#weird elain is canon to me

[stargirlie25]

Lucien was talking about Graysen here.

He wanted to ask Rhysand how one would survive knowing your mate chose someone else.

Meaning?

He would let Elain leave the bond for her own sake

Don´t ever disrespect Lucien and say he would show anger if Elain made a choice. He is saying right here that he would try to survive it.

I'm sick and tired of people portraying Azriels traits (towards Elain) onto Lucien.

AZRIEL is jealous of Lucien and Elain's bond. AZRIEL has one sided beef with Lucien. AZRIEL is the one who thinks he is worthy of Elain. AZRIEL has entertained the idea of killing Lucien.

Not LUCIEN.

Note: This isn´t an anti az post but we all know how fucked he is. (coming from a gwynriel) WHO IS ALSO PRO LUCIEN 4LIFE

Lucien, just like any mate would support Elain in whatever choice she makes because, say it with me!

HE 👏 IS 👏 HER 👏 MATE 👏 

And Az does not have the same maturity to do that because he is not Elains mate.

and he will be fine

[dippedinmelancholy]

I have such weird, complex feelings about Elain. I feel like they might get me some hate but, I need to spit them out, the brain worms are trying to devour me. My thoughts on her are sort of two fold. What I get from canon!elain and what you get from the fandom. Canon Elain is soft and feminine, but so deeply selfish it actually drives me insane. ACOSF makes it clear she's always seen Nesta. Always perceptive enough to pick up on what is happening around her. She buys Feyre paint, she sees Nesta being abused by her mother, and she sees the hatred the IC holds for Nesta. Yet for all her perception, she never bothers to help even in the smallest manner. She is deeply catered to by her sisters. She even points this out when Feyre and the IC shows up to use their house when she's still human. She says she didn't do anything, she takes part of the blame for the first time in her life. Yet, nothing more comes of it. When she is suddenly fae, and could possibly help or have expectations placed on her, she turns catatonic. This only serves to infantilize Elain as little more than a child all over again. In ACOSF, she pushes and pushes Nesta until Nesta snaps. After what, a week? A couple weeks? Of being trapped in the HoW, after Elain didn't even have the spine to face her sister, only pack up her things and agree to imprisoning the one person who had ALWAYS had her side, who fought so violently for her, Elain runs crying that Nesta isn't any different. This doesn't make me hate Elain. It makes her complex. But it does make it hard for me to connect with her, as she seems to hide behind her softness, and it makes her seem so much more manipulative than Nesta ever was. But fandom Elain . . . ugh. I think in general, a lot of women reading ACOTAR are traditionally feminine. We're soft, we see ourselves as sweet, ect. And for some, it seems they SUPER project onto Elain and see her as an angel who deserves the "Shadow Daddy" who has never done any wrong, and see she finally sees how perfect Feyre is and has turned away from cruel Nesta. A huge argument I've seen is that Elain's the most powerful, her story is all about choice, and that's why she deserves Azriel. That she's never ever had a choice, and choosing Azriel will finally give that to her. I think there's so much potential in Elain, but are you fucking kidding me? Elain has had the MOST softness and choice out of all of the sisters. She was pampered even when they were at their poorest. Even their mother afforded Elain the chance to marry for happiness, where she abused both Feyre and Nesta. Nesta was groomed and physically abused, Feyre was neglected and forced to take on too much. After Feyre is taken by Tamlin, Elain INSTANTLY finds a love match that Nesta supports, Nesta fights only so Elain can be safe and happy. The Cauldren was GENTLE with her, it turned on the King because of how it felt about Elain. The Cauldron BRUTALIZED Nesta. It's just so exhausting to see this complex sister, who's just as bad as both Feyre and Nesta, rewritten into this self insert, flawless and soft creature who has nothing to answer for, only awaiting her Shadow Daddy smut. Especially since SJM does not know how to write traditionally soft women in a leading role. She has no idea how to portray strength without violence.

[limeandorange]

The one-book-per-couple format in ACOTAR is so weird because it sidelines literally everyone else.

Like… why did we only see the entire scene of Elain/Nesta killing Hybern through Feyre’s POV, via her touching the Cauldron??? You’re telling me she just stood there, hands on the magic death bowl for like five whole minutes, and no one interfered?? Not one single person was like "Hey, maybe we should stop her from going full oracle mode in the middle of battle"??

And you’re also telling me that Elain, the literal seer, had NOT ONE WEIRD VISION throughout ACOSF??? Not a single "Hey, maybe Briallyn is about to use Cassian against Nesta" or "Careful, something’s off" moment??

Also, I wish SJM was chaotic enough to make Elriel canon, just for the absolute mess that would follow. Imagine Elain finally making a choice, rejecting Lucien, picking Azriel—only for Azriel’s bond to snap with Gwyn. THE DRAMA.

Dude would spiral into the worst guilt imaginable, knowing that a mate was rejected because of him, only to have his own bond snap with someone else.

