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Elucien enjoying their day off

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@gwynweekofficial Day Two / Day Three — Songbird / Tethers

A mating bond is oftentimes described as a song between souls that only the pair can decipher/hear—for two singers, I find that to be so very profound to their very core. Music between souls, but music as expression and art that is shared between them. Gwyn and Azriel are incredibly alike, even down to similar hobbies and mannerisms.

For this scene, Gwyn is in the arms of her fated mate, relishing in his embrace and satiated in the closenesses of their bodies, and singing to both Azriel and his curious shadows. A scene of peace and calm somewhere into the future, upon their bond being accepted and their relationship taking flight.

@mysleepyblue You are such a joy to work with and I adore our brainstorming sessions! You captured these two and what we all love about them so beautifully. I cannot wait for us to collab again!

ART CREDIT @mysleepyblue

COMMISSIONED BY @oristian @trashforazriel

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST

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Elain Archeron 🌼🦌

Shares are appreciated✨

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the difference is that Azriel yearns for Elain to be his and Lucien yearns to be Elain's. the difference is that Azriel likes the idea of someone being "for him" and in his mind Elain will have to do and Lucien never wanted to feel this way for someone again but he just can't help it when it comes to Elain.

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I think one of the most interesting and overlooked moments between Lucien and Feyre is when they are escaping to Night through Autumn and they have this exchange:

"They didn't like you?" His jaw tightened. "As the youngest of seven sons, I wasn't particularly needed or wanted. Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs. And when I grew bored with studying and fighting.....I learned what I could of the land from its people. Learned about the people, too." He eased to his feet with a groan, his unbound hair glimmering as the midday sun overhead set the blood and wine hues aglow. "I'd say that sounds more High Lord-like than the life of an idle, unwanted son" A long, steely look "Did you think it was mere hatred that prompted my brothers to do their best to break and kill me?" Despite myself, a shudder rippled down my spine. I finished off the apple and uncoiled to my feet, plucking another off a low-hanging branch. "Would you want it-your father's crown?" "No one's ever asked me that," Lucien mused as we moved on, dodging fallen, rotting apples. The air was sticky sweet. "The blood-shed that would be required to wear that crown wouldn't be worth it. Neither would its festering court. I'd gain a crown-only to rule over a crafty, two faced people." "Lord of Foxes" I said, snorting as I remembered that mask he'd once worn. -ACOWAR (page 106)

I feel like this exchange is telling us a lot about who Lucien is. Honestly I think people should pay a lot more attention to the entire escape from Spring chapters than they do, because I think Lucien is being his most honest and open and vulnerable with Feyre than he ever is in ACOTAR and the rest of the series.

But this exchange is particularly interesting.

Lucien was allowed to learn sword fighting for as long as he liked. Feyre mentions that Lucien prefers to use his words over his swords, but this shows that Lucien has studied swordplay extensively and that he only stopped because he grew bored with it (along with studying). We know Lucien is alot more handy with a sword then he often lets on-Feyre also notes she's seen him training with Tamlin in Spring before, with the insinuation that she found him to be able to hold his own with a High Lord that was raised in the war camps. This also is led credence by the fact that Lucien was able to behead Hyburn's niece who was over a thousand years old and had fought in the original war, cutting through her neck in a single strike. He was also able to dodge Hybrun's nephew. And in the infamous frozen lake scene, Lucien is noted to be fighting two brothers at once, and has somehow wrested a sword. Just because Lucien is uninterest in fighting in another war, and just because he seems keen always to avoid using violence to solve problems, that doesn't mean he's not dangerous when he chooses to be.

Lucien's brothers saw him as a threat despite him also saying "no one thought I would be stupid enough to try and kill my way up the long list of heirs". Lucien had won the love of the people, and that scared his brothers enough that they wanted him not just dead but ruined.

Lastly Lucien's retort to Feyre's question about his father's crown has always kind of piqued my interest. He seems almost surprised "No one's ever asked me that" and then he doesn't immediately disavow ruling. He ponders her question, and then replies that no, Autumn court has no appeal to him. But his reply, alongside with the fact that he never refutes her statement that he acted like a High Lord in his youth could have some interesting implications about his own ambitions.

