless you don't like her and don't want her with Azriel, in which case it isn't romantic to you personally. However, personal opinion on Elain doesn't actually change the fact that after years of many of us already assuming Az and Elain were into each other, they had an extremely classic holiday romance reveal.

4: The act of changing your mind about who will receive this gift, in order for it to be romantic, must be an act of hope. An act of joy and dreams and revelation. Realizing that there is more out there for you, and after years of playing it safe, of trying to make it work for the wrong reasons with the wrong woman, you are ready to be brave and break your character patterns to act on that dream of happiness.

Near the climax of The Family Stone, we discover that Emmet's mother, the keeper of this ring, has had her breast cancer return. It is already clear she is not going to make it this time.

We learn that Emmet has been acting out of trauma, grief, and loss. He cannot wrap his mind around the thought of getting married without his mother being there. In a heart breaking scene, Sybil finally gives Emmet the ring she has been refusing the entire movie and lets him know it is his decision. But she also frees him from the horrible pressure he has placed on himself to get married while she is still alive. She wishes passion, joy, and happiness for him. She helps him cope with the loss of her, helps him heal the wound and burdens he carries of trying to be the Perfect Son and do everything right. All she wants for him is happiness and love. But ultimately, the decision is his.

In a rush of hope and healing, Emmet asks Julie to try the ring on. He wants to see it on her. It is a culmination. It is powerful, emotional, and restorative. In this story of brothers and sisters coping with the loss of their mother and trying to find their personal happiness, they all wind up together in the end. Meredith winds up telling Emmet she can't marry him, before he even reveals he decided not to ask her, because they both knew it wasn't right. It was so clear that they weren't in love with each other, but just trying to fit this ideal picture for reasons that had nothing to do with love. Still, Meredith isn't a villain, and winds up falling in love with his brother. The next year, everyone but Sybil gathers as a family, the first Christmas without her. The grief is palpable, but so is the love. The image of Sybil smiling at her gathered family through last year's gifted photograph of her ends the movie.

Azriel's regifting of Elaine's necklace was not a culmination. It was not an act of hope, it was not Azriel releasing Elain because he realized his love for her was not genuine and there was real and true happiness to be found in G/wyn. He did not even care to give it to her directly. He gave it to Clotho, who absolutely read the vibes and noted his sadness. He didn't even care if it wound up with Gwyn or literally any other priestess. He needed to relieve himself of the necklace because of the pain of not being able to be with Elain, just like Cassian yeeted his first Solstice gift to Nesta into the Sidra after her rejection. Regifted or getting rid of gifts as an act of pain is not romance. It is not even symbolic of a change. It only reflects a man who is hurting because he has nowhere to channel his love and longing.

What I find odd is that most people do agree that Az regifting the necklace via Clotho is absolutely not romantic, thus Azriel incel fuckboy (which literally makes no sense) was born. For the necklace regift to hold the symbolism that G/wynriels want it to hold (a sort of passing of the torch of Azriel's affection and attention) they agree that this is icky and gross behavior but G/wyn will fix him and he'll stop being icky and gross. I'd ask for recommendations on romances like that to try to understand that thought process as well, but frankly I am not interested.

Azriel getting rid of the necklace was not an act of hope, it was an act of pain. It was lot an act of love, it was an act of loss.

A change in who a gift belongs to can be romantic, with the right elements. The great ACOSF bonus chapter necklacegate has none of them. And yet somehow, even though everyone agrees it wasn't romantic, people are still out here arguing that it clearly symbolizes a new romance.

I assure you, romance symbolizes romance. It shouldn't be tricky or leave you feeling icky or like the MMC is flaky and entitled. I cannot think of a single romance author who thinks it's a good idea to sit down and write toxic fuckbois as MMC's. Even if they were toxic fuckbois in the past, they IMMEDIATELY simp for their women. As of now, Azriel still hasn't noticed G/wyn, his supposed mate, and is hurting and heartbroken over another woman that he would kill for if asked to. He is not coping with it by raking about town and looking for a new girl to fall in love with since he was ordered away from the one he wanted. He's just training, not sleeping, and putting rocks in snowballs.

When trying to determine what is being foreshadowed as romance, if we have to stretch beyond asking the simple question what is romantic, I fear we have lost the plot.