And THEN, after everything we've been told about mates, after Elriel and Nessian happen, suddenly Nesta is the one to reject her mate??? Cassian would LOSE IT. Imagine him yelling at Azriel about "mates belong together", and Azriel being the one to clap back like "people are allowed to make their own choices"—THE HYPOCRISY. THE CHAOS.

Meanwhile, Elain has to figure her own shit out because she realizes she only chose Azriel to rebel against her mating bond—not because she actually wanted him, but because she was rejecting the idea of being Fae itself, not Lucien. So now she has to crawl back to Lucien and deal with it.

And while she’s doing that, Gwyn absolutely beats Azriel into the ground, physical and metaphorical. Just kicks his ass, no mercy, no holding back. So satisfying.

And THEN we have Feyre, finally realizing that Rhysand made her become everything she despised when she was with Tamlin—but she resigns herself to it, because he’s too powerful of a High Lord, and their bond is too strong to fight against.

ALL OF THIS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME. Imagine the chaos. Imagine the absolute wreckage of these books. I would simply ascend.

[thinkinthoughtsalot]

I'm so incredibly exhausted with the narrative that if you question Gwyn as a character it's because you have an agenda against her. That if you think she's suspicious it's because she threatens your ship.

Listen. I enjoyed Gwyn and Emerie in Silver Flames. I liked them both as friends for Nesta. Emerie resonated with me a little more than Gwyn, but I still found Gwyn to be an adorable and fun character. Her refusing to leave Nesta in the Blood Rite was one of the most heart wrenching moments of the entire book and had me in tears.

Gwyn is, however, sus af. From her singing triggering Nesta to talk about and have visions of the Dread Trove (she definitely doesn't have singing related powers), to her excelling at training being explained away as pliant bones (because she's never physically trained before, right?), to faintly glowing when she sings (light and singing, nothing odd there), to her bringing up Truth Teller and somehow knowing it was used to kill Hybern (how does she know this? Why do she and Emerie use almost identical wording when mentioning Hybern's death, but only Gwyn mentions the Shadowsinger's knife?), to feeling unworthy of wearing the invoking stone (why? Because she failed to save her sister while outnumbered and brutalized, even though she successfully saved a bunch of children? I don't want to imply that her feelings about her own grief and trauma are wrong in any way, but is it just guilt over her twin or something more?), to her saying that if Nesta and Emerie knew everything they'd think differently of her (what are you hiding Gwyn? What could make your deeply traumatized closest friends think less of you?), to Nesta noting she has a secret beneath her pretty face (what secret? Her nymph heritage? That's not a secret, she's open about it), to the surprising authority in her voice and the way she made Nesta's powers grumble.

And this is all in the main text of ACOSF, completely excluding the Azriel bonus chapter. These are all things that I noted on my first read. There was nothing in the book that made me think "romance" or "mates" or "threat to my ship" in the book, but there was a whole lot of weirdness around Gwyn. In the same book where we're introduced to lightsingers. These are things that all set off alarm bells for me before I even knew GA was a ship.

It's not an agenda against Gwyn or a petty reaction to a crackship. It's all right there in canon, no twisting of the text required. Az's bonus chapter is just confirmation of what we already knew from the book - Az and Elain have feelings for each other that are not platonic, and Gwyn has something going on with her singing and luring.

That's it. No hate, no agenda, no threat to Elriel.

[acourtofthought]

So we've got an anti who baited Eluciens with the Elucien tag regarding Jurian's comments about Elain (though he was only playing the bad guy) then after explaining the situation they chose to reblog then block. I happened to have their post up on my screen before they blocked which is why I'm sharing the screenshots this way. Not only did they do this to me, they also did it to @theshadowsingersraven after insulting their age.

One of the most juvenile statements in this fandom is "how can you claim to love a character when XYZ". Because it's fantasy? Because these characters are all literally morally gray? (except for maybe Elain and Lucien). Because the author wrote Jurian as becoming someone who Lucien (Lucien who has always been one of her favorite characters) could depend on and wrote Lucien as Elain's mate and wrote Jurian being upset with Mor and Rhys for believing he could actually be capable of doing what they thought he was doing? Truly, who the fuck cares what Jurian said two years ago on their timeline while pretending to be the bad guy when he later revealed he wasn't and helped them save many lives? Helped them win the war with his intel? There's a little thing called understanding and forgiveness and despite OP's insistence that we don't understand why Jurian said what he did, it's canon that we do. I'd suggest re-reading the chapter where Jurian reveals himself at Graysen's estate. Just as we now know and accept Rhys as the good guy despite any past actions, we accept Jurian as the good guy because the AUTHOR wrote it that way. Readers can demonize whoever they want in the series but it doesn't change the fact that Sarah is telling you not to view them that way. That Cassian went to Jurian and Vassa's estate because they've become important players to the overall peace of the human lands. That Nesta asked Lucien how Jurian and Vassa were doing. So strange how nobody in the series seems to hate Jurian for the comments he made. Very weird that nobody in this series gives a shit about what Jurian said years ago while some in the fandom are clinging to it like a security blanket just so they can accuse Elucien's of not caring about Elain.