I do think it's obvious Lucien plays down alot of what he is. He doesn't even use magic all that much, outside of healing and winnowing, and as mentioned above he only uses violence as a last resort and even then he may downplay how skilled he is.

SJM has been showing us in little glimpses that there is waaaay more to Lucien, and has also been showing us that everyone keeps overlooking him when they shouldn't. Feyre thinks Cassian could knock Lucien on his ass, and yet we see she was wrong about Cassian when Lucien high lord commands and dominates him as easily as breathing. They send Lucien off on a suicide mission in lands deemed too dangerous for even the strongest High Lord in Prythian history and never stop to truly think about the fact that Lucien made it through those lands and completed his mission. Lucien slips out to the library shortly after arriving in Night Court and later we find out he's pulled one over Rhys and Feyre without them even considering being suspicious of him or his motives.

There is so much to his seemingly "side character" and I can't wait to hear more about the Lord of Foxes.

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I was going to make a post about Lucien and how truly powerful and brave he is. How he has stood up against Amarantha, and even against the most powerful High Lord in Prythian (still thinking that he was his enemy), and his whole Inner Circle:

“Lucien, to his credit, didn’t back away a step. From Rhys, or me, or the Illyrians. The Clever Fox Stares Down Winged Death. The painting flashed into my mind.”

I gathered a bunch of quotes and information to make a lengthy post, but in the end, nothing like this one to get the point across:

“Easy,” Lucien said. Cassian snarled. “Easy,” Lucien repeated, and flame sizzled in his russet eye. The flame, the surprising dominance within it, hit Cassian like a stone to the head, knocking him from his need to kill and kill and kill whatever might threaten—“

Lucien talked Cassian out of a mate instinct driven rage with a one worded command. Just one word. You think he wouldn’t stand equally against Azriel? And for an added bonus I’ll throw this around too:

“Lucien snarled at the king over the bite of the magic at his throat, “Don’t just leave her on the damned floor—” There was a flare of light, and a scrape, and then Lucien was stalking toward Elain, freed of his restraints. Tamlin remained leashed on the ground, a gag of white, iridescent magic in his mouth now.”

Lucien broke free of Hybern’s restraints like it was nothing. Imagine how powerful you have to be. Not only does he wield Autumn Court fire from his mother’s very powerful side, he’s the heir to the Day Court. A High Lord’s son…with all the markings of a very powerful line. Even his brothers can see the power he hides:

“"They didn't like you?"His jaw tightened. "As the youngest of seven sons, I wasn't particularly needed or wanted. Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs. And when I grew bored with studying and fighting.....I learned what I could of the land from its people. Learned about the people, too." He eased to his feet with a groan, his unbound hair glimmering as the midday sun overhead set the blood and wine hues aglow. "I'd say that sounds more High Lord-like than the life of an idle, unwanted son" A long, steely look "Did you think it was mere hatred that prompted my brothers to do their best to break and kill me?"”

So no, Lucien isn’t weak, and he isn’t a coward. I don’t think we’ve EVER seen Lucien wield his powers to their full potential yet…and that’s intentional too.

You can hate him, sure. But keep your facts straight.

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Yall really be out here claiming Lucien Vanserra isn't going to be a romantic lead in a future book when Sarah J Maas literally wrote him to be the hardest romantic male in the entire series.

When she admitted to basing him off of one of the greatest and most beloved romantic leads in the past fifty(ish) years (and her own personal favorite romantic lead)- Jamie Fraiser

When she wrote him as being so devoted to a lesser fae lover that he-without hesitation-was going to throw away his position and privileges and any ambitions he may have had just to run away and be with her. When she wrote Lucien as thinking of Jesminda like he did literally centuries later.

When she wrote that he was a notorious rake but the moment his mate bond snapped with Elain he became capital D devoted to her and suddenly seemed to forget any other females even existed?

Yall really read all this and still think he's only gonna be a side character in someone else's story and/or is going to be the subject of a rejected mate bond story?

Clown behavior.

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Elain straddles his lap and cants her hips downwards once, twice, and a tantalizing third time—for good measure. She feels him swell beneath the thin layers of clothing separating their bare skin, and hears a ragged gasp of her name tearing from his lips. Fisting a handful of his red hair, Elain leaned forward, swiping her tongue over the seam of his full mouth, then presses her lips against the shell of his arched ear.

