the-oldgods-andthenew

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Elain 🤝 Azriel

The girl who never had a choice 🤝 The guy who was never chosen

Love the ship dynamics ❤️❤️😌

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

People horrifically fucking up facts about evolution and genetics too support their stupid beliefs or to seem smart and “rational” is probably one of my big pet peeves 

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Friendly Reminder

Elain slayed the king of Hybern and killed him, not Nesta.

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Ukraine, 26th Feb, 2022

A friend of mine told me yesterday that he didn’t realise how much Ukraine meant to him until now. I posted yesterday about the time we spent there, and we’re all getting super pre-occupied about the invasion. As I said in that post, I can’t get our waitress out of my head. I can sort of remember what she looked like now. She had an undercut. I think maybe her hair might have been blue? But - I will never know if she lives through this, and it’s driving me very slightly mad.

So naturally, my husband spent all day yesterday obsessively researching everything he could about it with the help of his journalist friends, as a way to help me process it.

This post is me putting it all in order, as a way to try and process my own emotional response as much as anything else (I freely admit there is an element of self-indulgence here). Please don’t take me as the spokesperson for Ukraine right now, nor as a solid reliable news source. But, I haven’t seen this stuff except in bits and pieces on Tumblr, so here we go.

(This is also not about why the invasion has happened. This post is solely about what has happened, and how the invasion is going.)

So, Putin and the rest of the world believed that this invasion would take 1-4 days. The plan was to push through fast, take Kyiv, and force Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, to surrender. Given Russia’s military might, it really looked likely.

Here is the conclusion of all that’s happened so far:

Ukraine is absolutely nailing this??? Actually???

They managed to defend every single city overnight, including Kyiv. They started rolling out and using these WW2-style anti-tank thingies that look a bit like angry gabbions, look, here’s a picture of one being delivered:

A bunch of spare iron girders turned into a hefty octopus of Russian misery, basically.

But it’s not just tanks they’re taking down, oh no. Ukraine successfully shot down a transport plane 20km from Kyiv. That is, I shit you not, the single biggest hit to the Russian military since the Second Chechen War. Volunteers from Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Azerbaijan and Israel are all entering Ukraine to help fight and bolster the anti-Russian forces, which is probably illustrative of how Eurovision voting is going to run for the next decade. Most countries have banned Russian planes from their air space. To help stop the Russian advance, Ukraine has made and installed new road signs, like this one:

I can only say a handful of sentences in Ukrainian, Tumblrs, but as I understand it, from top to bottom, it says:

“Fuck off”

“Fuck off again”

“Fuck off Russia”

Meanwhile, it turns out the Russian military might we feared is… possibly not quite as advertised?

They’re underfunded and badly trained. Ukraine captured 200 soldiers in one go, and most of them were confused 19 year olds with no training. The equipment is shite. The tanks keep running out of fuel. Russian soldiers keep abandoning their tanks and handing them over to the Ukrainian army. Putin’s plan was to take Kyiv fast and move on, and he didn’t have a plan B - hence these kids, playing soldier. Here is an image of a Russian tank receiving roadside assistance from Russia’s finest, an old Lada.  

No one expected Zelenskyy to survive the night; but he did. America offered him asylum in the White House.

But he said no. 

Zelenskyy remains in Kyiv, with his people.

And Putin, in his desperation to be adored, has turned Zelenskyy into a global icon and hero.

Here is something you may not know about Volodymyr Zelenskyy - he used to be a standup comedian. Was he any good? No idea - but what he IS good at is producing funny short videos he can put on Twitter and that, which are absolutely fantastic for Ukrainian morale. And morale is vital in an invasion like this, and Ukraine are smashing it out of the park there.

They are utilising the internet to its fullest extent. In addition to Zelenskyy’s videos, they’ve made sure that the final words of the Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island are known and now echoed around the world: “Russian warship, go fuck yourselves.” A video has gone viral of Ukrainians mocking a group of Russian soldiers whose tank had broken down and who didn’t know the way to Kyiv anyway, presumably because of all the new road signs. They have created a website that lists every single Russian death they can identify, partly so Russian mothers can have closure (thus also painting themselves as the defenders of decency and humanity), and partly for the enormous morale boost of the world knowing, categorically, that they’ve already killed 3700 Russian soldiers (over 100 of which were from that transport plane.)  Not one word has leaked of Ukrainian casualties. I’m sure they’re devastating, but for morale purposes, they’re being kept quiet until the dust settles. Ukrainians have started setting up fake Tindr profiles to catfish Russian soldiers for intel, and they’re all 19 and lost, so it’s working. Plus, they’re using Grindr to actually track where the soldiers are, because it turns out Putin was not entirely correct about there being no gays in Russia.