[merymoonbeam]

There is a weird thing that the antis like to do where they go think a scene "should have" happened and they take it as it did happen that way so they take it as canon...for example

-private dagger lessen = fact it doesnt say private they made it that way so it is a fact to them

- there is another one where the their leader said how you cant winnow in and out of the house of wind so someone must have carried gwyn to the emerie's house so she took it as fact that azriel did so she was going on and on about it = fact the book doesnt even mention anything about it

- another one is azriel carrying gwyn after sangravah...it didnt happen. = Fact He just put a cloak over her and went to kill the rest of the enemy. Mor was the one who was there and carried and brought her to library.

So what I mean by these is if it was important thing to mention...the author would have mentioned it that way.

- dagger lessen? Private would have been mentioned. Bc it is an important detail if you are trying to build and show the readers "something"

- azriel carrying gwyn? Wasnt mentioned and again it would have been mentioned like how sarah mention azriel carried elain over the foyer of the town house in acowar...you know hint hint see something here

- sangravah...total retcon that sarah had to do to make sense how gwyn got to the library so...add mor problem solved. That alone explains it wasnt an important detail for them but for just gwyn......

Anyways thats the point...if it was important it would have been in the book. Your interpretation or "logic" or whatever else doesnt make it important.

Also it doesnt pass me that all of these have an elriel scene in the book

-stealth lesson in private (nesta thinks about it)

- carrying elain to town house

- rescuing elain from hybern.... kinda funny

[elainsgirl]

Gwyn does not have any set up for a romantic arc. As much as Gwynriels can try to delude themselves within their own bubbles, it doesn’t change canon. No where in the bonus or Acosf, does Gwyn become an offical love interest for Azriel. Vice versa, Azriel does not become an offical love interest for Gwyn. Just bcs gwynriels found “chemistry” between Gwyn and Az, just because they like their scenes does not make Gwyn and Az love interests and whilst you can argue how that may change - in most interconnected standalones, two characters who will share a book and become a couple, their attraction and romantic arc is always established before hand.

Therefore, Gwyn and Az are not canon Love interests.

Isn’t it weird how gwynriels immediately enter, “oh so you want Gwyn to be evil then? Bcs Az likes her and it makes you insecure of elriel, therefore you need her out of the way” mindset once you tell them Gwyn may be a LS.

let me clarify something, Gwynerth Berdara is completely irrelevant to elriel. She has absolutely 0 affect on the couple. Az spent his days with her in a training pit yet still wanted to beg on his knees for Elain. Gwyn will never influence elriel, he doesn’t even consider her a friend. So no. No elriel considers her a threat to our ship, bcs she isn’t. Az doesn’t view her differently and girlie herself could care less about him.

Could you imagine how sweet and romantic it would have been if after their impromptu session, the next day Az went out and brought Gwyn a solstice gift. Something meaningful. A dagger/sword she could pratice with. Maybe a coat to wear for the cold, late night sessions. Azriel saying how he thought of Gwyn after their session. Went out of his way to do something for HER. Whats the reality? He didnt think of her once, then “found” himself at the library. It wasn’t an intentional decision which makes Gwynriel even more unromantic then they are…interesting he finds himself at this library when the priestesses have their choir, explaining Gwyns absence. look…fine. Mass couldnt be asked to have Az get Gwyn her own important gift, but you know what she could have done? Have Az arrive at the library, intentionally. Ask Clotho where Gwyn was. Gwyn who was shelving books, he approaches and gives her the necklace which she receives. That is another way to have started a beautiful gwynriel romance…

again, whats the reality? He didnt care who the necklace went too. “He wouldn’t go as far as to call her a friend…but” - that “but” doesnt negate anything in the sentence. Gwyn isn’t a friend to him but she is someone he knows. Sjm could have said, “he supposed Gwyn had become like a friend to him” - did Sjm write that? No. We all know Clotho influences fate, the necklace was given to her. If she had given it to Gwyn - that would have symbolically started Gwynriels romance and connection. Yet…Gwyn doesn’t have the necklace, Clotho did not give it to her therefore stopped the possibility of gwynriel.

Back to the Ls theory, Gwyn is seemingly unaware of her powers. She is unaware of their affects. Its subtle, Az wouldn’t have known he was accidentally being lured into the library because no one believes Gwyn to have any magic from our main cast. But as readers we know something is there, something beneath the surface of her pretty face. It’s that simple, it doesn’t make Gwyn evil. Manipulative. She’s just a young girl who isn’t aware of her powers. It adds depth to Gwyns character.

The single shadow dancing with Gwyns breath. Az & his shadows feeling calm& settled like Nesta due to Gwyn. Nesta’s magic grumbling in answer, Azriels magic singing in answer. Why are the two different? Bcs both powers communicate differently. Nesta’s was volatile, like a volcano. When a volcano is being activated what does it do? Grumble. Azriels shadows using song -> they sing. Mass used word for word to parallel Nesta/Az with Gwyn. But why? Yes to showcase Gwyns LS powers but by using Az - you’ll have people misinterpreting it as romance. Its a way to make the bonus popular and talked about. Same happened with Cass and Emerie, on a smaller scale. And it worked, people actually believe Sjm would switch up on a couple she built up and made romantic/gave attraction too.