“Take me like you would your wife.” She trails her mouth along the column of his neck, sucking soft marks along the protruding veins and sunmarked skin. “I am not fragile, Lucien.”

His hands find purchase along the delicate dip of her waist, and suddenly she is pressed oh so deliciously into the mattress, a familiar weight situated between her spread legs. Her core was aligned firmly against him, and the heat and adrenaline of the want and unadulterated desire she felt for him—burned for him—nearly has her head spinning. There was something akin to raw hunger in his stare, his amber eyes nearly blown black with arousal, and his canines tugging his plump lower lip back into his mouth. Lucien was a male starved and only the taste of Elain could satiate that primitive need.

“I’ll be rough, Lady.”

Her eyes rolled back at the words, her body clenching at the mere anticipation of the promise.

His fingers traced the outline of her figure, memorizing the feel of her beneath his touch. “You have everything of me, Elain. My heart, my soul, my past, present and future—everything I am belongs to you.” Higher, now, the pads of his fingers took inventory of every freckle, every scar, on her body, mapping out the constellations that collided to create his perfect mate. His lover. His wife. Lucien’s thumb drew soft circles along the base of her clavicle, then drew upwards to enclose around her throat.

“But, in this bedroom,” his voice deepens, “you belong to me.”

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I always see people talking about how Azriel’s book is going to be the freakiest because Azriel is the freakiest, and while I could see this being the case, I personally feel like a Gwynriel book would/should have two very important, detailed, and meaningful ✨spicy✨ scenes.

1. The first real “big” scene shows Azriel completely in control. I think a big part of Gwyn’s story and her healing would be learning that sex is pleasurable and that she can trust her partner to take care of her instead of take advantage of her. It will also be important for Azriel to realize that he (and specifically his hands) can be used to make someone he cares about feel good instead of them being something to be ashamed of.

2. This would come later in the book, but there should be a scene where Gwyn is completely in control, at least for part of it. Azriel is likely a control freak given his past and he has an aversion to letting people see past his walls. Part of his healing is going to be learning that not everyone who touches him wishes him harm, that he can let go and find pleasure in the control of someone else. For Gwyn, I think it will be just as important for her to give up control as it will be for her to take back her agency and be in charge, again, at least for a little bit.

There could be other, shorter, less detailed scenes sprinkled throughout, but this is genuinely what I would want to see from Azriel’s (specifically Gwynriel’s book).

Elucien though…they can be as nasty as they want as often as they want they can have more detailed scenes

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It’s both.

Love and fate.

It’s always has been.

I can’t wait until we get Elain and Lucien’s book to finally put this to rest though it’s crystal clear already.

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Man, Lucien being carranam and mates with Elain is gonna be lit.

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I swear if I tumbled out of the cauldron and Lucien was like “you’re my mate” I’d be like “ok word” and we’d live happily ever after

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Azriel: Who hurt you?

Gwyn: *snorting* What, do you want a list?

Azriel: ... Yes, actually.

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“Something sparked in Azriel’s chest, but he only nodded his thanks and left. He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn’s teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason … he could see it.

But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly.“

- A Court of Silver Flames, Azriel’s Bonus

Azriel’s thing of secret, lovely beauty (his future wife)

Just something fun!

ART CREDIT iinnevvitable

COMMISSIONED BY @oristian

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST

@gwynrielweeksofficial

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S𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑬𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏 🌌💗

Krissy, Amanda, and I are so thrilled to finally be able to share this art! The lovely wictorian_art did such an incredible job drawing Elain and Lucien. The charged looks, tension, and angst in this art is top tier 🤌

Thank you so much wictorian_art for creating this magnificent artwork. It’s always a pleasure to work with you! 💗💗

Commissioned by @amandapearls, @norabraveseeker, and myself Artist is: wictorian_art Characters belong to @sjmaas

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Happy Mermay!! 🫧 featuring Gwyneth Berdara 🥹

IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJHPP8tAdYj/?igsh=N3lvY3IzMHgxYTAx

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