#it's so unnecessary

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

As an autistic person I will never ever understand how Hobie could put on a skintight lyrca suit and then put multiple layers of clothes OVER THAT and was still like 'yeah this is fine. im comfortable. theres nothing wrong with this in fact this is the logical thing to do'

Without a doubt it's the most baffling thing he has ever done and he does a lot of baffling shit on the regular

Like how is he doing that THERE'S SO MANY TEXTURES

Wearing that outfit looks like literal torture and the fact he chooses to do that everyday haunts me deeply

I asked about his red shirt a couple weeks ago and people were saying 'oh no that's a whole suit under there' as if the implication of that isn't terrifying in and of itself

He is a Spider-person I know he fell those fabrics rubbing together. My shirt tag touch my neck and I start throwing a fit meanwhile he's outhere wearing spandex under cotton and leather AAHHHHH it makes my skin crawl 😭😭😭

he looks good but also why is he Doing That

[sillylittlerock]

i was in a local shop and found a stranger things unofficial colouring book and-

they really cut will completely out of the image like why 💀

[haroldherald]

// tw:csa

wishing everyone who makes william afton sa the kids execution by firing squad

[snevendytwelve]

I hate when fanfics age tubbo down ;-; It sucks too because it's well written.

[hyunhoverse]

I wish Stays would respect the kids' right to their privacy

[god-i-hope-so]

The Bobs are so obsessed with Tommy. Why don't you just ignore him? You have no power over the show, absolutely none, so hating him to the point of creating sideblogs dedicated to see him dead is not doing anything except make you look like an angry 12 years old.

[lonely-soul-02]

I've gone so far, my hands are high But I want to touch you 'Cause I know you're lonely I've seen despair, but I still care My heart is together My head is exploding

Come Back To Me, Liam Gallagher

[dustofthedailylife]

That moment when one negative comment can ruin your mood for the day...

Why, if you have nothing nice to say, say anything at all?

I don't get it. Just keep scrolling.

[frumiously]

can't stop laughing at the jaunty lil tune our new microwave plays when it's done

[d0rky-0utfits]

Raghh I hate the notes bubble rgrgrg

[cloudwhisper23]

I love getting notes from myself. It's my favorite thing. :/

[lemonkennedy]

rare trigger of mine is these left/right brained introvert/extrovert asks/tests. i see one and i want to fold myself outwards like some sock, using the 4th dimension.

[daydreamerwonderkid]

RIP to Bruce. Can't get a single night to himself smh

[hanniedream]

i can't decide if i want to order the jeonghan & wonwoo album 😭

[bass-alien]

you fucking suck if you make other people feel badly about their bodies

[animezinglife]

Unrelated, but I genuinely do love and appreciate that Rhys has some strong opinions in the matter just based on what he's seen in Lucien's character versus how well he knows Azriel.

Opinions that clearly favor Lucien in this instance. The "but" in that statement carries a heavy weight.

"Tilting her face the way he wanted it."

I love Azriel, but you can't tell me this wouldn't be phrased very differently if it were Lucien in this position. Lucien would be hyper-conscious and hyper-aware of her needs and wants, not his own.

I think a few things are happening: Azriel is extremely frustrated by being the odd man out when his brothers are moving on with their lives, finding their mates, and having such blatant displays of affection with them even subtly. Azriel, who more likely than not still deeply struggles with abandonment issues and [understandable] anger about what happened to him in his youth. I think even here, there's some obvious chafing in his friendship/brotherhood with Rhys, but that Rhys is actively giving him an order as a subordinate.

You can argue Az and Cass both have answered to Rhys when it comes to duty for centuries, but this is different. This is personal.

Az and Elain are attracted to each other, and to me, that's expected, fine, and normal. Elain had her life and love (her future) ripped out from under her and obviously feels like she has no control. I'm not going to pretend that she and Az don't have similarities in a frustration of being controlled by the people around them--Az in this one specific instance, and Elain throughout entirely too much of her life. The nature of that control is different, but it's there. There may be an element in Elain that's actively fighting the bond since Lucien is there (and we do know she feels it) and is looking for escape from it. For a distraction and a sense of control over her own life.