Final thing: a good point, theory or arguement will have mutliple evidence to back it up. Take elriels saying that Az could be Elains mate - there is a substantial amount of evidence backing it up and when pierced together, you see how the theory makes sense. Gwynriels love claiming the glow and spark = mates, but they can’t build up on the idea of gwynriel being mates bcs there isn’t multiple pieces of textual evidence suggesting Gwyn and Az have a bond. Its a weak arguement to say Gwynriel are mates when Azriels behavior in multiple instances disprove that. Its flimsy. Not definite.

[goghwilde]

Elain choosing not to wear Lucien's enchanted gloves right now has everything to do with their bond

Elain not wearing gloves when she gardens was something Feyre only speculated one time, but every instance we actually have in canon of Elain gardening, she is always wearing gloves. Feyre only speculates this because she's trying to make sense of Elain's reaction upon opening Lucien's gift on Solstice. She theorizes that maybe Elain would prefer to have torn and sweaty hands because the dirt and cuts were proof of her labor and joy, something that I don't believe is ever confirmed by Elain nor is there any evidence that she would agree with that.

This idea that Elain either no longer wears gloves or would prefer not to was then pushed by some in an attempt to make Lucien's gift look bad. Because if he gives her something that she would prefer not to use, then that's not a very thoughtful gift, is it? But that's not the case, and in fact, when Lucien asks Feyre about Elain, Feyre TELLS him she wears gloves to garden. This is a detail about Elain that Lucien then tucks away to remember when picking out her gift months later. It's actually incredibly thoughtful.

If Elain was inconsistent in wearing gloves throughout the series, that would actually make the fact that she chooses to not wear Lucien's enchanted gloves less impactful because then you could reason that her not wearing his gloves is simply because she doesn't always like wearing gloves in general, and not because of the real reason: that what putting on his gloves would mean/symbolize to her. It's an attempt to downplay not only the sincerity and thoughtfulness of the gift, but also the meaning of the gloves entirely, much in the same way some try to downplay their mating bond.

The truth is that she has always worn gloves in canon both as a human and as a fae and that there's only one very SPECIFIC pair of gloves she's refusing to wear right now. And these specific gloves are clearly being used as a metaphor by the author to showcase Elain's stubbornness in accepting the bond.

Is this evidence of Elain self-harming? No, I do not think in the sense that she's wanting to inflict harm on her new fae body, but metaphorically, yes, she is absolutely hurting herself by not accepting her faeness fully, and by extension, Lucien and the mating bond.

Sidenote: I'm seeing more and more people romanticize the fact that Elain's hands get scarred from refusing to wear the enchanted gloves and using that to draw parallels to Azriel's scarred hands, so I just want to remind people that Elain choosing to not wear Lucien's gloves, and by doing so being harmed in the process, has EVERYTHING to do with the bond between Elain and Lucien and NOTHING to do with Azriel. And the fact that some go as far as to say Elain likes that her scarred hands remind her of Azriel's, which were a result of his childhood trauma, and romanticize that, is incredibly weird and gross to me.

Thank you to @acourtofthought for inspiring some of these thoughts

[nobibiname]

What does Mor know?

So I’m re-reading ACOFAS and there’s a scene that sticks out to me that I never noticed before, here is Feyre’s POV in ch4 (I’m recycling some of my comments from tiktok, i thought it would make a good post)

Mor and Feyre are shopping for gifts, Feyre is reflecting on what Mor told her during the war, that happened bw Az and Mor.… so we’re talking about Az, and completely unprompted here’s the next bit

Here’s my thoughts on this in no particular order :

1. Yet another scene where we talk about Az, Elain casually comes up… weird that

2. Mor hummed to herself… she HUMMED to herself , I’m sorry but… if I’m telling you something and you are humming to yourself, you know something I don’t… spill the tea, sis 🍵 🫖

3. Mor thinks her daggers are not important to Az, but his most important dagger immediately associates with the time he gave it to Elain

4. Feyre is clueless. She gives us a very vivid description how Elain gave the dagger back, and I see this quote a lot, trying to point to how Elain giving TT back is MORE important than Az giving it to begin with. And yeah, that is canon, sure out of context that quote would suggest it… but when you look at the whole scene, we’re in Feyre’s head and she firmly believes Az is still into Mor, but Mor doesn’t agree… she doesn’t agree… Mor’s over here humming like “oh that’s what you think is important ? Cute 🥰 “

4b. This is after the events in ACOWAR, most notably the events associated with the IC finding out about Elain’s seer ability, thanks to Madja and Az, and that one scene where Az winnows away, and Mor stares after him for a while… suggesting that in that moment “Mor saw a truth”.

