theshadowsingersraven

[theshadowsingersraven]

Did Rhys ever make Feyre uncomfortable?

Did Cassian ever make Nesta uncomfortable?

Did Darcy ever make Elizabeth uncomfortable?

Did Michael ever make Francesca uncomfortable?

Did Jamie ever make Claire uncomfortable?

Did Rowan ever make Aelin uncomfortable?

Did Chaol ever make Yrene uncomfortable?

Did Lysandra ever make Aedion uncomfortable?

Did Lorcan ever make Elide uncomfortable?

Did Jacks ever make Evangeline uncomfortable?

Did Anthony ever make Kate uncomfortable?

Did Rainier ever make Ellysetta uncomfortable?

Did Matthew ever make Diana uncomfortable?

Did Christian ever make Anastasia uncomfortable?

Did the Beast ever make Belle uncomfortable?

Since the answer to all the above is a resounding yes than being uncomfortable around ones endgame person shouldn't be the focus.

Why the female is uncomfortable is.

Since we don't have Elain's pov to answer that question for us, since we don't have Elain's pov and journey to see whether that discomfort is merely an obstacle to a HEA for she and Lucien as all the other pairings who also experienced discomfort ended up with, then there is nothing preventing us from believing in the possibility of them.

"But Feyre this!" "But Aelin that!" "But Nesta didn't!"

Of course their stories look different, they have different personalities and writing the exact setup for each one would be redundant.

The main point is that many authors / screenwriters create tension between their endgame pairings, many write a FMC looking as if they're uninterested in the MMC for one reason or another. Yet they all manage to overcome that before the end of the heroines journey and that discomfort often leads to a couple sharing an intense physical relationship in that fictional world.

It's extremely odd that anyone would shame Elucien's for believing Elain and Lucien could end up together when it's a tale as old as time. We have scores upon scores of literature / movies backing up this exact scenario and when we have that in our favor, irrefutable proof of it being done, the argument should not be "how dare they even consider it" but "I personally think Sarah will go a different route". Which is fine to believe, of course that is still a possibility, but acting like Elucien isn't too?

Dismissing one of the most popular tropes in all of fiction because it doesn't work in someone's favor this one time? It's childish really.

I prefer to wait for a FMCs actual story before deciding which love interest is or is not possible for her character, even what friendships are possible for her character, especially when noting the bread crumbs the author has left for me that possibly hint at where her journey will be taking her and the people that puts her in close proximity with.

[theshadowsingersraven]

Oh hey I get to share another commission- this one is for an ACOTAR inspired puzzle for Reverie Puzzles!

[theshadowsingersraven]

If Elain picks Azriel, that is.. a choice.

If Elain picks Lucien, that is also.. a choice.

Say it with me: whatever decision Elain makes is.. her choice.

Webster’s Dictionary for the non believers:

It's not only a choice if it's the one you want her to make.

[theshadowsingersraven]

More of Them. uwu

[theshadowsingersraven]

Viviane and Kallias really did get one of the best possible deals when it comes to mating bonds.

They've been friends since childhood (and he'd always loved her). I love a good friends-to-lovers story.

He did everything he could to keep her safe and trusted her with his court.

He flings out the last of his magic to tell her he loves her and asks to keep their people safe. She spends fifty years doing so and thinking about his words and what he means to her.

The minute he's free and reunites with her she kisses him and they decide to get married.

The bond snaps on their wedding night.

They're happily married with a baby on the way.

They really did get the most seamless and smooth deal of the gang and I absolutely love that for them.

[theshadowsingersraven]

I’ve seen that persons account and some of their posts they really do seem to be pretending to be Elain. Love crazy hour!!

I honestly have zero clue where they came up with me calling them a side character? I get loving a character, but the self-insert allegations for Elriels are never going away.

#anti e/riel #anti ewriel #antielriel #the opportunity was there lmaoo

[theshadowsingersraven]

"Hello Princeling"

"Hello Witchling"

🎨 Hachandraws

Dorian is the ultimate Shadow Daddy & Manon is 👸

Also, they remind me a bit of Azriel and Gwyn 💙

[theshadowsingersraven]

“B-but Gwyn can’t have sex because of her trauma and Azriel is kinky in bed so they can’t be together”

Me who has read Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh :

Do yourself a favor and read other books by other authors. PLEASE!!!!!!!

