#elucien

[oblivioussnaildruid]

Just remember this phrase, my Elucien and Gwynriel friends:

"Rules for thee but not for me."

This is the entire crux of the e/riel mindset. To be clear, there are decent folks in that ship but also, they're not usually the ones that appear in your dash, or flock to your anons, or get screenshotted and passed around.

Why am I bringing this up now? For a lot of reasons, really, but chiefly, it was because I was made aware of a truly vile artwork today from their side that depicts something no less than, well, lynching in the name of e/riel.

It's being passed around elsewhere on here so I'm not going to link it, but I find it so very ironic that there was an outcry from them about people commissioning an at-the-time unknown ICE supporting racist, but then creating this. Emerie missing from the calendar? An abomination. But sure, let's depict a literal hate crime for the sake of the fandom's precious baby bat so he can get his flower girl. And ironically (or perhaps not), some the same people who were appalled by CommissionGate were cheering the artist on in the comments. Go figure, right?

Like I said above - "rules for thee but not for me". Sure, we have a handful of bad apples on our side, who have been called out and are warned about for new people. But nothing we do is like this, and I'm so thankful for it.

Stay frosty, friends. October's almost here.

[hayaii]

On Azriel and his desire

I need people to stop comparing Azriel’s desire for Elain to Lucien’s. When Lucien was thinking about how much he wanted to claim her it was because she is his mate. And he suppresses this instinct almost completely. He does the best he can to stay away from her even though his body is screaming at him to be near her. The mating bond is that powerful. It is so powerful that it pulls people together who aren’t even compatible, like Rhys’ parents. Lucien has no choice in this. He does not like or know Elain anymore than she him.

The kind of thoughts Azriel is having, we have only ever seen in mates. We accept these kinds of thoughts from MMCs because we understand that the compulsion of the mating bond is so strong that it overwrites their composure. Fated mates are a compelling trope because it gives the reader a good reason to believe that this kind of sexualisation of the FMC is not only hot but a good thing. That it isn’t harmful. That it is an expression of devotion. Azriel is not Elain’s mate. Again: Azriel is not Elain’s mate.

Azriel is having these thoughts in the way that a regular man has such thoughts about a woman. His physical attraction is not accompanied by equal emotional tenderness. He does not think about her being his, or him being hers (an important aspect of the bond: it goes both ways! Lucien feels this, Azriel thinks no such thing!). There is no higher power at play. Without a mating bond, Azriel’s feelings read as much more shallow.

Now, is it possible that through some wild retcon Azriel and Elain turn out to also be mates? Sure, but if that were the case then where does that leave Elain’s character arc which is supposedly centred around the meaning of freedom of choice in the mating bond? It doesn’t work thematically. An Elain and Azriel romance arc relies on the rejection of the mating bond as assertion of her free will, an act of love more true than a mating bond.

I don’t actually believe that Azriel only feels lust for Elain. I think he is genuinely attracted to her. But more than that he feels that it should have been her. He wants it to be her. Because he feels slighted by fate and is afraid to be left behind by his brothers, walking off into the sunset with the other two sisters, starting families of their own - without him. Elain having been “given” to another is an unbearable injury to him who already believes himself unworthy of his place in this family.

[stephsarchives]

161 days left until ACOTAR 7

[stephsarchives]

84 days left until ACOTAR 6

[renehart13657]

I can’t wait for the haters to read Elucien’s happily ever after.

[zenkindoflove]

Hi! How would you feel if ACOTAR 6 was a retelling of CC3 but in acotar characters' perspectives? I've seen inklings of rumors. Not gonna lie, I would feel so deflated and over it if that were the case! I'm tired of CC being apparently so central to everything when we literally still have unresolved issues and character stories from the ACOTAR series. That's what interests me the most, not whatever is in a totally different series that seems to have had a hamfisted crossover with ACOTAR.

I think that would be boring AF. Mostly because what new information would we get from that? The main interesting part of THAT plot was Bryce, what she experienced and then taking the mask and using it to deal with the space colonizers that are on HER planet. The entire point of that was to serve HOFAS' narrative. If the knowledge learned from that encounter ends up being important for the current threats in ACOTAR - such as dealing with Koschei for example - then I think that could easily be summarized by one character filling in our main POVs on what happened when they were away.

I'll be honest, I think people who cling onto that theory don't have a lot of practical experience writing stories. SJM is not going to tell us the same story twice just because most of her ACOTAR readers have not also read CC. ACOTAR has plenty of outstanding plots and urgent needs that need to be addressed (Spring dying, Beron colluding with Koschei, Vassa's curse, the trapped women, *cough* Elain and Lucien *cough*). She is going to continue with what is working for this series. I'm sure down the line we will get that crossover coming into play again, maybe as the main series winds down. But I think the entire theorizing is grasping at straws to actually set up some narrative for a ship that has barely been introduced, and totally ignoring the most obvious romantic plot that has been simmering for several books with the author actively weaving in several fantasy elements for both characters to really set them up for a highly tense, slow-burn, action packed story.

And if she does do that - well to say I'll roll my eyes and be deeply annoyed is an understatement. I am reading this series for Elucien's endgame and to see what happens with them.

[erin-bo-berin]

Sometimes when I’m feeling down I just watch the Elucien edit I once made to It’s Gonna Be Me and instantly feel better 😌

[luciensdefenseattorney]

I think if those rumours about the POV are true, then ACOTAR 6 is going to be catching readers up on the crossover. Then the “real story” starts in ACOTAR 7 which will definitely have Elain

If those “leaked” povs are true, that lines up with a HOFAS recap. Rhys, Nesta, and Azriel were in contact with Bryce. Cassian was in contact with Ember and Randall. And Feyre is the main character of the entire series fr. So all the povs rumored would make sense for that.

I would lowkey laugh if Elain is the main character of these books similar to Aelin or Bryce💀 Do I think it will happen? No. But it would be hilarious to watch people scramble.

But she will be one of the main characters. As stated before, and I still stand by it, we have 2 groups.

Nesta — Elain — Azriel

Cassian — Lucien —Gwyn

And even then, what more does Nessian need. Their romantic story is wrapped, and plot can only carry Nesta so far for a pov. And Gwynriel doesn’t have much to overcome. Just Azriel’s white knight complex (and addressing his half a millennia pining session) and Gwyn overcoming her trauma to leave the library. Their story has already began and there isn’t much strife between them. I can’t see SJM creating strife between gwynriel just for the sake of dragging them out longer. It would come across as tedious and unnecessary.

Elucien has the farthest to go individually, together, and plot wise.

I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.