So, Russia wants to cut their internet access. Can the Ukrainian Minister for Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, shame a billionaire into providing aid?

This is crucial, remember. Atrocities happen best in the dark, and the world is watching - because of the internet. Morale is vital to maintain. Can they convince Elon Musk to help?

Yep.

Ukraine now has the fastest internet service in the world. The fastest, most stable internet service in human history, in fact. Russia cannot now disable it. The world watches.

Which is just as well, because then Anonymous decided to get involved, and have leaked the website database of the Russian Ministry of Defence. Lol. Also this happens:

And then the Russian propaganda channels started broadcasting the truth of what is happening in Ukraine. Double lol.

So what is the political response?

Well, in addition to closing airspace to Russian planes, loads of countries are sending weapons to Ukraine. Those that can’t are offering asylum. They’re also offering asylum to any Russian soldiers who surrender or defect, which is startlingly good tactics, and there are rumours of around 5000 Russian soldiers who have done just that. Germany, of course, has long had a block on lethal weapons transfer; but Germany recognise this shit for what it is. They’ve lifted the block, thus allowing the Netherlands to send weapons. Efforts are now underway to fast-track Ukraine into the EU. I presume they will consider the lack of pint glasses with crowns on to be a worthwhile price to pay.

So what about Russia’s supporters?

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenka helped Russia with this invasion. Now, this has happened:

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was actually elected president, but some wild nonsense kept her out of power. She’s now running a government in exile. I have literally no idea what this means or will mean! But my god. She has a spine of steel, and this is not a good time to be happening for Putin. 

And it’s really, really not, because then intel on a meeting of Putin and assembled Oligarchs LEAKS (hello Anonymous, probably). The highlights:

This war is costing Russia $15bn a day

He expected it to take ONE TO FOUR DAYS TO WIN

It’s been two days and he is losing very badly, currently

They will run out of rockets by day 4, maybe sooner

After that they will be down to rifles and ammo

It will take 3-4 months to make more significant weapons, except they need raw materials, and the countries that can provide them… have cut supply lines

If the war lasts 10 days, Russia will have completely run out of money and weapons

It’s only day 2, and Russian soldiers are knocking the doors of random Ukrainian homes begging for food and water because they’ve already run out

So, out of desperation, Putin turns to his greatest, closest and most trusted ally for help: Kazakhstan. 

And Kazakhstan

SAYS NO

And then Ukraine shoots down a second Russian plane.

Anyway, I’m going to finish off with a final point. Morale is vital in this situation, so here is the message from the Ukrainian government at the minute, to everyone watching around the world:

Be VERY SUSPICIOUS of any negative news about Ukraine. Russia uses misinformation and propaganda. They will want to damage Ukrainian morale.

Use your social media to spread news of Ukrainian victories. 

Don’t give oxygen to negative stories. Especially since they might not be true.

That’s genuinely something we can do to help. Every victory of Ukraine, blast it far and wide. So on that note, I’ll leave you with this:

Congrats to Natalia Antonova’s cousin’s son.

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

A love letter to our Elriel fic writers, but my love language is memes... sorry

My hope is to spread some much needed positivity, and send a bit of love to some of the amazing Elriel fic writers who bless us with their talent; there are obviously many, many more than those named here - and all are worthy of our awe and gratitude - but I can only add ten images (thanks, Tumblr).

Feel free to share the love with others and add to this post! 💜

@nikethestatue I don't think I can ever top the "miss fluff and smut" meme in terms of a laugh, but fluff and spice aren't the only hats you wear. You mix plot and world building and lore, then break down our emotions before rebuilding them. Your characters are like an extension of canon, and each time I see an update, I want to drop everything.

@tswaney17 you have the variety, the talent, the everything... and I'm in awe. Modern AU or canon compliant, fluff or angst or plot, you truly have something - and then some - for everyone. Plus Shadow the kitten, who deserves his own spin-off.

@fawnandshadows you are the complete package! I don't know how you do it all, and work in all of the plot, too! Your... creativity 😉... knows no bounds, you absolute gift to the fandom. Thank you for sharing your talent with us, we love you.

@impossiblescissorspeachpaper is your destination for a one stop shop of emotional highs or lows - or highs and lows - complete with some of the loveliest prose you'll ever read. I am honestly amazed at your ability to capture everything so well, each and every time.