Gwyn is not the first and will not be the last character with SA trauma to be written about and she will heal and have a banging hot sex life (if she wants of course🥰)

But yeah takes like this are so wierd to me and I have to conclude it comes from children because if you’re an adult and still think like this….yikes

Mind you even as recently as HOFAS,SJM has tackled this issue with Lidia and Ruhn….

Obviously when she writes Gwyn’s story it’ll play a bigger part of the story because HOFAS was a packed book and not much space to fully explore Lidia’s trauma. I am looking forward to reading how she handles it with Gwyn because she can and she will.

And if you have a problem with Gwyn having a healing loving sex life because you “care🥺” about her….lets see what you truly are….

[theshadowsingersraven]

I need Anti Eluciens who complain about Elain and Lucien not even liking each other to remember 2 things

“Enemies” to lovers is SJMs bread and butter, she did it with literally every fucking couple she’s written. Them not liking each other now, which isn’t even dislike it’s just dislike of the bond and distance, means nothing to SJM when we see what went down between Feysand and Nessian. There’s an argument of there being less “tension” but that’s not necessarily true, we just haven’t seen them as much. You mean to tell me fighting an entire mate bond is not tension?

THATS THE POINT OF A ROMANCE BOOK??? TO FALL IN LOVE??? THATS WHAT THE WHOLE ARC IS???? NOT TOGETHER -> TOGETHER???? No shit they aren’t into each other yet, it makes no sense for their romance plot to start before a book that’s about them. If they already show signs of interest before a book that focuses on them, it dilutes their romance, unless SJM can think of new random conflict for them like Nessian, but with their personalities I doubt it would have held out.

[theshadowsingersraven]

Also I will never tire of the fact that Amren - AMREN - referred to Lucien as

~"the handsome one™"~

[theshadowsingersraven]

Her manifestation skills are actually insane

[theshadowsingersraven]

I wonder if that's why they try so damn hard to act like Elain is special to SJM and she's just... not. If SJM loved Elain "so much she gave her two mates" then half or more of the fanbase wouldn't find her bland and underdeveloped. SJM's favorites are obvious (looking at you Rhys and Lucien). I don't know why they try so hard to pretend something is there when it isn't.

Hi Anon!

I agree with you, SJM absolutely makes her favorites clear, even across her series. I was recently listening to the TOG audio book with a friend on a road trip, and I completely forgot how many lines Celaena and Dorian both had in early TOG that were sassy, wise-cracking, sharp-witted, etc.

SJM really loves articulate, witty, and wise-cracking characters. Rhys, Lucien, Celaena, Dorian, probably even Bryce is up there, too. (Though I can't say I'm the biggest fan of her personally)

I think it may be that as well as the percentage of E/riels that abundantly clearly just project themselves onto Elain to fulfill the fantasy of being with Azriel. And the exact reason why they can do that is because Elain is not developed yet. In the instances where she is developed, she's notably kind, gentle, generous, and has a nice sense of humor.

It's easy to see why people want Elain to be so special because they want to be Elain. Elain is the most beautiful Archeron sister, and despite the polarized view that the fanbase has of her, in the narrative itself, she's not really viewed negatively since ACOTAR. We really only get some criticism about her from Nesta in ACOSF. Otherwise, she's pretty inoffensive from the way SJM describes her to us. Why wouldn't someone want to be the most beautiful fae girl with magic powers and two males interested in her when she's so sweet and kind? What's the drawback? Why wouldn't you want to be the most special girl since she's already so pretty and nice? Make her extra special. ✨️

I think on some level people want to see the characters they feel represent them be extra special, but I think they also want Elain to be extra special in the sense that she can "defy fate to be with Azriel" and not have any real consequences from that.

So many E/riels say that they want to see love after a rejected mating bond, and to me, as someone who writes and particularly for the ACOTAR world, what I hear from that is just, "I would prefer Elain have a lackluster, surface-level 'love' with Azriel instead of a soul-deep, intimately profound love with Lucien." Even if that's not what they mean when they say it, I'm pretty convinced that's what they're going to get.

They're going to get a love where Elain can't give herself fully to Azriel because a part of her will always be tied to Lucien. That kinda sucks for everyone involved, and is pretty far from a beautiful romance imo. I don't think enough of them actually take into account the cultural and religious implications of an E/riel endgame on top of the romance. They just see their sad shadow boy sitting quietly with their sweet flower girl.

They're well overdue for managing their expectations imo.

