My current reason for living is Elain āYou canāt like Elain and hate Nesta.ā Speak for yourself. I love Nesta too. And the Valkyries. And while weāre at it, Iām also pro-IC, pro-Feyre, pro-Rhys, and pro-Lucien. And yes, I lean Elriel, yet I still like Gwyn. This fandom is exhausting.
I present you my non-canon art of Elain inspired by Falling In Reverse's song. š
The SFW/instagram version:
And the NSFW version:
Her dress is sheer because I am no better than Azriel this is a nod to the moment after becoming fae in ACOMAF... except this time she is all powerful and I think that is a beautiful full circle moment.
- Are those Azriels shadows? Could be.
- Are those the cauldron's swirling eddies? Also possible.
- Can the shadows be her own via a bond with Azriel? Yesssss!
- Is there a mix of different art styles? Yes. I am experimenting. š«£
- Does she have curly hair? No. Sue me š I needed her powerful not whimsical (forgive me for not having patience).
I had a couple of surprises along the way, for one I never drew magic before. What a learning curve! And I am sure there is still a lot I can improve on.
As always... please be kind š„“ I'm fragile
I hope you guys have a lovely day and I hope we get some titles and blurps soon! Love you guys š¤
Iāve run out of colors, I donāt know which ones to assign to whom, and I donāt care.
OMG I FORGOT ERIS NOO, i donāt have time nowš
I definitely wrote more for some characters and less for others. Part of that is simply because I read the books over three years ago and I honestly donāt remember every characterās personality perfectly anymore. A reread is definitely happening before ACOTAR 6.
For example, I wrote A LOT at the beginning, especially for Elain, Feyre, Nesta, Azrielā¦ the further you go, the less I wrote
I also tried to be positive about everyone, so donāt take the amount of text as a ranking of how much I like a character.
(I also fully expect absolutely nobody to read all of this).
And, most importantly, I wrote this entirely for my own entertainment. It has no real purpose. Iām not writing a fanfiction, and I donāt even know how to write one.
I just thought it was funā¦
That said, if anyone who actually writes fanfiction happens to get an idea from this, that would be pretty COOL
Anyway, ā ļø TW: mentions of self-harm, eating disorders, parental death, sibling death, depression, and emotional/psychological abuse.
This one is easy. Sheās cute, quiet, and probably one of the smartest people in her department, though sheās far too shy for her own good. She always shares her notes, tutors struggling students, and somehow ends up helping everyone else before helping herself.
She works part-time as a florist, creating arrangements for events, but I like to think sheās genuinely more interested in plant biology and ecosystems than just the beauty of flowers. She also has a surprisingly large social media following because of the cakes and recipes she creates, though she never shows her face online.
Massive people pleaser. People absolutely take advantage of her kindness.
Everyone obviously has a crush on herā¦ likeā¦ come on, sheās a goddess ā¦BUT
She doesnāt think sheās attractive (like in a sexy way)
She thinks she looks too young, too soft, too much like a little girl. Her mother always made her feel like her greatest asset was her beauty.
Maybe the only thing she had to offer.
Even though it might not be obvious from the outside, she has a complicated relationship with her body.
Not because she hates it, but because she doesnāt always feel comfortable being seen.
She spends far less time thinking about her appearance than everyone else spends thinking about it for her.
She is always kind and always smiling, but she struggles with depression, though not in the same self-destructive way Nesta does.
Sheās had a few episodes of self-harm throughout her life (almost canon??)
Obviously nobody knows. Nobody would even think to look.
After Graysen cheated on her (part of the reason why she has her insecurities), she decided she wanted to be more careful about the people she gets attached to (I like to think that in fanfics weāve all collectively decided that Graysen was toxic and cheated on Elain. INSANE).
Very few people actually know her. Sheās not for everyone šŖ
She never says no and likes being available for everyone, but she also loves having time for herself.
She obviously stops to pet EVERY cat she sees on the street and feeds them.