Maybe, just maybe, if she can distract herself with Azriel, she can prove to herself that she does have control over this bond and that aspect of her life.

To be blunt, Az is there. He's a quiet, strong presence that I'm sure is very comforting to her. They're both young (you get what I mean), beautiful people and are the last ones in this frequent close proximity who are single. They get along well.

It makes sense they'd try this.

It could be argued as a forbidden romance simply in that it is, in fact, being forbidden by Rhys where Azriel is concerned. It would be a defiance of social expectations by going against a mating bond. It would be a defiance of expectations by risking an alliance with Autumn (though we know Lucien's not the sort who would ever put her in that position or make it about political ties). It would not be where Elain's concerned--Rhys wouldn't stop her and Lucien will always give her the choice. Feyre, obviously, supports the idea of Elain and Azriel together even if Rhys is clearly apprehensive.

Yet it could be argued too that Feyre likes the idea of Elain fitting into this perfect little family picture of what she has for them: she's with Rhys. Nesta is with Cassian. And there's very much a "third" single bat boy--the other brother of Rhys--who doesn't have a mate. Feyre loves Azriel, so it would make sense to me too that she would hope he and Elain might be together. It's easier for her to digest than the idea of Elain with Lucien given Feyre and Lucien's strained relationship.

If I'm going to get really deep in the weeds of this, too, I strongly suspect Elain is every bit as used to being controlled in her relationship as she is the rest of her life. I think Graysen felt like freedom and promise at the time to her, but that he was not looking for an equal. Elain says Graysen saw her, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn all of it was still about his own wants and needs. Maybe Elain took a chance in sleeping with him or maybe he pressured her and she didn't fully realize it because those lines were blurred and she loved the idea of love--thought that was how it was supposed to be. To be clear, I'm not accusing Graysen of anything he didn't do, and we simply don't know one way or another. I'm not saying he forced himself on her in any way, but I fully believe he never truly loved Elain. He, like so many others, saw what he wanted in her and got what he wanted.

It's possible there's a little, subconscious combination of instincts going on here that tells Elain that Azriel sees her (that he believes she's capable of more, which he does as shown by handing her Truth-Teller) and him being fairly decisive (a bit impulsive sometimes, but decisive) and dominant.

Elain is used to following.

Elain is used to going with the flow.

Elain is used to falling in line with what other people expect of her.

It is very, very hard to shake that no matter who you are, especially if you're the "suffer in silence" type who hides everything with a smile on your face.

Elain is, more likely than not, is feeling the burden of all that. So, she tries to make a decision for herself and it once again gets shut down.

It's not so much a forbidden romance as it is two people who are both frustrated with their situations and looking for reprieve. That's not to say other attraction can't be genuine--it is.

But it's not something that can ever work for them unless Elain confronts her reality--her bond, her pain, and getting out of her comfort zone--and makes the decision herself of what she will do with it. From a storytelling and character perspective, she needs a lot more information to go off of as she doesn't know Lucien like we do.

It's not something that can ever work for them unless Azriel confronts his reality--his frustrations, his pain, and what's really eating away at him in this feeling of otherness and a different degree of isolation. One that has, in a different context than his childhood, still been pushed on him by external circumstances.

Elain wants to be seen. Deep down, I'm quite certain Elain wants to find out who she really is and what she wants.

She doesn't know what she wants--that's been a common theme with her and it'll play a crucial role in her development when we get her POV.

Here's the thing: she's going to fall in love with Lucien when she gets to know him. If Lucien is at all any semblance of himself when they get their book, it's inevitable. He's too genuine and good. Too intelligent with too much of the appealing sort of edge to him. Too loyal, too fun, too resourceful, and too sexy across the board.

But that's a choice she's still going to have to make. I think she knows the risk Lucien presents where Azriel does not.

I'm obviously much softer on Azriel than many (this is nowhere near an irredeemable sin in my eyes, but frustration and hurt coming out in the confidence of a brother--he still does the right thing and is as gentle as he can be in letting her down), but I fully believe Azriel is going to have his own love story.

His own mate--someone who sees him, too, beyond pleasant, easy company or an escape.