@thefangirlofhp - is the queen of "angst rules"; this is canon, lads... don't let her tell you otherwise. 😅 But honestly, this doesn't do justice to the exquisite content she creates. You don't read a thefangirlofhp fic so much as you live one, and you will never be the same again. Please let me move into your vault?

@rhysanoodle is currently tearing our guts out with Between Light and Shadow, so I'll continue the 'The IT Crowd' theme I appear to have going for her (if it ain't broke don't fix it, hey). Thank you for being around for so long, and sharing all of your wonderful Elriel stories with us.

* I'm a couple of chapters behind, so this meme may be out of date

@gripefroot blesses us with a fix of A Court of Dusk and Shadows every Wednesday, and it's a fic that's so stunning I don't even know how to begin to describe it. What will I do when it's finally over? Who knows. Maybe throw myself into Mount Doom to avoid an existence without it.

@dottielovegood the worlds you create, and the characters you write - whether canon universe or modern AU - are practically perfect in every way. Your spice metre is off the charts hot, but your fluff is also perfect, as are your characterisations. Run, don't walk, to a DottieLovegood fic near you.

@gopeachllama, the way you can craft a sentence in which all the words are pulling double duty for both meaning and beauty is a wonder. Please teach me your ways! Thank you for the honour of being your occasional beta, getting to see your genius in action, and discuss the depth of thought you put into your fics, is humbling in the best way. 💜

@danydragons21 - perfect plot, exquisite drama... aaaand the cliffhanger. Gets me each time. Every time I see a new chapter alert, I come running. 😌 Thank you so much for sharing your talent and genius with the fandom.

All of these memes and messages are intended with the greatest of love and appreciation for these writers, and their dedication to their craft. Each and every fic writer in the fandom makes the wait between books more bearable, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we cannot thank you enough. 🥔🦇🌸

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Azriel : You're my favorite

Elain :

Elain : Favorite what ?

Azriel : Just in general . Across all categories

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Azriel : No one is perfect.

Elain : *exists*

Azriel : One person is perfect.

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“A woman who never get to choose and the man that never get chosen”

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Concept for the Elriel book title:

A Court of Gilded Daggers

For the most beautiful couple, and the dagger that bridges the gap between them

#azriel and elain #elain and azriel #elriel #acotar 5

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

The bonus POV, a sea of contrasts

Several months ago, I stumbled across parallel training sessions between Cassian + Nesta (Chapter 50) and Azriel + Gwyn (Bonus POV) and was impressed by the pointed language Sarah used to contrast the two pairs. Where the scene between Cassian + Nesta is soft and hopeful, the interaction between Azriel + Gwyn includes language that is cold and harsh. It’s possible that Sarah hoped close readers would recall the romantic session between Cassian + Nesta and see obvious differences, just like she expected close readers to pick up on other clues (hence, the “I thought it was obvious” comment). Even though I believe the contrast is clear, this is my interpretation only; I have specific knowledge, life experiences, and preferences that inform my perspective like any other reader. I do not expect everyone to agree with my interpretation, but I do hope those with different opinions voice them in good faith and with kindness.

Color code:

Contrast language

Parallel language

Initiating versus interrupting

Cassian:

Cassian drew the Illyrian blade from down his back. It gleamed with moonlight as he extended it to her hilt-first.

Azriel:

It was too late to bank without appearing like he was running. Azriel landed in the ring a few feet from where Gwyn practiced in the chill night, her sword glimmering like ice in the moonlight.

We begin with an important contrast: Cassian withdraws his sword to initiate training with Nesta as a culmination of their emotional hike to the lake, and Azriel—aiming to work off his anger and frustration as a result of being thwarted in his pursuit of Elain—accidentally interrupts Gwyn’s training and cannot avoid it without appearing to run away. One obviously carries an emotional gravity that the other does not. And, if we’re paying attention to the language, it’s clear that Azriel would not have sought out Gwyn’s company based on his reaction to her appearance in the ring, which is also a contrast with Elain (whose company he seeks out and initiates touch with multiple times) that @psychee92 discusses in this post.

Illuminating versus distracting

Cassian:

Such light, and clarity, that he could only whisper, “Again.”

Azriel:

“Again,” he ordered, rubbing his hands against the cold, grateful for its bracing bite and the distraction of this impromptu lesson.

