#after the Lucien analysis

[violetasteracademic]

The Glass Coffin: HOFAS x Elriel

Many HOFAS spoilers ahead!! This is an INTENSIVE post on all the Elriel coding in HOFAS, so strap in! This is largely a theory post and my personal interpretations, so take it or leave it! It's all in good fun.

Let's start with The Glass Coffin. When it comes to the analysis of the songs Bryce played for Azriel and Nesta in the much beloved and much dissected bonus chapter, I have seen a lot of conversation around Stone Mother and significantly less (if any?) around The Glass Coffin!

The Glass Coffin is played next after the Stone Mother. And it is a ballet.

What is the The Glass Coffin?

My friends, it is Sleeping Beauty.

Now we all know that many suspect Elriel to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling. And I'll be honest, I take a lot of the mythology or "retellings" with a grain of salt when it comes to SJM, because she doesn't do incredibly loyal retellings but takes bits and pieces of inspiration. I suppose it's up to you where you draw the line of a retelling, or free IP inspiration. But one thing to understand about IP is that Sarah J. Maas would have to get Disney's permission to call her work a retelling of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Much like Beauty and The Beast, she did not "retell" the Disney princess movie, but the original La Belle et la Bête by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve published in 1740. So with that little lesson in intellectual property, lets look at the story of The Glass Coffin, because it is actually quite interesting:

A magician forces a proposal on a Maiden using his magic. The Maiden is repulsed by the use of magic in the proposal and rejects him. The Magician turns her brother into a stag, traps her in the glass coffin, and enchants the land around them.

There is a LOT to unpack here. I do not think Lucien is "The Magician" in this story. Instead, I think the Cauldron is, and I do think that the use of magic to force a proposal is a very close parallel to what Azriel discovered in HOFAS: That the Cauldron had been corrupted by the Asteri to serve their will. If you have read all of the books in the multiverse, you know that there is no other SJM universe where mating bond rejections happen. There is no other universe in which there are unhappily mated pairs forced together because the function of the mating bond, at a base level, is simply to produce the most powerful offspring. Mates in other worlds are true soulmates, and they fall in love before discovering they are mates.

In HOFAS, Azriel listened to a song from The Glass Coffin. He also listened to the story of Silene, and learned that the Cauldron was corrupted by the Asteri. It is not a theory or interpretation that the Asteri curate powerful bloodlines to ensure they have the strongest food from the souls that they eat. It is a fact. So it is not a jump to interpret that the Cauldron's corruption by the Asteri, and mates that are not a good fit on a soul level but forced together to produce powerful offspring, are one and the same. At this time, both Azriel and Elain have discussed feelings of repulsion or discomfort regarding E/ucien's bond. There are also negative consequences to a female rejecting the bond, as there were for the Maiden in The Glass Coffin. Rejecting a bond can lead to madness on the males end in Prythian because he believes he is entitled to her, just as the Maiden rejecting the Magician's proposal led to him trapping her in glass and enchanting the lands so no one else could have her.

This is already quite interesting, but it gets even more powerful as you continue to breakdown the Elain coding in HOFAS.

This line basically started a war:

"I can hear your heart beating through the stone." She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer, "Can you hear mine?" (ACOWAR, chpt. 24)

Now many people have used this to claim she is Lucien's mate, because she can hear his heartbeat. Though only a few pages earlier, we had this moment:

Elain can hear Feyre's heartbeat. She says if she listens carefully, she can hear hers too. At the time, we all assumed she was talking about Nesta. And yet we've discovered that Vesperus, an Asteri, (or Valg, depending on which theory you vibe with) was also a beating heart under the stone.

Inside a glass coffin.

More than that, we have this passage:

We now know that the Prison was once the Dusk Court, and just like UTM, The Hewn City, and Ramiel, it is encapsulated in stone beneath the mountain. Within the stone of the Prison lies the long buried heart of the Dusk Court. When you look back at Elain's line to Lucien, and see that she is staring out at the city, looking for answers at the heart she can hear beating beneath the stone, and not Lucien, this all starts to click together in a brilliant way. And the imagery, the island having a soul nurtured and blossoming under her care, has Elain written all over it.

Now, the reason I bring up the Hewn City here is because I believe there is a reason for Elain's lifelessness and distress in the Hewn City that has nothing to do with her wearing the color black.

In HOFAS, we discover a few important things about Earth Fae. Lidia discovers in her time on Team Archives what the Earth Fae did, and what their powers were used for:

Earth Fae were used on Midgard to discover ley lines of power to create powerful strongholds. One important thing I have noticed is that all Fae on Midgard are said to come from either Erilea or Prythian (at least that is all that is mentioned) and yet there is no indicator of where the Earth Fae come from. it is my personal belief the Earth Fae are from Prythian. Yet the entire Dusk Court disappeared, and their story continued on Midgard. It is my belief that Elain is not only a Seer, but that she has also been gifted with the Earth powers that have since been lost on Prythian, priming her to both restore Earth powers on Prythian as well as the Dusk Court.

What does this have to do with the Hewn City?

Earth Fae experience distress when they are in places where the magic is dead or warped, and they are the only ones that can feel it:

Bryce mentions she forgets the Earth Fae even have magic, because what they can do is often unseen.

If Elain is in possession of the lost Earth power, she would have been able to feel her power literally shriveling up and dying anywhere that has been warped by that magic.

And then of course we have the fact that the cave on Prythian is an exact match to the Cave of Princes on Avallen. We end HOFAS with all the weapons in the possession of the IC, the knowledge that there are cache's of magic hidden in the lands, and that there are places where the magic has been twisted and must be freed, one being the Prison/Dusk Court.

This was the imagery used once the magic was freed on Avallen, and it took its true, lush, blossoming form:

If what is true on Avallen will also be true once the Dusk Court is freed on Prythian, answer this question honestly: When you read this imagery- blooming vines and roses, beautiful and surreal, the land seeming to know her, small blooming flowers nestling around her body and in her hair- who do you think of? Who could this possibly be alluding to back in Prythian?

Elain's coding was all over HOFAS, and Azriel's "what if the Cauldron was wrong storyline" continued. These statements are true, even if none of my theories about her being an Earth Fae are right, though I know I'm not the only one who believes that is where we are headed!

The fact that The Glass Coffin is Sleeping Beauty, and that Azriel listened to it, may not be a powerful statement on its own (though I think it is). But the fact that the Cauldron corruption was revealed, and The Glass Coffin is a story of a woman who was entrapped due to her rejecting a proposal forced by magic, and Sarah used the Glass Coffin again with Vesperus, potentially tying her back to the heartbeat Elain can hear if she listens closely, it's all just too much to ignore.

I was personally overwhelmed by all of the Elain and Azriel nods in HOFAS. I think they get buried under all of the criticism in the book. I am so excited to see where everything goes, and I hope you had fun going down this rabbit hole with me!

[lovemyromance]

SJM: I thought it was obvious??

AKA - No analysis needed. The clues are there. Things are already happening.

Please keep your 80 page PowerPoints and highlighted words from your “8 books of canon” (none of which are actually from ACOTAR, btw) to yourself.

“I thought it was obvious” = no deep dives needed. No extrapolation or analysis necessary. The words are already on the page. You don’t have to work harder than SJM to come up with your own theories (*cough* see HOFAS crazy hype theories vs actual book)

“I thought it was obvious”

The ONLY couple currently mutually attracted to each other is Elriel. They have had moments since ACOMF. ACOSF did not end them, it gave them the setup for the next book. They are set up for the greatest tortured forbidden romance of the series, how can you dispute that? Why would you WANT to dispute that love story? I don’t want ACOSF 2.0 which was all physical and no substance. I want an angsty, slow forbidden romance. I want to fall in love when the characters fall in love. Elriel will give us that.

“I thought it was obvious”

The other ships do NOT exist on the page at the moment. Elucien, I will give credit to because they are still mates so that COULD happen still. But right now, where ACOSF ended, they had barely even seen each other in a year. The only romantic coded interactions have been between Azriel & Elain thus far.

“I thought it was obvious”

Elucien & Gw*riel have not shared any romantic moments. There is no romance between them at this current time in the series. I am not talking about “what could happen” or “what could Sarah be setting up” because she said it was obvious. That means it’s there already. There’s no reason to hypothesize and theorize about ships that don’t currently exist in the book. Because - and say it with me-

“I thought it was obvious”

What is obvious about elucien? Other than the fact that they are mates. That’s it. That’s all they have. Not even a conversation on the page. Not even a shared shy glance or brush of their fingers. It’s the equivalent of an arranged marriage neither of them seems to want. Analyzing 20 sentences about flowers and sunlight, going out of your way to prove feyre is an “unreliable” narrator when she questions the bond (but Cassian, fashion police of Velaris, is a very very reliable narrator)-Why? Is any of that obvious to the casual reader? No.

“I thought it was obvious”

I’m not even going to spend many words talking about Gw*nriel, as I don’t see it as anything more than a crackship. They have like 4 platonic interactions. Friendly. Banter, sure. But not all banter is a clue that people are predestined soulmates. Most people who read their interactions are not going to overanalyze spark and glow and shadow behavior. They shouldn’t have to because - again - none of that is obvious.

“I thought it was obvious”

Shy glances and subtle scenes in the background wasn’t enough for those who claim to be reading experts. So SJM released a bonus chapter where in clear black and white text, you see both Azriel and Elain desperate for each other. This man is willing to BEG on his knees for a taste of her/ the end. Why would you even want him with anyone else after that?

“I thought it was obvious”

All these characters I’ve mentioned have been supporting characters this entire series. Nothing concerning them is going to happen in someone else’s book-but the seeds have been sewn. Any scene with Elain could have been written with Lucien or her sisters instead of Azriel - but it wasn’t.

Ex: when majda says, “if anyone can figure out what’s wrong, it’s a mate”

Lucien is THERE. Feyre is THERE. Nesta is THERE. But who figures it out - not her mate, nor her sisters - Azriel.

Lucien could’ve shown her the garden, feyre could’ve sat with her and listened to Elain’s garden plans till 3am - but no - it was Azriel.

And this man is the only one in the NC I’m convinced that has an actual job and responsibilities. So he is choosing to spend what little free time he has with ELAIN. What’s not clicking, folks?

“I thought it was obvious”

Sarah-we love her-but she is Queen of cliches. Her writing is not some insane thriller level that has you gasping every page turn. She likes threes, she likes happy endings, she likes her male LIs desperate for their female counterparts. The answer to Amarantha’s riddle was LOVE. CC had “through love all is possible”.

You really think she wrote the line “hoped love would trump even a mating bond” and it meant nothing?

SJM doesn’t do anything easy. But she said it was obvious- because it IS.

[1800naveen]

My appreciation.

September 2023, I started the "a court of thorns and roses" series. Booktok got me hyped to read it so when I did, I really enjoyed it. (I fell victim to liking Rhysand and the inner circle, forgive me)

Feyre, Tamlin, and Lucien were my favorite characters. Their dynamic, how their relationship grew, I loved it all. (I was also a hater of Nesta but I changed now, my mind opened.)