#anonymous #answered #anti e/riel #antielriel #anti elriel #elain Archeron #azriel #acotar

[theshadowsingersraven]

I don't understand why people are so adamant about the idea that SJM would/could change her entire writing style, love for fated mates, and patterns for Elain and Elain only.

Like, why? Why does everyone suddenly care about the "ethics" of a mating bond or the "wants of the character" just when it comes to Elain? Why do people suddenly stop loving fated mates, forced proximity, strangers to lovers, etc. when it comes to Elain? Why do people suddenly believe that her love story with her mate could overshadow her own growth and development when that didn't happen with Feyre or Nesta?

I don't understand why people in this fanbase treat Elain with this random ""autonomy"" that was never given to Feyre or Nesta. It's giving such infantilization for a character that these people swear up and down is underestimated (true) and yet they do the exact same thing the Inner Circle does, but in real life.

"Elain doesn't like Lucien!"

1. We don't know that. We don't have her POV, and she's only ever said that she doesn't want a mate, not that she has an issue with Lucien. We need her POV to know for certain how she feels. If you don't think we need that and her "body language" or "observable reactions" are enough, respectfully, nothing you say about Elain is going to be worth my time. If you can't acknowledge that a character can have more complex internal feelings that don't match her external expressions, especially considering how Nesta and Feyre behaved with their mates prior, then I don't want to hear any of your analysis. It seems surface-level at best, and I'm not interested in starting and ending character analysis at their surface-level, external behaviors.

2. Okay, say for instance that she doesn't like Lucien.

And?

Did we not all read Feyre going through not one but two enemies to lovers, forced proximity dynamics with both Tamlin and then Rhysand?

Feyre quite literally referred to Tamlin as her captor, and built traps in her room because she didn't feel safe in his manor.

Did any one of those same people give nearly as much of a shit that she didn't like either of them or wring their hands about it to this degree?

I can tell you one thing: I shipped Feylin during ACOTAR and then Feysand during ACOMAF, as I'm sure plenty of people did, too. And a majority of these people adore Feysand.

What about Nessian during ACOFAS and ACOSF?

Did any one of them give a shit that Nesta didn't have a "choice" either when SJM wrote a forced proximity love story for her character? When Nesta kept pushing away Cassian and told him to leave her alone? And Cassian believed that she wanted nothing to do with him? Shouldn't that greatly upset those people?

It didn't upset me because I like enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes. I didn't question the morals of ethics of the tropes or the mating bond during their book. And if those same people didn't either, then I raise them all, as well as generally most of the fanbase this question:

Who cares if Elain doesn't like Lucien? Elain is a fictional character written by a fated mates and enemies-to-lovers author.

Like...what do you guys think you're reading? Do you not expect her character to change and evolve and thus feel differently about things?

I'm tired of these lukewarm, inconsistent takes that only prove that people just don't want her to be with Lucien because he isn't "as hot" (when everyone in the series remarks on how handsome Lucien is) or broody like Azriel is. I'm tired of people projecting themselves onto Elain and claim that they want what "she wants" when not a single one of us know for sure what she wants, and it's just an excuse for people to feel "correct" or "just" in their preference.

Everyone wants something for Elain if you have skin in the game for her endgame ship. Because you have to. Elain will never be able to choose her endgame for herself because she is a character, and SJM or fanfic authors writing her decide for her.

That is just how writing works. Love to break it to you.

Yes, she wanted Azriel at one point. But he rejected her by calling their almost-kiss a mistake, and then she gave back the necklace. There are no interactions between them on page after this.

We no longer know for certain what Elain "wants". We only have the last time SJM put on page what Elain currently feels toward Azriel and Lucien from other character's point of view.

Elain's character deserves better than the infantilizing stans that treat her as if she's somehow so beleaguered and victimized. She's not. She's a character with trauma, just like her sisters. She's a character that people will villianize or adore, just like her sisters. She's a character that gets both warranted and unfair criticism, just like her sisters. She's just a character.

Everyone's love or appreciation or disdain for her is real, but Elain herself will never be real. And some people really, really need to internalize this.

#anti e/riel #antielriel #acotar #sjm critical #acotar critical #pro elain #pro elain archeron #pro elucien #elucien

[theshadowsingersraven]

I have an odd theory about Azriel.

Azriel is named after Azrael, the angel of death in abrahamic religions.

Azrael is “the benevolent angel of death who carries the souls of the deceased to the afterlife.”