This moment is another glaring contrast. The training between Nesta and Cassian provides light and clarity, whereas Azriel welcomes the pain from the cold and the distraction of a lesson. It helps him avoid, rather than confront, his inner pain. These words bring to mind another moment from Chapter 31 when Nesta worried that Azriel’s eyes (spies) could be blinded, or so distracted that he (they) wouldn’t see a trap right in front of him (them). And isn’t that exactly what occurred after solstice, when he and his spies were blindsided by Koschei and Briallyn? Our Spymaster, the one individual we’d expect to have this information, didn’t even know who he was facing. Perhaps, as the last piece of evidence might indicate, this training is just the beginning of a beautiful and precise distraction.

Real versus imagined

Cassian:

The light in her eyes shone brighter than the moon overhead.

Azriel (an image in his mind):

How Gwyn’s teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason. . . he could see it.

Cassian’s embellishment is not needed, but it adds a romantic touch that borders on reverence. In fact, it is perhaps more similar to the reverence we read from Azriel when he sees Elain on solstice:

The Faelights gilded Elain’s unbound hair, making her glow like the sun at dawn.

In contrast, Azriel sees an image of Gwyn’s eyes lighting up and it notably lacks the poetic embellishment that Sarah loves to use between her romantic pairings. Both Cassian and Azriel compare their love interests to different sources of light, which complement their own personalities: Nesta is compared to the moon (cold to Cassian’s heat) and Elain is likened to the sun (warm to Azriel’s ice).

Beginning versus ending

Cassian:

With a soft smile that Cassian had never seen before, standing on the moon-washed shores of the lake, Nesta began.

Azriel:

Gwyn nodded her farewell, again facing the ribbon. A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone.

The lesson closes between Cassian and Nesta on a soft and hopeful note; it is a happy beginning. Whereas in Azriel’s bonus POV, their session closes with words that are more befitting of an impending battle rather than a new, romantic beginning. Should we be worried that Nesta has compared Azriel to Gwyn’s new opponent, the ribbon? I am not sure and I think that makes her even more intriguing.

Sword, hair, and breath

This is the moment where we find language that shares pointed parallels rather than contrasts, which may reveal Sarah’s true purpose in this part of the bonus scene.

Cassian:

“The sword was an extension of her arm, a part of her as much as her hair or breath. Every movement bloomed with purpose and precision.”

Cassian draws a clear connection between Nesta’s sword, a familiar weapon, and very specific parts of her body, hair and breath. These very specific items—sword, hair, and breath—are also highlighted in Azriel’s bonus POV when he interrupts Gwyn’s practice.

Azriel:

Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him.

She angled her head, hair shining like molten metal. “Do you sing?”

She considered, and he wondered if she’d say no, but Gwyn blew out a breath, steadied her feet and balance, and sliced. A beautiful, precise blow, but it didn’t sever the ribbon.

“Keep your wrist like that. The blade is an extension of your arm.”

She uses almost exact wording to draw a parallel in a sea of contrasts between the two training sessions. The contrasts may be her way to indicate that the dynamic between Azriel and Gwyn is not, and was never intended to be, romantic. Their brief encounter begins with an interruption, provides distraction, and ends with Gwyn just as focused on the ribbon—her opponent—as she was before Azriel arrived. It is interesting, however, that the Spymaster behaves strangely after this scene. He is the most thoughtful gift giver (his thoughtfulness and care only rivaled by Elain’s gift giving) in the IC, and we’re supposed to believe that this considerate male suddenly thought regifting a romantic gift to another the next day was a good idea? I wonder if Sarah expected readers to use what we’ve already read of his thoughtfulness in canon (repeatedly) to wonder if something—or someone, who has a track record of manipulating others from afar—was at work here. Even the image that is conjured in his mind (which isn’t even real and from an unknown source) doesn’t compare to the romantic and reverent thoughts that the Illyrian males have of their love interests.

This last parallel, however, may hint at hidden weapons—precise weapons that are as much a part of Gwyn’s body as her sword. Does this mean she is evil and planning the Spymaster’s demise? No, of course not. It’s much more likely that a character with god-like cunning and power is pulling the strings. Koschei, the death-god, is the most likely source of this trickery, as we know from Vassa’s experience that he can work through others, perhaps even without their awareness, to secure what he wants. Months after the strange events of solstice, we discover that Koschei has taken an interest in Azriel and successfully lured him to the lake:

“I spend so many months preparing for you,” Koschei crooned, “and you don’t even wish to speak to me?”