I also saw spoilers on Tik Tok about acomaf and Rhysand which put me into a slump and I didn't continue reading the series again until April 2024. Yeah, it was that bad.

Finding out that people hated Tamlin for his later actions got me bummed because I really liked him at the time. I got spoiled for the rest of the series but I don't really care for spoilers that much.

During my slump, I made an account on Tumblr. I mostly liked posts but I would comment at times. I was afraid of making a post because I was just nervous.

I still had love for Tamlin so I avoided the Acotar side of Tumblr for a while. Because what if someone came after for my thoughts or opinions? That scared me. I felt somewhat alone when it came to not hating Tamlin or seeing him as a "villain" (he's more morally grey). I also still didn't like Rhysand because of the whole under the mountain thing which weirded me out.

Then one faithful day, I was looking through the Bryce Quinlan tag after finding out about her when I saw this post (it was about the crossover) and it was the first anti Rhysand post I liked.

And I clicked on the anti Rhysand tag and my third eye opened. When it came to booktok, I thought that hating this man was some sort of taboo.

These guys showed his wrongdoings, went on analysis, how he was toxic, how he treated certain characters, etc. Thanks to them, I was right to feel what I felt about him. He fucking sucks.

I then went on the pro Tamlin tag and I had finally found my people. Ones that shared the same thoughts as I did when it came to Tamlin and it gave me inspiration to make my first post on here.

(And the rest was history...) *cue the clapping*

Nah but seriously, I want to give my appreciation to the Tamlin, Nesta, Lucien, and Eris fans, the anti Rhysand people, the inner circle haters, and the people who just hate this series in general. I'm grateful for finding a community where I fit right in and where I won't get burned at the stake for my opinion (most of the time). I actually made friends on here which is great because I usually suck at making friends (Me and Tamlin twinning, can't make friends for shit) so this is great.

TIME FOR THE TAGS!!!

Giving my appreciation to the people who inspired me to become the blog that I am today: @szalonykasztan00, @copypastus (love your art❤), @shi-daisy, @arson-09, @thrumbolt, @achaotichuman, and @feyres-divorce-lawyer (so glad that I found you on tik tok first, a fellow Rhysand hater).

My mutuals where we are united by both love and hate: @sonics-atelier (thanks for making those analysis posts), @wingsdippedingold, @rin-u-pos, @positivelyruined (bless you for the Luke Eisner fancast🙏🏾), @nickel156, @viktoriaashleyyx, @thatapologisttoyourantis.

And those who I first found out on tik tok and then found them again on Tumblr (some are mutuals, some aren't and the first two I found out there asoiaf tik toks): @watcherintheweyr, @kataraavatara, @booksnwriting.

Yuh, that's about it. Just wanted to make something nice and sweet. Thanks to my 107 followers that I got for mostly being a hater or from other stuff that I post.

Me to all of you (This feels corny but I was born on the cob🌽):

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(Here's the posts I was talking about.)

[oristian]

ACOWAR, chapter 69.

“Death and the Lovely Fawn.”

Upon rereading this scene, I have a few thoughts. This has been a scene that Elriels have boasted about being canon confirmation of endgame. Allow me to debunk this. As I plan on going more in depth in my overall ACOWAR analysis later this Summer, this will just be my thoughts in a more condensed fashion.

1 — Feyre never actually titles the painting and only refers to Elain as the “Lovely Fawn,” and Azriel as “Death.” For such a significant scene between Elain and Azriel, and apparent confirmation of their endgame, would their painting not have been titled with the official ship moniker? On top of that, Azriel is not the only character to have been referred to as “Death.” Rhysand and Nesta have also held those titles, so for Azriel to not have something specific to him—“The Shadowsinger and the Lovely Fawn”—it does not seem that prolific. Feyre has even named the painting between Rhysand and Lucien.

2 — Elain was not going to take Truth Teller until Feyre stepped in. As she had refused any other weapon before, she was hesitant and not fully on board. It was Feyre stepping in and telling Elain that she would not have to use it that drove her to accept it. Canonically, Elain is uncomfortable with violence and anything associated with that. While it is important that she is the first character Azriel has given Truth Teller to, seeing her hesitation is very telling.

3 — “The only bridge of connection … that knife.” Two thoughts on this sentence. Death and the Lovely Fawn had one bridge connecting them, and it was Truth Teller. As Elain has given it back, there is now no connection between them if we’re going off Feyre’s painting as endgame confirmation. The second thought is the use of “that knife,” as if it is not significant enough to call the blade Truth Teller. A reminder that Feyre is an artist and gets inspiration at random moments—this was just her inspiration for a future painting.

+ BONUS — The Death and the Lovely Fawn monikers are incompatible. Elain and Lucien are the only two characters canonically to have animal monikers—fawn and fox—which only further ties into their endgame. After ACOSF, Gwyn and Azriel have much more compatible monikers and titles.

All in all, while the act of Azriel giving Truth Teller to Elain is important, the context surrounding this scene is not enough to confirm endgame and actually hurts Elriel more than anything.

[theshadowsingersraven]

Can I just say that as someone who is in this for Azriel's HEA primarily, E/riels are most frequently the ones who remove his depth in favor of their ship? And it drives me insane. I've interacted with a few, probably 4-5, that can at least agree that he has a tendency to go for unattainable women/women he puts on a pedestal. A few can at least agree he has a very apparent hero complex.

But a lot of them, especially on Tiktok, will not entertain any analysis at all if it's even neutral towards their ship. They refuse to believe Azriel has a clear hero complex, and that it's not a coincidence that he has a pattern of trying "save" a female from one of Beron's sons. First Mor with Eris, now Elain with Lucien. They refuse to believe he's biased and is likely projecting his own perceived "failures" to protect his mom, too.

But that's what makes him so interesting to me! The way he falls into these self-punishing patterns. The way he projects his frustrations outwards and thinks nothing of himself and how jealous and lonely that makes him. And they ignore all of that! Gwynriels, Eluciens, and Azrises have all been willing to at least hear these types of analysis.

But E/riels ignore that Azriel, base level, is actually pretty kind and considerate. Yes, he absolutely has walls and walls built up and a mask perpetually, so it's not easy to see. Yes, he tortures people as part of his job. So those things definitely helped hide those traits, but he thing that clued me in was the first time he was vulnerable with Feyre. When she confessed that she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere as a Made fae, Azriel tells her that after 500 years, he doesn't feel like he's found where he belongs either.

And given that Azriel, per Rhys, is nearly impossible to make "break" or say anything he doesn't want to, that reads to me as genuine. He's willing to let that guard down a little bit if it means he can help someone. And that's only the first moment he has with her.

But E/riels will insist that everything he did for Elain is special, that he wouldn't do it for anyone else.

I'm sorry, Mr. "Be careful how you speak about my High Lady" wouldn't go save Feyre or Nesta in Hybern? He wouldn't give Feyre or Nesta Truth-Teller to protect themselves once he saw them refuse Cassian’s knife and determine they needed something more to feel comfortable? He wouldn't sit and talk with Feyre or Nesta for a long time about their interests, despite the fact that Azriel and Feyre played a game at Rita's where they bet on which person in the club would try to make a move on Rhys? He wouldn't spend time with Nesta even though he got her a thoughtful book light and accepted her hug? Even though she is the only person we've seen him directly mention loving, literally from his own mouth, per CC3?

He would. He would do that. Azriel is traumatized and externally cold, yes, but it's clear he is generally thoughtful and considerate towards the Inner Circle. Those are his people. Actively taking away his depth by lessening his kindness in favor of a ship is such a disservice to his character and the hints that we have towards what I believe will be his later complexity.

[glossamerfaerie]

This is obvious, but bear with me.

2020: publication of Crescent City 1, which introduces the concept of the four Houses of Midgard and how the series titles will mirror them.

2021: A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES (Nesta’s book with Cassian as love interest)

2022: CC2 releases. We find out about upcoming crossover.

2024: HOUSE OF FLAME AND SHADOW (CC3 crossover in which Nesta and Azriel are the main ACOTAR characters)

Double meaning: Nesta is Flame and Azriel is Shadow.

2025 (?): upcoming ACOTAR title. Extremely likely to be A COURT OF [ADJECTIVE] SHADOWS. (Azriel book with Gwyn). The phrase could also be “SHADOWY + NOUN” but I think that looks messier. Nesta’s book also used the plural noun with Flames.

***

Assuming that my 2025 guess is correct, HOFAS is literally bookended by two ACOTAR books with the ✨exact same title word as HOFAS.✨

“But wait,” you say, “this is just a coincidence. HOFAS is named after a House of Midgard, the one with the reapers and necromancers. CC1 was published way before these ACOTAR books. Flame and shadow are super common words!”

I think these titles and book order have been planned for a long time. It’s possible that SJM had shifting ideas when she wrote ACOFAS in 2017, but by the time she wrote CC1 (which clearly introduced multiverse concept with Bryce’s tattoo) in 2018/2019, SJM knew that she wanted Nesta and Az to be the prominent characters in CC3 and the upcoming ACOTAR protagonists. The crossover details may have changed over the years, but Nesta and Az prominence didn’t.

Definition of House of Flame and Shadow: “Daemonaki, Reapers, wraiths, vampyrs, draki, dragons, necromancers, and many wicked and unnamed things that even Urd herself cannot see.”

There is literally no reason why this House HAD to be named Flame and Shadow. The other Midgard houses have elements (Earth, Sky, Waters), but why use the word FLAME specifically? It could’ve been Embers, Blaze, Inferno, etc. SJM could’ve also used “Fire” — it didn’t need to be fancy since House of Many Waters just used Waters.

Same analysis with Shadow. What about that creature classification necessitated the word Shadow? There are lots of natural phenomenon associated with darkness and death and wickedness — the use of Shadow is a deliberate choice.

I genuinely think that this fandom overreaches with the theories. It’s like Taylor Swift — Swifties overthink every Easter egg, but sometimes the answer of the album title is just a giant billboard in a music video.

HOFAS is that giant billboard. SJM is not a complicated writer re: worldbuilding or foreshadowing. It is as simple as “the next ACOTAR books are Nesta and Azriel — what if I represented them in CC3 with the crossover title?” It’s obvious. Setting aside foreshadowing in the actual story, the answer can solely be found in the title.

I love Elucien and know it’s been a long wait, but I’m afraid that the wait is going to be longer than some people hope. I know people think Elain’s book is next but I really don’t see how that’s the case. Not interested in debating or explaining the Gwynriel ship rationale since there’s a million other posts out there.

Re: Azriel’s title being A COURT OF [ADJECTIVE] SHADOWS. I’ve seen people on all sides of the ship war suggest that the adjective be related to the heroine (Gwyn or Elain). I really don’t think so. The title will solely focus on Az, just like how SILVER FLAMES solely focused on Nesta. It could be MELODIC SHADOWS or WHISPERING SHADOWS or something else. But the adjective will fit an ability that we’ve already seen from Az’s shadows (we know they whisper to Az and can sing). Similarly, Elucien book title will solely focus on Elain. Cassian and Gwyn and Lucien are extremely important characters, but they won’t be represented in the title.