What if his shadows, whom we know absolutely nothing about, are souls of the deceased? They seem to have personalities as well as consciousness. They run from Mor and Elain, dance with Gwyn, and prepare to strike when Azriel commands them to.

We know that Azriel was kept in his father’s dungeons when he was younger. Who’s to say that those dungeons didn’t also hold captives of his cruel father who couldn’t escape his wrath with their lives intact?

Those souls watching Azriel, alone and scarred in the dungeons, and just wanting to offer some comfort to him, go and caress him, making sure he doesn’t feel as cold and alone as they felt. Seeking odd comfort in his embrace, they stay with him, even when he’s shipped off to Windhaven.

And when he returns many years later with his brothers, they exact their revenge on their male who killed them and who hurt their beloved singer.

This is also a reason I despise the “Azriel would feel relieved without his shadows if he ends up with Elain”. Why would he feel good without his first and lifelong friends?

I adore the thought that they stay with him not out of obligation, but out of love.

And when they see his mate, the love of their friend, they dance with joy.

[theshadowsingersraven]

I don't know why there's this obsession with prioritizing "Elain's wants" when "Elain's wants" are not autonomous. Her wants are what SJM wants her to want. The same way that her wants are decided by fanartists and fanfic writers portray her in a romantic relationship with Lucien.

Everyone who creatively portrays Elain, canon or fanon, regardless of ship, is deciding what she wants for her. Because they have to.

Elain is a character. Her wants are completely up to the whims of others and not autonomous.

I imagine people who creatively portray Dramione don't care that Hermione doesn't want Draco. And yet it's insanely popular and people love it. I imagine people who creatively portray Zutara don't care that Katara literally married Aang and had children with him.

Because these are characters. Their wants do not matter more than the author, the fanartists, or the fanfic writers. Because Elain's wants are 1. Not concrete without her POV and 2. Subject to change.

The only named instances of mating bonds not working out (in the case of Tamlin and Lucien's parents), both fathers in the relationship were abusive, cruel, calculating tyrants. None of those traits apply to Lucien or Elain. And SJM changed Lucien's mate from Nesta to Elain on the basis that Elain and Lucien would work better together. ...Which means she wants Lucien and Elain to work out together.

So, yes, until I get Elain's POV and see exactly how she truly feels, I want her to be with her mate. And even if she doesn't end up with her mate, I'll still read Elucien fanfics or share fanarts, because there never is or never will be any problem with wanting characters together where one party does not want the other, or neither party does. See the above ships that people don't opine about characters not being interested the other party, or not interested in each other at all.

I would love to see Elain experience the same type of soul-deep love that her sisters get. If the love between mates that are a good match is so amazing for the first two sisters, why would I not want that for Elain? Especially when the only thing she's said is she doesn't want a mate. She's never actually said she has a problem with Lucien himself. They're massively paralleled and compatible, and I want to see that come to fruition.

Obstacles or not wanting the love interest at first are commonly for love stories so they're more interesting for the reader. Enemies to lovers and she fell first-he fell harder are already two popular tropes in which the characters are not interested in one another at the exact same time.

Elain’s wants are not, nor will they ever be actually decided by her because they can't be. There can be aspects or developments that SJM didn't see coming, sure, and plans will obviously change. But SJM has the final say on what those wants are, and she's the one who made Elain’s character in the first place. Even things she didn't see coming were unintentionally set up by her by creating the characters how she has.

TLDR; This is completely standard fandom behavior, and I don't understand why it bothers you.

elucien rant

hihi spoilers for acowar and onward will be included if you havent gotten there yet please scroll on

(this is a RANT. a rant on my personal opinion. if you want to disagree do it respectfully. i wont tolerate people going "nooooooo!!!" and having a hissy fit in my comment section because they have a different opinion.)

elain is uncomfortable around lucien. its been said. over and over. people keep going "oh well shes hiding it and theyre mates!" its been said the mating bond doesnt work out.

stop forcing lucien on elain just because hes her mate. she doesnt want him. i dont care for elucien or elriel, so this is unbiased in that way.

she has said she doesnt want to see him. she doesnt want to be near him. she is uncomfortable around lucien. she shrinks into a shell of herself every time hes around, and acts like shes counting down the seconds until he leaves.

feyre has asked her to be nicer to him and said "oh he brings you gifts." AND? so what. elain has a right to not want to be with lucien. she has a say in her own life. im hoping the IC doesnt do elain like they did nesta and do something to force elain and luce together because its 'cute'.