5. I kinda see “dagger” in this scene as symbolic for exchange of feelings, or love. Mor and Az don’t feel the same way about each other, so her daggers don’t matter, he doesn’t use them, and he might as well toss them. Unlike Elain, where the feelings are mutual, so they also exchange the dagger, and they both use it

I think Mor gives us some really cool insights… I am kind of plagued by the fact she drew the 3 sisters and 3 batboys before Nesta and Elain were even Fae! Like that’s crazy to me… I’m thinking of doing a deep dive on Mor, specifically on what she knows (through her powers) 🤔

[theshadowsingersraven]

It's so weird to me that people get bent out of shape at their self-created premise of Eluciens shipping while "ignoring Elain's feelings" about Lucien.

Elain is a fictional character. Her feelings are designated by SJM in the canon text, and whoever writes for her in fanon and fanfiction. Elain’s feelings are not autonomous. They are designed by the author writing her for whatever medium or purpose, or the fanartist creating art of her.

When I write Elain with Lucien, I don't write her as miserable and trapped. And I don't think most Elucien writers do that, either.

I will write her hesitant, potentially, depending on the point in which their relationship has developed. Or guarded or unsure of how she feels. You know, like Nesta and Feyre were with their mates, too, initially.

But the people who ship and write and create content for Elucien don't do so as a way to be "cruel" or "punishing" or "unconcerned". We do it because we see potential that others don't. We can imagine how their conversations could go, how their dynamics could change, what events could trigger a change in how they view each other. And we show that in the artistic medium we're most drawn to.

These are the ideas I toss around for my Elucien writing:

Maybe Elain meets Jurian and Vassa.

Maybe she goes to Spring.

Maybe Lucien sees a more powerful part of her and is impressed.

It's literally the base foundation of creativity. Imagining characters in scenarios you want to see. And there's nothing wrong with that in the slightest. How else do you think we get any books or TV shows? Any media, really?

It just reads as a very overly-moralistic, juvenile, and non-creative line of thinking to me.

"Why are you ignoring Elain's feelings?"

I'm not. I'm changing them and designating where I believe they will go based on my own creativity and desire to grow her arc and character. I'm changing her feelings based on what I want. Which, I actually love to break it to you, is exactly what SJM does, too.

Not everyone is going to be a writer. Not everyone is going to be a creative person. I understand that. But what people in this fandom don't understand is that it's an actual process with time and effort, and there's nothing to get upset or worked up over.

If you do get upset, respectfully, that's a you problem. You are not Elain. No one is pushing you towards a guy you don't feel any particular way about as if you're in high school. No one is making you do or consume anything. You are fine.

Elucien can not hurt you.

You're going to have to live with basic fandom creativity, and if you can't handle that, maybe fandom spaces aren't for you.

[nikethestatue]

I'll sit here and wait for the canon evidence that proves Elain wants something more with Az than a hookup.

"Az questioned his religion for Elain!" (also, why is that romantic, aren't people supposed to have faith and not doubt when it comes to religion? One guy pouting over what he didn't get isn't more important than the entire foundation on which their world was built). "Az gave Elain TT!" Ok, so where are we shown Elain wants a future with Az? That she loves Az? That she was sooo moved by the lending of his dagger? That she wanted anything more than a distraction? They focus solely on Az (misinterpreting his actions to boot) while completely ignoring that Elain has given zero signals of wanting anything serious with him yet claim how what the FMC wants are the most important thing. So show me the proof that Elain wants an actual relationship with Az, that she has true feelings for him. And no, observing that he rubs his temples is not proof of feelings, she in canon often notices things like this about the world around her.

I'll sit here and wait for the canon evidence of what Az actually likes about Elain as an individual.

Not her charming irreverence, that's what he liked about Gwyn. So what is unique to Elain that he in his own words / thoughts is drawn to? Weird how there's absolutely nothing outside of her looks and scent after 2 years of knowing her.

It's an interesting question, because of course that could be asked about anyone. How do we know that someone is interested in another person?

How did we know that Cassian was interested in Nesta? Most of his thoughts in Wings and Embers were sexual in nature--just as explicit as Azriel's, but also with a touch of violence. The first thing Cassian thinks about when he visits the still-human Nesta are her...ample breasts. And then he tries to kiss her. And then she knees him in the balls.

There are still people here, in the fandom, convinced that Nessian aren't even a thing and that she'll leave him for Eris.

So what's going to convince them? Because obviously a whole huge book hasn't convinced them.

Same with Feysand--firstly it was Feyre who wanted a distraction, not Elain, whose personality just doesn't align with casual sex. But besides that, people are still convinced that Rhys daematied Feyre and she is operating under his mind control.

Again, we had a trilogy plus a novella and they have a child together and people still don't believe that they are IT.

So, I suppose, the question could be posed to you--what makes you think that Elain isn't interested in Azriel? That she wants nothing beyond sex?

Because Elain's been observing him, noticing things about him (his words, not mine), he knows that she knows things about him that no one else does, she's been gifting him Solstice gifts (the only man that she's done that for), she clearly doesn't want him to be in pain or uncomfortable, hence the headache powder and the ear plugs. She KNOWS that he's been avoiding her for a year, and yet she still seeks him out, while expecting nothing.