[crazy-ache]

SJM is a Zutara Shipper? That sounds like Elucien....let me explain

It was recently brought to my attention that Sarah hinted in 2017 at being a Zuko/Katara shipper in the Avatar the Last Airbender series. This was exciting to hear as I was in the ATLA fandom over a decade ago and Zuko/Katara was my first OTP and introduction to fandom. I have loved them a long time and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I want to explore why Sarah shipping Zutara is really important when it comes to Elucien because there are a lot of great parallels.

Note: if you know anything about the ATLA shipping fandom/wars...you immediately know what she means by this. Zutara is a fanon ship that was often baited by the writers. Her disappointment is a shared, common reaction to the ship.

A very long, detailed analysis is below the cut. This NOT for ATLA discourse. This is intended to focus SOLELY on Elucien. Read below if you are a fan of Zutara/Elucien....

ATLA Characters vs ACOTAR Characters

Let's start with the characters themselves.

We have Prince Zuko, the exiled and scarred prince of the Fire Nation, who was banished after his evil, power-hungry father (the Fire Lord) horribly punished him for embarrassing him with his kindness (not wanting innocent soldiers to be used as bait in war), which he viewed as morally inferior and weak. It is implied his mother, a gentle-hearted woman, was abused in the marriage. She disappeared when he was young to maintain her husband's political power, only so that her children would live. The loss of his mother is his greatest trauma, along with his desire to go back home and gain his honor and father's acceptance.

Then we have Lucien Vanserra, exiled and scarred son of the Autumn Court, who had to flee after his evil, power-hungry father (the High Lord) horribly punished him for embarrassing him with his relationship with a lower-Fae female, which he viewed as repulsive and below their High Fae status. It is implied his mother, a gentle-hearted woman, was abused in the marriage. His lover was brutally murdered by the hands of his father/brothers and he had to flee, never having the chance to see his mother again. Losing Jesminda is his greatest trauma, likely along with losing his home, Court, and family.

Let's also not forget...they BOTH WEILD FIRE! I do think the Lucien/Zuko comparison is quite obvious and direct, where the Elain/Katara is a bit more symbolic.

For our ladies, we have Katara, master waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. She is the youngest daughter of the Chief. She begins the journey as someone untrained and incapable of bending her own element, in a small, impoverished village due to the effects of war and destruction on their nation/culture by the Fire Nation. Her mother was tragically murdered by the Fire Nation in order to save her daughter's life. This is singularly her greatest trauma. Throughout the show, we see Katara become a powerful and master bender.

Finally, we have Elain Archeron, who was once human and is the middle sister in her family. She was the daughter of a once-successful merchant. She also loses her mother and is very close to her father, who she also tragically loses in the war. She loses her humanity and her fiance, Graysen, in one fell swoop when they put her in the Cauldron. This is singularly her greatest trauma, one that we see she has trouble letting go, even becoming practically comatose when it first happens. We later learn Elain possesses magic and is a seer.

A little less here, but I am not surprised. Katara and Elain, personality-wise, are very different. However, I will add that both Elain/Katara are often associated as symbols of HOPE in the narrative. But this brings me to my next point which is where I believe SJM was influenced by Zutara when writing Elucien....

Shared Grief as the Catalyst

Every Zuko/Katara shipper knows the crux of their relationship is from their shared trauma. Despite being on opposite ends of the war, they both carry an immense grief in losing their mothers to the war. It is the first thing they realize they have in common, the first moment they share a genuine, sincere connection, enough for them to reach out and open up to each other.

Elain and Lucien also have a shared trauma. They both lost their first loves/fiances. Lucien lost her tragically. Elain lost him in a brutal rejection. It broke both of their hearts, and they both carry grief and complicated emotions around it.

The hurt and pain brought Zutara together. As a result, they understand each other in ways others can't. I have no doubt that Elucien will spark from a similar place of understanding.

Complimentary Symbolism

One of the most beautiful parts of Zuko/Katara is the use of opposite/complimentary symbolism. Two halves of a whole. Balance and unity.

Zuko= Fire and Sun and Blue Spirit Katara= Water and Moon and Painted Lady

Lol can you believe we got the line below...I couldn't come up with a more romantic symbolic line if I tried and that's canon folks

Lucien = Day and Fox and Spring/Loss

Elain = Flowers and Fawns and Spring/Life

Elain, often associated with gardens and flowers and roses, was asked what she needed at her lowest point. She said "Sunshine." Enter Lucien, the secret heir to Day Court and Helion, whose name means Light. The Fox and the Fawn. Elain "Made for Spring" Archeron and Lucien "Spring Court Emissary and Courtier" Vanserra. I wrote Spring/Loss and Spring/Life because Lucien had to see Spring become ruined/flee the one place he called home. There is strong foreshadowing that Elain will help in some way to revive spring and possibly bring it back to life, hopefully with Lucien's help.

Let's also not forget that Elain was formerly human and now living as a High Fae in the Night Court. Lucien is a High Fae who looked down on humans and now lives in the mortal lands. It's an interesting dynamic!

Betrayal

Okay buckle up. This one is important. The feeling of betrayal is important to the development of both ships. Let me break this down.

Katara is a victim of the Fire Nation. Zuko is the prince of the Fire Nation who once hunted them down to retrieve the Avatar. She often conflated her feelings toward Zuko with her feelings regarding her mother's murder by the hands of the Fire Nation', as evidenced here.

Katara: I'm sorry I yelled at you before. Zuko: It doesn't matter. Katara: It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.

We see these messy emotions come back when Zuko joins the team to teach Aang firebending.

Zuko: This isn't fair! Everyone else seems to trust me now! What is it with you? Katara: Oh, everyone trusts you now?! I was the first person to trust you! [Places her left hand on her heart.] Remember, back in Ba Sing Se. And you turned around and betrayed me, betrayed all of us! Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you? Katara: You really want to know? Hmm, maybe you could reconquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King. Or, I know! You could bring my mother back!

Now, at this point, we know she has not forgiven him for Ba Sing Se. Remember, this was the moment they shared their intimate connection over their shared Dead Mother trauma. (In an episode called The Crossroads of Destiny nonetheless). She offered to heal his scar, and later when given the chance to choose between what is right vs. what he wants....he chooses what he wants, which is to return home to his father for his acceptance. Katara took this as a personal betrayal and we see she still imagines his face as the enemy by demanding he bring her mother back (even though it isn't possible/he isn't responsible for it).

You know who else has mentioned betrayal?

For a long moment, Elain’s face did not shift, but those eyes seemed to focus a bit more. “Lucien,” she said at last, and he clenched his teacup to keep from shuddering at the sound of his name on her mouth. “From my sister’s stories. Her friend.” “Yes.” But Elain blinked slowly. “You were in Hybern.” “Yes.” It was all he could say. “You betrayed us.” He wished she’d shoved him out the window behind her. “It—it was a mistake.” Her eyes went frank and cold. “I was to be married in a few days.” He fought against the bristling rage, the irrational urge to find the male who’d claimed her and shred him apart. The words were a rasp as he instead said, “I know. I’m sorry.”

Elain associates Lucien's involvement with Ianthe/Hybern/The Cauldron as a personal betrayal. Lucien, much like Zuko, is sorry for his actions that have hurt her.

Both Zuko and Lucien don't argue about the anger/accusations of betrayal. They own it. They just want to make it right.

In the same episode of the snippet above ("You could bring my mother back!") Zuko and Katara go on their infamous "field trip" or journey together, just the two of them. Despite Katara's anger, the two of them are in perfect sync. They are the perfect team and pair, moving fluid in their elements, sneaking around enemy ships. Zuko defends her desire for closure (however dark it may be) against her friends and family wishes. He never questions her. He supports her emotionally. He yells at an enemy solider- "Don't lie! You look her in the eye and you tell me you don't remember what you did." (OH COME ON, what is hotter than that!?) In the end, she forgives him. Not because of what he did. But because he understands her and gives her space and places no expectations of who she is or what she should do. He accepts her. All the dark and pain and light inside.

Don't mind the romantic sunset in the background

Going on an adventure? Likely against the wishes of friends and family due to it being dangerous? Doing whatever is necessary to help the girl forgive you/trust you? Giving her the necessary space and support to do what she has set her mind to? Helping her find closure and healing along the way? Falling love? Sure sounds like an Elucien book......wonder where SJM got the inspiration?

Azriel vs Aang

I cannot write this post without mentioning Aang and Azriel. This is NOT an ATLA shipping discourse so please no comments regarding the Kataang/Zutara ship war. I am using this as a comparison to Elucien/E/riel.

I have a feeling that SJM has written Azriel (specifically in the Bonus Chapter) to serve as a foil to Aang's dynamic to Katara. Which is that both characters feel entitled to their crush.

Aang, the young hero and savior of the world, has a long-standing crush on Katara that is not really reciprocated romantically throughout the series.

When the group goes to watch a play based on themselves, there is scene where the actors on stage go:

Actor Zuko: Wait, I thought you were the Avatar's girl! [Aang in the audience nods in agreement.] Actress Katara: The Avatar? Why, he's like a little brother to me! I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. [Aang in the audience grows concerned.] Besides, how could he ever find out about ... this? [Actress Katara and Actor Zuko embrace and hold hands while Actress Katara pops up one leg. Aang gets up from his seat to leave.]

It can be interpreted that his nodding and getting upset is attributed to feeling possessive of his crush on Katara. That she belongs to him, as he is the Hero and the Avatar, and should get the girl. He is jealous of something that didn't actually happen between the actors on stage (he is only 12 to be fair).

Further evidence here:

Aang: But it's true, isn't it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we're not. Katara: Aang, I don't know. Aang: Why don't you know? Katara: Because, we're in the middle of a war, and, we have other things to worry about. This isn't the right time.

...and then he kisses her, and she doesn't want it/isn't expecting it, and runs away back to the theater. We won't get into that here.

Hm, this story sounds familiar....

Azriel ignored the question. "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."

There is a similar sense of entitlement, that also ended with Elain running away from the scene, upset. The difference being he rejected her at the urging (and convincing) of Rhysand because he knew it was a mistake.

Tension & Healing & Growth (What's Next)

"There is a great deal of tension, growth, and healing to be found for both of them (together)." - from Sarah J Maas herself. If she was a Zutara shipper, I can totally see her inspiration in elements of Elucien.

In the end, many Zuko/Katara shippers really believed these two brought out the best in each other in the best possible ways. (I know I did). And I think that's a big reason a lot of Eluciens ship Elain/Lucien...the potential of how they'll complement each other is so huge.

Just as Katara and Zuko were once extremely tense in their relationship, they underwent an incredible and beautiful journey of healing and growth. One that ended in....Zuko sacrificing his life for her. Animated in slow motion with romantic/epic musical scores. For the girl who lost her mother (who sacrificed herself to save her daughter). An epic friendship but no romance....which Sarah herself agreed she wasn't a fan of....

So I imagine she is going to rectify that narrative for Elucien. I for one cannot wait to read their story in their book.

[johannestevans]

I'm Johannes T. Evans, author of HEART OF STONE - AMA!

My name is Johannes T. Evans, and I am an author of fantasy, romance, erotica, and a little bit of horror, a lot of which is written in the same fantasy universe. I like to focus on character dynamics and like to do a lot of worldbuilding alongside character arcs and development - some themes I like to play a lot with are power dynamics, institutions and structures of power, disability, trauma and trauma recovery, and sex.