She absolutely loves horror movies (THIS IS A FACT IN MY HEAD). She watches horror and thriller movies without batting an eye, but somehow cries every single time she watches Titanic or The Notebook and canāt sleep after.
While drinking tea and relaxing, sheās definitely listening to true crime podcasts.
She is not a brat AT ALL. Sheās actually very accommodating and likes being the āgood girl.āšāāļø
But thereās a part of her thatās secretly thrilled by things that are a little dangerous.
She definitely has a secret tattoo somewhere.
Nobody knows about it. Nobody would ever guess. And thatās exactly why she loves it.
She volunteers at a nursing home.
Sheās uncomfortable with confrontation and avoids it whenever she can.
She brings food to homeless people and then cries when she doesnāt have money to give them.
FeyrešššØ
Fine Arts or Illustration.
Basically canon.
Maybe this will annoy some people, but in my headcanon Feyre is dyslexic. It never stops her. If anything, it makes her even more determined to prove she doesnāt need anyoneās help. She works twice as hard as everyone else and refuses to quit.
Art becomes the way she expresses everything she struggles to put into words. She tells stories through colors and images. I mostly picture her as a painter, though sometimes I consider sculpture too.
I know canon Feyre probably leans more toward realism, but in a Modern AU I always imagine her as an abstract artist. Not because she canāt paint realistically, she absolutely can.
She teaches art classes to children and adults, but I also love the idea of her working in art therapy āyou have to FEEL what youāre painting, Karenā.
Obviously sheās incredibly talented, a future famous artist whose work is displayed in museums.
Here too, I feel like fanfics have generally accepted the idea that she was in a toxic abusive relationship with Tamlin, but that her friendship with Mor helps save her (a relationship involving significant emotional and psychological abuse)
She first learns how to be alone and love herself. MOOOOONTHS pass before she finally allows herself to trust someone again and give Rhys a chance. At first she hated him because heās arrogant, but he was obviously in love with her back when she was still with Tamlin and waited veeeeery patiently.
She has a very deep fear of never being enough.
She grew up being neglected by her family and, because of that, sheās convinced she always has to be useful to deserve love.
In her mind, other people deserve support. She doesnāt.
She took on a bunch of side jobs because she wanted to be completely independent and moved out at eighteen. Now sheās trying to balance college, rent, and work all at once because sheād rather exhaust herself than ask anyone for money.
She loves her sisters.
The house was toxic. The real problem was the environment they grew up in.
Horrible parents.
After her motherās death, when she was young, she was left with this feeling that she never got the chance to show her who she could become.
Like she ran out of time before she could make her proud.
Her mother never had much faith in Feyreās abilities. Partly because of her dyslexia, partly because she was clumsy and never quite excelled at the things her mother valued.
And ever since then, sheās carried this constant need to prove herself.
I have never been more certain of anything in my life.
Obsessively perfectionistic. Extremely precise. Constantly gets called āthe devilās advocateā (which idk if itās famous in English as an expression, in italian it is, idk).
If she hadnāt become a lawyer, she wouldāve been a world-famous ballerina whose career was tragically cut short by an injury because apparently all my headcanons require emotional damage.
Eventually she opens her own dance academy and coaches competitive dancers. She looks terrifying, argues for fun, and somehow still attends a book club every Wednesday.
Also, Iāve always imagined a very specific psychological journey for Nesta, especially in the ballerina headcanon. She went through rehab.
She struggled with an eating disorder for a period of her life. Not because of appearance, though.
For her, it was about control.
She also blames herself for her fatherās death. He died alone at home from a heart attack after sheād promised she would come see him, but after an argument she stormed out and slammed the door. That was their last interaction.
Elain was the one who found him.
Feyre was the one who called the police, and Nesta.
I feel like the devil for coming up with this, but thatās how it is in my head. š§āāļø
Rhysand āØšš¦
Political Science and Law, maybe Economics too? He definitely has multiple degrees anyway.
Student council president.
Annoyingly intelligent.
Gets perfect grades while somehow maintaining a social life.
You either love him or hate him. Heās charismatic, persuasive, and fully capable of sounding like the smartest person in the room while also being completely insufferable.
