#OR would they want him to abandon jesminda right away for elain

[acourtofthought]

You missed my most fundamental point: both the elucien and gwynriel ship both operate as the “second” choice.

For elucien to become canon, something has to happen between Elain and Azriel for their attraction to fizzle out, or to not pursue their desire/feelings further. There is no way around it - Azriel is Elain’s first choice, and Lucien will always be second - even though they have a whole damn mating bond. You can’t even deny it either - if Lucien was Elain’s first choice instead, we’d see them already connecting in the books, and Azriel wouldn’t even be in the picture.

Similarly, for gwynriel to become canon, something has to happen between Azriel and Elain, for Gwyn to even be considered as an option. So far, Elain is Azriel’s first choice. We literally see that in the bonus chapter, right there on the very pages; Azriel only gave the necklace to Gwyn because Elain rejected it first. He didn’t buy the necklace for Gwyn - he brought it for Elain.

Would Rhys ever give Feyre a necklace that he actually meant to give to another girl….? No. What decent romance ever starts off like that??

In fact, there’s not a single SJM endgame couple that has ever been the “second choice.”

Sure, Nesta was sleeping with other random men - but that’s not the same as whatever is going on between Elain and Azriel; they are buying each other gifts, Azriel insinuates that the Cauldron is wrong and they should be mates, they have a heap of romantic coding etc.

Sure, Aelin had a relationship with Chaol before she met Rowan, but they were kept separate. In fact, as soon as she met Rowan - her true mate - she pretty much cheated on Chaol and abandoned their relationship straight away. Elain meets her mate, yet still chooses to pursue someone else.

If you care about Lucien and Gwyn, then why do you ship them in relationships that put them as the second choice? I don’t even care about shipping, but they both deserve better than that. They deserve to have someone choose them from the start.

Because let’s flip the script; let’s say the Cauldron made Elain and Azriel mates, but Elain wasn’t interested in him. Instead, after meeting Lucien, Elain grew to desire him instead, and both Elain and Lucien grew their bond slowly, but secretly throughout the books. Would you then advocate for Elain to end up with Azriel instead…? Just because they’re mates, and he is a good person too? Or Lucien - who she actually wants to be with?

I want you to really think about the kind of author SJM is.

She is not a "first choice" author. She is a "FMC explores multiple options before ending up with the RIGHT CHOICE" author.

"Something has to happen between Elain and Azriel for their attraction to fizzle out"? You mean like Az telling Elain they were a mistake before he even went to see Rhys? You mean like Elain giving Az a Big Ole F- You when she returned his necklace?

My girl Elain is O-V-E-R Az already.

And you are fooling yourself, telling yourself LIES if you think Elain was Az's first choice 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Mor was Az's choice for CENTURIES and the only reason he looked in Elain’s direction was because she never returned that interest.

It's honestly a waste of time for you to message me if you're going to say such blatant falsities.

I'm glad Elain didn't immediately jump to Lucien because he'd then be a rebound to Graysen. Graysen who was Elain's first choice and she (by default) got swept up in a crush on Az. Not because Az was her first choice but because she couldn't have Graysen and she's desperately trying to move forward even if she's not really ready.

It's very obvious that Az and Elain are the ship to be concerned about because they are each others rebound since neither could have who they really wanted.

And Jesminda was Luciens first choice. That doesn't mean they were meant to be forever.

You're really hammering home this first choice argument but that doesn't matter to me because our first choice or even second choice isn't always the right choice. I'd rather have something be lasting for the right reasons than look down on a character for not seeing the best option right from the start (again, Tamlin, Feyre, Rhys).

If an author told me that Mates will always feel drawn to one another despite not choosing one another and those two characters have been written as compatible than yes, I would absolutely hold out hope for an ending where the two Mates made it work. Especially when as individuals (as in the case of Elain and Lucien, they are EXTREMELY compatible. To the point its smacking you in the face). I wouldn't expect it to happen right away because instant love isn't my thing. But if two characters who would obviously get along really well if they learned to let go of their pasts which is preventing them from moving forward with their future, end up accepting their bond and have the ultimate kind of love? Why wouldn't I enjoy reading that? 😂. As it stands Elain hasn't rejected the bond so there's still hope and it's weird you knock Eluciens for believing that all will work itself out in the end.

Antis love to throw Rhys and Tamlin's parents as an example of an unmatched bond but SJM isn't writing a love story about Rhys's parents. She's writing a love story about Lucien, Elain, Az, Feyre, Nesta, etc. Does it really make sense to you for a Fated Mates author to give a main character a sucky Mating Bond where they'll always feel the pull to their Mate? Just because some of the main characters evil fathers had one?

I've already explained why I ship Elucien and also Gwynriel. I'm OK giving these characters time to figure out whats right for them rather than having to end up with their "first choice" (which actually isn't their first choice as I've stated above). Because right now these characters are not who they're meant to be. They're still learning who they are and their current love interests reflect that immaturity. When they finally have growth, I want their love interest at that point to reflect the newer, more mature version of themselves.

It's not about first or second choices. It's about the right choice at the right time in their lives.

You want to keep Elain stagnant. I look forward to the growth we know is coming and who she'll realize is the best fit for her at that time. (hint, it's not Az).

Also: "Would Rhys ever give Feyre a necklace that he actually meant to give to another girl….? No. What decent romance ever starts off like that??".

I think you just shot yourself in the foot with that because Rhys would never give another female a necklace he intended for Feyre. Obviously Elain should not be with a Male who didn't think twice about giving her gift to another female. That gift must not have meant all that much to Az if he could give it just anyone 😁

And to wrap it up, Elain is the only female in an SJM novel to instantly feel the bond snap well before she was remotely ready. Of course there will be differences because of that and one of those differences is convincing herself she doesn't have to accept the bond. That she can try and be with someone else.

She can test out that theory all she wants but it doesn't mean she won't eventually realize Fate knew what it was doing.