My first book, Heart of Stone, is a slowburn historical fantasy romance between an ADHD vampire and his very autistic secretary - it's set in the 1700s and is almost wholly about the relationship between these two men, with a great focus on introspection and anxieties about crossing over the boundaries between them.

My newest release, Powder and Feathers, came out earlier this summer, and is set in the same universe, albeit a few hundred years on - it's a dark fantasy romance between a Fallen angel who's had several human lovers before, and becomes fixated on a depressed alcoholic he sees painting in the park. It's largely about found family and trauma recovery, but at the core is a sort of battle of wills and boundaries.

I primarily write short stories and publish my longer works chapter by chapter, whereupon they're re-edited and republished as eBooks & paperbacks, although with the exception of Heart of Stone, I do keep the rest of my serials available online to be read for free. I have a background in writing fanfiction, and especially as a queer author, I like to ensure some of my work is always available without a monetary obstacle, so that it's as accessible as widely as possible for people who might enjoy it.

I primarily publish my short stories and essays on Patreon and on Medium, with serials published on WorldAnvil.

Some of my biggest fantasy short stories are:

Ambitious Men — Rated M. MB. 11.6k. Archie had idolised Casper Hugo almost his entire life. Deeply fucked up fantasy-horror, wherein a man finds that his dream of taking over his hero’s restaurant is not to proceed as smoothly as he hoped.

Steps Ahead — Rated M. 13.7k. MB. A serving boy seduces a prince who is tired of the weight of his crown.

Gellert’s New Job — 21k, rated M. MB. Gellert Osgodby has worked as a business manager for the King family for nearly a decade when an error in judgement brings his employment to an abrupt end. Lucien Pike, a rival kingpin, employs his services instead.

Warden Gordon and the Angel in the Woods — 7.6k. MB. Working in a magical national park, Gryff Gordon has a contentious relationship with a local angel.

Dirk and the Weaver — 12k, rated M, MB. A shopkeeper slowly comes to fall for a weaver when he comes to town.

The Widower’s Garden — 12.5k, Rated M, MB. After a man is widowed, his husband begins to appear at the foot of his garden every night.

(All of these short stories are ordinarily paywalled on Medium, but I've linked via my friend link, which allows them to be read for free without a Medium account.)

For some background information about me, I'm a gay trans dude who went full time as an author roundabout 2021, and writing has been my full time occupation since - previously to that, I worked mostly in a hotel and as a phone sex operator. I was at WorldCon earlier this month, and when I'm not working on stuff of my own, I really love film and television, and do a fair bit of analysis and response to different SFF and horror.

With all that said, ask me anything!

[queenelsa567]

I saw the wildest take on ACOTAR tumblr today.

That we shouldn’t be doing literary analysis on “faerie smut.” We shouldn’t be using our knowledge about literature (whether that’s from high school or an English degree) to analyze SJM’s books.

It was just so wild to me for several reasons which I will outline below:

1. Literary analysis is not simply reserved for "high-brow" literature. Literary analysis is something that can be performed on all types of writing, although typically reserved for fictional writing or poetry. News flash: despite SJM's quality of writing, her books are still able to be analyzed. Literary analysis can be defined as the process by which aspects of a piece of writing are analyzed to determine a meaning in the text. It is not a super intense process and most people do it automatically while reading. However, there are certain analysis techniques such as motifs, symbols, and foreshadowing that require a bit more mental investment.

When we reduce books, poems, and other writings to the phrase "it's not that deep," we undermine important aspects of the writing. Perhaps the author didn't mean for it to be that deep. As a writer myself, I know that sometimes that best writing happens by accident. But the point is, the author's personal opinions, biases, and attitudes influence their writing. It is that deep, because no author can be completely unbiased. I will discuss this more later.

2. Although SJM incorporates smut into her books, they are, primarily, romantasy. Romantasy is a genre that combines aspects of romance and fantasy, typically a romance novel that takes place in a fantasy world. SJM's books are not erotica. Erotica is a genre of literature intended to arouse sexual desire and typically contains lots of smut. As SJM's books are not completely smut, and fall into the genre of romantasy, they lend themselves to being analyzed as there are other aspects to them besides sex scenes.

You can analyze a romance book, even if it contains sex scenes. You can analyze fantasy books, even if they contain sex scenes. Why should you not be able to analyze a romantasy book that contains sex scenes? Even erotica can be analyzed (although I won't get into that here). This ties into my previous point. Literary analysis is not reserved for "high-brow" literature.

3. Any time you use "evidence" to support a theory you are making, you are performing literary analysis. This goes for shipping theories and other theories. Any time you say 'I think these two people are going to end up together for this reason,' you are performing literary analysis. (Hate to break it to you, lol.)

Example 1 - Light motifs being used for Elain. Elain is often described as being around and desiring light. You could interpret this as her being a foil for Azriel and that's why they should end up together. Or, you could interpret it as Elain will end up with the Heir to the Day Court, Lucien.

Example 2 - The theory that Amren could be related to the Asteri. Amren talks about how she came through a portal long ago and she has these mystical, angelic powers. Amren also was imprisoned for a while on an island that we learn in CC3 was a stronghold of Theia in a time when they were resisting the Asteri. This has led people to believe that Amren could be related to or created by the Asteri.

Neither of these things were/are outright stated in the text, but they can be inferred from textual evidence presented. This collection of evidence being collated and interpreted is a form of LITERARY ANALYSIS. (Shock. Horror.) There are many other examples, but I will not make you read that much. Therefore, SJM's works can be analyzed.

4. SJM's experiences inform her writing. SJM has outright stated that she modeled Nesta's experience after her journey with depression and mental health issues. SJM has also stated that she modeled aspects of Rhysand on her own husband. These are aspects that we know are informed by SJM's experiences, but it goes without saying that there are other aspects of her life that inform her writing that she hasn't publicly spoken about. That is, in fact, how idea generation and writing works. (Mind. Blown.)

I would also like to state that SJM's zionism informs her writing as well, especially in the ACOTAR and CC series'. I won't get into it here because there is a lot to be said and this post is already extremely long, but if you look for it, you will see it. In spades.

Donate to Palestine. Do good things for your community. Help others.

Importantly, analyze the books you're reading. Use critical thinking skills. Anyone who gets defensive about someone using their degree in English literature to analyze a book (regardless of what the book is) is simply offended that the analysis was well done and they couldn't have done it themselves because they don't have the rad skills to do so. Stay in English class kids. It's way more important than you think.

[bookishwithathought]

ACOSF Bonus Chapter Breakdown Part III - Azriel and Rhys

Part I - Azriel and Elain: https://www.tumblr.com/bookishwithathought/749493410186117120/acosf-bonus-chapter-breakdown-part-i-azriel-and?source=share

Part II - Azriel and Elain: https://www.tumblr.com/bookishwithathought/749514748072263680/acosf-bonus-chapter-breakdown-azriel-and-elain?source=share

**This is just me, analyzing the life out of the bonus chapter and all the possibilities. My thoughts and no one else's. If you agree, great. If you disagree, love it. If you want to share why you disagree, love it even more. If you are disrespectful while disagreeing, I kindly request that you move along, and if you insist you will be left to argue with yourself**

I just have one word for Rhys: hypocrisy

He sighed as I finished one foot and started on the other. “Am I allowed to request that you not play matchmaker? Let them sort it out.” I rose, bracing my hands on my hips. “I would never meddle in someone else’s affairs!” He only raised a brow in silent challenge.

I just wanted to point this out.

Azriel has been caught and is aware of what's coming from a conversation with Rhys and is not looking forward to it.

"This was a mistake"

Possibilties

He forced himself to say it because his conscience and reasoning are again in control

Because Rhys interrupting has helped him really grasp the wrongness of the moment

Because he simply got caught

"Hurt and confusion...I'm sorry":

Possibilties

Elain is questioning all the signals she thought were there from Azriel

She feels rejected and it stings because she's been rejected before by Graysen

Elain allowed herself to finally be vulnerable and open herself up after grieving Graysen and all she lost from that severed relationship

She apologizes because she feels as though she is to blame for the moment, as though she led Az into this moment

"It's I who should":

Possibilties

Azriel realizes how his words impacted her and doesn't want her to feel guilty or ashamed

Azriel truly believes he's to blame here and Elain shouldn't share the guilt

"His shadows whispered":

Possibilities

Azriel asked the shadows to give him an update of Elain's location after he left

The shadows wanted Azriel to know Elain was not waiting for him, ending any possibility of continuing what had been interrupted

The shadows simply volunteered the information to make Az aware

It seems the author used this as a closing of sorts for the moment. They have parted ways with Az saying it was a mistake and Elain apologizing. There's a sense of finality here.

Yes Rhys, indeed Azriel was out of his mind. He was acting on emotions, reason and conscience and consequences be damned.

Frozen mask: the sadness of this statement is worth noting. Azriel was a child in his father's dungeon. A child who had to learn to bury his emotions beneath layers of disconnect, detachment and avoidance because of the brutality around him and directed at him. To survive. To lessen the brutality. To keep himself together as much as possible.

"If you don't feel you don't hurt."

"If you don't feel you don't suffer."

"If you don't feel they can't break you."

Or know how close to breaking you got.

Interesting that Rhys is only focusing on Az here. Instead saying "I'm talking about you and Elain, about to kiss" he emphasizes "I'm talking about you"

Azriel's visceral reaction to Rhys's mention of Elain's mate:

My analysis: Azriel has wanted and waited for the bond for 500 years and can't understand why he seems to be the exception. He's not necessarily upset that Elain is mated, nor does he have anything against Lucien. It has everything to do with his own want for his own mate.

Note on exposing his rage to Rhys: Rhys seems to be the friend he knows he can go to who will hold him accountable. Who will love Azriel by being honest, by holding up a mirror to him when he can't face himself. A true friend who can see his worst and not balk or cower, instead encourage and challenge.

"What if Elain is meant to be my mate?"

"Why are you thinking this when you thought Mor was your mate for 500 years?"

Questioning the Cauldron:

Possibilities

Azriel is questioning his belief system

Azriel is trying to justfiy or excuse his actions

He's trying to appease his conscience by pushing back and pointing the blame somewhere else

Azriel feels entitled to a mate and can't understand why he hasn't gotten what's his.

See above on questioning the Cauldron.

We see throughout the series that the IC always lets Azriel to himself, his feelings and thoughts. Azriel is never pushed to work things through out loud, which leads to ruminating and internalizing. When it comes to negative or strong emotions and thoughts, it's never good.

A possible interpretation of Az's comment:

"I thought Mor was my mate. I'd waited 5 centuries and was willing to wait for longer, then 3 human sisters were chosen to become Fae, and 2 of them happened to be bonded to my brothers. The only reasonable explaination as to why the bond never snapped with Mor is because Elain was meant for me. But the bond snapped between her and Lucien. The Cauldron must've made a mistake."

Based on what we know of the mating bond and pairs that are wrong for each other, it is always a matter of personalities being incompatible. I am not sure this applies to Lucien and Elain, as they are compatible in many ways.