In both of their cases, if you just want to jump someone's bones, why would you....avoid them? For a YEAR?

So it's interesting that you mention 'charming irreverence', but you don't mention "The faelights gilded Elain's unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn."

You don't mention this either: She hadn't bought her mate a present. But she'd gotten Azriel one last year -- a headache powder he kept on his nightstand at the House of Wind. Not to use, but just to look at. Which he'd done every night he’d slept there.

You also don't mention this: She opened her mouth to ask more, but he didn't feel like explaining. Or demonstrating, since that was surely what she'd ask next.

It's just a simple case of selective reading --it's choose to amplify and concentrate on the things that you like, but you discard pretty much the entirety of Azriel and Elain's interactions in ACOFAS, for example. You also discard the rescue from Hybern. Was it all done just so that Azriel could have sex with her? That's seems like overkill.

The thing is--I am not here to convert anyone into Elrielism. That's not my aim or my job. It's not even my aim to have people 'see' Elriel. Elriel is obvious. If it's your choice to ignore ACOWAR, ACOFAS and ACOSF, then what can I do to convince you? Not a whole lot.

[shadowqueenjude]

Lol this is incredibly fucked up and I don’t think Tamlin or Lucien in canon would ever actually do this but it was too freakishly weird not to write. Based on this post by @nocasdatsgay This takes place the day after the Solstice after Lucien gifted Elain those pearl earrings.

Tamlin found his old friend once more in his delapidated manor, looking even more miserable than the face Tamlin saw in the mirror every day. That’s when Tamlin knew it was bad.

His friend, his Lucien, always so bright and witty and strong, reduced to this lifeless thing. Part of it was Tamlin’s own fault. Much of it was his family’s fault. And the rest…well Tamlin guessed it was the Night Court’s fault. He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut to try and control the emotions roiling through him.

Tamlin walked up behind Lucien slumping on the couch. He showed so little reaction that for a moment Tamlin almost thought he couldn’t sense his presence.

“I don’t understand,” Lucien said at last.

Tamlin stilled, listening to the Autumn court male speak.

“I protected her in Hybern. I traversed Prythian for her. I demanded she get sunlight and fresh air from the Inner Circle. I journeyed across the content to seek an army based on her vision. I returned with a retinue complete with her own father, and I fight across the battlefield to reach her, and she asks me to stay in Velaris. Then nothing. Avoids me like the plague. I understand she wasn’t expecting all this and she was in love…but was I not also? Yet I’m trying to make the most of this and she…pushes me away. I learn about her. I gift her garden gloves. I gift her pearl earrings. She loves gardening and pearls. She seems to dislike my gifts. She cringes away. I feel her attention towards that dark angry shadowsinger. He despises me for some reason. I don’t understand. Am I that unlovable?” Lucien seemed to be talking to himself.

Tamlin’s heart strained at the longing and anguish etched on his face. All these years, Tamlin had hid much of his true darkness from Lucien, not wishing him to ever wear that expression. His hopes had been for naught, for there he was. Oh, he wore it so well, but he should never have to bear the burden of this pain. Part of it was Tamlin’s fault; he’d do whatever he could in order to make up for it.

Tamlin swallowed and cleared his throat. “You are not. You’re not unlovable, I mean.” He finished with a whisper, “I love you, Lucien. And I’m so sorry.”

Lucien looked at him then, his mismatched eyes burning with a fire that raised the temperature of the entire room. “Are you her? Are you my mate? Elain?” he demanded with a bitterness that threatened to undo Tamlin’s composure.

Tamlin swallowed. He had sworn to never do this long ago, but he was a different man then. A better one. More whole than he was now. Now he was but a shred of a man, a broken man with a broken throne.

“I could be,” he croaked. He couldn’t believe what he was saying. Monster, a voice hissed in his head. Oath-breaker. Ah well, what was another thing broken?

He didn’t know Elain Archeron’s exact proportions, which was a relief because he didn’t want to violate her. But he remembered her face, and he willed his emerald eyes to transform to that of a fawn’s coat, his hair to darken slightly to a burnished gold, his stature to shorten, his rugged body to grow elegant curves, until he was Elain’s double. Tamlin’s pants, now far too baggie for him, slipped down his body until he was left in his oversized shirt, which hung off his shoulders.

Lucien’s fiery eyes softened, his voice filled with affection and concern as he murmured, “Elain?”

“Lucien,” Tamlin sighed in Elain’s voice. He felt so disgusting, but if it was what Lucien needed to feel comfortable in this very moment, he would do it. Tamlin could do with the comfort himself, lonely as he was now.

“Elain,” Lucien breathed again, one hand tentatively reaching out towards Tamlin-no, Elain. It was Elain he was reaching for; Tamlin had to do well to remember that.

Tamlin couldn’t bring himself to care much longer about propriety when Lucien grabbed his hand and yanked him onto his lap. His breaths became hard and heavy as that hand trailed up his inner thigh.