Mates in this series build each other up as equals. They can at times find escape in each other, but it's more about gaining the strength individually and as a pair to tackle the world together.

That will be Elain and Lucien.

Elain and Az would stay stuck in their same cycle, and it's not healthy for either of them. I'd love to see them be friends and have a genuinely good relationship with each other after this, but they both need to heal.

Elain's journey will be entirely her own.

You can make an argument for both Elriel and Elucien--neither would be less "common sense." Common sense would just as easily say that Elain and Az are attracted to each other, so a logical conclusion would be to see that explored.

It's the deep-dive into character and how relationships are utilized throughout these books that encourages deeper consideration. We don't have Elain's POV. We can make educated inferences about her, and we do know Lucien better as a character.

Their stories are fully intertwined whether they realize it yet or not.

Elain's and Azriel's are not.

It'll all work out.

“ELRIEL IS A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE.”

I see this argument used so frequently, but it is an argument that holds no water and is easily debunked by canon itself. For those who may not be aware of where this argument stemmed from, the whole basis was created from a conversation between Rhysand and Azriel in the bonus chapter from ACOSF. Funnily enough, the bonus chapter is used to “support” the forbidden love trope between Elriel, but in the same breath is said that “no one reads the bonus chapters,” and, “you cannot use a bonus chapter as a way to infer endgame.”

RHYSAND AND AZRIEL, ACOSF BONUS CHAPTER

Taken at face value, having Rhysand say, “You are to stay away from her,” would indicate some semblance of a forbidden romance. Adding on context, all of that semblance goes away. The scene reads as Rhysand is disappointed in Azriel for pursuing Elain despite the bond between she and Lucien not having been rejected yet. Rhysand surmises that Lucien could evoke the Blood Duel between the two if he were to find out and that would ruin any alliances that the Night Court has with different courts and the mortal lands. However, using context and background information, the reader is able to differentiate between fact and hypothesis.

Using context and retrospect from ACOWAR, the reader knows that the extent of the “forbidden love” between Elriel rests solely in Elain’s hands. All she has to do is reject the bond and remain within the Night Court, and she and Azriel are free to be together. Rhysand would support any choice that she makes.

ACOWAR CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR, page 259

Now that is established, let us speak about what a forbidden romance trope actually is.

A forbidden romance trope exists between two characters who are already in love and have something established between them, or exist in a society already plagued by the turmoil that would be heightened by their coupling. This could negatively affect politics, societal normalcy, family and friends, et cetera. Elain and Azriel do not exist on opposite sides of a war, nor do they have ties politically that their relationship would affect. Them getting together before the bond is rejected is just tacky and would only serve to disappoint those around them. Once again, all Elain has to do is reject the bond and she and Azriel are free to be together.

Elain and Azriel are not “in love” with one another, nor has that been made a canonical aspect of their relationship. The only canon that we have that eludes to a romantic undertone is the bonus chapter. Azriel and Elain almost share a kiss, though after Azriel spends the beginning of the chapter explaining how he has only thought of her in a sexual fantasy.

I have always found this wording interesting. “This one moment, and maybe a taste, and that would be it,” followed by, “[…] like she read the decision.” That has always been blatantly obviously written to elude to the both of them wanting a one-night stand and that would be the extent of their relationship. Juxtapose that with Azriel speaking to Rhysand, having no plans with Elain outside of “the fantasies he pleasured himself to,” him calling her “the third,” and months passing between that night and the end of HOFAS and not a single indication that either of them are fighting, or wanting to fight, for their relationship.

Elain and Azriel are a buffer relationship between the endgame couples. No one is denying that they had a couple of scenes between them, but that is not out of the realm of how SJM writes. Nearly every single endgame couple that she has written has had a partner, or two, before their endgame. Had Elain not been mated to Lucien, then Elriel may have had a chance to become endgame.

Calling Elriel a forbidden love has never made sense and that trope has no ties to the overarching plots left within the spin-off series. If Elain and Azriel were meant to be endgame and serve within the same plot arc, SJM would have written Azriel to have gone and found Vassa and Papa Archeron in ACOWAR and she would not have written Gwyn within the ACOSF bonus chapter.

That is common sense, I fear.