This points to Azriel clinging to whatever reasoning he can to justify or excuse his feelings and actions.

There's a sense of entitlement here.

Rhys's face blanching: could be because there are many male Fae who believe their mate is their property, and Rhys is concerned with the line of thinking Azriel is following here.

Deserve: sense of entitlement here.

Azriel proceeds to give other reasonings that are not aligned with his previous questioning. He went from questioning the Cauldron to saying Elain's mate isn't good enough (yet Azriel himself doesn't deem himself worthy of her) to then saying Elain doesn't want him "anyway".

"So what does it matter?"

Points to Azriel clinging to whatever reasoning he can to justify or excuse his feelings and actions. Almost tantrum-like

This might be applicable here

Az in a nutshell

To be continued...

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien’s 2023 Birthday Story translation

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a story that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Lucien's 2023 CN Birthday Event (The New World)✧ Birthday Story (You’re here!) | Birthday Prologue | Birthday Date | ASMR | Birthday Party

As Lucien looked at two familiar faces in one of the photographs, his gaze flickered for a moment.

It was as if a strange emotion had crossed through time, enveloped in the fresh warmth and memories, unfolded before his eyes once again.

"...And I remember these two Chinese scholars, they were outstanding scientists. It's just a pity…"

As Lucien glanced back at that photograph, he had a fleeting sense that the people in the picture were also gazing back at him.

Perhaps they had been watching over him all along.

[T/N: It's very important to read [Until Dawn R&S] and [Exclusive Past - Monochrome Scenery] first, in that order, because they provide background information regarding his life during college. I promise it'll be worth it to see how everything regarding his college life ended up tied together in this story :). Reading these three feels like accompanying him from getting into college and now graduating and getting a doctoral degree sob sob]

-

[Chapter 1 - Self-Planning of a Genius]

The cold light from the computer screen reflected into Lucien's eyes. He didn't stop even for a moment as he continuously typing on the keyboard. He only breathed a sigh of relief after typing the last letter and then glanced at the lower right corner of the screen.

July 25th, 4:23.

The entire content of the graduation thesis was completed almost a week ahead of the planned deadline.

That's good, he thought, stretching lazily and getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee. The steaming hot liquid and the rich aroma of roasted beans further stimulated his already alert mind.

Although there is still more than half a year left until the formal thesis defense date, sufficient preparation is required for both scheduling and other arrangements.

Outside the window, a hint of dawn began to appear. Lucien finished his last sip of coffee, poured another cup, and then sat back at the table. He retrieved various experimental notes, brought up data analysis charts and reference documents, and brought his thesis back to the first page-

"Further findings on the contributions of the parietal lobe in episodic memory"

His face showed no expression as his slender fingertips glided over the mouse and began the inspection.

Since joining this laboratory four years ago, he spent a year getting to know and familiarize himself with it. Apart from his studies, applying for an independent research space within the organization and obtaining certain privileges and data was also a part of achieving his goals. Lucien always stayed on the clear path, just as he had mentioned during the interview with Dr. Lawson years ago: to research his interests within a limited time frame.

Playtime can be enjoyable, but what's truly important is what needs to be done.

So, about three years ago, he proposed the idea of shortening the duration of his master's and doctoral studies to the professor.

"I need a valid reason."

Dr. Lawson lifted his head from the report, his silver-white eyebrows arching slightly.

"I believe that my current research topic and project are sufficient for me to graduate in three years, at most four."

His calm tone carried the determination of a young man set on his goal. The professor remained silent as if weighing something, and after a moment, he set aside the report in his hand.

"They say there are some interesting stalls at the nearby market. Would you like to go check them out together?"

This invitation seemed to leave no room for refusal. By the time they walked from one end of the market to the other, both of them had their hands full with several paper bags.

"You seem to have a particular fondness for this flavor of wine."

"The family has been passing down their winemaking skills for three generations now, and the current owner is someone I watched grow up." The professor smiled and shared stories of his childhood days picking grapes on the estate with his grandparents in a good mood.

Lucien didn't quite know how to respond to the professor with such a rich life experience, so he simply listened quietly until the conversation naturally shifted back to his own experiences, from his student days to his journey to this point.

"Lucien, I respect your choices and judgment."

"School knowledge is limited; even the most solid theories need practical validation. No one can stop you from climbing higher. After all, everyone has their own path to follow."

"Moreover, silly kid, you just want to see a wider world, don't you?"

The setting sun cast a faint golden glow on the old man's hair as he gave a few more instructions. Before leaving, he placed the paper bag containing the wine into Lucien's hands.

"Those kids are good at picking gifts, and this old man can't compete, so I'll do it first. I want to wish you an early congratulations on your successful graduation."

In the end, Lucien never fully understood how a trip to the market ended up with the professor accepting his proposal.

But fortunately, the outcome was favorable.

He knew exactly what he wanted. Rather than being unwilling to pause his hurried footsteps, it was more about his greed, his eagerness to step into that world and obtain the answers he desired sooner.

Unconsciously, the coffee cup on the table was empty once again.

Lucien's gaze returned to the last word of the document, only to realize that the sun had already climbed overhead. The warm sunlight amplified his hunger, making him realize it was time to replenish some necessary carbohydrates and sugar.

Four years had passed, and surprisingly, nutritionists still hadn't invented nutritional packages.

He couldn't help but sigh.

-

[Chapter 2 - Habits and Change]

A week later, the routine report email unexpectedly received a reply.

"At 3:00 PM, Charles River."

Lucien's gaze paused for a moment. In the past two years, Black Swan had rarely initiated face-to-face meetings. Of course, they would only visit the independent laboratory unannounced, pretending chance encounters in bustling places or infiltrating parties with those "eyes" that couldn't quite disguise themselves.

He didn't mention it. After all, there was no need to waste time dealing with these annoying issues.

He glanced at the time and stood up. "I've drafted the analysis report, and we can further validate it when the key data is available. I'll head out for now."

In response, two consecutive gasps were followed by Colt's high-pitched exclamation. "It's only 2:08 in the afternoon! 2:08! The laboratory ghost is actually leaving the lab at a time when the data is still running?!" He exaggeratedly covered his head. "What catastrophe has occurred? Is the world about to end?!"

Lucien shook his head helplessly. Even though this senior had graduated a long time ago, dealing with his occasional exaggerated and noisy behavior was always a challenge. But when he thought about having only about half a year left of their time together, he smiled softly.

"You're still in the lab. If there's really an emergency, you can always handle it."

He walked over to Matthew, a junior who had joined the lab less than six months ago, and gave him some instructions about certain data points to observe closely. Then, amidst the noise, he left the lab.

The weather today was exceptionally nice. Sitting on a park bench and observing people wasn't a bad way to spend time. Lucien leisurely walked down the stone steps, strolling by the riverbank. In the distance, a man in a black suit was already waiting there.

He casually put his hands in his pockets and gazed at the river, but it seemed like his focus was elsewhere.

This was someone he hadn't seen before.

Perhaps hearing the footsteps, the man turned around.

"The organization is very satisfied with your recent data results, and you can move on to the next stage."

"If there are any equipment or manpower needs, the organization will provide support. However, efforts always require a return."

"I believe the results of the experiments I've been given over the years are enough proof of that."

The implications in the other person's words were quite obvious. Lucien was well aware that the so-called "eyes" extended far beyond those he was aware of. He didn't resent being monitored; in fact, he hoped they would expend effort to "observe" him. He wanted them to see what he was capable of. This was his leverage, a necessary condition for him to maintain control over his path.

Since both parties were intelligent individuals, working together to achieve their goals was the best outcome.

"Regarding the research on Evol, the organization is preparing to enter a new phase. Several key subjects are currently in the investigation stage, one after another, and I believe we will soon identify the most crucial person." The man handed over a stack of documents. "So, you also need to step onto a new stage as soon as possible." The emphasized words carried an invisible sense of urgency, inadvertently causing Lucien to furrow his brow. However, he accepted the documents and began to read them without changing his expression.

"These are documents from a research institute in the United States. You will need to attend an interview there in five months, so graduate as soon as possible. And part of the process is that the organization will help expedite the issuance of your diploma."

"I will apply for a batch of new equipment soon. Additionally, my current research personnel are overly saturated, so I will make some adjustments on my own."

Lucien concealed the fact that he had already completed his thesis progress and instead presented his own requirements.

Following the arrangements step by step doesn't necessarily mean compromise; it could also be a temporary period of lying low.

After the conversation, Lucien originally intended to return to the dormitory, but his feet led him to the laboratory instead.

"Oh my god! Xiū mó, you're back! That's great. The world isn't going to end!"

Lucien smiled unconsciously as he put on his lab coat again and returned to his seat.

Parting always seems to slip easily into the queue of life, and it looks like playtime is about to come to an end.

-

[Chapter 3 - Pineapple Pie Flavor]

"The university has approved the early graduation process, and the defense is scheduled for next Monday."

"Sorry to trouble you."

After the conversation by the river that day, Lucien approached Dr. Lawson and expressed his desire to graduate early. The meticulous old gentleman naturally showed concern but didn't seem too surprised. Perhaps the professor had already grown accustomed to his hurried behavior to some extent.

However, the process was much more complicated than he had imagined. After the professor consulted with the university, several rounds of document submission and supplementary explanations followed, causing delays of more than a month before everything was finally settled.

Lucien was patient in dealing with this, and it just showed how important the title of "Young Outstanding Scientist" was to that group of people. It made them reluctant to rush through the process, even if they were eager. And for him, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

On the other hand, it seemed good to be able to enjoy the last days as a student in peace.

Outstanding professors always knew when to provide all the help he needed at the right time, and similar individuals allowed him to immerse himself in his subsequent research steps. Countless unique ways of thinking collided here, giving birth to new fireworks of ideas.

This ideal yet real scientific world has become a crucial cornerstone for him to step into the next world.

Lucien knows that he likes it here.

"Lucien, where are you going?" The professor removed his glasses after reading the paper's last page.

"Probably to the end of the puzzle."

He almost blurted it out as if this answer had existed in his heart for a long time.

However, Lucien was well aware that reaching that place would require a lot of preparation, abilities, knowledge, challenges, or perhaps... darkness itself. This made him curious and filled him with anticipation. He wanted to know what kind of results that mysterious substance would bring to humanity or to this world. He was also curious about where he would ultimately arrive.

"It sounds like a distant journey,"

"Take care."

The familiar words felt like both a piece of advice and a simple blessing.

Perhaps it was the atmosphere of parting that made Lucien not refuse the doctor's invitation, and he ended up having a meal together with him at home.

Lucien had never formally visited his home before, and their interactions were mostly limited to academic occasions. So, after accepting the invitation, he immediately returned to his dormitory and retrieved two boxes of white tea.

"Oh, Chinese tea. It might pair well with my pineapple pie,"

The lady appeared particularly delighted, her curly hair bouncing as she enthusiastically brewed a pot of tea to replace the originally planned wine, then turned towards the oven.

"You don't need to go to so much trouble."

"With a rare visit from a student, of course, we must treat you with our specialties. Don't be shy. Take a seat."