Then one day you discover that once a month he still gets together with the boys for laser tag and winter snowball fights.
Heās passionate about culture and the arts, obviously drives sports cars, dresses impeccably, and then he takes his shirt off and BOOMāhot tattoos.
Heās lost absurd amounts of money playing poker with his friends, but heās far too proud to admit it.
Heās never gotten over the death of his mother and sister in a car accident caused by a drunk driver (a friend or relative of Tamlinās??), but Tamlinās very influential family managed to cover the whole thing up, making it even harder for Rhysandās family to get justice. Eventually, though, after years of legal battles, they finally do.
Since Rhys is still in college in this AU, his father is still alive, but eventually heāll probably die from some illness and Rhys will take over the family business. I still havenāt decided what that business actually is.
Azriel š¶šš¦
(this one is long I am sorry)
Psychology and Criminologyā¦ or Computer Science and Cybersecurity.
I genuinely cannot decide.
Psychology and criminology make perfect sense because Azriel studies people. Heās observant, analytical, and always notices things everyone else misses. But I can also completely see him in cybersecurity because heās patient, methodical, detail-oriented, and spends half his life gathering information.
The thing is, regardless of his major, Azriel is always studying people.
Heās always quiet. Always top of his class.
Nobody asks him for notes because theyāre intimidated by him, not because he wouldnāt share them. His notes are immaculate, organized into major topics and subtopics, color-coded, perfectly structured.
Definitely has a little OCD. Definitely struggles with self-esteem. Hopefully sees a therapist every two weeks. It took eight sessions before he actually opened up about anything.
Nobody has ever seen him on campus without headphones.
Men want him.
Women want him.
Everyone wants him (me too)
Heās ridiculously competitive, wins every poker game, bluffs 85% of the time, and somehow never gets caught. Looks like death itself but secretly has a weakness for chocolate and desserts.
He is a NERD (In a āthe big bang theory characterā way).
He definitely has a LEGO collection.
He is a gamer, obviously.
Absolute gym rat, but he doesnāt talk to anyone at the gym and hates it whenever Cassian pulls his headphones off.
He might seem very confident because of his multiple tattoos and his bike (OBVIOUSLY itās black), but he doesnāt have the courage to make the first move with the girl he likes.
Even though, obviously, he has no trouble finding sexual partners. I meanā¦ look at him.
Definitely very kinky. Very dominant. Handcuffs, blindfoldsā¦Iām still deciding whether knife play is involved too, but Iāll let you know.
He has his ears pierced, nipple piercing, and probably a few other piercings ...
AND Obviously he smokes šāāļø
I can never picture him doing drugs, though. I once read a fanfic (an AMAZING one) where he did, but thatās just not him in my head. In my headcanon, he absolutely hates them.
Heās also the loyal friend of the group. Everyone confides in him and goes to him when they need something. Heās always available for the people he loves and would probably help hide a body if you asked him to.
Maybe a little too loyal, but he has excellent judgment. Heās not meant to be a leader, but he loves being someoneās right-hand man.
Heās the kind of man who remembers every little detail you casually mention (and then surprises you with it months later, maybe, if he cares enough)
He secretly knows how to draw.
He is secretly a lover boy.
He writes songs in his free time and uploads them under a pseudonym ( Shadowsinger, original, i know) , or posts them on YouTube without ever showing his face.
Obviously he plays guitar and bass.
Youād probably expect me to say he only listens to rock, but he actually listens to EVERYTHING.
He is a cat dad.
Cassian šŖā¤ļøš¦
Sports Science, Physical Education, or Military Studies. OMG I DONāT KNOW.
I genuinely canāt decide because every career I imagine for him somehow involves physical activity.
Part of me sees him studying sports science and becoming a trainer, physiotherapist, or coach, definitely a mental coach.
Another part of me can absolutely see him joining the military, becoming a firefighter, a police officer, or doing some kind of public service work.
Either way, heās constantly at the gym. He somehow knows every employee on campus and is friends with all of them. Heās the guy organizing tournaments and convincing people to participate against their will.
