#gwyn and efnisien in the canon frankly

[not-poignant]

Do UTB Gwyn and Crielle have that sorta sexual vibe canon Efnisien and Crielle had? I imagine both of them being peak alphas would tamper it. But I could see golden child Gwyn, like canon Ef, being turned on by Crielle watching him as he brutalizes someone xD Or in this story, the incesty sexualization is completely on Gwyn/Ef alone? On that note, would Gwyn ever actually want to fuck Ef, or it's just a shaming/intimidation tactic for him?

There's no incest element between Crielle and Gwyn at all, but there's a vibe between Efnisien and Gwyn.

And frankly, while Crielle can call them 'internal exams' all she wants, putting her fingers inside of her nephew for any reason at all is straight up incest and sexual assault and I tagged for it as a result.

I don't think Gwyn wants to fuck Efnisien at all, tbh. If he wanted to, I think he would have done it by now. Some readers have definitely speculated about it, but Gwyn finds Efnisien both repellent and disgusting, and too pathetic and weak as an alpha, and if he ever did something like that, it would be out of hatred and revulsion and dominance. I think Gwyn has some feelings for Efnisien but that they're complicated, confused by the situation, and that he's just not really benefited by having Efnisien in the house.

The reason Gwyn hates or dislikes omegas overall is, in large part, due to Efnisien being in that household and the fact that his mother thinks omegas are such a sin she literally has to mutilate her nephew to allow him to live in the family.

Gwyn's relationship with Efnisien definitely has a non-consensual sexualised element though, the most explicit description of that so far has been when Gwyn has mounted Efnisien like an omega, instead of an alpha, after their fights. Efnisien's reaction is one of disgust (he has no level of interest in Gwyn), and I think it's confusing for Gwyn too, because he mostly does it to shame Efnisien, but it is an act that they both understand is usually done between alphas and omegas in a relationship or who are beginning to bond. There's a symbolic level to it that Gwyn finds enthralling, but I think it's tied up in his desire to also destroy the problem that is Efnisien in his life.

Gwyn's feelings in this fic are complicated. I don't think he likes his cousin at all, he doesn't respect him, he doesn't care for him. But I think there is that 'but he's still family and he's the only person my age in this Estate.' Still, they are better off away from each other. Gwyn is too menacing and dangerous in this world otherwise, much like Lludd, he simply enjoys beating people down, and that will never change.

[not-poignant]

Does Crielle have formal schooling in biology/chemistry/pharmaceutical stuff/insert other applicable disciplines, or was her laboratory setup/scientific nature more of an extreme hobby? Was unsure of the best way to phrase this question :’)

Oh yeah, Crielle has tertiary education in both biochemistry and probably an additional double major in biomolecular and bioprocess engineering, but her laboratory set ups at home are still an extreme hobby, lol, mainly because she was discouraged from progressing further in these fields by her family (in the same way that she discouraged Efnisien from pursuing being a gifted student at school).**

She probably would have most enjoyed a job being a PhD in biomolecular engineering or agri biochem, but basically had to settle down into a semi-arranged marriage to keep up appearances and consolidate the An Fnwy wealth (and frankly, take care of her sister, who lives a very expensive lifestyle and doesn’t make nearly enough money to compensate for it). 

But for that reason, she’s always been incredibly bored, and setting up her own labs (both in the canon Fae Tales stories, and also in the Spoils the Spoiled universe) is one of her ways of countering that. That and being extremely malicious and creating a whole bunch of illegal and awful acts through manipulating other people.

One of the reasons Crielle logged her torture of Gwyn is partly because a) she’s a psychopath who enjoys having a record of what she’s done but also b) she has a very scientific mind, and couldn’t help but keep detailed logs of her ‘experiments’ on him. ** The reason for this is largely that it’s too dangerous for Crielle - with her malicious and sadistic behavours - to be singled out as ‘special’ by society for any other reason, or draw any kind of spotlight to her and her actions. And she raised Efnisien to be the same, he was never supposed to stand out from the crowd, except as kind of a handsome doll, because anything else would affect his ability to hunt. It’s why he’s never considered going to university himself, even though he clearly could grasp the material if he went.

[not-poignant]

Oh god a SOTS Efnisien spinoff? PLEASE TELL ME MORE

I WILL

Basically it’s called Falling Falling Stars, yes it already has a lengthy playlist on Spotify and I’ve been thinking about it for several months, actually. (Tbh I’ve been thinking about SOTS Efnisien since I finished SOTS, so for a long-ass time).

It will focus on Spoils of the Spoiled Efnisien, who - as we know - we last saw in a residential treatment facility, with Gwyn having learned that he’s not a sociopath at all, but someone with severe obsessional obsessive compulsive disorder who was enabled into his intrusive thoughts by Crielle.

The AU spinoff is set three years into the future, with Efnisien in outpatient care (instead of inpatient care), basically living an extremely grey, somewhat bleak life (though I’m sure not as bleak as some people want it to be), exploring the idea of rehabilitation for someone like Efnisien given the depth of his intrusive thoughts and everything he’s done.

It absolutely won’t be a Gwyn/Efnisien end-game, they are going to stay strictly platonic (despite Efnisien’s feelings on the matter), and frankly, we won’t be seeing much of the general Fae Tales cast at all, so you can expect a lot of original characters.

I’ve already finished the first chapter, lol.

It will obviously not be easy reading, given it’s Efnisien’s POV and he’s dealing with extremely intrusive thoughts of a graphic, violent and cruel nature on a regular basis. But he’s also not...the Fae Tales Efnisien people are used to in the canon or The Wildness Within. He’s very much a complex human being who is getting excellent treatment learning how to live with himself and often deciding he doesn’t really want to.

I’ve always been on the fence about writing this, mostly because it’s one thing to write a character as straight up evil, but it’s another to do that, have them be cruel to animals and the most vulnerable people, and then write a rehabilitation story that focuses on their recovery, which entails watching them receive compassion and learn how to grow. And, imho, that requires a lot of mental gymnastics on my part, and also will be straight up offputting to a lot of readers who either a) just want Efnisien to stay 100% 2-dimensional and evil thanks or b) actually enjoy Efnisien being evil towards Gwyn and want that sadistic relationship instead of a recovery-based story or c) just want to read a story of him suffering (don’t worry, he does suffer, lol).

Like it’s one thing to rehabilitate someone like Augus who literally didn’t start off evil but kind of had a bad patch caused by severe trauma, but Efnisien is in a whole other ballpark, lol.

For me, Efnisien is a victim of profound abuse, but in a way that masks that victimhood from everyone else - including himself. I maintain that any child who can only get love by being cruel to others is probably going to learn how to associate being cruel to others with being loved, and if that’s your formative childhood, you start in a place that is beyond fucked up.

And that’s the place I want to explore re: Efnisien.