Lucien no longer refused the warmth extended to him, and while waiting for dinner, he sat with the doctor in the living room. The room was cozy, with leather sofas and a patterned carpet. On one side, there was an elegant display of artwork and a vase of flowers; on the other, there were several framed photographs. The frames were well-maintained, showing that they were cherished keepsakes.

As Lucien looked at two familiar faces in one of the photographs, his gaze flickered momentarily.

It was as if a strange emotion had crossed through time, enveloped in the fresh warmth and memories, unfolded before his eyes once again.

"This was taken many years ago... I believe it was after some scientific conference."

"Back then, scientists from various fields around the world gathered in Copenhagen for a month-long academic discussion." Noticing Lucien's paused gaze, the doctor got up and brought the photo over.

"I had read about that conference as part of my research, but I didn't realize you knew Professor Ding Yunqing and Professor Hoffman. I recall they were experts in the field of linguistic philosophy," Lucien mentioned.

"Science connects not only truths but also everyone who walks this path," the doctor said, his gaze lingering on the old photograph as if he had opened a box of memories. For a brief moment, his eyes dimmed.

"...And I remember these two Chinese scholars, they were outstanding scientists. It's just a pity…"

"But their academic and research contributions were unquestionable, and those dedicated hours still serve as our foundation, helping countless others open the doors to truth in the future."

Lucien fell silent, unable to quite express the emotions stirring in his chest at this moment.

Am I one step closer to you now?

“It’s dinner time~”

The doctor's wife had prepared a table full of dishes, illuminated by flickering candlelight, making it a truly lavish spread. As Lucien glanced back at that photograph, he had a fleeting sense that the people in the picture were also gazing back at him.

Perhaps they had been watching over him all along.

He slowly took a bite of the warm pineapple pie.

It was very warm and sweet.

-

[Chapter 4 - Gifts from everyone]

After hearing the news that Lucien would graduate early, the entire laboratory was in an uproar.

"Damn genius kid, you came to the lab later than me, but you're graduating earlier! This is unfair!"

"Come on, Elliot, maybe you should look at your own issues. Is your research just too mediocre, with only eight papers and an E?"

"...Mediocre? Is that really mediocre?" Matthew, who was standing nearby, widened his eyes.

"No need to dwell on what they're saying too much," Lucien lowered his voice, treating it as passing on some advice to the younger ones. "Let's finish the data comparison at hand first, and if we happen to bring the doctor over... Colt, you might actually get kicked out of the lab."

Colt let out a final wail and obediently entered silent work mode.

The sounds of equipment in operation, the constant clicking of keyboards, hushed discussions, and occasional sighs during experiments – Lucien suddenly realized that today felt just like any other day, and the parting still felt distant.

However, time had long set its course and was accelerating forward.

Another ordinary day in the lab came to an end. Colt, who was usually enthusiastic about parties, didn't disappear this time but stayed behind to clean up and even occasionally pulled Elliott and Matthew aside for what seemed like secret plotting. Lucien neatly organized the cleaned beakers and test tubes, acting as if nothing was amiss. After finishing, he followed them back to the dormitory as if everything was normal.

"Ta da—this is our graduation gift for you!"

On the coffee table were four beautifully wrapped gifts, three of which were almost discernible by their shape, likely books. Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Lucien cooperatively tore open the wrapping paper.

《The Complete Plays of George Bernard Shaw (1893-1921)》,《Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision DSM-5-TR》， and《Principles of Neural Science》. There were also a few beautifully handmade bookmarks and a stack of postcards featuring the natural landscapes of various American states.

"I know you have the basic textbooks, but receiving the 'Neuroscience Bible' from your senior, the significance is different, right, Xiù Mó… Oops, I mean, Xǔ... Xǔ mò! Did I get the pronunciation right this time?"

"Colt mentioned giving books, and I thought long and hard before selecting a useful reference book. Even though most people may not actually use it in reality, if there comes a moment when you need some assistance, I hope it can come in handy."

"The novel was chosen by Caroline. Her experiments in Canada have been quite demanding lately, so I'm representing her."

"The bookmarks and postcards were my contribution... I hope they are quite practical!"

Listening to them chatter and introduce their gifts, Lucien suddenly felt that the things in his hands were heavy, as if he was holding more than just the gift itself.

"Thank you. I'll take good care of these and bring them back home." He finally expressed his gratitude simply, taking the gifts back to his room and storing them carefully.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Xǔ Mò, can I come in?"

"Of course," Lucien turned to look at Colt. "You finally got my name right."

"In fact, once you grasp the pronunciation rules, it's not that difficult," Colt smugly raised an eyebrow. "If there's anything unfinished or you need help with anything, just speak up. Proofreading work is also fine."

"I'll keep that in mind if I need any help."

"So, Xǔ Mò, what do you plan to do in the future?"

He wasn’t sure if it was the sense of achievement from suddenly mastering the pronunciation after four years, but Colt seemed to add his name to every sentence. It was a bit amusing, but Lucien still thought carefully about the question.

"I might consider establishing my own research institute."

"Oh, that sounds great. I always feel like if I stay in this lab any longer, the doctor will kick me out sooner or later."

"Well, that's also his expectation of you."

Colt pursed his lips and suddenly remembered something. He took out a pair of NOU cards from his pocket and placed them on Lucien's desk.

"Take them. You might need them in the new place."

"So, is NOU really a traditional pastime here?" Lucien finally asked the question that had been bothering him as he looked at the cards.

"Hahaha, do you like it then?"

Lucien didn't answer the question, just as Colt hadn't addressed his curiosity.

But at this moment, he confirmed that perhaps only with this group of people in front of him would he have that special feeling to play NOU cards with them.

"Oh... Sad," Colt put on a mournful expression, and Lucien knew he was about to start something again.

"Let's play one last round!"

"I'll be here tomorrow. To be precise, I have a few more months."

"Then let's play every day from now until the day you leave!"

"...."

"Elliot! Matthew! Let's party!"

-

[Chapter 5 - Parting and Full Moon]

The thesis defense ended smoothly.

Today, everyone was assigned to attend an academic conference, and the usually bustling dormitory felt a bit empty. Lucien thought for a moment and began to organize his belongings.

Having lived here for four years, Lucien had developed a habit of keeping things organized. However, there were still numerous miscellaneous items. Of course, books took up a significant portion of his belongings, and the rest included various notes, materials, and reports. He grabbed a few packing boxes and began sorting everything by category. As for some discarded items, he decided to arrange them for disposal.

Soon, half of the room was emptied out.

It turned out that four years' worth of time could fit into just a few boxes.

Suddenly, Lucien was drawn to a black strap that had fallen into a corner. He moved aside the piled-up items in the corner and discovered an old handheld video camera. The strap's connector showed obvious wear, and some labels on the adjustment buttons had rubbed off.

Lucien quickly recalled that it was two years ago, on a winter day, when the doctor had taken their entire lab to visit another school's lab for academic exchange. It seemed to be Christmas that day, with snow falling, and there was a large Christmas tree on Beacon Street adorned with colorful lights. Everyone had a bit of wine and enthusiastically joined in the street's celebration activities, while he himself wandered into a second-hand Western antique shop. There was an array of tableware, dolls, furniture... His gaze went past them and landed on the camera at the edge of the shelf.

It seemed like... he had seen a similar one in that study room once.

In reality, Lucien didn't remember the model, and he couldn't be certain if it was truly the same one. Nevertheless, he bought it, perhaps just because of some familiarity.

Although he occasionally shot some aimless footage after returning, research reports and books gradually replaced it, and he slowly forgot about it.

The magic of memory lies precisely in this, the ability to bring past moments vividly back to life in an unassuming moment.

Lucien removed the battery from the camera and started charging it. As he continued to pack the boxes, he patiently waited for the red light to turn green.

After pressing the power button, he waited for a while before the machine displayed the startup screen slowly. He clicked the record button, and the somewhat empty dorm room appeared on the screen. After rotating the camera, he pushed open the door and walked out. The common lounge area was unusually quiet in the late hours, a bit messy as always.

The camera's lens passed through the corridor and exited the dormitory building. Even at night, occasional students were rushing by on campus. He walked along the usual path, passing by every tree he had passed on normal days, every building, his classroom, and the laboratory.

He sat in his seat, not turning on the lights, just sitting in silence for a long time. The camera passed by the lab bench, the whiteboard, and finally stopped at the window. Through this window, he had witnessed the changing seasons and countless day and night transitions, from sunrise to sunset. And all these ever-moving things had also witnessed him step by step toward distant places, coming here, and then leaving.

The old-fashioned camera had a lot of noise in the night, and although Lucien tried to adjust it, most of the footage was just a dark, ink-like expanse. However, he didn't care.

In the end, he lifted the camera upward, and the moon became increasingly round and full. Today happened to be the Cold Dew* in the lunar calendar.

Lucien exhaled; winter was approaching.

[T/N: "Cold Dew" (寒露) is one of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. It typically falls between October 8th and 23rd of the Gregorian calendar. During Cold Dew, the weather becomes significantly colder, and dew starts to form on the ground as temperatures drop further. It marks the transition from late autumn to early winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Just like it marks his parting from leisure college day to the upcoming 'winter' :"]

-

[Chapter 6 - Graduation]

Time moved forward once again, and Lucien received his graduation certificate in the office, handed to him by Dr. Lawson.

All those nearly four years of time, the thousands of days and nights spent in the lab, were now encompassed in this thin piece of paper. An unnamed emotion brushed through his heart, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he casually thought that B.S. was indeed very efficient.

"I heard you're preparing for interviews at American research institutes."

Dr. Lawson's voice sounded, and Lucien looked into those slightly sunken eyes, thinking to himself. By all accounts, the doctor shouldn't be aware of this matter, unless someone deliberately leaked the information.

"I do have that plan."

The light outside the window was exceptionally bright, reflecting the anticipation in Dr. Lawson's eyes.

"Lucien, I know you're eager to explore the truth and long for the answers this world has to offer you."

"At this point, your persistence surpasses that of many people. Sometimes, the power of the human heart is more like an unwavering truth than science. Don't let persistence turn into paranoia."

"I wish you all the best in everything that lies ahead."

Faced with such high expectations and blessings, Lucien slightly bowed.

"Thank you for your guidance over these four years."

After leaving the office, he walked along the corridor, and memories of his first time here involuntarily surfaced in his mind. It seemed that even the faint speckles on the wall corners were vividly remembered by him.

It's just that today is unusually quiet, or perhaps he should say, this day is too quiet.

There were no external tasks or lab arrangements today, but Colt and the others haven't been seen since morning. Lucien could probably guess what they might be up to, but he didn't dwell on it. Right now, he should return to his dorm for the final preparations. As he passed by a classroom, he heard a faint rustling sound from inside, which grew faster and denser, bursting out of the front door of the classroom with surprise and enthusiasm—

"Boom!"

Before Lucien's eyes, countless gray ribbons suddenly soared into the air, glistening in the sunlight and constantly shining.

"Xǔ Mò, congratulations on your graduation!"

"As expected of our little genius, congratulations on your official graduation!"

—Colt and Matthew waved small confetti cannons in their hands, while Elliot held a camera, and the three of them smiled with pride.

