A Mess

Last one for @sjmsapphic

This was a really fun event 🩷 Before working on my pieces, I was fairly neutral about Gwyn and Elain tbh and mostly interested for aesthetic reasons (soft colours! flowers!) But during the painting process some new headcanons formed, and now I‘m quite attached to them.

Day 3: Taste

what (or who) is being tasted? what are the sensations like? flavor, texture?

I really, really wanted to do a sketch with Gwyn in fighting leathers sitting on a horse and Elain thinking, 'Oh, who's that girl?' because they are the perfect princess x knight. Also, On Parade by Electrelane is my favourite sapphic anthem and has some very sexy lines that may have influenced me. Alas, the compositions and horses did not come together at all but princess x knight Gwynlain stayed with me. They should go on a quest together.

Divider by olenvasynyt

Inspo below

Like we're at borderline religious fervor levels.

Ironically, I agree with some of the original post. What gets me is the hypocrisy of the statement. Because it's exactly what they do to Gwyn.

I took part of that post and flipped the characters to show this:

To uplift Elain, Gwyn needs to be this irrelevant, pathetic and unlikable woman. And more often than not, they will put Elain in the victim position and Gwyn as the obstacle. Or even a non-obstacle.

Portraying Gwyn as this insignificant, immature or evil woman serves their preferred ship's narrative. They need to counterattack the traits SJM wrote for Gwyn, to deem her as an unworthy love interest. At best she can only be Azriel's friend, a distraction, or a temporary plot device. At worst, she's a lying evil lightsinger luring Azriel away from his One True Love.

They need this so much in order for their ship to appear superior because at the moment they know the easiest way to address Gwynriel is for Gwyn to never be viewed as a legitimate option in the first place.

Not in a way where Gwyn is simply not the girl Azriel ends up with and therefore he chooses Elain. They need Elain to be the first choice uncontested. So how do they achieve that?

Insignificant, traumatized, and evil Gwyn.

The girl whose connections to Azriel are dismissed, whose scenes are minimized, and whose narrative significance is constantly questioned.

The girl whose canon strengths, growth and relationships have to be downplayed so that another ship can look better by comparison.

Because if Elain is truly the obvious choice, why is there such a constant need to diminish Gwyn's importance? Why this vehement insistence to shut down any storyline that could possibly involve her?

Why must Gwyn be reduced to a non-existent character, a consolation prize, or someone Azriel could never seriously choose?

The answer is simple: for some people, Azriel choosing Elain isn't enough. Gwyn has to be made into a non-option first.

And that's why so much energy gets spent turning a capable, resilient, well-liked character into someone who is supposedly unworthy of being considered at all.

The point here isn't that the Elain hate is justifiable or acceptable. Because it's not. The point is, once again, that They™️ are criticizing "us" for doing the same thing they do to Gwyn.

It's not about "I think Elain is better suited for Azriel because of XYZ." It's about "I think Gwyn is an awful choice/non-choice for Azriel because of XYZ."

At the end of the day, post what you want. Just know that you look like a hypocritical pick-me.

That's the main part of the post. But because I'm extra, I did the same thing for Lucien below the cut.

(and what does that look like with a mating bond?)

Taken from the CHD podcast, this is what Sarah mentioned will be part of Elain's story.

To the surprise of... No one.

Elain's story is going to be about choice and agency. Not only in the context of the mating bond with Lucien, but with making her own choices instead of letting others decide for her. But obviously, the bond will be a big part of it.

What baffles me is that some people seem to think that the only way Elain can choose and exercise her agency is if she rejects the bond and ends up with Azriel.

In the course of the story about choice and agency, is it possible Elain could reject the bond and go with Azriel? Absolutely.

Is it also possible that Elain comes to realize that, regardless of the bond she didn't choose, she CAN choose to embrace Lucien and their bond? Absolutely.

Simply being mates is passive. But having a good relationship and working to maintain it is active. It is a choice.

Neither choice goes against those themes of choice and agency.

I've already seen people trying to discredit the potential of Elucien by saying things like "if Elain ends up with Lucien, it's only because she felt obligated" or "accepting the bond would force Elain to give up her agency".

If Elain chooses the bond and chooses Lucien, that is no less valid of a choice. No less valid an exercise of her agency.

Especially in a universe where we've watched Celaena struggle with her fate as Aelin, Bryce struggle with her fate as Theia's heir, Feyre struggle with her growing feelings for Rhys while she was still with Tamlin, and Nesta struggle with the reality of her own bond with Cassian.

Choosing to accept one's fate IS a choice. Not resigning oneself to it, but choosing to embrace it.

Elain will choose what is best for her.

But acting as if there's only one choice she can make... kinda defeats the purpose of choice.

That's the same as saying you can only be pro-choice IF you get an abortion should you have an unplanned pregnancy. Like if you choose to have a baby, you're somehow not exercising your agency and right to choose what's best for your life.

The agency does not lie exclusively in one decision or another. The agency lies in having the freedom and the knowledge to make an informed decision about what's right for YOU.

Literally fighting the air like:

“His lightning flowed into her like a river, and he could have sworn he heard a beautiful sort of music between their souls…”

Azriel and Gwyn:

The three of them made it to the third stage only once in the next two weeks. Roslin, Ananke, and Deirdre were close on their heels, propelling Gwyn to push her group harder. She wanted to be the first. Wanted Nesta and Emerie and her to be the ones who wiped the smirks from Azriel’s and Cassian’s faces. Especially Azriel’s.

Az had a vicious competitive streak. It wasn’t boastful and arrogant, the way Cassian knew he himself was prone to be, or possessive and terrifying like Amren’s. No, it was quiet and cruel and utterly lethal. Cassian had lost track of how many games they’d played over the centuries, with one of them certain of a win, only for Az to reveal some master strategy.

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