The funniest thing is that heās secretly much smarter than everyone assumes. His grades are surprisingly good and nobody knows when he actually studies. He doesnāt take notes.
He also works part-time at a gym because of course he does.
He is absolutely the type of person who would knock on your door at 6 a.m. because he decided youāre going on a hike.
No, he didnāt ask.
No, you donāt have a choice.
He obviously drives those huge off-road vehicles that take up three parking spaces for absolutely no reason. He constantly calls Rhysand a pussy for driving low sports cars and insists that a āreal carā should be able to survive the apocalypse
He is quite literally the biggest male feminist in existence.
He shows up to womenās rights marches. He listens. He learns. He supports.
And if a man says something stupid within a five-mile radius, unfortunately for him, Cassian is already walking over.
Heās also somehow the one carrying everyoneās signs because heās built like a truck.
HE CAN COOK. And VERY well.
Heās basically the groupās chef and plans everyoneās meals whenever they ask him to. Very fitness-oriented and genuinely invested in taking care of his body.
He HATES when Azriel smokes.
Ah and obviously, tattooed daddy.
Lucien š¦š§”š„
International Relations
Speaks multiple languages.
Knows everyone.
Could absolutely end up working in diplomacy.
Since I canāt exactly give him a magical eye in a Modern AU, in my head heās either blind in one eye or uses a prosthetic. Either way, he doesnāt see properly from both eyes anymore but somehow hides it better than anyone would expect.
Heās one of those people who goes fishing only to throw the fish back into the water afterwards (I KNOW some people actually do this, how is it called?).
Heās vegetarian in my head
Heās an animal lover and a nature enthusiast. He definitely has multiple animals at home.
Heād be an incredibly romantic boyfriend, but in a quieter, more thoughtful way.
Heād absolutely organize picnics, take you to museums, botanical gardens, bookstores, and every random local event he finds interesting.
Pottery classes? Yes.
Painting dates? Yes.
Heās genuinely curious about the world and wants to share that curiosity with the people he loves.
Heād probably pretend itās a casual outing and then youād realize he planned the entire thing two weeks in advance.
And despite looking like heād be cool and collected all the time, heās actually ridiculously sentimental.
He is the type of boyfriend who presses flowers between the pages of a book, remembers your favorite tea, and keeps every little thing you give him.
Definitely publishes poetry under a pseudonym (or maybe under his name, he actually doesnāt really care). Nobody can convince me otherwise.
He definitely loves traveling and would 100% disappear for six months to travel around the world in a camper van.
The man was simply not built to stay in one place forever (canon??? iām sorry)
The type of person who disappears into a library for ten hours and calls it a good day.
She met Nesta and Emerie through a book club.
She somehow manages to run a tutoring program for children (itās pretty common in Italy, I donāt know if you know what I mean) while doing a thousand other things.
She laughs loudly, cries easily, and gets emotionally attached to fictional characters way too fast.
Iām currently deciding whether she plays piano or violin, but either way itās definitely classical music.
Very religious. Very community-oriented. The kind of person who remembers everyoneās birthday, is always there for you and still finds time to volunteer.
Also writes fanfiction. Definitely gay. Possibly MPreg.
She also spends her free time making handmade bracelets and selling them on Vinted.
Everyone loves her.
I donāt have the heart to include an SA storyline in this AU, so Iāve simply decided it doesnāt exist.
Sheās still very politically engaged, though, especially when it comes to human rights, and sheās always the first person to show up when people need support.
Her twin sister lost her battle with her mental health.
Thatās one of the reasons she is so attentive to the emotional well-being of the people around her.
Sheās always checking in. Always noticing when something feels off. Always trying to make sure nobody suffers alone.
Not because she thinks she can save everyone. But because she knows what it feels like to wish someone had noticed sooner.
Emerie š§āāļøšš¦
Business.
Sheās probably the most disciplined person in the girl group.
If she says sheāll do something, sheāll do it. No excuses. Sheās ambitious, hardworking, and has absolutely no patience for incompetence.