"Congratulations." Caroline, who had appeared at some point, placed a simple bouquet of flowers in Lucien's hand and patted his shoulder happily.

"Hey, Elliot, it looks like our surprise plan worked. This kid actually showed a rare surprised expression!"

"Quick, capture it! When this genius makes a name for himself in the future, this moment will be a precious memory."

They chatted away, and the simple pieces of information were unusually hard for Lucien's brain to process until Colt came over with a set of doctoral robes, and he blinked slowly.

"We heard from the Doctor that you'll be leaving the school soon, so the few of us decided to organize a separate graduation ceremony just for you."

Without giving Lucien a chance to refuse, the group had already divided the tasks and helped him into the doctoral robes. They gently pushed his back, leading him outside the teaching building.

Lucien looked up at the bright sunlight, feeling the warmth of the autumn day very clearly.

"I've been looking for all of you for half a day; it's not time for the group photo yet, is it?"

"Well, before we can proceed, we have to wait for you to arrive, Doc."

Watching Doctor's hurried figure join the others, Lucien unconsciously curled his lips into a smile.

There have been quite a few changes in these four years.

In this autumn, he was surrounded by this group of people, celebrating his graduation.

The pure beauty of the world can make people dull, and the world that awaits him was bound to be no longer a game.

But at least at this moment, he could slow down his pace just a bit.

He had graduated, and will be stepping into the no longer gentle nights ahead.

And he was full of anticipation for it.

[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.

[lovemyromance]

why are we acting like it's such a crazy idea that the Elucien mating bond is fake/wrong or that Elain might have 2 bonds??

Evidence:

Elain& Lucien literally don't act like any other mates we have seen in ACOTAR. They avoid each other like 99% of the time (by choice). And no, I'm sorry, but shrinking away from Lucien and flat out leaving the room when he's there is NOT the same as Feyre throwing a shoe at Rhys and Nesta kicking Cassian in the balls. There's a thin line between love and hate, but there's an ocean of indifference. Feyre & Nesta were not *uncomfortable* around Rhys & Cassian. Elain is uncomfortable around Lucien. Feyre/Nesta could not stay away from their mates- literally Nesta avoided Cassian for a grand total of 30 pages maybe. Elucien vs Feysand/Nessian is NOT the same.

SJM has already written a pairing where both people were "given to another", thought to have a mating bond with someone else that turned out to be fake. Then they ended up being "true mates" i.e. this isn't something Elriels just made up. SJM has literally done it before with Rowan & Aelin. She didn't care much for being a "fated mates" author when she broke up Rowan and Lydia, did she?

Feyre questions the bond between Elucien twice. She even suggests "Why not make them mates" in regards to Azriel & Elain. Let me be crystal clear when I say this: Feyre saw Nesta hissing and spitting at Cassian for 3 books before they got together and not once did Feyre ever question the Nessian bond. Sure she didn't *know* for sure they were mates, but I'm sure she suspected enough. She did not once hesitate to leave Cassian with Nesta.

In the ACOTAR world, SJM has made it clear not all mates were love matches. If every "fated mates" couple was meant to be an eternal, beautiful bond of love - then why did she write Rhys's & Tamlin's parents as being mates that despised each other? If every single mating bond in the. ACOTAR universe was happily mated and in love, then I wouldn't be arguing against the Elucien bond. But they're not. If SJM believed that all fated mates are living in happily ever after - why did she write about the cauldron not pairing people up for love but for powerful offspring? Why did she write about Rhys & Tamlin's parents? You can't say SJM is a fated mates author and all fated mates end up happy and in love if that is not the case, even in the same series.

SJM has tweeted back in like 2017 about how it's possible for someone to have two mates

It's literally all there in the text. No deep analysis needed, no "omg I think this shadow over this leaf means that Elain and azriel are foreshadowed" crazy reaches. simply picking up what SJM has already put down. She is painstakingly building Elriel brick by brick in the background, and if you don't realize it until the house is built, that's on you bestie. Not Elriels. Not SJM.

[flowerflamestars]

I don't know if my continued Rhys Efflorese babble gotten eaten so here it is again. (if I'm repeating myself I'm very very sorry)

Rhysand being so certain that Cassian and Azriel's Illyrian honor and loyalty will keep them on his side without having even a shred of awareness about what Illyrian honor even MEANS much less what it might mean if they feel that HE'S the one who betrayed them first. I'm not sure that Rhysand even has any concept of Illyrians beyond the asshole camp lords that Night put in charge. (Why were they freezing in the mud, huh, Rhys?! WHO PUT THEM THERE?! Why might they not be will to share their whole selves with the Prince of Night, huh Rhys?)

It says a lot about how much faith and respect they had for Shahar (I can't remember how to spell her name right now) that even though she didn't live among them as one of them, they still very much considered her theirs and believed she could (and would) make the future better for them. (This is a thought I had while reading Starlight: the House of the Wind is possessed by the ghost of Rhysand's sister and she's fucking Pissed at him)

Rhysand is very bad a cost-benefit analysis. Particularly because he doesn't seem to have any concept of what a 'cost' actually is, especially when it's someone else who'll be paying it. Or even what a benefit is really. (Dude, you have two business savvy, policially knowledgeable, intelligent humans who are personally invested in keeping Feyre safe. This would be a FANTASTIC opportunity to learn about the state of the human lands and kingdoms and formulate plans based on new information instead of, you know, deciding you already had a perfect plan despite the fact that you haven't talked to a single (not Feyre) human in at least 500 years.(*insert the "no it's the children who are wrong" Simpsons guy meme here*) Or that maybe there's this guy right here with friendly acquaintances all over the place that could be very useful if you weren't, you know, a shithead. But nope, slightly bruised pride too much cost)

Rhysand's desperation for Feyre to only see him in a very specific light is greatly aided by Feyre's equal determination to only see him in that exact light.

Rhysand thinking that, even after learning he fucked off to the continent and got arrested for gambling debts, bringing shit-head papa Archeron into the situation will keep ANYONE in line (kinda love that even though we're all, like, Everyone Gets a Name but then none of us will can shithead papa Archeron anything but shithead papa Archeron)

Rhysand hoping this situation that he doesn't want to deal with implodes while not comprehending that it will implode into A WHOLE NOTHER SITUATION

Do you think he's a bit baffled when Feyre comes to the conclusion that her sisters hate faeries? Like he's perfectly pleased with the situation and happy to roll with it because it'll drive a further wedge between her and her sisters do you think he looks at the perfectly polite chats with Cass and Az despite the glowing siphons and giant bat wings (plus the Shadows in Az's case) and the House Full of Blood Magic/ Lucien FUCKING Venserra situation and think "Whelp, I guess you've got an immortal lifetime to learn some observation skills" (not that she'll learn good observations skills from HIM anytime soon)

Rhysand thinking that Feyre loves and cares about these people and that therefore they are a THREAT to HIM instead of that meaning that he should maybe he should care about, or, a least, try to get along with them.

Elain just keeps smiling a playing the perfect hostess is nearly as infuriating as Nesta snarling in his face. Then she puts Cassian's knife to his throat. That's probably one of them most WTF moments of his life. (someone please tell the Illyrians that Elain held a knife to Rhysand's throat. They deserve knowledge that this tiny human girl was willing to pull a knife on a High Lord for her people (a people they are now part of))

Did he notice that Elain served him some funny tasting tea and just think nothing of it because human food is all shit to him? (Also Cassian had almost zero reaction to Nesta saying that Elain had tried to poison Rhysand, his High Lord/'brother')

(in your Nesta/Eris story, the Valkyrie priestess says something along the lines of "Rhian's sniveling brat son may think the world revolves around him but it doesn't" and "Shahar would be disappointed in him." These statements feel applicable this Rhysand (or all Rhysands really))

Rhysand is about to get a crash course in how loyalty is a two-way street. The Archerons' people (now including a bunch of awestruck Illyrians) are so ride-or-die for them because the Archerons are just as ride-or-die back.

All three of the Bat Boys are in the process of completely loosing their shit in different directions.

Side-note: When Elain offers Cassian tea and calls him sir and Cassian's like "WTF I'm not a sir" and Elain's like "It's a courtesy given to any man with a title" and Cassian's just "naw I don't have a title" and then in her head Elain's like "WTF in what world is General not a title?" It just makes me wonder about Cassian's (and by extension, Azriel's) actual place in the Night Court's (barely existent) court hierarchy.

Side-note the second: While mentioning the Night Court's barely existent government system the thought of Amren having secret peons in place helping keep the court running. It might have started as a bit of a game 'How much functioning government can I make before Rhysand actually notices" however I think it got boring pretty quick through a combination of, 'he barely ever notices anything not shoved directly under his nose' and mild concern that Rhysand might actually notice and stop her and the court will implode even faster than it already is (and she's gotten stupidly attached to some of these colorful insects and would like to keep them around a bit longer) (Side-side note: I'm SO hyped for Amren to meet the rest of the Archerons)

Side-note the third: if there's Archeron ships in Night then there's probably Archeron ships in Summer too right? That could spin the whole Summer-book theft debacle in... interesting ways. (I'm imagining Tarquin talking to Feyre about Archeron ships bringing in supplies to rebuild the city at greatly reduced transpiration fees or something and Feyre's just mentally like "wtf my sisters hate faeries why would they do that" (because she's still operating under that particular delusion) but (because Rhys thinks it's a good idea) she plays along like she knows about it or something and uses it to gain more of Tarquin's trust before, you know, Rhys's whole *brilliant* plan takes place. Imagine how abso-fucking-lutly pissed OFF, Nesta, Elain and Lucien would be. Like, the whole situation would already piss them all off but add in deliberately taking advantage their family's reputation and kindness to do it? Rhysand had better stay well out of stabbing distance. (Side-side-note: Tarquin's, like, less than one hundred right? The dude spent more than HALF is fucking life Under the Mountain. Give him a fucking BREAK.) (Side-side-side-note: Just popped into my head. What if there were babies BORN down there. Like, that's their whole life down there. I just realized that this isn't actually much of a what-if scenario because really we just have to look under Rhysand's OWN fucking mountain to see how that goes.)

I think that's all of the babble for the moment. <3

Oooo so much good stuff here! I'll try to go in order 💜

Rhys is canonically shitty about Illyria and the Illyrians! I almost feel like I'm hitting the bottom of the barrel to give it emotional nuance- Effloresce Rhys has wrapped together all his grief and ego into just. Complete bullshit. Nesta sees this immediately! ( Cassian and Az have. Had to live within this, which I'll get to)

But yeah, that's the center for him in so many ways: he has to The Most Right, Fully in Control, Always in Charge and also does not take responsibility for shit. Ever.

So he belittles it. A warrior culture? Savages. Mor blatantly using Cassian when they were young? Oh that drives Cassian crazy. Azriel is wildly fucked up? No, it's the fault of his childhood not his continued life! Cassian gets close to his literal soulmate? Are you fucking around with Feyre's sister, Cas?

One of my character things for Rhys is that he wants Everything just barely more than he wants nothing. He is SO voraciously is the center of his own world while being so utterly careless with that world. So there is no balance. There's just what Rhys wants.