“I want you so badly,” Tamlin gasped as Lucien’s hand went to the hem of his shirt. Lucien leaned forward, his mouth brushing the spot where Tamlin’s neck met his shoulder. Then it trailed up, up, until he reached his ear, leaving embers in its wake. “Shall I take this off then?” he crooned, tugging on the shirt. “Yes,” Tamlin let out barely, and Lucien slowly began pulling it off, brushing the skin it left exposed as he went. One hand was firmly on Tamlin’s breast as the other lifted the shirt off of his head. Lucien then stared and stared at Tamlin with a fire that had he been standing, would’ve made him weak to the knees.

“The most beautiful faerie I have ever seen,” Lucien whispered, gently pushing Tamlin flat onto the couch. Such pretty words he spoke against his skin as Lucien took his time, starting from the forehead, moving down the slope of his nose, his cheeks, the bow of his lips, his neck, his collarbone, his chest, his stomach, skipping over the place Tamlin needed him most, caressing his thighs, his calves, his ankles. Tamlin whined and grabbed Lucien’s head, pulling it between his legs.

Lucien chuckled darkly. “So desperate for me, are you, Elain?”

By the Mother. Tamlin could not help but feel envy. Lucien wanted to do all of this to her. It was beyond him why Elain was still turning Lucien down. Were Tamlin in her place, he would’ve accepted the bond without hesitation.

Mind foggy with pleasure and envy for the lady he was impersonating, Tamlin could only form one word.

“Yes.”

[pastelpinkkadan]

The hypocrisy in the e/riel community literally boggles me

like they are constantly talking about how elain not giving Lucien the time of the day is the most wokest feminism available on earth

But these same women Bash on Nesta for not giving Cassian attention?

Some e/riel accounts I see calling Nesta a bitch and all those names (in the context of nessian and them pre acosf) are the same ones who talk about elain's "choice" and how It can never be anyone other than Azriel because then that wouldn't be choice

Are these grown women hearing themselves

Obvious troll aside, this is such a weird lie??

Elriels have never, and I mean never, bashed Nesta for avoiding Cassian pre-ACOSF/the beginning of ACOSF.

Because, since Elriels are known to read canon text correctly, we all knew it was being used to show Nesta’s insecurities and trauma. That she still wanted him, but she hated herself. We understood that, because it was OBVIOUS. And we were right. 🤷🏼‍♀️

So no, there’s never been any Nesta bashing for that weird lie you just made up. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone in the fandom say that, EVER.

Also, most Elriels also ship and support Nessian. You know which side has people that support Neris or Nesta ruling as some sort of Queen alone? Gw*nriels and El*ciens.

I ain’t never seen an Elriel try to say Nessian isn’t endgame. 😂 Even if it’s not their favorite ship, no Elriel would ever claim SJM is going to break them up. That’s messy, fanon bs. Not canon. And Elriels looooove canon.

God, I just wish the trolls would be BETTER, you know? They aren’t even trying. 😔

A grown woman (I’m assuming you are, but I could be wrong. You might be 12. You act like it) also just sent me a hate ask/troll message. So I wouldn’t go around thinking you have any sort of moral high ground.

[acourtofthought]

The ridiculousness of the new Lucien week has gotten me heated so here's another anti e/riel post.

Based on e/riel logic, the LoA must really love Beron because he in canon is her current choice therefore we need to respect her choices and continue hoping for a Beron and LoA endgame.

Their logic is that it doesn't matter that we can see he's wrong for her, that maybe she doesn't truly want him but feels she should stay. All that matters is it's her choice.

Most all in the fandom realize there's probably many layers behind the why of the LoA staying with Beron. We all realize it's probably not what makes her happy but staying is something she's trying to convince herself of as being necessary.

But when it comes to Elain, apparently her character is not capable of deeper emotions for some.

However Elucien's and Gwynriels, just like we see in the LoA's situation with Beron and Helion, understand the nuance for the e/riel setup and Elain's current behavior towards Lucien. That Elain's actions most likely do not reflect her real feelings, that she's behaving in a way that's not true to her heart but in a way that she is trying to convince herself she's fine with because she's still battling her own demons but isn't completely ready to tackle them head on.

Just like we have hope that the LoA will break free of Beron despite her current choice to stay, to maybe end up with Helion despite what appears to be a current lack of interest on her part, we too hope that Elain can break free of the things that are holding her back, of the people who are holding her back, and can find love with the one person who Fate had always known was her perfect match, who has always had her best interests at heart. Who the author made her perfect match and has spoken about them as a couple.

It's weird how Helion barely looked at the LoA during the HLs meeting, how he chose to sleep with Mor while the LoA was under the same roof as him and still the fandom collectively agrees there's a story to be had for the LoA and Helion, that he still has feelings for her yet it's somehow an impossibility for an Elucien endgame.