Met Cassian at the gym, and even though she didnāt like him much at first, she respects him now.
Together they started self-defense classes for women.
Unlike Cassian, who makes friends with everyone in five minutes, Emerie is selective. But once she considers you family, thatās it. Youāre stuck with her forever.
Sheās a gym rat, a muscle mommy, a rock-climbing enthusiast, and has completed (atleast) a marathon. Future CEO of idk, something, because I said so.
Very independent. Hates asking for help.
Half her camera roll is spreadsheets, gym progress pictures, and screenshots of business ideas she had at 2 a.m.
Sheās a sweetie potato and my lesbian dream (iām sorry)
The only reason she hasnāt taken over the world yet is because sheās busy (with Mor and me, at the same damn time)
Amren š·š¤š
Economics.
Because she likes money.
And judging people.
I have nothing else to add.
She doesnāt share her notes.
In my headcanon Iāve decided sheās actually pansexual. Sheās too iconic for me to decide exactly who sheās attracted to.
She really is intimidating
And she obviously owns a ridiculous amount of jewelry.
MorāØšš
Communications, Marketing, Fashion, or Public Relations.
Knows literally everyone.
Has thousands of followers across every platform. Influencer. Model. Always invited to events. Somehow gets free things everywhere she goes.
Could convince you to buy something you absolutely donāt need and youād thank her afterwards. Lesbomommy
She met Emerie through Cassian.
(I cannot say the things I imagine)
Helion šļøš§”āļø
Not a student.
A professor by day
Goes to a sex club at night where he has more than one sub.
Here's the thing, *cracks knuckles* some people are always going to hate characters. Even the most beloved character will have some haters because that's just human nature. However, I 110% believe that 99.9% of the hate that Elain Archeron gets is unjustified.
We've all seen the screenshots and hate tweets that she receives on the regular, but even just the most random comments about why people hate her are unfair. From something as simple as, "the Inner Circle didn't blame her like they did Nesta" so we're blaming Elain for that and not them? When Elain herself is the one who said "I'm to blame too not just Nesta for not doing more for Feyre."
"She's just boring I hate her."
Now...this one is hard to dispute because if you find a character boring that's on you and I can't argue that. But what I will argue is that I've never had a character that I find boring that I spend so much time talking about or hating. If I find a character boring, I simply forget about them or don't even care to talk/argue about them at all...because they're boring. I do like to discuss characters that are horrible people or ones I love, but never ones I simply find boring. I think many also find her āboringā because sheās not a warrior like many of the SJM females. She likes to do girly things, bake and garden and not engage in battle and training. And thatās OK. Women in the fantasy genre in general are usually treated terribly by fandom and itās sad to see. And adding to this, SJM has purposely given Elain an arc and story about her playing a part because she thinks that's what's expected of her. Rhys himself addressed this in the Feysand bonus chapter:
"She's mean to my favorite ginger Lucien"
Now THIS one gets me heated. Never should a female character be judged on if she's uncomfortable or wants to be around around a male character. She's been polite when she had to be but she clearly does not want to be around him at this time. Now maybe you can find an argument that, "why doesn't she just tell him no" why should a woman have to? Lucien himself knows Elain doesn't wanna be around him, so fandom should respect that. Elain was thrust into this world of fae customs and beliefs and is still very much mourning her human life. She doesn't want a mate. We also know that Lucien is very much connected to her trauma of being made against her will. Did he know any of that was gonna happen? No, but regardless he's a part of it. I don't vilify Lucien for wanting a mate and mourning that Elain might not want him the way he does, but we can't blame Elain for not being more forward when Lucien himself hasn't confronted the situation either. He has to understand she's mourning her fiancee and is not interested. Let's stop blaming the women in these instances. Sarah is clearly saving this drama for Elain's book. It's all been set up. And btw, she isn't mean. She's been polite, but again she's not comfortable around him and what "mates" are in this world. I remember seeing Mor vilified for not being more open to Azriel or "stringing him along" and that pissed me off too. I will always stand by women. These men are hundreds of years old, they can read signals and tell when a woman isn't into it.