And he wants Feyre so Feyre is also always right. And just. Canonically does not seem to value her sisters as people so much as auxiliary manifestations of her own self.

They're like her irksome pets Rhys has to deal with.

Cassian's actual rank is going to come back, but I would say that you could easily call Rhysands perspective on the Archeron alliance making 'huh, the dogs AREN'T smart enough to be afraid of bears, and I, a person, find this quaint'

(Elain is going to kill the fuck out of someone over this.)

Poison doesn't matter because Cassian chose a side basically the second he crossed the wall. Even without Nesta. (You could possibly say he has always had a side, and it has always been Nesta.) Further, Lucien absolutely clocked that blood! All these things add together, really.

As for Amren, she's less focused on a functioning government as she is invested in a broad outcome. She keeps her vows. She is, perhaps, playing an elaborate game of wondering what Rhys does and does not know.

Oooo Summer is a stop on the Elucien honeymoon diplomatic carpet bomb, actually. They're not actively trading there, but they're not unknown. Rhys is definitely still hunting the book to use Feyre's Super Specialness.

Tarquin is young and progressive! I know the books utilize this to be like 'oh, he'll give Rhys a chance', without ever clarifying if Tarquin or anyone knows the actual degree of Rhysands willing or unwilling cooperation with Amarantha. It doesn't make a ton of sense. I like to take it in another direction.

[oristian]

THE ELUCIEN MATING BOND

This will be solely focused on the mating bond rejection, as I plan on doing an in-depth analysis later this month [possibly early June] where I break down each book and document symbolism, parallels, and foreshadowing tied to Elain and Lucien. This is just going to be my thoughts on the actual mating bond and the conversation surrounding a potential rejection.

Simply: The bond will not be rejected.

SJM being a fated mates author aside, all the reader has to do is look at, first, the set-up of the spin off series and also the timeline of the last remaining plot arcs. The spin off series is broken into three main books set as dual POV romantic pairings, and a supplemental novella. A Court of Silver Flames took two main cast characters out of the running [Nesta and Cassian] and have left us with Elain, Azriel, Lucien, Mor, Gwyn, Emerie, Eris. As Feyre and Rhysand were the main voices in the original trilogy, they will not have a major POV in the spin off series. That being said, the plot arcs are working as the drivers for the romantic pairings. ACOWAR and so forth has paired Elain and Lucien into the Koschei arc. ACOSF and HOFAS have tied Nesta and Azriel into the same plot with the Dusk Court arc—however, as I mentioned before, Nesta has already had a major POV and will not be repeated. Who else has been built up to have a POV and can also hold ties in Dusk? Gwyn.

Following up, now that we are aware of the plot arcs and the dual POVs for the following books—I surmise the novella will have Mor, Eris and Emerie—now we can get into the rejected mating bond. The main argument surrounding the rejection is broken down into two pieces: SJM speaking about choice in an interview, and Feyre and Azriel questioning the cauldron. The first argument is easy to debunk—SJM did not give a major spoiler in an interview, nor would she do so in an interview that many people would not have access to/would not watch. The second is just as easy to debunk—both Feyre and Azriel came from a place of bias against Lucien. Feyre had just left Spring and associates that and what happened to her sisters with Lucien. Azriel wants a mate and wonders why his brothers have two of the Archeron sisters, but “the third” was given to another male. If the cauldron had been questioned by a third party without direct ties to either Elain or Lucien, that would be a different story.

We do not have enough time left in the series to properly explore a rejected bond. As the rejected bond affects the males more, we would need to explore it in the long term to see how Lucien is dealing with the mental repercussions of such a thing happening. He and Elain will still always have their bond, and we would need to see how they react to that. As this is would be the first mating bond rejection across the Maasverse, a simple, “I reject you,” is not enough with such little information for the reader to understand exactly what happens in the aftereffects. That being said, we would also need Lucien’s POV immediately after Elain rejects the bond to see how he is affected—meaning, Elain and Lucien have to be within the same book. If Elain rejects the bond in a book with Azriel, and the readers have to wait until Lucien’s book, it loses its effect and becomes anticlimactic.

In order for the rejected bond to be impactful, Elain would have to fully explore the bond with Lucien, get to know him, otherwise is would be lackluster for her to immediately reject the bond and end up with Azriel. The bond is just as much Lucien’s as it is her’s.

Finally, allow us to debunk Vassien. Not only is Vassa set up to be endgame with Jurian, it is unrealistic given the circumstances for she and Lucien to be endgame. Lucien would have just been rejected and would be dealing with the aftereffects, will have to still deal with his plethora of plots and Koschei, and somehow fall in love with a human queen who will die in only a handful of decades? On top of that, there is nothing that Vassa can offer to the plot that both Elain and Lucien have not already told us, or will tell us. Vassa is a supplementary character. Elain would have to both get to know Lucien enough to reject the bond in a literary sense, and also set up Vassa to be the next FMC. On top of that, it was Elain who introduced us to Koschei and began that arc—why would Vassa get the credit for defeating Koschei?

Tl;dr — the bond is not getting rejected.

[acourtofthought]

hi I am a new ACOTAR reader 👋🏼 and I was so shocked to enter this fandom and see all the ship wars going on. I guess I’m more of a casual reader? But I thought SJM was going for elucien which listen - adorable - but then she spend the books after they were declared mates just dissing that entire plot line? Like ok I get it they don’t HAVE to be head over heels like feysand and nessian yet, but since ACOWAR there’s barely any elucien interactions and they’re all described as uncomfortable and idk why she would have them be mates and then turn around and just wreck that setup? Lucien barely is in the books anymore?

And then Sarah started writing these “looks” and shy smiles between elain and azriel and I was like ok I get it too I guess, if Lucien is like not even present in the books anymore? I feel like she straight up changed her mind or something because why did she do all that setup and now is introducing a new love interest? Being mates MEANS something right? Idk it seems like she’s abandoning elucien to me which is sad bc they could’ve been so good together 😭 like bat boy is great don’t get me wrong but we don’t know shit about him other than he is vaguely menacing and has shadows

He’s not shown interest in anyone except Mor or Elain so idk what his plotline will be (if he gets a book even). And yes, I did read this controversial bonus chapter and I genuinely saw it as a nail in this elucien coffin instead of gwynriel as people are saying. Like why would Elain kiss HIM when she has a mate? Lucien is RIGHT THERE ?? It just seems so convoluted for no reason. Like is this a love triangle setup? Idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ it would be easy if Gwyn and azriel were mates so elucien could nicely work out but I barely remember anything about Gwyn and Az interactions let alone anything to suggest romantic themes. So I don’t get that ship at ALL. Like azriel could be shipped with anyone at this point if Gwyn is being considered an option.

Idk I assume there’s hella analysis on this but I just don’t know why SJM would make elucien mates and then throw this random emo bat boy plotline in the mix. I’ve kind of abandoned that hope after ACOSF unless there’s something I’m missing that brings Lucien back in the game? (Genuinely where even is heeee like sir get your girl - respectfully)

Welcome to the fandom! And I'm sorry ahead of time, it's simultaneously fun, exhausting, and infuriating, haha.

I do understand why it feels like she set Elucien up with a bang and just let it fizzle but if you consider why she might have done that, I think it makes sense.

Are you in love? Have you been in love?

Imagine if you are a month away from your wedding. It's your first love, your first experience with intimacy, and the person you have imagined the rest of your life with. Maybe children, a home.

And overnight that dream is ripped away from you.

Not only is it ripped away from you but you're suddenly feeling a connection (because I fully believe Elain knew Lucien was something to her before he ever whispered that they were mates) to a random stranger who you have never seen before.

Your heart was promised to another but now you're chanting "traitor, traitor, traitor" over and over in your head because you're looking at this stranger and feeling big things for him.

But you're whisked away and the connection is broken and you're taken to a strange land where you're forced to think of everything that you've now left behind in the human lands. Where your fiance is probably wondering what happened to you, where you're no longer able to spend time in your gardens, see the people in the household you've grown to care for, knowing your father will be wondering what happened to you when he returns.

But through that depression you feel the tiniest bit of hope that you can go back. That your fiance will love you despite this new thing you've become and were taught to fear. That maybe, the life you loved can still be yours again.

But the stranger comes back into your life with it a torrent of emotions that you're struggling to understand and to control and it's all too much, it's too overwhelming so you shut down. You're not ready to face what it means when you're desperately trying to hold on to what was lost because if you can get that back, maybe things will make sense again.

But your fiance cruelly rejects you. The one who swore he'd love you until you were old and gray and he tossed you aside as if none of it mattered. As if you didn't matter. And he mentions the stranger to you as if it's a dirty word and maybe some of this is his fault. It's not, you know it's not but it's easier to blame someone.

But then you all nearly lose someone you care for during the war and suddenly, maybe that misplaced anger is easier to let go of.

But the war ends and you slowly settle into a new life, trying to forget about what you lost. Your fiance. Your home. Your friends. And even your father. So you put up a wall and you refuse to engage with your "mate" because some of that anger is back. You didn't ask for any of this. You don't want to be dealing with emotions you can't control when he's around when you're already dealing with so much. He makes it impossible to think straight. He makes everything confusing. But when you ignore him, it's easier to pretend. Everything is easier because you don't feel and when you feel right now, it hurts and it's too much and it's overwhelming.

But you can pretend around your sisters because they don't push you to deal with those emotions. You can pretend around Az because he keeps it light and you have no pull to him. He's handsome of course. But the conversations are surface level and you don't have to think about the things that plague you when it's late at night and you're alone. But you are lonely and comfort from another would be nice, wouldn't it? So you engage in a flirtation with Az. You avoid your mate when he's around because feeling too much is not something you can handle in the same year of your fiance's rejection and your fathers death and your lost humanity. You want to escape and you can do this in this school girls crush with him.

You alternate between dying inside while trying to make the best of your new situation and moments where you can fool yourself into thinking that infatuation is just the thing to help you get by but deep down you know you're avoiding everything. You hate yourself for ignoring your mate, knowing how patient he is, how kind but knowing that you're afraid. Afraid to love someone else. Afraid to lose someone else. So you'll keep taking the path of safety. Living in the NC, making Feyre's found family your new family. Liking the available brothers. It's all perfect and easy and safe.

Until the rejection on Solstice and your illusion comes crashing down. It doesn't matter what you do, you can't hide from reality for long and the time is coming for you to face everything you've been avoiding.

So yes.......Elain and Lucien on the surface appear to be lukewarm as of late.

But I think that when we finally get an Elain POV, we're going to see how intense and deep those still waters go. I think that's why SJM has hidden her POV because I think Elain's true feelings are going to bowl us over.

And I wouldn't say Lucien is not in the books anymore. He was heavily featured all the way up into the novella. SF of course was Nessian's story and since the POV shifted from Feyre to Nesta, it's understandable why Lucien was somewhat absent as he reports to Rhys (not Nesta) and lives in the Human Lands. SJM actually went out of her way to include Lucien on a few occasions in a story where his presence would have been odd when you consider his relationship to Nesta (non existent). I think people also fail to remember that everytime Eris and Helion were on page, that's information that can be applied to Lucien's future story too.