Does no one find it strange that Azriel, as the most powerful court’s Spymaster, didn’t see this trap coming? He is so blindsided that he doesn’t even recognize the shadowy form that confronts him. But Cassian, who doesn’t care for spying and just started helping with information gathering, is able to confirm his identity. (Did Cassian ever share the information he gleaned from that one conversation with the Band of Exiles? Is anyone even reporting to Azriel?) And the shadows, as though they are compromised, fail to warn him until it is too late and his brother is taken.

It seems clear that Azriel needs to put aside his distractions and accept help to overcome his blindspots in the next book. @offtorivendell predicts that Mor will take his place in Valkyrie training, which will allow Azriel to focus exclusively on his role: sniffing out the spies in his court, tracking down Bryaxis and the remaining trove item, and counteracting Koschei’s next move. And the one person who can truly help him is fairly obvious: as a powerful and secretive seer, Elain can track down creatures and objects, access divine knowledge, and hide in plain sight as easily as breathing. It’s a good thing, then, that she already let us know she is ready:

“Find me when you wish to begin.”

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Okay, so we know that Elain killed the King of Hyburn, but there seems to be some debate about this from the people in the book, nests taking credit for it, and others letting her.

But can you just imagine them all sat around, discussing all their plans and someone infers that Nests couldn’t do some thing and she gets upset and stands up and starts listing all the things she was capable of doing (the rite, etc) and ends with “I killed the King of Hyburn!”

Then you just hear:

-No. You didn’t.

Everyone turns to look at Elain who had been quietly sat in the corner.

-I did.

Then Elain just walks off like a bad bitch while everyone else just sits there shocked, Azriel smirking cause he’s proud of his girl.

#elriel #elain and azriel #acotar 5 #azriel and elain #azriel acotar

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Okay, Sebastian is my favorite. 

Also, does Louisa have a book? 

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Kinda hoping for an elriel scene where Rhys has to yell or something at Az and so Elain steps in front of him instinctively, all protective like (bonus points if she starts to glow- cause powers) and so then Rhys gets mad cause he sees them so close he figures out they’ve been secretly dating and yells something like “I told you to stay away from her!” Queue Elain releasing all kinds of fury on Rhys cause she just found out that he was the reason they were a secret.

I just want protective elriel and a little drama is that too much to ask for?

#elriel #elain and azriel #rhysand #elain archeron #azriel acotar

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

What if they dance together because Rhys said that Az has to stay away from Elain, and this is the only way he can touch and hold her. So he takes it, and they talk while they dance and that’s the start of their (secret/forbidden) romance??

Elriel Dance

Am I the only person who is kind of obsessed with the idea of an Eriel Dance?

Because you know there will be a dance. THE DANCE.

There is always a dance. For Feysand, it was Starfall. For Nessian, it was the Hewn City Ball. There was even a Feylin dance. Nesris dance too.

And once there is a dance, the big relationship-y stuff starts to unravel. People fall in love, people mate, people propose, people make confessions of love and feelings.

So we pretty much know that there will be an Elriel dance. 

But when? 

Will it be simple and without pomp, a spontaneous coming together in the summer gardens?

Will it be something more formal? Summer Solstice? 

Something sexy? Calanmai?

Will it be a little bump-n-grind Fae style at Rita’s?

Will we find out that one of them plays an instrument and is that going to be the catalyst?

Will we have a dance off? And Amren and Varian win? 

Will it be in the kitchen? Azriel finally relinquishes some of his control and just pulls her into his embrace and spins her around the stove?

Will Azriel hum a melody when they dance?

Will Elain borrow Nesta’s Symphonia?

Will it be a romantic dinner somewhere?

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Ah, le donne… sempre impareggiabili!!!

Ah, women … always unmatched !!!

[the-oldgods-andthenew]

Okay so at the end of acosf The Mother made it so that Nesta kept some of her powers despite Nesta saying she’s sacrifice them for Feyre, so clearly The Mother likes Nesta, or at least has plans for her.

And we all know another Archeron sister that is favoured by a great power... I mean the cauldron is basically in love with Elain (as it should be) so that’s two sisters out of 3 that are favoured by these other worldly beings... honestly who would even try fight that?

Feyre is badass enough on her own, throw her sisters in the mix, Rhys and all his powers, a spy master and a general who need SEVEN siphons each. Mor and Amren as well. Who looks at that family and thinks ‘I can win against them’?????

#elriel #acosf #rhysand #feyre #feysand #nesta #cassian #nessian #Elain #Azriel #morrigan #amren