elain deserves better. maybe not azriel, maybe not lucien, but she deserved someone that she can genuinely care for without her 'family' forcing them together or pressuring her to be with them.

elain genuinely cares(d?) for azriel. rhys saying 'you cant be with her she has a mate' was so fucked up idgaf. the mating bond does not always work out. i personally would love a relationship where elain ISNT with her mate so we can finally have an EXAMPLE of that.

thanks for coming to my ted talk be respectful always byeee <3

#anti elriel #pro elucien #Elucien #antielriel #anti e/riel #acotar

[theshadowsingersraven]

Not really, no. There's nothing to indicate love between Azriel and Elain, nor do I think there will be. Everything he has done for Elain, he would do for Feyre and Nesta under the right circumstances and if he had the opportunity to do so.

"Resisting fate for the one you love" is odd because the bonds are supposed to be your exact equal, and all of SJM's main characters in her series have a loving, compatible romance with their mates. Or, at least, what she believes to be loving and compatible since there are plenty of people who don't really vibe with the mated pairs.

It doesn't make sense logically for SJM to change Lucien's mate from Nesta to Elain on the basis that they would work out better together...if Lucien and Elain working out better together wasn't exactly what she wanted. SJM is the "god" of this world. She is the Mother and the Cauldron. They are just her literary tools to directly affect whats happening in the world. We only have two examples of bad mate bonds, both of which included abusive partners. Neither Elain nor Lucien is abusive.

Therefore, there's no reason for them to feasibly not work out together if SJM believes they do, and the one in-text commonality for why the bond not working out doesn't apply.

So, then why should I care about Elain and Azriel? Why should I care that both of them were deeply in love with someone else for a majority of the series and now conveniently have gravitated towards each other? Why should I take what I read as a clear rebound more seriously than a mated couple written by a fated mates author?

Why would I want a non-mated love when a character in that relationship has a mate she can reject, but never fully separate from? How could I be convinced that the mating bonds for Feysand and Nessian still mean as much if a non-mated couple is just as happy and in love as they are at the cost of a mating bond? Why would I believe that the bonds are nearly as important as SJM establishes them to me in that instance?

Why would I want someone who already has terrible self-worth issues in a relationship where he has to wonder if his partner is going to leave him for her mate, who works for the Night Court and has an aparment Velaris? Why would I want that partner to also have to constantly reassure her partner that she isn't going to leave him for her fated mate, despite the draw that we've seen exhibited amongst all mated pairs? Why should I believe she isn't also feeling that pull but repressing it because it's the most fae and least human thing about her when she wanted to be human?

There's nothing romantic or epic about forsaking your fated mate for a rebound who underestimates you and undermines you behind your back and assumes that you'll never be interested in your mate when there's nothing to indicate you've expressed that to him, in my opinion.

It's giving "children rejecting an actual healthy meal made by their parents for dinner in favor of chocolate chip cookies" for me. Like, sure, you want it, and I get why. But it isn't healthy for you have consistently and it's not filling enough to be a whole meal. It's just sugar, not substance. And if you somehow get your chocolate chip cookies instead of your dinner, it still will never be a meal, and you're gonna get hungry again. So, you should probably just go for the meal. Maybe you'll get a different dessert instead that makes you happy you had the meal in place of the cookies. Maybe because you had the meal, you'll get rewarded by your parents in a way that is better than the chocolate chip cookies anyway.

the thing about azriel wanting elain is that if it doesn't work out, it's inconsequential. he can find someone else to pine over, maybe even his own mate! the stakes for him are super low. but for elain? for lucien? if they walk away from each other it’s tantamount to spitting in the face of fate. rejecting the bond will cause them both pain, and even then, it will always linger. seen a lot of posts brushing off the mating bond like it’s the equivalent of dumping your 7th grade boyfriend. let’s keep it real y’all ✋

#no shade i just genuinely do not get it at all #its giving rebellious teenage love and it's unsatisfying #anti e/riel #antielriel #pro elucien #elucien

[theshadowsingersraven]

the thing about azriel wanting elain is that if it doesn't work out, it's inconsequential. he can find someone else to pine over, maybe even his own mate! the stakes for him are super low. but for elain? for lucien? if they walk away from each other it’s tantamount to spitting in the face of fate. rejecting the bond will cause them both pain, and even then, it will always linger. seen a lot of posts brushing off the mating bond like it’s the equivalent of dumping your 7th grade boyfriend. let’s keep it real y’all ✋