"She didn't fight for Nesta the way Nesta did for her"
Elain quite literally got over her fears of battle and bloodshed and stabbed the king in the neck right before he was about to kill Nesta and Cassian both. If that's not the biggest showing of love from Elain for Nesta then I don't know what is. I think fandom quite often forgets that Elain is still very much traumatized like Nesta as well. Nesta's trauma is manifesting as drinking and sleeping around and lashing out, Elain's is retreating into herself and pretending that everything is fine. Fandom wants to blame Elain for Nesta's inner thoughts and self doubts in ACOSF when Elain DID try but she was pushed away repeatedly by Nesta. Why are we blaming Elain for that? You can only take people yelling at you for so long before you take the hint and stay away.
In conclusion, Elain Archeron is a good person, a good character with so much room for potential, and so much more than shipper bias and hate. I eagerly await her story and journey and the people that hate her are gonna do so regardless, but Iām happy to know that theyāre being silly and mostly misogynistic the entire time theyāre doing it.Ā
The fact that people have to pretend Feysand BC doesnāt exist to argue that Elain wonāt be the next FMC tells me everything I need to know
I love theories. I kinda like (healthy) ship debates. Make arguments for Elriel, make arguments for Elucien, make arguments for Gwynriel, I genuinely donāt care.
But when the theory becomes āElain isnāt the next protagonistā thatās where I completely check out.
At that point, Iām not even listening anymore.
To me, thatās the one theory that requires ignoring way too much of whatās actually been set up in the books.
Reminder that Azrielās bonus chapter was never officially translated into Italian.
A lot of us genuinely had no idea any of that happened, I didnāt know it existed until this Marchā¦ i was a casual reader, i wasnāt active in the fandom.
For years (i read the books in 2023, so the āship warāhad already been going on for quite a while by then) I didnāt know the almost-kiss happened, I didnāt know Rhys told Azriel to stay away from Elain, and I didnāt know about the necklace scene.
And if the chapter really is that important, Iām not saying SJM handled it badlyā¦ BUT
I just think that, if I were the author, Iād be doing a lot more to make sure readers actually read itā¦through translations, new editions, or better promotion.
People always say, āWell, she mentioned it in interviews.ā Okay, but the interviews arenāt translated either š Most of the ones Iāve watched were only available in English, often without subtitles.
If I (the author) realised a bonus chapter was essential to understanding the next book, Iād probably be talking about it on my social media too. Iād be pushing it EVERYWHERE
Because if a chapter becomes crucial to understanding the next book, it feels strange that so many readers never even knew it existed.
Honestly, if it were truly essential, Iād almost rather see it incorporated (entirely) into ACOTAR 6 somehow. Though I highly doubt thatāll happen
And by CRUCIAL, you know perfectly well what I meanā¦
Because from my perspective as an Italian reader, imagine ACOTAR 6 suddenly revealing that Azriel is no longer interested in Elain and has developed feelings for Gwyn. That wouldnāt feel like a natural progression to me. It would feel like a massive plot twist, because I literally wouldnāt have had the information necessary to follow that development.
(They werenāt romantic interactions to me personally, but I can see why people got excited about them)
Honestly, Iām already annoyed that I had no idea about the necklace for years. Youāre telling me I couldāve opened ACOTAR 6, read a scene where Elain is thinking something like āThis necklace was originally meant for me,ā and just sat there in complete confusion? (Iām using that as an example, but honestly the last thing I want to see is two women fighting over a man)
Iām also annoyed about not knowing about Rhysās order, actually š¤
Like, what the fuck? Is that supposed to be an important plot point or not?
At this point, Iāve exhausted my patience. HOWEVER, Iām focused on the positives and assuming the upcoming book(s) must include some of Sarahās best writing, mind blowing plot twists, and the hottest spice, since theyāre keeping this shit on lockdown nearly three months before release.
theartofmadeline
stormborns
prguitarman
areudirty
janainaart
origamiaround
blakekathryn