[bloomingdarkgarden]

I have this headcanon where Az decides to let Elain cut his hair (because he doesn't have magical hair and needs to get it cut sometimes) and she's really good at pruning and weeding her plants but she is absolutely terrible at cutting men's hair. But he doesn't have the heart to tell her so he just pretends that he loves it and Cassian makes fun of him and Nesta threatens to tell him and Feyre and Rhys find the WHOLE thing adorable and it ends up being Nyx who says in his super cute toddler voice "Uncle Az why does your hair look weird." And Az finally and sheepishly admits to Elain that she's bad at it and she just smirks and goes "I was wondering how long you were gonna make it before you told me."

Sorry for the rambles lol

Um this is perfect don't ever change. Elain being bad at things and Azriel thinking she is cute as hell anyway absolutely slays me. I love your nyx moment, so darling 😭🤌🖤

I have a scene of Elain cutting Azriel's hair in the garden towards the end of the fic that is exceptionally soft. I have way too many hair canons. I'm obsessed with hair. Let's never stop talking about either of their hair.

[elainsgirl]

I find it really weird how some Gwyn stans hate the IC and want Nesta, Gwyn, Emerie, and Azriel to make their own court and get away from the IC. However, while bashing the IC and claiming that Gwyn deserves so much better, they continue to make headcanons inserting Gwyn into the inner circle.

According to them, Gwyn will despise Feyre and make that completely obvious by openly disrespecting her and criticizing her for being a bad high lady, a bad sister, and a bad mother. Gwyn will have to step up and show Feyre how to a be a mother, sister, and leader. In fact, gwyn will raise Nyx and Nyx will go to her for comfort rather than his own parents - and apparently everyone will be completely alright with this because gwyn is just so nurturing.

And while some gwyn stans think Rhys is the scum of the earth, they still want him to befriend Gwyn. Rhys is apparently going to trust and confide in Gwyn more than everyone else (including his own wife). He’s going to allow gwyn to snap at feyre - in fact, he’s going to admire gwyn for her motherly instincts and bash Feyre for her inability to calm Nyx down.

Gwyn is going to snap at Elain and snatch Nyx out of her hands because “she isn’t holding him right.” And like with Feyre, gwyn is going to lecture her on her behavior towards Nesta and Lucien. And from their headcanons, everyone is going to applaud gwyn for putting elain in her place and showing her how spoiled and stuck up she is.

Gwyn is going to yell at Mor for how she treated Azriel and scold Amren how she treated Nesta.

They want gwyn to leave the IC, but continue to make up headcanons that center around the IC. They hate Feyre and Rhys, but want gwyn to raise their baby as if she isn’t in her twenties and doesn’t have her own life to live. They hate Elain, and use gwyn as a tool to bash elain. It’s funny how some gwyn stans write headcanons and fics about her coming into the IC befriending all the guys and criticizing all the women. They have to make it clear that while Gwyn deserves better than the IC, she will be accepted with open arms by the men and she will be more caring, compassionate, and just better than every single women in the IC.

Hey anon 🫶

This ask took me back to when I came across a gwynriel HC? A part from a fic? idk and let’s just say….Gwyn definitely takes centre stage lmfao. I’m sorry, why on earth would Gwyn of all people criticise Feyre? I had no idea she was an expert in ruling and politics, it must’ve been mentioned in the gwynriel version of acosf. “Openly disrespect her” im sorry, what? Do they honestly think Mr. Be careful how you speak about my HL will sit there and let gwyn be unnecessarily rude to Feyre? The characters you’re mentioning aren’t the canon characters I know off but are we suprised? Gwynriels and canon don’t mix unless they can twist it. Thing is: I wish I could say you’re exaggerating but from the HC I came across a few weeks ago made by a gwynriel…yh some gwyn/gwynriel stans actually do believe and write about this stuff.

As much as antis want their “house of wind” gang they also know Sjm will always have feysand and the IC as main characters. So even if they hate the IC, antis can’t deny how important those members are to the series. Hence why they make lots of HCs w gwyn interacting and becoming an integral part to the night court club whilst removing Elain from them. The whole Rhys x Gwyn agenda started bcs elriels pointed out how each sister became besties with a bat bro. Feyre/Cass. Nesta/Az. Logically you’d think it would be Elain/Rhys to fit the pattern but when have antis ever cared about that? Rhysand isn’t confiding in Gwyn anytime soon. Especially not about his deepest struggles bcs for 1) that isn’t how these friendships play out and 2) it makes feysand’s bond look weak which isn’t the dynamic Mass is going for.

All im saying - the gwynriel version of Gwyn isn’t a girls girl like the canon version, dare I say she’s potrayed as a pick me? The self insert is real.

Acting like Gwyn is going to fight Elain for Az. Idk what kind of Gwyn they’re stanning but the one I liked in acosf would rather pull her own hair out then fight another woman for a man.

at the end of the day, their HCs will remain HCs. If gwyn was to be *that* important,

She 👏 would’ve 👏 been 👏 introduced 👏 earlier 👏

Not in a standalone spinoff. She definitely would have had more interactions with the IC members if she were to become such an important part of their team.